Stone figurine or pendant. Postclassic period, AD 1000–1521. Tamazulapan, Oaxaca, Mexico. Latin American Archaeology, Winter Collection. UMMAA 5634.

In the Postclassic period of Oaxaca, Mexico, someone may have worn this small stone figurine as a pendant. Following the collapse of the Classic state of Monte Alban around AD 700, the Mixteca Alta region was dominated by a number of competing city-states. Small, mass-produced items like this were probably associated with activities of non-elites. This figurine was collected in the Valley of Tmazaulapan, in the Mixteca Alta region of highland Oaxaca. Unfortunately, it lacks precise provenience information that would allow researchers to determine its use and context.

Back to Day 149 or continue to Day 151.

In honor of the University of Michigan’s 2017 bicentennial, we are celebrating the remarkable archaeological and ethnographic collections and rich legacy of research and teaching at the Museum of Anthropological Archaeology by posting one entry a day for 200 days. The entries will highlight objects from the collections, museum personalities, and UMMAA expeditions. The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology is also posting each day for 200 days on Twitter and Facebook (follow along at #KMA200). After the last post, an exhibition on two centuries of archaeology at U-M opens at the Kelsey. Visit the exhibit—a joint project of the UMMAA and the Kelsey—from October 18, 2017 to May 27, 2018.