Ángel González López
North Carolina Museum of Art, Curatorial, Department Member
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Mesoamerican Archaeology, Art History, Anthropology of Religion, Aztecs, Aztec Art, Central Mexico (Archaeology), and 126 moreArchaeology of Ritual, Ritual Practices, Stone Sculpture, Mexican Codices, Iconography, State Formation, The archaeology of state formation, Political Economy, Cultural Political Economy, Templo Mayor de Tenochtitlan, Landscape Archaeology, Archaeology, Geopolitics, Tenochtitlan, Basin of Mexico, Urban archaeology, Nahuas and Mixtecs, Mixtec Codices, Códices Mixtecos, Mesoamerican Writing, Aztec writing, Anthropology, Ethnohistory, Oaxaca (Archaeology), Household Archaeology, Mixtec Polychrome Iconology, Mixtec Ceramics, Mixtec Pottery, Architecture, Social Theory, Arqueología, Social Archaeology, Mexico (Anthropology), Materiality (Anthropology), Mesoamerica (Anthropology), Mesoamerican Ethnohistory, Provenance studies of archaeological material, Mesoamerican iconography, Early American ethnohistory, Gran Nicoya, Codex Epigraphy, Mixteca Puebla, Aztec, Pre-Columbian Art, Central American Prehistory and Archaeology, Pre-columbian studies, Historia Prehispánica en México, Mexico pre-Hispanic History, Color History, Ancient Nahuas, Nahuatl, History of senses and sensibility, Smell, Smell in art, History of Colors, Mythology, History of Religion, Cultural History, Mesoamerica, Cosmology (Anthropology), Mesoamerican Studies, Worldview., Mesoamerican Religion, Cosmogony, Mesoamerican Cosmology, Quetzalcoatl, Cosmology & Cosmogony, Cosmic tree, Itzpapalotl, Mesoamerican Gods, Bacabes, Tzitzimitl, Sociology, Philosophy, History, Information Systems, Communication, Data Mining, Environmental Sustainability, Ethics, Educational Technology, Research Methodology, Gender, Philosophy of Science, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Ritual, Etnohistory, Etnohistoria, Mixtec, Mixtecan Languages, Oaxaca (Anthropology), Oaxaca, Cosmovision, Cosmovisión Mesoamericana, Etnohistoria Mesoamerica, Zapotecos Y Mixtecos, History of Colonial Mexico, Writing systems, Colonial Latin American History, Library Science, Aztec Iconography, Codex Borgia, Maya History and Religion, Archaeological Theory, Anthropological study of witchcraft and sorcery, Maya Iconography, Cotzumalhuapa, Archaeology of Religion, Classical Nahuatl, Anthropology Of Art, Cotzumalhuapan Iconography, Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Aztec Art, Religion, & Politics before and after the conquest, Maya Art, Teotihuacan, Native American Studies, Sacred Landscape (Archaeology), Huichol, Classic Maya (Archaeology), Maya Archaeology, Maya Epigraphy, Religion, Comparative Religion, Ancient History, Sociology of Religion, Aztec History, and History of Mesoamerica edit
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I am an anthropological archaeologist who specializes in Aztec iconography. For 10 years before starting my graduate... moreI am an anthropological archaeologist who specializes in Aztec iconography. For 10 years before starting my graduate studies, I was a member of the Proyecto Templo Mayor and was involved in the on going excavations of the Aztec Main Temple of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City. While my research focuses on Postclassic Central Mexico, I also have experience working at Teotihuacan, Cuicuilco, Cholula, the Sierra de las Navajas in Hidalgo, the Sierra Gorda in Queretaro, the central valleys of Oaxaca, and southern Quintana Roo. Currently research curator at the North Carolina Museum of Art.
My doctoral research focuses on Aztec iconography on stone sculptures from the Postclassic period to the early Colonial period in the Basin Mexico. As the principal investigator of the Aztec Stone Sculpture of the Basin of Mexico Project (AZSSBMP), to create a comprehensive archive of stone sculptures to facilitate comparative studies. I am specifically interested in the dynamics of change between the city-states in the basin and the Aztec empire through the creation and manipulation of narratives that can be discerned from stone sculptures. edit
Research Interests:
Con base en un estudio sistemático de las características de 152 esculturas de roca volcánica del centro de México, Ángel González López propone un método para su comprensión; muchas de ellas fragmentadas y descontextualizadas, y otras... more
Con base en un estudio sistemático de las características de 152 esculturas de roca volcánica del centro de México, Ángel González López propone un método para su comprensión; muchas de ellas fragmentadas y descontextualizadas, y otras del recinto sagrado de Tenochtitlan. En una revisión histórica de 200 años el autor plantea el existencia de principios ordenadores que indican el uso de estas figuras en contextos religiosos, políticos, e históricos. El presente trabajo explica cómo antes de la Colonia, según el registro arqueológico tales imágenes de piedra representaron deidades, personificadores en forma de sacerdotes o víctimas destinados al sacrificio. O bien, eran íconos de personajes del más alto rango social. Los antiguos escultores plasmaron una gran variedad de animales naturales y fantásticos. También modelaron una increíble diversidad de instrumentos ceremoniales. Más aún, se indica cómo la relación entre los grupos indigenas y sus creaciones pétreas cambió con la Conquista. El autor señala como las esculturas que se salvaron de ser destruidas fueron enteradas como parte de los cimientos de las nuevas construcciones coloniales, o para esconderlas de amenazas potenciales. Otras se colocaron en museos. Finalmente, uno de los grandes valores de este libro es destacar el papel modificador que tuvo la arqueología en nuestra comprensión de este arte escultórico tan singular como original.
Research Interests:
Offering 126 was discovered in 2008 during the 7th field season of the Templo Mayor Project. This deposit was located beneath the monolith of the Earth Goddess Tlaltecuhtli, corresponding with the reign of Ahuitzotl (1486-1502 AD).... more
Offering 126 was discovered in 2008 during the 7th field season of the Templo Mayor Project. This deposit was located beneath the monolith of the Earth Goddess Tlaltecuhtli, corresponding with the reign of Ahuitzotl (1486-1502 AD). The offering is characterized by an extraordinary wealth of biological materials, among which are the remains of felines, canines, and birds. These specimens provide various kinds of evidence of cultural modification, since they were placed as isolated bones and articulated segments and present numerous cut marks, defleshing marks and fractures. The large quantity of specimens and considerable superposition of the osteological elements necessitated the implementation of a meticulous documentation system that recovers most of the information in the field. This paper presents the excavation methodology, which combines proposed approaches for Osteoarchaeology in the field , developed by specialist in Physical Anthropology, as well as the utilization of graphic documentation systems with the program AutoCAD .
Research Interests:
El arte que se desarrolló en la capital imperial de Tenochtitlan durante los años previos a la conquista española tuvo múltiples usos y significados. En este ensayo se presenta un panorama general de su intencionalidad, así como algunas... more
El arte que se desarrolló en la capital imperial de Tenochtitlan durante los años previos a la conquista española tuvo múltiples usos y significados. En este ensayo se presenta un panorama general de su intencionalidad, así como algunas estrategias para su entendimiento; con énfasis en la estatuaria, pero se incluyen otros medios. Esta expresión ha sido definida, desde la perspectiva funcionalista, como un medio que sirvió para comunicar ideas sobre el lugar ideal de la humanidad en el universo, dentro de la estructura y organización sagrada del cosmos y en sociedad. En reiteradas ocasiones se han interpretado como un medio al servicio de la fe, afirmación que se ha enriquecido en años recientes, agregando que estas expresiones persiguen intereses políticos, referirse a eventos históricos particulares trascendentales en la vida social de la capital imperial. Para un público de principios del sig lo XXI, enfrentarse a éstas obras resguardadas en museos, embebidas en los muros de las iglesias y las calles de la ciudad de México o exhibidas en zonas arqueológicas puede resultar una tarea complicada. Una primera aproximación puede presentarlas como ambiguas, confusas y hasta contradictorias. Si bien es cierto que muchas ve ces estas imágenes no expresan su significado en forma precisa y limitada, se necesita entender que los motivos, emblemas y escenas representados en las rocas volcánicas, cerámica, paredes o papel amate contienen múltiples mensajes que actúan simultáneamente con una lógica particu ar. Para juzgar estas manifestaciones es ineludible entender que fueron una síntesis de tradiciones artísticas previas a Tenochtitlan, así como contemporáneas. De tal manera que, para comprender este proceso histórico, es necesario establecer los pasos que siguió su formación y consolidación, así como aquel sello que lo convirtió en una expresión única y di fe rente en la historia de Mesoamérica. Ex presión que implica, en primer lugar, un diálogo constante entre las estructuras sociales y cósmicas, además de la intención de proyectar una imagen de Tenochtitlan triunfante y sobe rana, creando un puente cultural con prestigiosas sociedades del pasado. Este ensayo no pretende abarcar la totalidad de sus expresiones, sino tan sólo mostrar sus generalidades y ayudar a en tender sus obras como portado ras de múltiples significados e identidades actuando al mismo tiempo. En tenderlas como generadoras de emociones en las personas que las observaron, tal como lo hacen hoy en día con nosotros.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The ways in which human societies create a sense of history and incorporate it into daily life varies through time. In the Late Postclassic Basin of Mexico for example, cultural groups perpetuated, but also abandoned aspects of the... more
The ways in which human societies create a sense of history and incorporate it into daily life varies through time. In the Late Postclassic Basin of Mexico for example, cultural groups perpetuated, but also abandoned aspects of the stories of their ancestors. The uses, causes and reasons for this practice depend on a combination of several factors. The use of the past and how it was conceived and incorporated into the perspective of the Mexica is of particular interest. Previous studies have explored this topic, focusing in particular on Mexica objects depicting the " archaizing " Xochicalco style, such as the clear examples of four fire serpent heads, now in National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. This topic requires re-examination, principally because recent research has uncovered valuable information about the duration of Epiclassic imagery for hundreds of years. The Mexica perspective informs our understanding of the Epiclassic due to the marked continuities in form and meaning displayed by sculptural works. This paper examines the continuity of these ideas and related concepts through the analysis of a number of examples, specifically unpublished stone sculptures that were recovered from the ancient imperial capital.
Research Interests:
After a disastrous war again an indigenous rebellion headed by Spaniards the great power of Central Mexico fall down and the imperial capital of Tenochtitlan succumbed. After that, new political, military and religious authorities take... more
After a disastrous war again an indigenous rebellion headed by Spaniards the great power of Central Mexico fall down and the imperial capital of Tenochtitlan succumbed. After that, new political, military and religious authorities take the control. This situation was not totally new, since 300 years this was a common activity in the late Post classic times (1200-1521 D.C) in the Basin of Mexico, the big difference with the arrive of the European groups was a new behavior again the believes and customs of the natives. The new laws prohibited strictly the reproduction of cult images or indigenous gods; in this period of time, labeled by archaeologist and historians as the Colony occurs my study. Exist material evidence that suggest several defiance toward the authority. In this work I analyze examples of stones reliefs with design of the earth god/goddess Tlaltecuhtli make it under the new government system as an act of rebellion.
2012 co-authored with Alejandra Aguirre and Ángeles Medina
in: Humo aromático Para los Dioses: Una Ofrenda de Sahumadores al pie del Templo Mayor de Tenochtitlan (Leonardo López Luján, editor)
in: Humo aromático Para los Dioses: Una Ofrenda de Sahumadores al pie del Templo Mayor de Tenochtitlan (Leonardo López Luján, editor)
Research Interests:
This dissertation focuses on social change during the Late Postclassic period in Central Mexico through an analysis of Aztec stone sculpture recovered from the capital city of Tenochtitlan. This work is the culmination of the Aztec Stone... more
This dissertation focuses on social change during the Late Postclassic period in Central Mexico through an analysis of Aztec stone sculpture recovered from the capital city of Tenochtitlan. This work is the culmination of the Aztec Stone Sculpture from the Basin of Mexico Project (AZSSBMP), which created a standardized database of over 2000 whole and fragmented sculptures to facilitate comparison and identify changes overtime. My research addresses stone sculpture development, before and after the Aztec Empire, by analyzing sculptures with known archaeological contexts from the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan, the surrounding area of the Main Precinct, and other parts of the island city. I use stylistic and iconographic similarities to create groupings of sculptures that are contemporaneous and identify changes in forms and iconographic narratives through time to explain the emergence, experimentation, and synthesis of a Mexica style. I propose the construction of a master chronological sequence, which is divided into three stages: the Pre-Imperial Stage (ca. 1300 – 1430 AD), the Early Imperial Stage (1430 – 1481 AD), and the Late Imperial Stage (1481 – 1519 AD). This approach addresses both synchronic and diachronic perspectives of stone sculpture and illustrates the diversity of the stone sculpture corpus that has not been previously highlighted. Over time there is an increase in the number and size of sculptures, as well as the development of high aesthetic quality and complex iconographic narratives. This research argues that the emerging Aztec Empire used sculptures to display political propaganda that aided their objectives as an expansionist state. These iconographic narratives show a tendency towards state violence and use stone images as relevant media to depict Tenochtitlan as the center of the universe to enforce a new sacred order and invoke the Flower World complex as a justification. This research serves as an example of understanding how material culture can be used to explain the socio-political dynamics of Central Mexico during the development and apogee of the Aztec Empire.