Teotihuacan: An Experiment in Living by Esther Pasztory

From the Publisher

This book is the first comprehensive study and reinterpretation of the unique arts of Teotihuacan, including architecture, sculpture, mural painting, and ceramics. Comparing the arts of Teotihuacan - not previously judged "artistic" - with those of other ancient civilizations, Esther Pasztory demonstrates how they created and reflected the community's ideals. Pasztory argues that, unlike the art of other Mesoamerican groups, the art of Teotihuacan refrains from glorifying rulers because its people wished to create the image of an integrated community. Instead their art glorifies nature and the supernatural and emphasizes egalitarian rather than aristocratic values. Pasztory identifies a great goddess who presided over this construction of civic harmony. Teotihuacan: An Experiment in Living is a portrait of a culture that made no portraits, a reinterpretation of a culture that left no texts interpreting itself. Nineteen color and seventy-seven black-and-white illustrations accompany the text.

Publishers Weekly

The Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon at Teotihuacan may be two of Mexico City's top tourist sites, but they are also two of Mexico's greatest mysteries. Little is known about the people who built these massive structures and who lived in what must have been an immense city between about 1 and 750 AD., pre-dating the Aztec settlement of the Valley of Mexico by as much as 1000 years. They left behind impressive buildings and expressive murals but few clues to help historians and archeologists understand what their culture had been about and why their city was abandoned. We do know that the Teotihuacan was built in a sophisticated grid pattern where large extended families lived in apartment complexes and that 100,000 to 200,000 people called it home. Columbia University history professor Pasztory believes that art is a reflection of the society it creates, and interprets the lack of art dedicated to battles and triumphant rulers as a sign of the desire to create an integrated community. "Unlike the arts in most of Mesoamerica that glorified violence and dissension, art at Teotihuacan emphasized harmonious coexistence.... Teotihuacan presented itself as a timeless place, as if it existed from time immemorial and would exist into eternity, outside of history and historical contingency," she writes. Pasztory compares her theories with those of other archeologists and art historians and the variety of readings on Teotihuacan's past reminds us that much of what is believed about ancient sites is educated guesswork. Even in this complicated and technical work, the guesswork element of Teotihuacan is emphasized by the heavy reliance of words in quotations, giving the impression that too many of the ideas the book supports are based on feelings rather than solid scholarship.

Publishers Weekly

The Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon at Teotihuacan may be two of Mexico City's top tourist sites, but they are also two of Mexico's greatest mysteries. Little is known about the people who built these massive structures and who lived in what must have been an immense city between about 1 and 750 AD., pre-dating the Aztec settlement of the Valley of Mexico by as much as 1000 years. They left behind impressive buildings and expressive murals but few clues to help historians and archeologists understand what their culture had been about and why their city was abandoned. We do know that the Teotihuacan was built in a sophisticated grid pattern where large extended families lived in apartment complexes and that 100,000 to 200,000 people called it home. Columbia University history professor Pasztory believes that art is a reflection of the society it creates, and interprets the lack of art dedicated to battles and triumphant rulers as a sign of the desire to create an integrated community. "Unlike the arts in most of Mesoamerica that glorified violence and dissension, art at Teotihuacan emphasized harmonious coexistence.... Teotihuacan presented itself as a timeless place, as if it existed from time immemorial and would exist into eternity, outside of history and historical contingency," she writes. Pasztory compares her theories with those of other archeologists and art historians and the variety of readings on Teotihuacan's past reminds us that much of what is believed about ancient sites is educated guesswork. Even in this complicated and technical work, the guesswork element of Teotihuacan is emphasized by the heavy reliance of words in quotations, giving the impression that too many of the ideas the book supports are based on feelings rather than solid scholarship. (Apr.)

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Table of Contents