The Young Woman of Amajac
La joven de Amajac
MaterialLimestone
Long60 cm (24 in)
Height2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Width25 cm (9.8 in)
CreatedPostclassic period (c. 1451–1521 CE)
Discovered1 January 2021
Hidalgo Amajac, Álamo Temapache Municipality, Veracruz
Discovered byLocal farmers
Present locationRecinto Cultural Hidalgo Amajac
Coordinates20°54′15.1″N 97°37′42.0″W / 20.904194°N 97.628333°W / 20.904194; -97.628333
CultureHuastec

The Young Woman of Amajac[1][2] (Spanish: La joven de Amajac, pronounced [aˈmaxak] in Spanish) is a pre-Hispanic sculpture depicting an indigenous woman. It was discovered by farmers in January 2021 in the Huasteca region, in eastern Mexico.

It is not known who it may symbolize, although researchers consider it to be a goddess or a ruler. The piece was on temporary display at Mexico City's National Museum of Anthropology and, since August 2022, been on display in the town where it was found, in Álamo Temapache Municipality, Veracruz.

A replica of the sculpture was slated to officially replace Monument to Christopher Columbus along Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma, which was removed in 2020 but it was later occupied by the Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan, a space for protest against violence suffered by women in the country set up by feminists in 2021. Instead, the replica was installed on an adjacent traffic island.

History

The sculpture is estimated to have been created between 1450 and 1521, during the postclassic period. It is a 2-meter (6 ft 7 in) tall, 60-centimeter (24 in) wide, and 25-centimeter (9.8 in) thick limestone artwork that depicts a woman wearing a blouse and ankle-length skirt.[3][4] She appears to wear jewelry, including circular pendants known as "oyohualli".[3] Her eyes are hollow indicating that they probably had stones in them.[4] At her bare feet,[4] there is a stake that allowed the sculpture to be placed in the ground upright.[3]

Discovery

A group of farmers discovered the sculpture on 1 January 2021 while preparing to till the land in a citrus field in the town of Hidalgo Amajac, near the city of Álamo, in the municipality of Álamo Temapache, Veracruz.[5][6] It is not known whom it is supposed to represent.[1] The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) considered it was similar to the Huastec's fertility goddess, Tlazōlteōtl, but did not dismiss it as being a representation of a member of the elite.[1] It is the first sculpture of its kind to be found near the Tuxpan River.[5]

According to Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, the head of the nation's Secretariat of Culture, the find is significant. Likely representing an important female ruler, it supports the idea of women's participation in the political life of the Huastecs.[3]

Exhibition

The Young Woman of Amajac was presented at the National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico (MNA) for the exhibition La Grandeza de México (The Greatness of Mexico).[7] The statue temporarily left the museum as it was sent back to Hidalgo Amajac, where it received a tribute in a cultural festival organized by its inhabitants.[8] There, the sculpture symbolically inaugurated the Recinto Cultural de Hidalgo Amajac (Cultural Precinct of Hidalgo Amajac), where it has been permanently exhibited since it left the museum in August 2022.[9][10] Municipality officials will place a mural depicting the history of the town and its archaeological discoveries.[10]

In November 2021, the Secretariat of Culture and the INAH filmed and published a documentary entitled La Joven de Amajac, una mujer entre el naranjal (The Young Woman of Amajac, a Woman Among the Orange Groves).[11]

The Young Woman of Amajac II

On 30 May 2023, a smaller sculpture similar to The Young Woman of Amajac was found in Álamo Temapache Municipality as a result of road construction. The Young Woman of Amajac II is 1.54-meter (5 ft 1 in) tall with a width of 55 cm (22 in) and a max thickness of 19 cm (7.5 in).[12] It weighs between 200 kg (440 lb) to 250 kg (550 lb).[13]

After the discovery, INAH researchers did not rule out the possibility that it could represent another ruler and that a pre-Columbian site might have existed in the area.[14] Days later, archaeologists found several burials of people who inhabited the area between 1100 and 1200 CE.[15]

Modern replica

The Young Woman of Amajac
La joven de Amajac
The sculpture in 2023
Location
19°25′58.3″N 99°09′16″W / 19.432861°N 99.15444°W / 19.432861; -99.15444
LocationMexico City, Mexico
Height4.5 m (15 ft)
Weight12 t (12 long tons; 13 short tons)
Opening date23 July 2023
Dedicated toIndigenous Mexican women

History and installation

The government of Mexico City, headed by Claudia Sheinbaum, announced on 12 October 2021 that a replica of The Young Woman of Amajac was intended to officially replace the Monument to Christopher Columbus, at a roundabout along Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma. The Columbus statue was removed in October 2020 by the local government under the premise of restoration.[1][2] Later, city officials proposed installing Tlalli, an Olmec colossal head by Pedro Reyes, after receiving 5,000 signatures from indigenous women who asked to "decolonize Paseo de la Reforma".[16] Reyes's proposal was not well-received and was canceled by the city in September 2021.[17]

Days after the announcement of Tlalli, feminists intervened in the traffic circle and installed the Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan,[18] where Justicia, a purple sculpture of a woman raising her fist in the air, is placed on its empty pedestal.[19] The area developed into a site of protest against violence suffered by women in the country. The attempted removal led to several conflicts between government officials and demonstrators.[20] Following months of discussion, in February 2023, Sheinbaum declared that both the Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan and The Young Woman of Amajac would coexist in the traffic circle, while the Columbus sculpture would be relocated to the National Museum of the Viceroyalty, in Tepotzotlán, State of Mexico.[21]

The sculpture for The Young Woman of Amajac was originally planned as a 6-meter (20 ft) tall work whose expected cost was 7.5 million pesos (approximately 376,000 U.S. dollars).[22] It was intended to stand on top of the 19th century neoclassical pedestal created for the Columbus statue,[1][23] Due to the lack of consensus on the organization of the roundabout, Martí Batres, Sheinbaum's interim successor, announced that The Young Woman of Amajac would stand on its own plinth in an adjacent traffic island.[24] Batres inaugurated the sculpture on 23 July 2023, adding that, "Yes we could [...] from today it becomes a roundabout for the anti-colonialist struggle of indigenous peoples, communities and women".[25]

On 12 October 2023, Columbus Day – locally known as Day of the Pluricultural Nation – the Mexico City government renamed the adjacent Metrobús stations (Lines 4 and 7) and their pictograms replaced the silhouette of the Columbus statue with that of The Young Woman of Amajac.[26]

Description

The Young Woman of Amajac is a 4.5-meter (15 ft) tall work that weighs 12 metric tons (12 long tons; 13 short tons).[27][28] INAH workers made the 3D design for the sculpture. Stonemasons from Chimalhuacán, State of Mexico, sculpted it with a volcanic rock known as púlpito del diablo, obtained from a mine in Amecameca, State of Mexico. The plinth is made of black basalt.[28] The sculpture is divided into four sections and it has an internal metallic skeleton whose purpose is to cushion earthquakes, which impact the city commonly.[28]

Reception

In 2022, during a meeting about the placement of The Young Woman of Amajac and the replacement of Justicia, indigenous women said they do not identify with a sculpture of a privileged woman.[29]

The installers of the Glorieta de las mujeres que luchan said, "Last night they placed the surprised Young Woman of Amajac, the cold stone statue that represents the former head of government[;] we cannot deny that they got that right".[30] Blanca González Rosas wrote for Proceso that the replica of The Young Woman of Amajac "generates a visual dissonance that alters the landscape balance of the ring road" due to the size; its location "is a space of no practical use"; that being a copy, "its value as [...] an artwork is totally null"; and she regretted it creates a "differentiation of women by race and rank". González concluded her review by saying that the project "is perceived as a political simulation in which the indigenous identity is only a copy".[31]

Indalí Pardillo, congresswoman of Mexico City and then-President of the Commission on Cultural Rights of the city, considered that the installation marked a "before and after in the [local] history", since the avenue contains multiple symbols of "subjugation, plundering and colonial domination".[32]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Agren, David (12 October 2021). "Mexico City to replace Columbus statue with pre-Hispanic sculpture of woman". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Pre-Hispanic woman sculpture replaces Columbus in Mexico". The Washington Post. Mexico City. Associated Press. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Geggel, Laura (12 January 2021). "Statue of mysterious woman with 'Star Wars'-like headdress found in Mexico". Live Science. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "First pre-Colombian sculpture of the female form found in Veracruz". TecReview. Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 "A one-of-its-kind pre-Hispanic sculpture has been discovered in Veracruz". Rivera Maya News. Hidalgo Amajac, Veracruz. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  6. ↑ Salazar, Wendy (12 October 2021). "¿Cómo se encontró 'La joven de Amajac' en Veracruz y a quién representa?" [How 'the Young Woman of Amajac' was found and to whom it represents?]. Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  7. ↑ Guillén, Beatriz (17 October 2021). "'La joven de Amajac': la historia detrás de la escultura hallada entre naranjos que sustituirá a Colón en Reforma" ['The Young Woman of Amajac': the story behind the sculpture found among orange trees that will replace Columbus at Reforma]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Salazar, Wendy (28 December 2021). "La 'joven gobernante' de Amajac regresa a Álamo tras exposición en el INAH" [The 'young ruler' of Amajac returns to Alamo after INAH exhibition]. Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  9. ↑ "Trasladan a escultura huasteca 'Joven de Amajac' al Museo Nacional de Antropología en CDMX" [Huasteca sculpture 'Young of Amajac' transferred to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City]. Elementos MX (in Spanish). Álamo, Veracruz. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  10. 1 2 Salazar, Miguel (14 June 2023). "Hallazgo de mujer de Amajac confirmaría importancia arqueológica de la Huasteca" [Finding of a woman from Amajac would confirm the archaeological importance of the Huasteca region]. Diario de Xalapa (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "Documental sobre la joven de Amajac se estrena en medios públicos" [Documentary about the young girl from Amajac to be released in public media]. El Economista (in Spanish). 8 November 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  12. ↑ "Encuentran nueva imagen de la Joven gobernante de Amajac en Veracruz" [New image of the Young Ruler of Amajac in Veracruz found]. Milenio (in Spanish). 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Terreros, Brenda (1 June 2023). "Habitantes de Veracruz encontraron figura similar a la Joven de Amajac" [Inhabitants of Veracruz found similar figure to the Young Woman of Amajac]. Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Histórico hallazgo en Amajac: la huasteca prehispánica resurge de nuevo en Veracruz" [Historic find in Amajac: pre-Hispanic huasteca resurges again in Veracruz]. National Institute of Anthropology and History (in Spanish). 31 May 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  15. ↑ Terreros, Brenda (15 July 2023). "El extraordinario descubrimiento del INAH en el mismo sitio donde estaba la Joven de Amajac II" [INAH's extraordinary discovery in the same site where the Young Woman of Amajac II was found]. Infobae. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "Recibe Jefa de Gobierno más de 5 mil firmas de mujeres indígenas para descolonizar Paseo de la Reforma y colocar una escultura en homenaje a la mujer indígena" [The Head of Government receives more than 5 thousand signatures from indigenous women to decolonize Paseo de la Reforma and place a sculpture in honor of indigenous women] (in Spanish). Head of Government of Mexico City. 14 September 2021. Archived from the original on 16 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  17. ↑ "'La joven de Amajac', la escultura que representará a las mujeres indígenas y sustituirá a Cristóbal Colón en Reforma". Infobae (in Spanish). 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  18. ↑ Sautto, Idalia (February 2022). "Ephemeral Monuments". Goethe-Institut. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  19. ↑ Hernández, Carlos (25 September 2021). "Feministas toman el monumento a Colón y la renombran como "Las mujeres que luchan"" [Feminists take over the monument to Columbus and rename it "The women who fight"]. El Sol de Nayarit. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  20. ↑ Montalvo, Omar (7 December 2021). "Exclaman 'Antimonumenta Vivas nos Queremos se queda'" ['Anti-monument We Want Us Alive stays', exclaimed]. Esto Es Hoy (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  21. ↑ Nava, Jenifer (17 February 2023). "Tras dos años, monumento a Cristóbal Colón por fin tendrá un lugar definitivo" [After two years, monument to Christopher Columbus will finally have a definitive location]. Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  22. ↑ Paz Avendaño, Reyna (28 February 2022). "Se destinaron 7.5 mdp para realizar la escultura 'La Joven de Amajac'" [7.5 million pesos were allocated for the sculpture 'The Young Woman of Amajac']. La Crónica de Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  23. ↑ "'La joven de Amajac' sustituirá finalmente a la estatua de Colón en la Ciudad de México" ['The Young Woman of Amajac' will finally substitute the Columbus statue in Mexico City]. DW (in Spanish). 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  24. ↑ Ruiz, Kevin (23 June 2023). "Antimonumenta se queda en la ex-Glorieta de Colón" [Antimonumenta stays at the ex-Columbus Roundabout]. El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  25. ↑ "Develan escultura de La Joven de Amajac en Paseo de la Reforma en la CDMX". Reporte Índigo (in Spanish). 23 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  26. ↑ Sánchez, Frida (12 October 2023). "Cambian nombre de estación del Metrobús 'Glorieta de Colón' por 'Amajac'". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  27. ↑ González Alvarado, Rocío (23 June 2023). "Basamento para la Joven de Amajac se construirá frente a la glorieta a Colón" [Base for the Young Woman of Amajac to be built in front of the Columbus roundabout]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 González, Miguel (27 July 2023). "Artesanos mexiquenses, autores de la réplica de 'La joven de amajac'" [Mexiquense artisans, authors of the replica of 'The Young Woman of Amajac']. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  29. ↑ Muñoz Oliveira, Luis (9 March 2023). "Sheinbaum, la princesa de izquierda" [Sheinbaum, the leftist princess]. El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  30. ↑ Santiago, David (15 July 2023). "CDMX: Instalan escultura de la Joven de Amajac en Paseo de la Reforma" [Mexico City: Sculpture of the Young Woman of Amajac installed on Paseo de la Reforma]. Expansión (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  31. ↑ González Rosas, Blanca (27 July 2023). "Arte: 'Joven gobernante de Amajac': simulación" [Art: 'The Young Woman of Amajac': simulation]. Proceso. Mexico City. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  32. ↑ Pardillo, Indalí (2 August 2023). "La Joven de Amajac, símbolo de nuestras resistencias" [The Young Woman of Amajac, symbol of our resistances]. El Heraldo de México (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 October 2023.
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