Standing female figure

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONThis is a ceramic Jama-Coaque figure of a standing woman.WHERE WAS IT MADE?This figure was made in the coastal region of what is now Ecuador.HOW WAS IT MADE?This figure was likely made in a mold, a method that allowed potters to make multiple copies of one figure. After making the initial form, the piece could be customized with color, incised decorations, and other added elements.Before firing the figure in a pit, it was colored with slip, a mixture of clay and water, and then burnished on the face and upper body.HOW WAS IT USED?The original function of archaeological figurines found in museum collections is uncertain. Today archeologists carefully record information about the associations between artifacts and the circumstances of their burial as they are unearthed, and we can draw many conclusions about object function. However, very few of the archaeological objects found in museums today were excavated in a careful, scientific manner, so we have fewer clues about their past associations and function.A wide range of people and objects are shown in pre-Columbian pottery. From burials, we know that the variety of head shapes, jewelry, and clothing styles reflect the actual appearance of these prehistoric people. Because figurines represent many life stages and ordinary human activities, they probably served to exemplify the usual norms of behavior, to serve as guidelines or rules to help socialize people and integrate them into society. Although obviously decorative, figurines could also have been used to make offerings to supernatural powers, to serve as good luck charms, or to accompany the dead as grave goods.WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS?Notice the elaborate headdress and ear and neck ornaments on this figure. The wealth of detail found on figures such as this one gives much information about the Jama-Coaque dress and adornment. Designs found on the bodies of the figures may represent patterned clothing, tattoos, or body painting; the popularity of the latter is evidenced by an abundance of cylindrical roller stamps (stamp seals) that were used to apply painted decoration to a variety of surfaces. To see an example of a Jama-Coaque stamp seal in the Johnson Museum’s collection, search for object number 2006.070.326 in the keyword search box.The exaggerated shapes and size of the headdresses on figures such as this one suggest that cranial deformation, the intentional manipulation of head shape, was widely practiced, and may have served as a marker of social affiliation.To see complete Jama-Coaque figures in the Johnson Museum’s collection, search for object numbers 2006.070.083, 2006.070.087, 2006.070.090 and 2006.070.093 in the keyword search box.ABOUT THE JAMA-COAQUE CULTURE:The Jama-Coaque culture flourished in the semi-arid area between the Cabo de San Franscisco and the Bahía de Caráquez on the coast of Ecuador. The Jama-Coaque people lived in a series of small urban centers, and were organized into one or more chiefdoms, probably led by religious leaders. Their economy relied on a combination of farming and fishing. The artistic achievements of these people were of very high order; their ceramic human figures are expressive and individualized, with people often portrayed in naturalistic positions, engaged in actions and movement whose charm still resonates across the centuries. The Jama-Coaque culture shares many characteristics with the neighboring Regional Development Period (500 BC-AD 500) cultures of Bahía, Guangala, and La Tolita, all of which are local successors to the earlier, more widespread Chorrera cultural horizon.