Stunning figurine represents high ranking Zapotec

In the summer of 2012 a burial of two high ranking individuals of the ancient Zapotec culture was discovered by archaeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) within the third chamber of a tomb in the Aztompa Archaeological Zone in Oaxaca, Mexico

Mortuary offering

Deep within the third chamber an anthropomorphic clay figurine, ornamented with painted face and headdress, emerged from the excavation under the careful scrutiny of archaeologist Eduardo García. The piece belonged to the mortuary offerings of a male adult.
Two of the three funerary chambers – constructed vertically and connected by a small nine stepped stair – are decorated with exquisite mural paintings, from which geometric figures (possible allusions to the ball game) and the colour red (related to the underworld) stand out.

High ranking individual

The rich iconography of the figurine could indicate the identity of one of those buried in Chamber 3 of the funerary complex. The artefact is about 1200 years old and has now been painstakingly conserved. It has a series of attributes that could point to a high ranking individual who belonged to the old Zapotec metropolis of Aztompa.
The character represented is in a sitting position with clothing composed of a feather cloak, a tassel necklace and an elaborate headdress. The red pigment is one of the more distinctive characteristics and will have been obtained from either cinnabar or heamatite.


Aztompa is located in Cerro del Bonete and was one of the centres of the Monte Alban metropolis.
According to archaeologist Eduardo Garcia Wigueras, the lead investigator, within the mortuary temple (built around 750 and 900 CE), they also found a smaller red pot with a goddess’s representation and the skeletons of two individuals, one of which is probably represented by the figure.
He explained that one of the skeletons belongs to a teenager, possibly a female and the other is that of an adult male, his remains characterized by cranial deformation.
The burial was covered in a red pigment, similar to the pot making it probable that this individual is the person represented in the ceramic piece.
Another element of the effigy that stands out is its headdress representing a reptile, surrounded by feathers, with its jaws open wide. To the Zapotec (and other pre Columbian cultures), this feathered serpent was a powerful mythical animal that contributed in the celestial sphere and the earthly one and can probably be linked to a person with high political status.

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