Date of Award
Spring 2021
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Visual & Performing Arts; College of Arts & Sciences
First Advisor
Elizabeth Ferrell
Abstract
Current studies of sacrificial Aztec art in Pre-Colombian Mesoamerica are infected with a primitivizing, Eurocentric lens that emphasizes aesthetics and perceived “barbarism” over the art’s function in society. Furthermore, in reducing these stone sculptures to their superficial attributes, scholars ignore the multiple meanings inherent in them. Through a close examination of both mythological and mundane sculptures, and a conscious movement away from the European perspective, this thesis seeks to return the cultural narrative of sacrifice to the Aztecs themselves.
Recommended Citation
Carrico, Taylor, "Nothing Set in Stone: Functionality and Multiplicity in the Sacrificial Art of the Aztecs" (2021). Capstone Showcase. 2.
https://scholarworks.arcadia.edu/showcase/2021/arts/2
Nothing Set in Stone: Functionality and Multiplicity in the Sacrificial Art of the Aztecs
Current studies of sacrificial Aztec art in Pre-Colombian Mesoamerica are infected with a primitivizing, Eurocentric lens that emphasizes aesthetics and perceived “barbarism” over the art’s function in society. Furthermore, in reducing these stone sculptures to their superficial attributes, scholars ignore the multiple meanings inherent in them. Through a close examination of both mythological and mundane sculptures, and a conscious movement away from the European perspective, this thesis seeks to return the cultural narrative of sacrifice to the Aztecs themselves.