Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head

The Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head

The Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca head is a terracotta head, probably originally part of a larger figurine, discovered in 1933 among pre-Columbian or just post-Columbian grave goods in the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca zone in the Toluca Valley, approximately 65 kilometers northwest of Mexico City.

Because the head appears to be similar in style to artifacts of Roman origin, some believe that it is evidence of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact between Rome and the Americas, a view strongly promoted by archaeologist Romeo H. Hristov.[1] However, several other explanations for its presence have been put forward.

Find

The object was discovered by archaeologist José García Payón during an excavation in 1933. It was a grave offering, found under three intact floors of a pyramidal structure. Along with the head were found a number of objects made of gold, copper, turquoise, rock crystal, jet, bone, shell and pottery.[2] The burial was dated to between 1476 and 1510 AD. Payón did not publish information about the head itself until 1960.[3]

Evidence for Roman manufacture

An assessment of the case was made in 2001 by Romeo H. Hristov of University of New Mexico and Santiago Genovés T. of National Autonomous University of Mexico.

This result clears up the doubts of Colonial manufacture of the artifact, and makes the hypothesis of Roman origin – among other possibilities – applicable. The identification of the head as Roman work from the II–III century A.D. has been further confirmed by Bernard Andreae, a director emeritus of the German Institute of Archaeology in Rome, Italy. According to Andreae "[the head] is without any doubt Roman, and the lab analysis has confirmed that it is ancient. The stylistic examination tells us more precisely that it is a Roman work from around the II century A.D., and the hairstyle and the shape of the beard present the typical traits of the Severian emperors period [193-235 A.D.], exactly in the ‘fashion’ of the epoch." (Andreae cited in Domenici 2000: 29). On the other hand, an examination of the field notes of the archaeologist in charge of the excavation as well as the site itself have not revealed, in either case, signs of possible disturbances of the context (Hristov and Genovés 1999).[4]

A thermoluminescence test performed in 1995 by P. Schaaf and G.A. Wagner in the FS Archäometrie unit in Heidelberg, Germany, established its age range to somewhere between the 9th century BC and the middle of the 13th century AD, confirming its pre-colonial provenance. However, Schaaf and Wagner have objected to the way the dates were described by Hristov and Genoves.[5][6]

Bernard Andreae of the German Institute of Archaeology in Rome, Italy, who examined photographs of the artifact, stated that he believed that it was Roman and proposed the 2nd century AD as its date of origin, based on the hairstyle and the beard.

Hypotheses

Researchers who have analyzed the artifact have come up with several possible explanations for the object's presence at the site:

See also

References

  1. "Romeo Hristov". unm.edu.
  2. 1 2 3 Hristov, Romeo H.; Santiago Genovés T. "THE ROMAN HEAD FROM TECAXIC-CALIXTLAHUACA, MEXICO: A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE (1)". Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Michael E. "The 'Roman Figurine' Supposedly Excavated at Calixtlahuaca", Accessed: 2012-02-13.
  4. "Calixtlahuaca's Head". unm.edu.
  5. Schaaf, Peter; Günther A. Wagner (8 April 2000), "letter", New Scientist (2233): 64–65. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  6. Schaaf, Peter; Günther A. Wagner (2001), "Comments on "Mesoamerican Evidence of Pre-Columbian Transoceanic Contacts" by Hristov and Genovés", Ancient Mesoamerica 12: 79–81, doi:10.1017/s0956536101121024. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  7. Heine-Geldern, Robert von. "Ein Römischer Fund aus dem Vorkolumbischen Mexico." Anzeiger der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-historische Klasse. No. 98, 1961, pp. 117-119.; Romeo Histov, 'The Little "Roman" Head of Calixtlahuaja Mexico: Some Reflections', Neara Journal Vol. 28, #3 &4, 1994.
  8. James Meek, "Clue to Romans' head start on Columbus", The Guardian, Thursday 10 February 2000.

Bibliography

External links

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