Work

Exploring the Interface Between Orality, Text and Images: An Interplay of Black Drawings and Unfired Clay Figures Within the Depths of the Sierra Mixe of Oaxaca, Mexico

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Drawing on archaeological evidence, early ethnographic accounts, and historical documents, this article offers initial reflections on the possible past uses and meanings of a set of black drawings found deep within a cave in what is now known as the Sierra Mixe of Oaxaca, Mexico. Following this investigative approach, it explores the role of rock art as an interface between orality, imagery, and text in the context of ancient Mesoamerica. To understand the possible ontological perceptions of the creators of these images in the past, it is suggested that this imagery functioned as inscriptions in a dialogue with spatially related unfired figures modelled in clay, which are exceptionally well-preserved in this subterranean space. An interplay of media on various supports is proposed, wherein two-dimensional images and three-dimensional figures may have been used as a combined system for transmitting and circulating intergenerational cultural knowledge, serving as an anchor for collective memory. In this context, rock imagery played a role in a broader communication system in Mesoamerica.

Source: Arts

DOI: 10.3390/arts14050114

Author: Leslie F. Zubieta Calvert

Institutions: The University of Western Australia, University of the Witwatersrand

Language: English

Topic: Archaeology and Rock Art Studies

Subfield: Archeology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,689

Funder: Gerda Henkel Foundation