Power, Propaganda, and Persuasion in Mesoamerican Art

Art has the power to present new perspectives, challenge old ideas, and highlight injustice. At other times, art reaffirms shared views and lifeways. This is just as true today as it was in the past. This online exhibit highlights how in Mesoamerica—a geographic and cultural zone that includes Belize, Guatemala and parts of Mexico, Honduras, and El Salvador—rulers used art in these ways.

Mesoamerican rulers were responsible for keeping order in the cosmic and human realms. They used art to persuade followers of their right to govern by reinforcing shared ideas. At other times, they controlled the production and distribution of art to manage public opinion more directly. In other words, they used it as propaganda tool.

Below you will find art that speaks to the role of power, propaganda, and persuasion in validating rulership from the cultures of West Mexico, the Maya, and Mexica (Aztec).

One thing these cultures shared was the absence of depictions of individual leaders. Community seems to have been emphasized over individuality. In this region works of art may have been used as persuasive devices to create and reaffirm community connections.

Religion was a major avenue used to build and reinforce community connections in West Mexico. The seven-lobed abstract shape in the center of this earthenware bowl may symbolize a cave.

The shared association of caves with life and death would have created links among the people of West Mexico and beyond.

A practice several West Mexican cultures shared was the creation of shaft tombs. These human-made underground chambers consisted of long shafts that ended in open spaces. Many individuals were placed within a single tomb. They were accompanied by objects such as earthenware figures and vessels. Unfortunately, most shaft tomb objects in museums come from looted tombs making it hard to understand connections between specific objects and tombs.

Early Maya art focused on deities who were worshiped during community gatherings at city centers. Starting around 100 BC, however, portraits of specific rulers and the royal court appeared on portable and immobile art.

Through the written record, the Maya preserved the names of individual kings, queens, and their accomplishments. Maya writing that has survived focuses on religion and the life of the royal court. This suggests that the royal court controlled act of writing.

Such items rarely appear among the public, indicating elite control over specific types of art. These controls and biases indicate that Maya nobles used art as a propaganda tool, serving to validate rulers’ power and authority.

Jaguars have long been admired for their agility, intelligence, and prowess as the apex predators of the tropical forest, so it is not surprising that rulers sought to associate themselves with the jaguar’s attributes. They wore jaguar pelts and adorned thrones and war banners with them. They also ordered objects to be decorated with jaguar motifs.

Chocolate is made from cacao, a plant native to Mesoamerica. The Maya made a cacao beverage they consumed during ceremonies that solidified royals’ relationships within and between major centers. Since it was rare, the Maya elite class controlled its consumption.

The Maya noble class also restricted access to raw materials, especially those that were rare or held special significance. Marine shell and jade are prime examples of these kinds of materials.

Marine shell was generally considered a rare material, making it highly valued by the Maya. It represented a watery place, specifically the Maya Underworld, where one goes after death before transitioning into a revered ancestor.

In Maya art, individuals who wear deer headdresses most often include hunters, warriors, and ballplayers, all of which hold special status due to their unique skills. The portly male portrayed in this figurine, however, does not possess the physique or adornments typical of such individuals, who are usually depicted with spears, war banners, or ballgame gear.

The figure may instead represent a rare depiction of an ajk’uhuun, a priest or guardian responsible for performing religious acts and conducting scribal duties.

Ceremonies performed by these priests/guardians supported efforts to maintain order within the cosmos by appeasing deities. Their assumed writing and reading skills would have aided rulers in many ways, one of which was to immortalize and praise the feats of kings and queens.

The individual portrayed here is unknown, but they wear earrings shaped like those commonly worn by Maya royalty and deities. The segmented band across the forehead acted as support for a missing headdress. Information to identify this individual and their role in Maya society would have been captured within details of the headdress.

The supreme leader of the empire was the Huey Tlatoani, who lived in Tenochtitlan. The depiction of rulers in Mexica art is rare, with less than a dozen known examples. This may have been due to indirect governance strategies. Once a city was conquered and folded into the Mexica empire, the local ruler (tlatoani) was allowed to stay in place so long as tax and tribute was paid to senior rulers, especially the Huey Tlatoani.

Running alongside the state economy of tax and tribute was a market economy, in which most objects deemed art today were purchased. Participation in this system was based on purchasing power and resulted in nobles and commoners consuming similar types of objects. Only a few objects and raw materials were restricted for use by the noble class Thus, art in the Mexica empire worked as a persuasive device to build and maintain local and long-distance alliances.

Throughout Mesoamerica, corn deities were worshipped for the sustenance they offered and as symbols of fertility. During the dry season, the festival Huey Tozoztli was held in honor of Chicomecoatl. Women dressed as the corn goddess would bless corn seeds for the upcoming planting season. Such events were likely sponsored by Mexica nobles and would have reinforced the important contribution of the general populace through their participation in the ceremony.

Mexica temples were places of public and private worship. Rulers would ascend the central staircase wearing their finest regalia to perform ceremonies at the top of the temple stairs in view of the public. Private ceremonies took place within the temples. The restricted access to this space reinforced the special position and abilities of rulers.

An important way rulers retained their status was to hold feasts that included elaborate meals, entertainment, and gift-giving. These events displayed the wealth that Mexica rulers amassed through the tribute system and developed social or political debts with the guests.

Types of food consumed during feasts included meat stews, tamales, tortillas, a chocolate drink, and pulque (a fermented beverage made from the sap of the maguey plant). From rulers to commoners, the same type of vessels for feasts. There are only a few ceramic types that are associated exclusively with elites.

This mask possibly was made by Mixtec artisans from the Valley of Oaxaca, an area famous for the production of turquoise mosaics. Turquoise was available in a few areas within Mesoamerica and was more common in the American Southwest. Both Mixtec and Mexica rulers would have relied on their established political networks to obtain the Southwestern turquoise. The exclusion of turquoise objects from households of the general populace demonstrates controls over production and/or distribution.

Whether the rulers of West Mexican, Maya, and Mexica societies relied on the art of persuasion to reinforce shared ideas or controlled art to manage its message their goals were the same - to lead and unite people. The rulers within each culture however used different approaches to meet these goals, demonstrating the interplay between art and various governing strategies.