Information about the Dress of the Teotihuacan culture Is quite scarce. This Mesoamerican civilization Has always been in a halo of mystery and still the experts debate about its founders and their sudden decline. The details of their language and ethnic disposition are unknown.
The city Teotihuacán was a prosperous city between century I a.C. Until the s. XI d.C. And is located 40 kilometers from the Mexican capital. It was an important religious and trading center in the region. In it different cultures converged and one could say that it was a multiethnic state. In addition, they had a very marked social stratification.
Its main characteristic are the imposing buildings and temples. They emphasize the pyramids of the sun and the moon and the temple of Quetzalcoatl.
This dedication to the themes and ritual subjects, made to think that the Teotihuacan society Was oriented to their religious leaders . It was imagined as a ceremonial complex and place of pilgrimage. The same name of Teotihuacán means in Nahuatl "Where the gods were born".
Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, in his General History of the things of New Spain, thus collects the legend of the foundation of the city:
Before there was light in the world, all the gods gathered in the place of Teotihuacan. There they decided that the richest man - Tecuciztecatl - would be in charge of lighting the world, while the weakest - Nanauatzin - would help him, both being in penance in the light of a bonfire to which they would have to be thrown. The rich man, Tecuciztecatl, did not dare to leave, leaving Nanauatzin to be the first to enter the bonfire, the example of which followed. With both burned, the gods waited without knowing where they would appear until they saw the sun, the weak god, and the moon, the rich god. Both looked implacable and inert in the sky, the moon would be darkened, but to move them they used the wind, which separated them creating day and night, being also necessary that all the gods died there gathered.
However, recent research has discovered through murals and sculptures, a military framework that seems strongly entrenched in the daily life of the city and that made fundamental political decisions such as invasions and wars.
This militarist escalation would explain in part the abandonment of the city in a sudden way. It can only be inferred that there was a catastrophic event that caused the inhabitants to flee as a war or the eruption of a volcano.
It could also have been after the gradual exhaustion of the natural resources of the area and hyperpopulation.
There is still no conclusive answer to these mysteries. However, the evidence does give us some clues as to what this culture was, and especially what its clothing was like.
The clothing of Teotihuacan culture
Thanks to the Teotihuacan mural painting, the first clues about how the men of this culture were dressed.
These murals have been appearing in different excavations and are an important source of information about the people and environment of those who made them.
Like all Mesoamerican societies, Teotihuacan society was highly stratified and marked the differences of social position through dress and ornamentation.
The main material for making the Teotihuacan dresses was the fibers they extracted from the maguey or agave.
They came to use rudimentary looms and could experiment with other raw materials such as cotton, henequen and rabbit hair.
This predilection for organic and biodegradable materials explains why there is no vestige of the forms of dress of the time.
The polychromy was fundamental in the elaboration of the garments and dyed the threads with natural dyes and adorned them with multicolored feathers that combined to make layers, tunics, fans and even shields.
The men of the lower classes wore the maxtlatl or loincloth, which was used to cover the genitals and a entanglement, which was a cloth that was tied around the waist to cover the buttocks. They were barefoot and with their torso naked.
The women wore the traditional huipil with geometric motifs, a skirt and sandals or huaraches.
In the case of the priests, they added shirts or xicolli, adorned layers or tilmatli and masculine skirts or cueitl. All this adorned with large feather headdresses and other materials or leather helmets.
Military castes, as can be seen in the codices and murals, could be dressed in animal skins and wear a mask that mimicked the aggressive features of the jaguar, eagle, or coyote.
You can also see whole or tlahuiztli suits that were colored with designs and accompanied by caps with a cone shape.
A fundamental element for military clothing was the mirror disc, which consisted of a polished black stone that was tied in the back and that could add feathers to the circumference. This piece could be used as a shield.
An accessory that draws much attention to these warriors are the"serpentine blinders of Tlaloc". They consisted of circular structures that surrounded the eyes like modern eyeglasses. Other accessories used were bracelets, earmuffs and decorated huaraches.
To make the appearance much more fearsome, the warriors would grind their teeth, pierce the lobe and nasal septum, and shave their heads.
This detailed inventory of the military apparel shown in the murals of Teotihuacan is a clear example of the importance of the warrior elite for society.
While it was true that the city was founded as a sacred city, its rulers chose to institute themselves as warlords who subdued, invaded and conquered other territories and fiercely defended their lands.
This evolution not only affected the Teotihuacan culture. Other Mesoamerican civilizations also suffered the bellicose escalation that meant the change from a religious to a martial society.
References
- Ehecatl Quetzalcoatl (2013). "Prehispanic male clothing". Retrieved on June 2, 2017 at 4nahui.blogspot.mx.
- Ehecatl Quetzalcoatl (2013). "Old and Current Women's Clothing". Retrieved on June 2, 2017 at 4nahui.blogspot.mx.
- Florescano, Enrique (2009). "New image of the Teotihuacan State". Retrieved on June 03, 2017 in revistadelauniversidad.unam.mx.
- Weather Amerindian (2013). "Teotihuacan Warfare - 300 - 700 AD". Retrieved on June 03, 2017 at ancientamerindia.wordpress.com.
- Teotihuacán (2011). "Society". Retrieved on June 03, 2017 at culturateotihuacan.wordpress.com.