Analysis Of The Rock Art Feline Painting In Cueva De La Malinche, Hidalgo, Mexico

American Indian Rock Art, Volume 35, American Rock Art Research Association, 2009, pp. 171-183. James D. Keyser, David Kaiser, George Poetschat, and Michael W. Taylor, Editors.

Analysis Of The Rock Art Feline

Painting In Cueva De La Malinche,

Hidalgo, Mexico

Daniel Herrera Maldonado

This work presents the analysis of a rock painting that apparently represents a feline. The

pictograph is one of several groups of motifs in the “Cueva de La Malinche” rock shelter, which is

located near La Yerbabuena, State of Hidalgo, Mexico. The paper presents a first approach to the

subject matter, its chronological position and the cultural affiliation of the motif based on a

comparative analysis with the iconography of the feline in Mesoamerica and on the features of

material culture in the Metztitlan area. This analysis allows us to approach an interpretation of

the picture’s meaning.

he Cueva de La Malinche is located on the edge of the

large basalt plateau escarpments on the limits of the Vega

de Metztitlan ravine at the northwest of the State of

Hidalgo, Mexico, near La Yerbabuena in the municipality of

Metzquititlan. The difference in elevation is one of the factors that

determine the diversity in the existing types of vegetation at this

location, generating a stark contrast between the plants living in

the humid climate at the bottom of the ravine and the ones that are

found on the edge of the dry plateau (Álvarez and Cassiano

1994:151).

Xerophilic vegetation is the most common in the area, and it

includes plants such as mesquite, organ pipe cactus, bilberry

cactus, yucca, prickly pear and cholla. An arid and semi-arid

Daniel Herrera

Maldonado

Escuela Nacional de

Antropología e Historia,

México, D.F.

Translated by

Pilar Villela

T

Analysis Of The Rock Art Feline Painting In Cueva De La Malinche, Hidalgo, Mexico

172

climate is predominant in the area, with a

yearly precipitation of 450 mm and an average

temperature of 20° C (Cassiano 1998:25-26).

The differential erosion in the higher part

of the escarpments has formed several rock

shelters that have been used as expressive

spaces for rock art. The most important of

these shelters are: El Mitote, Abrigo

Derrumbado, and Cueva de La Malinche.

As a matter of fact, the latter is formed by

two different-sized south-facing shelters that

offer the observer a panoramic view of the

Santiago river valley (Figure 1). The first

faces eastward and measures 25x15x5 meters.

The smaller one is at the west (Figure 2), and

measures 5x5x3 meters (Cassiano 1998:29).

THE IMAGE OF THE FELINE

IN THE ROCK ART OF THE CUEVA DE

LA MALINCHE

A first impression of the rock art at La

Malinche allows us to recognize the presence

of several styles and themes. There are

already general descriptions of these paintings

which use color as the main trait to be

considered for their classification (Ochoa1973;

Vázquez 2001:101-109). Nevertheless, these

Figure 1. View of Vega de Metztitlan from Cueva de La Malinche.

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173

Figure 2. View of west rockshelter in Cueva de La Malinche.

descriptions are incomplete until a more

inclusive and systematic record and analysis of

this image and others in the area is undertaken.

In general, it is possible to establish the

importance that white and red zoomorphs,

anthropomorphs, geometric designs, and hand

prints have for this site (Figure 3-5). The red

figures of the so-called schematic anthropo-

morphic motifs (Figure 6) are the most notable

since they have been attributed to the

prehistoric occupation period because of the

abstraction of their shapes and their

association with materials of the Clovis,

Plainview, Flacco, Gower projectile point

types; examples of which have been collected

from the slopes near the shelters (Cassiano

1998:29, 40; Vázquez 2001:102). Black

paintings are also found at this site, but in a

Figure 3. White quadruped figure at east

rockshelter.


174

Figure 4. White hand prints at east rockshelter.

Figure 5. Red paintings of quadruped figures at

east rockshelter.

Figure 6. Schematic anthropomorph in red, west

rockshelter.

Figure 7. Black painted feline at Cueva de La

Malinche. DStretch enhancement. Alberto Vázquez

photograph taken in 1994.

smaller proportion. The representation of the

feline that interests us is one of them (Figure

7). Finally, as a result of the inspection of the

images for this work, we have also identified

some petroglyphs that had not been mentioned

in previous studies.

The following description of the feline is

based on Miguel Messmacher’s scheme (1981)

for rock art recording and analysis.

Within the set of motifs in the site, the

feline is located in the smaller shelter, and it is

the last recorded panel at the extreme western

side of the place. The rock support is a fine

grain non-vesiculated basalt. The texture of

the surface is quite smooth, as a result of the

exfoliation it has undergone because of the

contrasts in temperature changes.

As already stated, the technique used is a

black pigment painting. Compared with other

motifs, the tracing is extremely fine and

uniform, two or three millimeters in width.

The paint was quite watery which made

adherence to the shelter wall easier and left no

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175

Figure 8. Production techniques used in the

feline: (a) single tracing; (b) solid colors in the

claws; (c) half tones in the nose. DStretch

enhancement.

blank spaces in the tracing in spite of

unavoidable imperfections of the rock which

are common for example when charcoal is

being used as a pigment (Figure 8). These

elements allow the inference that a very thin

instrument was used. These techniques all

resemble those used in pottery decoration and

in the elaboration of some codices. In general,

shapes are executed with a single tracing

(Figure 8a); in few cases, such as in the eyes

and claws, solid colors are used to fill in the

designs (Figure 8b). Only in the nose are a

kind of half tones applied to establish a

difference between the nostrils and the rest of

the snout (Figure 8c). The image measures

71x55 centimeters and it is a sideways view

where all four legs are depicted.

The presence of the claws, the long tail

which extends over the back, the pointed ears

and the designs inside the animal’s body

which seem to be spots, leads me to conclude

that it is a representation of a feline (Figure 9).

Those spots could refer to the jaguar (Pantera

onca), but also could identify a wildcat (Lynx

rufus), margay (Leopardus wiedii), or an

ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). Hanging from

one of the feline ears there is plantlike element

(Figure 9a). I have not identified the species

yet. Although it is not very clear, the end of

its tail seems to form the head of some other

animal, perhaps a bird or a snake (Figure 9b).

The genitals of the animal can be distinguished

at the back of the figure.

There are some red motifs of the so-called

schematic anthropomorph type associated with

the feline. The legs, arms and body of these

motifs are made of one single uneven stroke of

about 7 or 8 millimeters wide, and they are

concentrated on the upper left part of the


176

Figure 9. Elements of the feline: (a) plantlike element; (b) probable snake or bird head; (c)

cadaverous jaw.

feline, near its head. Nevertheless the most

important relation is the one between the feline

and a superimposing red schematic

anthropomorph. Unlike the previous motifs, it

is larger than the animal and it almost covers

the width of the feline’s body. It is also made

with a different technique than the one used

for the small anthropomorphs and the feline.

The strokes are more uneven and a lot thicker,

about one centimeter wide. The image has

been made by outlining each shape with a

single stroke and only the head is painted with

solid colors. Some upward perpendicular lines

come out of the head (Figure 10). This

situation makes it unlikely that the schematic

anthropomorphic motifs are as old as previous

authors have thought.

CULTURAL AFFILIATION AND

CHRONOLOGICAL POSITION

The methodology used to determine the

cultural affiliation and chronological position

of the feline is Carlo Ginzburg’s indexical

paradigm. Following this approach

comparisons were based on easy to overlook

details, those that are the less liable to present

external influence, such as the shape of the

ears, mouth, spots, claws, and teeth, as well as

other kinds of strokes (Ginzburg 2003:95).

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177

Figure 10. The feline is superimposed by a schematic anthropomorph, a circle and other unidentifiable

traces painted in red. DStretch enhancement. Alberto Vázquez photograph.

The indexical paradigm points to these

unconscious details as a way to determine the

authorship of unsigned nineteenth century

European paintings. Certainly, this kind of

details is the one that has better survived

destruction, oblivion and deterioration, and

reflect authorship more faithfully (Ginzburg

2003:99-101).

When comparing these features with the

iconography of the feline in central

Mesoamerica, the most obvious result was the

lack of similarities that would help to

contextualize the image (see e.g. Cobos 2005;

Grove 1970:Figure 11, Photograph 28; Kubler

1970; Olivier 2005; Ruiz et al. 2006:Figures 1,

10-12, 14; Villaseñor 2006:Figure 3). The

motif seemed to be made in a very peculiar

way, in a style that is probably unique to the

area considered in this study.

Aware of the difficulties arising from this

comparison, the other path to follow was to

concentrate on the particular forms of material

culture in the area. A large part of the

information that provided the first cultural

sequence comes from the work of the Vega de

Metztitlan Project, but given the complexity


178

and width of the research required for a study

of this region, these initial results should be

confirmed and developed in the light of new

research.

Human presence was first identified at the

end of the Pleistocene and the beginning of the

Holocene. This first period can be divided in

to three phases: the first at the end of the

Pleistocene around 11,000-10,000 years ago;

the second one covers the beginning of the

Holocene, 10,000-8,000 years ago, and the

third one between 8,000-6,000 years ago,

corresponds to the Middle Holocene (Cassiano

1998:36).

The limits between the first period and the

second one are ambiguous. A lack of evidence

in the archeological record —not because it

does not exist but because there has been a

lack of systematic work— has created one of

the two large unaccounted for gaps in the

chronology of the area.

It is not until the Epiclassic period (600-

1100 AD) that indicators of human activity are

clear again (Vázquez 2001:128). Within the

chronology of the center of Mexico, this time

is marked by the consolidation of emerging

states that fought to gain the economical,

political, and military control once held by the

then collapsed large city of Teotihuacán. One

of the clearest indicators of these changes is

the Coyotlatelco ceramic complex. In the

Metztitlan area, there are at least three sites

with monumental architecture where this

ceramic can be found on the surface (Vázquez

2001:129,134).

The transition to a final phase in the Late

Postclassic period (1300-1521 AD) is

obscured by the second gap in the cultural

sequence. During this period the so-called

Señorío de Metztitlan was consolidated as an

independent territorial entity in spite of the

military pressure of the Mexica Empire in

central Mexico (Vázquez 2001:142).

Historical sources highlight its multi-ethnic

quality with the presence of Otomíes, Nahuas,

Pames, and of Huastecos and Tepehuas on its

borders (Álvarez 2007:78; Vázquez 2001:143-

144).

The Metztitlan ceramic complex is an

important chronological referent for that

period, and some items belonging to it have

been identified on the slope of the Cueva de

La Malinche (Cassiano 1998:30; Vázquez

2001:117).

Interestingly enough, the studies of the

local production of Metztitlan pottery

encountered the same trouble as the one I had

with the style of the jaguar: it belonged to a

very peculiar typology that could not be

compared to those of the surrounding areas,

and at first it was very difficult to establish the

relative chronological criteria to be used

(Álvarez and Cassiano 1994:155).

Black/white and polychrome Metztitlan

types are the most ornamented kinds (Figure

11). The black/white type presents a range of

white to cream-colored pastes decorated with

Figure 11. Examples of Metztitlan black/white

pottery. Alberto Vázquez photograph.

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179

black geometric patterns, while the patterns on

the polychrome type also include burgundy

and orange (Álvarez 2007:82-100; Álvarez

and Cassiano 1997:230-231; Vázquez

2001:150-159).

Even if we only had access to a small

iconographic set of this ceramic, we could

perceive certain similarities with the formal

aspects of the feline. Both styles share the

same predominant use of S-shaped designs

accompanied by dots; and while the ceramic

presents horizontal frames on the edge of the

mouth of the vases (Figure 11), they are also

present in the feline, mostly in the inferior part

of the first leg, the one closest to the head, but

also distributed in other parts of its body. The

feline and the ceramics also share the design

motif of a circle with a dot in the middle.

So far there is no documentation of more

naturalistic representations in pottery, only

some plantlike elements and transversally cut

sea-shells (Álvarez 2007:85). Nevertheless

there is one unusual case, a figurine

representing a quadruped whose body is

ornamented with wavy black lines (Vázquez

2001:Figure 34). Even if this pattern is

different from the spots in the rock art motif,

the formal intention of filling in the figure with

these designs is reminiscent of the formal

construction of the feline.

But the most evident similarity between

the two styles is in the technique that was used

to make the paintings. Note that, as in the rock

art image, the patterns on the ceramic vessels

are made from thin strokes measuring no more

than 2 or 3 millimeters wide. They are also

quite uniform, as they could only be if made

with a very fluid ink that could deeply

impregnate the surface, as it did in the case of

the feline. All of this allows us to infer that

the same kind of instrument was used for

making the patterns on the ceramic and the

rock art image.1 This similarity in technique

and iconography shows that they belong to the

same pictorial tradition, one that developed

during the Late Postclassic period as it is

documented by pottery. In turn, this frame of

reference will allow us to locate the moment in

which the feline was created in that period of

time.

The multi-ethnical character of the

territory in this phase complicates the

possibility of attributing the rock art motif to

any given group, as in the case of ceramics,

where the earlier Otomí attribution is still

being discussed (Álvarez 2007:92). The

feline, as well as the pottery, bear witness to a

long symbolic evolution that would link them

to the Otomíes as the original and primary

group in the Señorío.

Even though not much work has been

done to identify a style of graphic production

of that ethnic group that could confirm that

hypothesis, we decided to compare the feline

with certain codices and other examples of

early colonial paintings for which Otomí

authorship has been accepted.

The relevant details for the indexical

paradigm were used again, but no stylistic

connection was found between these works.

Instead, the differences in their techniques and

formal aspects became clearer, both in the case

of the Huichapan, Jilotepec, and Huamantla2

codices, and in the mural paintings of the

Ixmiquilpan parrish3 (see Aguilera 1984:9-31;

Reyes 1990, 1992; Wright 2005b:43).

But if we consider certain circumstances,

these differences in style are not enough to

rule out the possibility of an Otomí affiliation

for the rock art image. On one hand we have


180

the fact that most of these works originated in

the period of contact with the West, so they are

influenced by its perspective on art. On the

other hand, none of the sources represents the

particular form of expression of the Otomí

groups in the Señorío de Metztitlan; if we are

to judge by the material culture of this ethnic

group, we should consider the cultural

diversity it gained by being distributed in a

wide territory, one that originated different

histories and ways of life.

Identifying a possible cultural affiliation

only on the basis of the material remains of a

society is quite difficult. And in those cases

the mistake of using concepts such as

archaeological culture, ethnic or linguistic

group as if they meant the same —which are

independent concepts even if they are

interrelated— is frequently made (Wright

2005a:26-27). The cultural classifications

made by archeologists may involve more than

one linguistic or ethnic group. And this is

certainly the case at the Señorío de Metztitlan,

where it seems that Otomíes and Nahuas were

fully integrated.

This apparent union was strengthened

during the Late Postclassic period, when the

territory had to be defended from an eventual

Mexica invasion. The need for protection also

meant that groups like the Huastecos and

Tepehuas participated and became integrated.

The participation of all this groups created

a very peculiar form of expression in the

material culture of this region, as can be

appreciated both in the Metztitlan ceramics

and in the particular style of the rock art feline.

Therefore, if a representative ethnic group of

the Señorío were to be defined, one of its most

outstanding features would be its

multilinguism.

We need further work on the archaeo-

logical definition of the groups in this territory,

and further work on rock art records has to be

undertaken with that purpose. If we

do so, we would be taking a more forward

towards confirming or discarding the

hypothesis of an Otomí affiliation, both for the

feline and for the rock art of the region.

INTERPRETATION

In the bipolar conception of the cosmos of

the Mesoamerican peoples, the jaguar, because

of its particular habits, was considered to be an

incarnation of force, energy and the

underworld, the realm of night and darkness

(Valverde 1998:91). The underworld is a

sector of the cosmos in opposition to the sky

and represents the dark, cold and nocturnal

side. It is the region of death and its

associated gods, who generally are represented

as anthropomorphic figures with skulls

(Valverde 1998:92).

This association is emphasized in the rock

art image by its execution in black pigment.

Besides, the lack of fangs in its mouth is

notable and emphasizes its similarity to a

human face, especially because of the presence

of the cadaverous jaw which resembles those

of the underworld deities (Figure 9c).

Spots are frequently associated in

Mesoamerica with the starry cloak of night,

but they are also perceived in a negative way.

Some diseases are related to those spots. The

death deities are depicted with spots on their

bodies. These features explain why the jaguar

spots are related to the underworld (Valverde

1998:114,132).4

On the other hand, life is generated from

death. In the Mesoamerican dialectic thought

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181

the underworld is the feminine part of the

cosmos and the space of reproduction. It is

here where existence arises. In this world of

death, earth and water deities live within an

eternal cycle of periodical regeneration. In

this way the feline is directly associated to

fertility (Valverde 1998:142). In order to

confirm the jaguar’s regenerative nature, the

feline is frequently associated to flower and

plant headdresses, shells and a variety of

aquatic and vegetal motifs (Figure 9a), all of

which are symbols of fertility and the earth

(Valverde 1998:144, 2004:Figures 21, 30).

In turn to emphasize those qualities, the

jaguar is conjoined with other animal

elements, including snakes (Kubler 1970:38-

42; Valverde 1998:145). Sometimes the snake

is associated with the underworld, earth and

water. Then, if we consider the feline’s tail as

a depiction of a snake (Figure 9b), the general

sense of the image does not change. The

reptile on the back of the feline personifies the

earth and establishes the limits between the

underworld, symbolized by the jaguar, and the

living world, symbolized by the plant motif

coming out of its ears.

The ambivalence in the feline

characteristics makes sense in the case of the

rock art depiction if we consider the

conceptual importance of the space where it is

placed. Rock shelters and caves are spaces of

interconnection of the different sectors of the

cosmos, thus becoming the main home of the

jaguar as the Great Lord of the Underworld.

In turn, at a symbolic level, caves are also

earth’s uterus, where life arises, places of

origin, gateways from which the jaguar rules

the earth (Olivier 2005:54,56; Valverde

1998:107, 140-141).

To summarize, the presence of the feline

in Cueva de La Malinche would symbolize the

forces of death and fertility, which merge in a

single process of periodic regeneration of the

world, activities intimately associated to this

kind of liminal spaces (Domínguez 2005).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the organizers of the

ARARA’s 35th annual conference for the

financial support that allowed me to present

this paper in Farmington, New Mexico, and

especially Mavis Greer, Donna Gillette, and

Garry Gillette. I would also like to thank

Alberto Vázquez Castro for providing me with

the images of the feline and the Metztitlan

ceramic, as well as for his orientation

regarding Metztitlan archaeology. The

elaboration of this work was also possible with

the collaboration of my friend Martín Cuitzeo

Domínguez Núñez who was my companion

during my visits to the rock art site.

I am forever indebted to William Breen

Murray for his infinite patience and inspiration

in the elaboration of this work, and for his

support during our trip to New Mexico.

END NOTES

1 In the ethnographical information gathered by

researcher Ana María Álvarez, it has been possible

to document the continuity of certain aspects of

prehispanic origin for the production of ceramic. In

the molcajetes, one of the last surviving forms of

the pre-Columbian cookware, black decorations

are made with a manganese mineral ground

between metates dissolved in water and applied

with a brush (Álvarez 2007:83, 109-110). 2

The Huamantla Codex is an exception. In it

quadrupeds are also presented in a sideways view.

It is important to note that, from the three codices

of Otomí authorship, this one is the least

influenced by the western tradition in art.


182

3 Even if the Ixmiquilpan paintings are different

from the cave motif in their techniques and in

formal aspects, there is a certain similitude

between the composition of the jaguars and other

signs, like its association to headdresses or in

opposition to eagles or serpents in the fashion of

the traditional indigenous visual language. 4 Ana María Álvarez (2007:108-109) establishes

the use of some of the black/white Metztitlan vases

as receptacles for the cremated remains of the

dead. At times, these vases were “killed” —the

traditional name for perforating the vases— and

chalchihuite stones were placed inside of them.

These ritual activities would associate their

ornaments —as the ones present in the feline— to

the death symbolism.

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2005b Zidada Hyadi, el venerado padre Sol, en

la Parroquia de Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo.


Analysis Of The Rock Art Feline Painting In Cueva De La Malinche, Hidalgo, Mexico

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