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Second Nature: Concentric Structures and Gravity as Represented in Teotihuacan Art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Judith Ostrowitz
Judith Ostrowitz
Affiliation:
Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
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Abstract

Within the decorative borders that frame the painted murals of Teotihuacan, artists constructed a unique landscape. Stylized natural imagery is frequently organized according to recurring patterns. A medallion form, for instance, sometimes surmounted by a face or headdress, may be the representation of a supernatural being that floats freely, unfettered by the constraints of gravity. Disembodied hands, painted in association with this form or as components of other structures, dispense riches that fall in carefully measured streams.

Type
Special Section: Imagery and Notation at Teotihuacan
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , Fall 1991 , pp. 263 - 274
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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References

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