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(jazzy piano music)

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- [Steven] We're in the
National Museum of Anthropology

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in Mexico City, looking at one of four

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large ceramic braziers,

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vessels that were containers for burning.

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This one represents a goddess
associated with maize,

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with ripe corn.

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- [Lauren] The one we're
looking at is Chicomecoatl,

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or Seven Serpent.

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And she is a very popular deity

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in the Aztec or Mexica pantheon.

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And we see her not only in ceramic,

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but also in stone sculpture.

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- [Steven] The association
with maize is immediate.

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We can see that she's framing her face

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with four ears of corn.

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But this is such a
wonderfully dense sculpture.

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- [Lauren] Beyond
holding the ears of corn,

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which I should note are
red and dark blue or black,

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making reference to the
different types of maize,

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we see her face here behind the corn,

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her eyes painted looking out at us,

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her mouth open with these large ear spools

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and then framed by this fantastic

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and very elaborate headdress.

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- [Steven] Well, we know
that costume was tremendously

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important for the Aztecs, and
this is a great example of it.

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We can see, for instance,
four circles that would,

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in physical costume,
have been pleated paper.

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- [Lauren] Exactly, and so
while all of this is in ceramic

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it's referencing the
types of ritual regalia

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that would have been used.

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- [Steven] And this is exceptional
because we have so much

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of the polychrome, that is of the paint,

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of the color, that still survives.

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We can see reds and blues
and whites and blacks.

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- [Lauren] Which are some
of the primary colors

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that you see in Aztec art.

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And what's wonderful here is
not only that we have this

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elaborate headdress fairly intact,

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but also the rest of her
costume, like her skirt.

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In this very rectangular
block-like construction,

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much of the polychrome still exists

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where we have these red bands.

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- [Steven] It reminds me of architecture.

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It seems as if the
headdress is so elaborate,

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it is as if she is wearing a building.

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- [Lauren] They're almost obscuring

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or really downplaying the face.

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- [Steven] Although
the face is so present,

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she's coming out at us
with a kind of intensity

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that captures my attention.

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- [Lauren] This particular
face would have emphasized

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this experience that one
would have if you were to walk

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into a temple and to
see an object like this

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that's emitting burning
materials in its body.

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- [Steven] And the
smoke would be rising up

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from behind this, it would have
been tremendously dramatic.

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Corn is so central to the development

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of Mesoamerican culture

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- [Lauren] Maize is the staple food crop.

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And that is very true
of the Aztecs as well,

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because we don't only see
this particular goddess

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whose name again is Seven Serpent

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or Chicomecoatl in Nahuatl,

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but we see other versions
of maze deities like Xilonen

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who is the maize goddess
affiliated with young corn.

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And we even see corn in a
variety of other objects

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because as the cornerstone of the diet,

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it also became invested

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with these important sacred meanings.

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- [Steven] And the cobs themselves

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are so beautifully articulated.

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And it reminds me of so
many other sculptures

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by the Aztecs of other foodstuffs.

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In the same gallery this marvelous

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representation of a squash.

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And corn and squash together with beans

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create a perfect protein.

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- [Lauren] And so if we're
talking about this deity

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within the religious
practices of the Aztecs,

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they had a very active ritual calendar.

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And many of these monthly
festivals would revolve

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around maze deities,
including Seven Serpent here.

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- [Steven] And it would've
been on those feast days

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that corn would have been enjoyed.

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- [Lauren] And so there would
have been special tamales

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distributed to people to be
eaten during these festivals

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as a very potent, very
sensual in terms of using many

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different senses, reminder
of the centrality of maize.

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(jazzy piano music)