38 | ORIGINS
CENTERS OF PLUMED SERPENT WORSHIP
El Castillo (La Piramide de Kulkul-
kan) served as a temple dedicated The earliest representations of the feathered to the feathered serpent deity serpent appear in the Olmec culture (ca. 1400known as Kulkulkan to the 400 BCE), such as Monument 19 at La Venta, Maya. The pyramid has followed by the people of Teotihuacan 365 steps which is equal to the days (pre-Aztec). The Temple of the Feathered in the Haab’ Serpent (La Pirámide de Quetzalcalendar. coatl), ca. 150-200 CE, is the third largest temple of the site. At the entrance of the exhibition, you’re greeted by a EL CASTILLO, CHICHEN ITZA, YUCATAN, MEXICO – DANIEL SCHWEN | CC-BY-SA 3.0 six-foot tall monument of two feet and a pair of legs cut off at the knees. This monument fragment is the remains of a Toltec warrior atlante from Tollan. After the Toltec people relocated to Cholula, they built a temple for Queztalcoatl that drew away attention from the Great Pyramid, Tlachihualtepetl, built pre-Toltec occupation. RAIN GOD VESSEL MIXTEC STYLE, CA. 1100-1400CE KIMBELL ART MUSEUM, FORT WORTH, TEXAS, USA.
The objects in the exhibition range from monumental sculptures, to ceramics, jewelry, gorget engraved artifacts from Tennessee, textiles, and for the first time the British Museum (London) has allowed the Codex Zouche-Nuttal to cross the Atlantic. Though the Codex is only open to two pages, an is iPad nearby that allows visitors to flip through the pages of this wonderful piece of work from the late Postclassic (ca. 1200-1521 CE). CODEX ZOUCHE-NUTTAL KAIHSU TAI | CC-BY-SA 3.0
The exhibition is laid out chronologically, beginning with the “founding” cities of the network, Tula and Chichén Itzá, then moves into Cholula, “the holiest of cities.” Though the presentation of this beautifully laid out exhibition presents some of this most remarkable craftsmanship of ancient Mexico, the chronological order is somewhat confusing – the descriptions of each section are very spread out and not easily found while stepping through time. However, the tradenetwork established by the southern kingdoms may be proof that the idea of globalization is not as new as we think. > www.origins-magazine.com
SKETCH OF A PLUMED SERPENT SCULPTURE BY MELANIE E. MAGDALENA
Watch a tour of LACMA’s exhibition