Masks have a long history in Mesoamerica, and they have been used in theatrical productions, dances, and rituals in Mexico from ancient times through the present day. Of these five masks, two are reproductions of ancient masks, one is an actual ancient mask, and two are 20th-century masks likely worn in modern Mestizo (mixed Hispanic and indigenous cultures) festival … [Read more...] about Mexican Masks, Past and Present: Researched by Emily McClain and Joshua Burd
Contemporary Maya cultures in Guatemala produce elaborate textiles using traditional methods for spinning, dying, weaving, and embroidering cloth that have been passed down by the women of their cultures for centuries. Each Maya region is known for its own version of colorful traditional clothing outfits, called trajes. While women in more rural areas continue to wear the traje … [Read more...] about Traditional Maya 20th-century Clothing: Researched by Vinita Williams
This small textile is a sample of traditional Maya weaving, possibly serving as a napkin or just as a sampler. Maya textiles are more typically created as large pieces of fabric, intended to be made into traditional clothing, that are hand-woven on a backstrap loom. This piece is striped in different colors of traditionally hand-dyed cotton, but because of global trade, today … [Read more...] about Maya Hand-Woven Textiles: Researched by Abigail Morrow
This large vessel was created by Reina Simon L. from the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec, using the traditional grey clay of this region that is gathered from the clay mines near the community. While such pottery has been created and used for water vessels, or ollas, for centuries by the Zapotec people of this region, in the 1950s potter Rosa Real Mateo de Nieto started a new … [Read more...] about Zapotec Mestizo Blackware: Researched by Daniel Hume
Tepache vessels are known today as elaborately decorated ceramic vessels produced for the tourist trade by the potters of San José de Gracia, a village in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The vessels were first created by the potter Elisa Madrigal Martínez, who began making them in the 1930s after she had moved from Carapan to San José de Gracia; up until that time, the potters … [Read more...] about Tepache Vessel with Three Calla Lilies on Lid: Researched by Sarah Teel