Cleveland Museum of Art

Miniature Metate

Date

700–1000

Medium

stone

Culture

Central Mexico, Xochicalco?, Classic Period

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This miniature grinding stone, decorated on the underside, was made during an era of extensive interregional contacts and artistic influences. The bar and four dots below the serpent represent the number nine, executed in the style of Xochicalco, in Morelos. The rattlesnake above resembles contemporary carvings from Veracruz, to the east. Possibly "9 Rattlesnake" was the name of an individual, or a date in the poorly understood Xochicalco calendar.

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