The Woman from Amajac

In a post early in this trip (gee, it seems like a long time ago!) I wrote that the statue of Christopher Columbus along the Paseo de la Reforma was going to be replaced with a replica of a pre-Hispanic sculpture that was recently discovered.

I made a trip to the Anthropology Museum, and one of the things I wanted to see was that statue, known as the Woman from Amajac.

The statue was discovered earlier this year in the town of Hidalgo de Amajac (hence its name) in the state of Veracruz.  On January 1st, a farmer summoned several relatives to help him  remove a piece of limestone from the middle of his orange and lemon grove.  When they succeeded in removing it, and they saw what it was, they notified the municipal authorities.  The municipality in turn called in archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History.  Scholars were amazed by the pristine condition of the statue which stands 6 1/2 feet tall. 

The sculpture dates from the late 15th or early 16th century and is the work of the Huastec culture.  It is thought that the Huastecs were an offshoot of the Mayan people who migrated northward into what is now the state of Veracruz around 2000 B.C,  In the 1400s they were conquered by the Aztecs.

The statue represents a Huastec noblewomen, some say perhaps a female ruler.  It shows some influence of the Aztec culture.  The eyes are sunken as if stones such as obsidian had been inlaid in the hollows... a feature typical of Aztec sculpture.

The statue will soon become one of the most recognized pieces of pre-Hispanic art when a replica is placed along Mexico City's most famous boulevard.

In future posts I will write more about my visit to the Anthropology Museum.