Effigy Findings

Preliminary Archaeology Report Pg 3
“Artifact 178UU1000/SAN549AL002"
Dr. John R. Friedman
September 26, 2011

V. CONDITION OF ARTIFACT

Visual observation determines main body to consist of one solid piece of some form of cloudy/ translucent jade or jadeitite manufactured and polished into a feline-like, dragon-shaped head with an open mouth revealing three sets of jagged teeth on each side. Much of the shell work that ornaments these teeth is missing, exposing the wooden base upon which these teeth were carved and inserted into the jade through tightly drilled holes.

Jade component of this effigy head is 26.72 centimeters in length, and ranges in height from 11.45 centimeters at the snout to 24.30 centimeters at the back of the head. Width of jade block ranges from 10.16 centimeters at the snout to approximately 20.25 centimeters at the back.

Adorning the back of the head is a headdress of turquoise mosaic consisting of 7 feather-shaped plumes. Turquoise is largely intact with few pieces missing from the wooden base. Plumes range from 28.34 centimeters to 36.83 centimeters in height from the topmost surface of the jade. Turquoise is consistently of higher quality in color and matrix, suggesting a single source within the southwest region of the United States.

The effigy’s eyes are surprisingly preserved and consist of mother of pearl shell inlay centered by deep obsidian pupils.

Overall, this artifact is in excellent condition.

VI. SUMMARY OF INTERPRETATION

Given the craftsmanship of jadework, the blocky, feline-like shape to the artifact, and the plume of mosaic turquoise at the back of the head, this researcher concludes this artifact to be Mesoamerican in origin. I note the striking similarity of this artifact to the adorned facades on the Temple of Quetzalcoatl within the site of Teotihuacan and thus place its root in Central Mexico. I would expect this artifact to date back to the era of Teotihuacan somewhere within the Proto-Classic to Late Classic period. Radiocarbon dating of the wood or shell components may narrow this artifact’s time period, but no such processes have been undertaken at the time of this report.

Although this is a preliminary report focusing solely on the artifact itself with no consideration for its provenience in situ or horizontal stratigraphy in relation to the rest of the unexcavated site, this researcher concludes with much confidence that this artifact did not originate within the southwest region where it was found. Unless there is evidence recovered from the site that might prove otherwise, it is my belief that the only plausible explanation for this Mesoamerican effigy of Quetzalcoatl entered the southwest through trade relations between the two regions.