The Zapotec Cocijo effigy vessels excavated from Monte Albán, Mexico are great in number and yet very little is known about the purpose and meaning of these objects. A lack of available data on the... Show moreThe Zapotec Cocijo effigy vessels excavated from Monte Albán, Mexico are great in number and yet very little is known about the purpose and meaning of these objects. A lack of available data on the provenance of the Cocijo effigy vessels causes difficulty for any sort of research that is conducted on them. Regardless, in this paper an attempt is made to formulate a different methodology through which these effigy vessels may be interpreted. Data on three effigy vessels originating from the same tomb on Monte Albán will be analysed in light of the Zapotec worldview during the Classic period (200CE -- 800CE) and the meanings that were ascribed to the primary directions within this worldview. The three vessels which are examined in this study are aligned with each other within the tomb and all are oriented with their face to the east, the realm of life, and their backs to the west, the realm of death. Therefore it is suggested that there exists a connection between the position and orientation of the in situ Cocijo effigy vessels and the worldview of the Zapotec people. Show less
