Crowning Rulers and Years: Interpreting the Year Sign Headdress at Teotihuacan

Abstract

Headdresses, as opulent markers of rank and affiliation, offer a unique opportunity to examine sociopolitical roles and offices at Teotihuacan. In particular, in light of the few surviving glyphic texts from the site, the representations of headdresses, either in isolation, as part ritual investitures, or actively worn by individuals, are in fact one of the few ways to achieve a deeper understanding of the nature, structure, and institutional aspects of social stations and in the ancient metropolis. In this paper, we will first discuss the elemental properties of headdresses in Teotihuacan iconography as well as the rites of accession upon which these symbolic markers were acquired. Thereafter, we suggest that several kinds of headdresses are also associated with specific named houses at Teotihuacan, which indicate their close affiliation with certain powerful institutions. Finally, we focus on some of the specific types of headdresses, and especially those qualified by the so-called Year Sign (Figure 1). Based on comparisons with Classic and Epiclassic calendrical records, wherein dates are also crowned by the same headdress, as well as with the diadem of the Late Postclassic Mexica rulers, the xiuhhuitzolli, we put forth a new interpretation of its meaning at Teotihuacan.

Reinterpreting Rain and the Ethnoecology of Ritual Society in Ancient Teotihuacan

“…These strongly resemble the Epiclassic-period Storm God monument from Cerro de la Catedral (Figures 9k-l) and the tlaltoque monuments from San Mateo Nopala in size and iconography -if Teotihuacano in style. Importantly, three of the Santuario monuments are dual storm gods/goddesses (PTQ-5, PTQ-7, and PTQ-12, using the nomenclature from [38]), one bears a year-sign headdress (SDT-2, Figure 9h) commonly associated with notions of sovereignty and state legitimacy (see also Figures 8,9d,h) [38,132], and another a feathered headdress with a trilobe glyph in the mouth and toad poison glands on the reverse (XOC-3) [159]. Feathered headdress office holders are known to participate in rainfall petitioning rituals from the Tlalocan murals (Figure 7) and the Las Colinas bowl from Calpulalpan [93], whereas year sign headdress-and trilobe-bearing storm god monuments also appear at San Mateo Nopala and Epiclassic Xochicalco (Figure 9m) [131].…”

“…headdresses[131]. All of the headdresses are qualified by ray/year signs [see also132]-and all but one of the males' are adorned with chalchihuite symbols. The reverse of the female deity's headdress depicts part of a Storm God face complete with googles and an inverted snarled mouth[131, Figura 13].…”

A Reversal of Fortune: Problematical Deposit 50, Tikal, Guatemala

“…The first four are warriors armed with atlatls and darts. The last two wear a distinctive tasseled headdress, which may identify them as elite traders, envoys, or missionaries (Millon 1988; Nielsen and Helmke 2020:320–321; Paulinyi 2001). Each man holds a large, covered container.…”

The Stuccoed and Painted Benches of Xochicalco, Morelos, Mexico

“…The speech scroll of N1 has what may be either a small almena sign attached (Nielsen and Helmke 2014:118–125), perhaps indicating that he is making an utterance about the building in front of him. Alternatively, it could be a simplified “year sign,” suggesting a plausible reference to rulership and power, since we now know that the “year sign” was used from Teotihuacan and onwards as a headdress element worn by high-ranking individuals as well as calendrical signs to mark them as year bearers (Nielsen and Helmke 2017b, 2019).…”