More on Jaina-Style Figurines

When I recently posted photos of Jaina-style figurines, I did not write an essay on the topic because the purpose of the post was to make photos available for study and education, not to present the results of my research on the subject.

By chance, however, I came upon a new and interesting article on these figurines. Here is the citation in case you want to know more about them:

McVicker, Donald (2012). Figurines are us? The Social Organization of Jaina Island, Campeche, Mexico. Ancient Mesoamerica Volume 23, No. 2, pp. 211-234. doi:10.1017/S0956536112000168

The essay provides a thorough review of the study of Jaina figurines, including information about the collection in the National Museum, where I took most of my photos. McVicker also provides new information and interpretations. I don't agree with all his conclusions, but it's worth a read if you're interested in the subject.

In view of the discussion in the article, I have to admit that my captions on the photos now appear to be naive. At the very least, some of the figurines--or ones similar to them--have been interpreted differently by other scholars, in some cases, for example, as deities. So, I should add the caveats that the captions I supplied were intended merely to be descriptive, that other interpretations exist, and that a true analysis--which I do not claim to have performed--would require additional research, including close inspection of the originals.