IRON-ORE MIRRORS

Among the vast universe of objects made by pre-Hispanic artisans, mirrors are definitely one of the objects that demand more attention, in part for their aesthetics, but more for the skills needed to manufacture them (especially if we take into account that metal tools were not worked profusely in Mesoamerica). Depending on the period, the most common materials used in the manufacture of these mirrors were hematite (Preclassic period), pyrite (Classic period), and obsidian (Postclassic period) (Ekholm 1973; Gallaga 2001, 2009; Pereira 2008). In the particular case of the hematite (Fe 2 O 3 ; the name derives from the Greek for “blood”) is a mineral found in rhombohedral crystals, and represents the most common source of the world’s iron and steel. It is also frequently the basis of ocher pigments employed in the creation of red paint (Blainey 2007: 167–168; Hurlbut and Sharp 1998: 177–178). Hematite occurs with two distinctive appearances: at times it is compact and possesses a black or grayish black color and brilliant metallic luster, but much of the hematite worked as an ore is loose and earthy in form and red in color (Blainey 2007: 167–168). Although, hematite has a metallic luster and provides a good reflection, it is more unstable than pyrite. We know that in China, around AD 500, they used silver-mercury amalgams to make mirrors, but there is not enough evidence to suggest the use of such amalgams in mirrors in Mesoamerica, although mercury was known there. Glistening, shiny, liquid mercury, or “quicksilver,” has been recorded from at least six different ancient Maya sites, in amounts ranging from 90 to over 600 g, and associated with ritual caches or elite burials containing jade, cinnabar, pearl, shell, bone, and ceramic remains (Austin 1994: Table 2). Though at least one of these caches dates to the Late Preclassic period, all other occurrences are from the Classic period (AD 250–900) (Healy and Blainey 2011: 241, footnote 8).

In this chapter, the research focuses on pyrite-mosaic mirrors, which in general consisted of four basic elements: base, adhesive layer, pyrite plaques, and perforations or suspension holes (see chapter 1 and figure 1.1) .Researchers concur that the person-hours needed to produce at least one of these artifacts must be high, as the mirror were some of the most complex items made by pre-Hispanic artisans (Blainey 2007, Di Peso 1974; Furst 1966; Gallaga 2001; Kidder et al. 1946; Pereira 2008; Smith and Kidder 1951; Woodward 1941; Zamora 2002a, 2002b). The comments of Smith and Kidder (1951: 44) on the mirrors excavated from the site of Nebaj, Guatemala, embody the best observations of these materials:

These objects were marvels of painstaking craftsmanship. Much time must have been required to produce their remarkably even-surfaced stone backings, in most cases so almost perfectly circular as to suggest the use of some compass-like device. But this was as nothing compared to the work of cutting and grinding to exactly equal thickness, and of beveling for accurate edge-to-edge fit, the many polygonal plates of refractory pyrite crystals with which the face of each was incrusted. One hesitates to guess at the amount of labor that went into the making of even one such plaque. (Smith and Kidder 1951: 44)

For their material characteristics and the presumably magical-religious values they had, mirrors were considered by Kirchhoff (1943) as one of the characteristic elements for defining the Mesoamerican region.

In his investigation of these objects in the Maya area, Blainey (2007) determined that about 63% of iron-ore mirrors from the Maya region are related to power or religious contexts, whereas other contexts are associated with fills or surface collections in plazas or in caves.1 Similar behavior is seen in the many pyrite mirrors (of clear Mesoamerican manufacture) located in archaeological contexts in a completely different region from the Maya; in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States these objects were being used in similar ways as in Mesoamerica, that is, in a very close relationship with the local spheres of power and magical-religious structures (Gallaga 2001, 2009). With respect to their distribution, pyrite mirrors must have enjoyed wide demand as luxury, magical-religious, or decorative status-markers, since they are located in regions stretching from the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico through Mesoamerica and Central America to Peru (Blainey 2007; Di Peso 1974; Furst 1966; Gallaga 2001, 2009, Gladwin et al. 1938; Kidder et al. 1946; Lothrop 1937; Pereira 2008; Smith and Kidder 1951; Woodward 1941; Zamora 2002a, 2002b).

Mirrors had many more features in ancient times than the narrow vanity function they serve today. In recent decades, a consensus has been reached that pyrite mirrors had been used mainly for ritual divination and magical-civic activities, such as communicating with the ancestors, serving as portals to alternate realities, to start fires or reflect light beams, as part of clothing, or as social symbols or prestige objects used in ceremonies (Blainey 2007; Ekholm 1945; Gallaga 2001, 2009; Pereira 2008; Taube 1992; Zamora 2002a; see also chapter 11, present volume).

Clearly it required a huge investment in person-hours to prepare one of these objects, since it demanded very specific materials and skilled artisans, most likely under the supervision of elite members. It is not hard to imagine that the acquisition and use of these items should have been restricted to highly select social sectors. The representations of persons carrying or having one of these mirrors are limited to military roles, rulers, ambassadors, pochtecas, and other elites, or sometimes slaves or servants who hold them for their masters.