The wandering « Leg of an Indian King ». The cultural biography of a friction idiophone now in the Pigorini Museum in Rome, Italy

The article presents new data on the history of a Mesoamerican musical instrument, which is a notched human bone used as a friction idiophone, today, held at the Pigorini Museum in Rome, Italy, where it is recorded as MNPE n. 4209. The documentary data allow for the reconstruction of the instrument’s cultural biography along a time span of almost five centuries. Collected in the Mixtec Kingdom of Tututepec (Oaxaca, Mexico) during the 16th century, it passed through different Italian collections before reaching its present location in Rome toward the end of the 19th century. The text also analyzes how in its long historical journey through different contexts and regimes of value, the notched bone generated diverse sets of discourses on cultural otherness. It is argued that this discursive agency of the object is due to its enduring coevalness, a quality that allows ancient objects to be always contemporary and meaningful to different cultural audiences.Cet article présente des données nouvelles sur l’histoire d’un instrument de musique mésoaméricain, un fémur humain à encoches, utilisé comme idiophone à friction, aujourd’hui conservé au musée Pigorini de Rome, sous le numéro d’inventaire MNPE n. 4029. Les données recueillies permettent de reconstituer la biographie culturelle de cet instrument sur près de cinq siècles. Cet objet fut collecté au xvie siècle dans le royaume mixtèque de Tututepec (Oaxaca, Mexico), et il est passé ensuite dans plusieurs collections italiennes avant d’atteindre l’endroit où il se trouve, à Rome, vers la fin du xixe siècle. L’article analyse également comment, au cours de son long voyage à travers différentes situations historiques et avec des régimes de valeur changeants, cet instrument de musique n’a cessé de susciter le développement de discours divers sur l’altérité culturelle. On avance aussi ici que l’agentivité discursive de l’objet est liée à sa « contemporanéité durable » (enduring coevalness), une qualité qui permet à des objets anciens de demeurer significatifs et actuels pour différents publics.Este trabajo presenta nuevos datos sobre la historia de un instrumento musical mesoamericano, un idiófono de fricción, hecho en un fémur humano, hoy conservado en el museo Pigorini de Roma, donde se registra con el número de inventario MNPE n. 4209. Los datos recopilados permiten reconstituir la biografía cultural del instrumento a lo largo de un lapso de casi cinco siglos. Obtenido en el reino mixteco de Tututepec (Oaxaca, México) en el siglo xvi, el instrumento ha pasado a través de varias colecciones italianas antes de llegar a su presente lugar en Roma hacia el final del siglo xix. El texto investiga también cómo en el transcurso de su largo viaje a través de diferentes contextos históricos y regímenes de valores, el hueso trabajado continuó estimulando una serie de discursos sobre la alteridad cultural. Proponemos además que la agencia del objeto se debe a su « contemporaneidad perdurable » (enduring coevalness), una cualidad que permite a los objetos antiguos de ser vistos siempre como contemporáneos y significativos aun frente a contextos culturales cambiantes

Un posible caso de sacrificio de niños del Clásico Tardío en el área zoque: la Cueva del Lazo (Chiapas)**Las investigaciones del Proyecto Arqueológico Río La Venta y los sucesivos trabajos de análisis y restauración de los materiales han sido posibles gracias al apoyo del Dipartimento di Paleografia e Medievistica de la Universidad de Bolonia (Italia), del Centro de Estudios Superiores sobre México y Centroamérica de la Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas (México) y de la Asociación Cultural de Exploraciones Geográficas La Venta (Italia). Un constante apoyo económico ha sido proporcionado por la Direzione Generale per la Promozione e la Cooperazione Culturale del Ministero degli Affari Esteri de la Repubblica Italiana. Además de las mencionadas instituciones, agradezco a Thomas A. Lee, Giuseppe Orefici, Elvina Pieri Orefici, Vera Tiesler y Andrea Cucina por haber discutido los temas tratados en el presente artículo. Giuseppe Orefici proporcionó amablemente las fotos originales de excavación, algunas de ellas aquí publicadas. Finalmente, un sincero agradecimiento a Lynneth Lowe, coordinadora del Centro de Estudios Mayas de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, quien en diciembre de 2010 nos invitó amablemente a participar al ciclo de conferencias “Arqueología de las Tierras Altas y la Depresión Central de Chiapas”, donde se presentó una primera versión del presente texto. Lynneth Lowe, Maricela Ayala Falcón y Claudia M. Báez proporcionaron una valiosa ayuda a lo largo del proceso editorial; finalmente, los comentarios de dos dictaminadores anónimos permitieron mejorar la calidad del texto. La responsabilidad de su contenido y de los eventuales errores es solamente del autor.

ResumenLa excavación de la Cueva del Lazo (Ocozocoautla, Chiapas), en el área zoque del oeste de Chiapas, sacó a la luz un contexto del Clásico Tardío compuesto por once entierros de niños asociados a una gran cantidad de materiales perecederos, entre ellos muchos textiles. Si bien el análisis físico­antropológico no ha detectado huellas que indiquen la causa de muerte de los infantes, la interpretación del contexto arqueológico sugiere que los 11 infantes pudieron haber sido objeto de una secuencia de actos de sacrificio.AbstractThe excavation of the Cueva del Lazo (Ocozocoautla, Chiapas), in the Zoque region of Western Chiapas, brought to light a Late Classic context composed by eleven child burials, associated with a huge amount of perishable materials, including textiles. Despite the fact that the bioanthropological analysis didn’t detected any evidence of violent death, the interpretation of the archaeological context suggest that the children could have been the object of a sequence of sacrificial acts

The wind god and the descente of the Tzitzimitl: new insights on the iconography and provenance of the mosaic-encrusted bird head at the Friedenstein palace gotha, Germany

"The Friedenstein Palace in Gotha, Germany, holds a Late Postclassic Mesoamerican bird head sculpture made of wood encrusted with precious stone and shell mosaic. Although known since the nineteenth century, scholars have not given the artifact the attention it deserves. Based on observations made during a thorough in situ inspection, we provide a detailed description of the object, stressing both technological and aesthetic aspects, documented through new photos and reconstructive drawings prepared by Nicolas Latsanopoulos. Then, we offer an interpretation of the artifact's iconography, demonstrating it should be understood as a representation of the Wind God in its manifestation as a Tzitzimitl, a category of deities associated with creation and destruction; an aspect made evident in the small figure adorning the avian forehead. We finally reconstruct the collection history of the object, suggesting that the Giustiniani family, a prominent Roman noble family renowned for its collecting activities, once owned the sculpture; in turn, this proposal might imply that the Dominican friar Domingo de Betanzos brought the mosaic to Italy in 1532 and that it might be originally from the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley or, more broadly, from the south-central area of the modern state of Puebla."El Palacio Friedenstein en Gotha, Alemania, alberga una escultura Mesoamericana del Posclásico Tardío en forma de cabeza de ave. Hecha de madera, está incrustada con mosaicos de piedras preciosas y conchas. Aunque conocida desde el siglo XIX, los estudiosos no le han dado al artefacto la atención que merece. Basándonos en observaciones realizadas durante una inspección exhaustiva in situ, proporcionamos una descripción detallada del objeto, enfatizando tanto los aspectos tecnológicos como los estéticos, documentados a través de nuevas fotos y dibujos reconstructivos preparados por Nicolas Latsanopoulos. Luego, ofrecemos una interpretación de la iconografía del artefacto, demostrando que debe entenderse como una representación del Dios del Viento en su manifestación como Tzitzimitl, una categoría de deidades asociadas a la creación y la destrucción; aspecto que se evidencia en la pequeña figura que adorna la frente del ave. Finalmente, reconstruimos la historia de la colección del objeto, sugiriendo que la familia Giustiniani, una prominente familia noble romana reconocida por sus actividades de coleccionismo, alguna vez poseyó la escultura; a su vez, esta propuesta podría implicar que el fraile dominico Domingo de Betanzos llevó el mosaico a Italia en 1532 y que podría ser originario del Valle de Puebla-Tlaxcala o, más ampliamente, de la zona centro-sur del estado moderno de Puebla

La vitalità della casa. Il modello delle sociétés à maisons nella riflessione antropologica e archeologica e la sua applicazione al contesto mesoamericano

Around the mid of the Seventies, Claude Lévi-Strauss proposed the notion of sociétés à maisons to clarify some aspects of the social organization of the Kwakiutl that had caused problems to Franz Boas. Lévi-Strauss’ proposal, even if formulated in a highly synthetic manner, arose a lively debate, witnessed by a series of volumes and articles. This article provides a synthesis of Lévi-Strauss’ proposal and of the debate it caused among anthropologists and archaeologists. In the final part, the text focuses on the application of the notion of sociétés à maisons to Mesoamerican societies, also proposing a possible application in the specific context of the city of Teotihuacan.Attorno alla metà degli anni ’70 Claude Lévi-Strauss formulò la nozione di sociétés à maisons al fine di spiegare le difficoltà incontrate da Franz Boas nella descrizione della società kwakiutl. La proposta di Lévi-Strauss, per quanto estremamente sintetica, ha dato vita a un intenso dibattito, testimoniato da una serie di volumi e articoli pubblicati nei decenni successivi. Nel presente testo si fornisce una sintesi della proposta lévi-straussiana e del dibattito a cui ha dato vita tra antropologi e archeologi. Nella parte finale ci si concentra sull’applicazione della nozione di sociétés à maisons nel contesto mesoamericano, proponendo anche una sua applicazione allo specifico contesto della città di Teotihuacan

La memoria fiorita. Scrittura, memoria e materialita’ del colore nell’antica Mesoamerica

The paper presents a cultural-historical interpretation of the data deriving from scientific analyses carried by the mobile laboratory MOLAB (SMAArt, University of Perugia-CNR) carried out on Mesoamerican manuscripts, providing hints on pictorial techniques and on the relationships between technological traditions and linguistic, stylistic and thematic issues. Comparing different data, we will explore the emic perception of the manuscripts’ materiality, linking the use of organic dyes obtained from flowers with indigenous notions about writing, chanting, brilliance and flowers’ colour.The paper presents a cultural-historical interpretation of the data deriving from scientific analyses carried by the mobile laboratory MOLAB (SMAArt, University of Perugia-CNR) carried out on Mesoamerican manuscripts, providing hints on pictorial techniques and on the relationships between technological traditions and linguistic, stylistic and thematic issues. Comparing different data, we will explore the emic perception of the manuscripts’ materiality, linking the use of organic dyes obtained from flowers with indigenous notions about writing, chanting, brilliance and flowers’ colour.Il contributo presenta un’interpretazione storico culturale dei dati derivanti da analisi scientifiche che il laboratorio mobile MOLAB (SMAArt, Università di Perugia-CNR) ha condotto su manoscritti mesoamericani fornendo indicazioni su tecniche pittoriche e sul rapporto tra tradizioni tecnologiche precoloniali e aspetti di carattere linguistico, stilistico e tematico. In questa sede, comparando dati di ordine diverso, si esplorerà invece la possibile percezione emica della materialità dei manoscritti, indagando in particolare il nesso esistente tra l’uso di coloranti organici derivanti da fiori e alcune nozioni indigene relative a scrittura, canto, brillantezza e cromatismi floreali.The paper presents a cultural-historical interpretation of the data deriving from scientific analyses carried by the mobile laboratory MOLAB (SMAArt, University of Perugia-CNR) carried out on Mesoamerican manuscripts, providing hints on pictorial techniques and on the relationships between technological traditions and linguistic, stylistic and thematic issues. Comparing different data, we will explore the emic perception of the manuscripts’ materiality, linking the use of organic dyes obtained from flowers with indigenous notions about writing, chanting, brilliance and flowers’ colour

Matos Moctezuma Eduardo, Messico. La scoperta del passato

Matos Moctezuma Eduardo, Messico. La scoperta del passato, (Corpus Precolombiano, Jaca Book, Milano, 2010, 386 pp. ISBN 9788816604360)di Davide Domenic

Per Bocca d'altri. Indios, gesuiti e spagnoli in due documenti segreti sul Perů del XVII secolo

Il volume contiene una serie di testi concernenti lo studio dei Documenti Miccinelli, una serie di manoscritti relativi alla storia del Perù coloniale e alla figura del gesuita Blas Valera

Conjunctivally Applied BDNF Protects Photoreceptors from Light-Induced Damage

Purpose: To test whether the topical eye treatment with BDNF prevents the effects of continuous light exposure (LE) in the albino rat retina. Methods: Two groups of albino rats were used. The first group of rats received an intraocular injection of BDNF (2 lL, 1 lg/lL) before LE, while the second group was treated with one single drop of BDNF (10 lL, 12 lg/lL) dissolved in different types of solutions (physiological solution, the polysaccharide fraction of Tamarind gum, TSP, and sodium carboxy methyl cellulose), at the level of conjunctival fornix before LE. The level of BDNF in the retina and optic nerve was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We recorded the flash electroretinogram (fERG) in dark adapted rats 1 week after LE. At the end of the recording session, the retinas were removed and labeled so that the number of photoreceptors nuclear rows and thickness of the outer nuclear layer was analyzed. Results: Intravitreal injection of BDNF before LE prevented fERG impairment. Different ophthalmic preparations were used for topical eye application; the TSP resulted the most suitable vehicle to increase BDNF level in the retina and optic nerve. Topical eye application with BDNF/TSP before LE partially preserved both fERG response and photoreceptors. Conclusions: Topical eye treatment with BDNF represents a suitable, noninvasive tool to increase the retinal content of BDNF up to a level capable of exerting neuroprotection toward photoreceptors injured by prolonged LE. Translational Relevance: A collyrium containing BDNF may serve as an effective, clinically translational treatment against retinal degeneration

Death Notices-Joerg Haeberli, Laura Laurencich Minelli, Ursula Wagner, Nancy Ellen Kirkhuff Porter, Billie Jean Isbell, Lynn Ann Meisch, & Bernard While Bell Jr.

This consists of short biographies of deceased scholars Joerg Haeberli, Laura Laurencich Minelli, Ursula Wagner, Nancy Ellen Kirkhuff Porter, Billie Jean Isbell, Lynn Ann Meisch, and Bernard White Bell Jr