Tiwanaku Snake-Belt God and the Iconography of Liquids
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: A bone tube of the Tiwanaku culture in the South American collections of the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin is one of the rarest of its kind. This article analyzes its iconography and explores the relationship between the graphic message and the object’s original function. I argue that the depiction on the tube represents not only the commonly known character called the Sacrificer or Upturned-Nose Decapitator but also the Tiwanaku counterpart of the Moche Snake-belt God, who participates in such a wide range of activities that he appears to play a central role in a major epic story. Despite his role in themes connected to decapitation and primordial places, he is a character associated with the iconography of liquids. I will define the graphic repertory of liquids and raise the question how it fits with the fact that the bone tube originally contained fine-grained cinnabar.
Source: University Library Heidelberg
Author: Clados, Christiane
Language: English
Subfield: Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7124147671
FWCI:
Cites:
Cited by:
Related to: