Yale University

A Flute in the Olsen Collection: Its Place in Pre-Columbian Music and Art
Author(s): Maryan Ainsworth
Source: Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Spring, 1975), pp. 26-33
Published by: Yale University, acting through the Yale University Art Gallery
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40514174
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 A Flute in the Olsen Collection:
Its Place in Pre-Columbian
Music and Art
Maryan Ainsworth
Among the pre-Columbian works of art
which have come to the Yale University
Art Gallery from the collection of Fred
Olsen is a polychromed ceramic flute
(Fig. i ) .* This instrument belongs to the
family of valveless aerophones, the most
common melodic instrument used in
Mesoamerica, and represents the duct or
fipple variety.2 Made of a rather coarse
gray clay, the flute measures 17.2 cm. from
tip to tip and was constructed in three
parts.3 The mouthpiece (or fipple) and
the tapering barrel of the flute were
molded on forms of a material capable of
receiving a high degree of polish (most
likely wood or bone) in order to secure a
smooth internal structure for the produc-
tion of clear unimpeded tones. Four finger
holes were perforated through the barrel
of the instrument while the clay was in a
semi-dry condition, leaving here and there
small ragged edges of clay adhering to the
interior of the barrel. At the distal end of
the flute is a mold-made human head to
which a crest and earspools were ap-
pended. The three parts of the instrument
are luted together, the seams smoothed off
and finished by careful modeling.
26
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Of somewhat inferior craftsmanship,
the flute clearly shows defects resulting
from careless manufacture. The flanges
which unite the fipple to the flute barrel
and form the lateral walls at the open
portion of the airduct are unequal in
length, width and position on the flute.
When viewed from above ( the head of
the flute facing toward the observer) , the
four stops on the barrel of the flute veer
off to the right and are not properly
aligned with the crest, the mid-point, on
the distal end. The head itself is lopsided
in relationship to the rest of the flute,
one earspool appearing lower than the
other. Finally, little care seems to have
been taken to smooth over roughened
areas on the face. While the heavy lids
over the eyes seem to have been carefully
formed, the laterally drooping mouth
shows evidence of some abrasion at the
center as does the tip of the nose. These
possibly were imperfections owing to the
mold-making process.
The flute received a brown slip (evi-
dent especially on the mouthpiece) [see
Bettelheim, note 2] over which was
applied a thick white coating. On this
Fig. i
Ceramic flute, polychromed,
17.2 cm. (shown actual size) .
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Fred
Olsen. 1959.55.25.

instrument plays a normal penta tonic
scale consisting of the following notes:
C#, D#, E#, G#, A#. In addition, it is
capable of other tones and half steps
depending on how it is blown.
In order to understand the specific place
of this instrument in the context of
Mesoamerican music, it is important to
discuss briefly the present state of investi-
gation into this area. The information we
have concerning pre-Columbian music
is meagre; yet, much research in recent
years and a growing enthusiasm for the
field is beginning to reveal a most sophis-
Footnotes
1
1959-55- 25. Bought in 1956
by Fred Olsen at the Third
Avenue gallery of Julius
Carlebach, this flute lacks a
stated provenance. Samuel
Lothrop studied the piece in
Carlebach's gallery and indi-
cated it to be genuine (letter
in possession of Fred Olsen) .
Later, George Kubier, Gordon
Ekholm and Frederick
Dockstader (the latter two
by photograph only) agreed
that the flute is authentic.
2

ticated musical culture. Many of the Aerophones are instruments

layer was added the polychromy of the
flute, much of which has today disap-
peared. The barrel of the flute is a highly-
polished red on the dorsal side and brown
with traces of black on the ventral side.
Streaking marks of a stick used as a bur-
nishing tool are especially evident on the
ventral side.
The bell and fipple of the flute are
decorated with fugitive matt colors
applied after the firing of the clay. A coat-
ing of a yellowish-buff color appears on
the head, over which is turquoise blue
added onto the crest, the head's left eye-
brow, cheek and side of the nose.4 Further
theories presented by researchers are
debatable, but certain substantial conclu-
sions have been reached by investigation
in basically three areas: "1 ) the system-
atic study of musical instruments known
to have been used by the Aztecs, Mayas,
Tarascans, and Zapotees; 2 ) the assembl-
ing of opinions on Aztec music from
sixteenth-century authors who were
friendly to Indian cultures rather than
opposed; and 3 ) the collection of melo-
dies from certain out-of-the-way Indian
groups which even today, after the lapse
of centuries, may still preserve some of
the basic elements found in the pre-
Cortesian system."5
Pioneering in the study of this field,
Daniel Castañeda and Vincente T. Men-
doza have drawn some conclusions of note
concerning the organography of Meso-
american Indians at the time of the Con-
quest.6 Though the various languages of
whose air column is enclosed
within a tube or vessel. The
duct or fipple variety of this
group comprises those instru-
ments, like the recorder, in
which sound waves are formed
inside the pipe after the breath
is diverted by a fipple.
3
Other measurements of the
flute are as follows :
Bell of the flute ( tip of nose
to juncture with barrel of
flute) 3.6 cm.
Fipple ( from end tip to junc-
ture with barrel of flute) 4.4 cm.
Barrel ( between points of
juncture with bell and
fipple) 9.2 cm.
Reed of flute 3.4 cm.
Head (top of crest to lower
edge of right ear) 4 cm.
4
The blue color mentioned here
is probably Maya blue. How-
ever, it can not be stated as
such until x-ray diffraction

traces of blue over the buff color appear
on the mouthpiece between the flanges at
their point of juncture with the flute
barrel and where the head and barrel were
joined. The uneven application of color
and the numerous bare spots especially on
the mouthpiece and bell of the flute
make any determination of the original
coloration impossible.
This type of flute is identified by its
fipple mouthpiece as a flauta dolce
because of its sweet, pure tones. Even with
the apparent careless construction, the
pre-Conquest Mexico assigned different analysis has determined the
clay content. For the most
names to their instruments, the same recent information on Maya
types of instruments were universally Blue, see Dean E. Arnold and
used.7 In fact, the Aztecs borrowed rather Bruce F. Bohor, "Aptapulgite
extensively from older cultures in the ter- and Maya Blue," Archeology,
Vol. 28, Jan. 1975, pp. 23-29.
ritory that they conquered. When Cortés
5
arrived in the sixteenth century, the same Robert Stevenson, Music in
instruments pictured on the walls of the Aztec and Inca Territory,
eighth-century temple at Bonampak wereBerkeley, 1968, pp. 17-18.
still in use by the Aztecs.8
What we may learn about the symbolic
use of pre-Columbian instruments is often
revealed by inscriptions on them. Sets of

27

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carvings explain the time and place
instruments were to be used, who was to
play them, the intervals at which they
were to be sounded, and so forth.9 For
many instruments, however, little infor-
mation exists. In these cases, the
musicologist must rely upon archaeo-
logical finds and careful interpretation.
Thus far, these finds have revealed the
following classes of instruments: idio-
phones, aerophones and membranophones.
Though the issue is much debated, there
appear to have been no stringed instru-
ments in pre-Conquest Mesoamerica.10
In a more recent study than that of
Castañeda and Mendoza, Thomas Stanford
has begun a linguistic analysis of music
and dance terms from three sixteenth-
century dictionaries of Mexican Indian
languages in order to reach further conclu-
sions about pre-Columbian music. So far,
a study of Mixtee, Náhuatl and Tarascan
linguistic groups has been made; the addi-
tion of the Maya and Zapotee cultures to
this analysis is in preparation. Stanford
believes that the differences among pre-
Conquest Mexican cultures have been
exaggerated, "there having been a com-
munity of cultures, in reality, in ample
contact with one another." He draws an
analogy with Europe where there is cer-
tainly linguistic diversity but also singu-
larity of musical culture.1 1 The conclusions
he has been able to make are, at this point,
few but important. Stanford has discov-
ered, for instance, that dance and music
were very closely linked as a single unit in
pre-Columbian society, with the same
terms having significance in both in ana-
logous ways. He also notes that "high-
pitched," "loud," and "clear" were favored
qualities in voices and musical instru-
ments.12 The types of pre-Cortesian
music, of which we now know at least a
little, form an extensive listing compris-
ing a range from secular to religious.1 3
In Mesoamerican music the vertical
flute and its multiple variations held a there but at other sites as far distant as
favored position as perhaps the central Jaina Island on the Yucatán Peninsula
instrument in pre-Cortesian organology.14 and Taj in in Veracruz. Also, coastal sites
28
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Samuel Marti in his Instrumentos Musi- 6
cales Precortesianos studies a selection of Daniel Castañeda, "Una flauta
de la cultura tarasca," Revista
the instruments including panpipes, cere- Musical Mexicana, 1 / 5 , March
monial flutes, double flutes and multiple 7, 1942, pp. i io- in, and
flutes.15 These range in length, vary from Daniel Castañeda and Vincente
two to six finger holes ( four being the T. Mendoza, "Los Teponaztlis,"
"Los Percutores Precort-
norm as is found in the Dresden Codex on
esianos," and "Los Huehuetls,"
the top of panel 34 ) , and play a variety in Anales del Museo Nacional
of scales. de Arqueología, Historia y
In the myths, flutes are mentioned as Etnografía, VIII, 1933.
7
being transported by the tlamantini to
Stevenson, op. cit., p. 18.
the east. These Aztec sages endowed the 8
interior highlands of Mexico with the Ibid., p. 19.
fine arts whence, declared Sahagun's 9
sources, the tlamantinime departed for Ibid., p. 20.
io
the Gulf Coast.
Ibid., p. 22. See especially
footnote 1 1 on pp. 22-23.
And when they left they wended their way 11
toward the face of the sun bearing with Thomas Stanford, "A Lin-
them the black and red ink, codices and guistic Analysis of Music and
paintings; they carried away wisdom and Dance Terms from Three
learning, they took everything with them, Sixteenth-Century Diction-
the books of songs and the music of flutes.16 aries of Mexican Indian
Languages," Yearbook, Inter-
American Institute for Musical
Well-known is the Aztec legend of
Research, II, 1966, p. 10 1.
Quetzalcoatl's journey to the east, but few 12
have tried to attach significance to similar Ibid., p. 115.
legends like the one mentioned here 13
See Gertrude Kurath and
where messengers carry away the "music
Samuel Marti, Dances of
of flutes." Stevenson suggests that greater
Anahuac, New York, 1964,
attention ought to be paid to these legends p. 177.
in the light of the archaeological finds. 14
So far, much more evidence for a flute- Stevenson, op. cit., p. 80.
15
dominated organography has been dis-
Samuel Martí, Instrumentos
covered at Gulf Coast sites than was
Musicales Precortesianos,
revealed by the rather spectacular findings Mexico City, 1968, pp. 79-183.
at the Escalerillas site in Mexico City in 10
1900.17 (This tremendous cache of musi- Stevenson, op. cit., p. 6.
cal instruments dedicated to Macuilxó- 17
Ibid., p. 7.
chitl, the god of music, included a number 18
of flutes. ) It seems that it was on the Gulf José Luis Franco, "Musical
Coast and especially in classical Veracruz, Instruments from Central
Veracruz in Classic Times,"
according to José Luis Franco,18 that the
Ancient Art of Veracruz,
flute reached the summit of its develop- Los Angeles County Museum
ment. Panpipes, previously unknown in of Natural History, Los An-
Mexico, were unearthed at Tres Zapotes, geles, Feb. 2, 1 97 1 -June 13,
and multiple flutes intended to sound i97i,p. 18.
several notes at once were found not only
Fig. 2
Three ceramic flutes, Gulf of
Mexico. Photograph : Samuel
Martí, Instrumentos Musicales
Precortesianos, Mexico City,
1968, p. 147.

in Tabasco and Veracruz have yielded the

first and finest examples of the oscillating
air chamber flute.19 Perhaps Sahagún's
native informants were quoting accurate
historical information when they recalled
the messengers who carried off the "music
of flutes" from Tamoanchan to the
Gulf Coast.20

Comparisons:
Flute Type
Pre-Columbian flutes, in general, do not
have a large bell opening but are flat-
ended ( the exception being Aztec flutes
of the tlapizalli type) . Of those adorned
at the bell end, the majority are orna-
mented with a flower, foot, or animal or
human head. According to Marti, these
are symbolic of gods associated with the
festivals where the flutes were played.21
The dearth of material on this rarer type
of fipple flute with an adorned bell causes
problems in securing a provenance for
the Olsen instrument which corresponds
to this group. We know, at least, that this
19
variety is not usually found in Maya areas,
Stevenson, op. cit., p. 7. The see Marti, 1968, op. cit.,
nor among the Mixtees and Zapotees.22 supremacy of the Gulf Coast p. 246.
Franco states that flutes of the recorder in this respect will be dem- 20

type (our fipple variety) , in general, are onstrated even more authorita- For an illustration see

rare in Veracruz.23 Yet, some flutes orna- tively when Charles L. Boilés
mented at the distal end were found at publishes his eagerly awaited
Aerophonos Precolombinos de
Tres Zapotes,24 and Martí pictures four Veracruz, scheduled by the
flutes of the Olsen type all from the Gulf Universidad Veracruzana in
Coast area (three of these are illustrated Jalapa.
20
here, Fig. 2 ) ,25 In addition, Strebel illus- Ibid.
trates a similar flute from Cerro Montoso, 21
Veracruz which has a male head on the Martí, op. cit., p. 146.
Hermann Strebel, Alt-Mexiko,
I, Hamburg and Leipzig,
1885, pl. VI, fig. 9.
27
Correspondence from Marti
concerning the coloration on
the flutes he illustrates had
not arrived in time for the
publication of this study.
28

end.26 Traits all of these examples have in 22 Illustrations of these two flutes
Samuel Martí, Canto, danza y be found in Pal Kelemen,
may
common are the mouthpiece variety,
Medieval American Art, II,
musica precortesianos, Mexico,
the tapering barrel with four holes, an i96i,pp. 92-103. New York, 1943, pl. 292 d;
appended ornament at the bell end and 23 and Auguste Génin, "Notes on
size. Data on coloration were not available, Franco, op. cit., p. 19. the Dances, Music and Songs
of the Ancient and Modern
although most of Marti's examples, at 7
Philip Drucker, "Ceramic Mexicans," Annual Report of
least, appear to be burnished on the barrel
Sequences at Tres Zapotes, the Board of Regents of the
and not at either end.27 Two other com-
Veracruz, Mexico," Smith- Smithsonian Institution, 1920,
parable flutes, designated merely as sonian Institute Bureau of pp. 657-677, pl. 1, fig. 2.
"Mexico," are pictured by Kelemen and American Ethnology Bulletin, 29
140, 1943, p. 88. and pls. 41, Illustrated in Eduardo
Genin,28 and another example was found
e;47,c. Noguera, La Cerámica
at Cholula, a site about which more will 25 Arqueológica de Cholula,
be said later.29 For the fourth flute mentioned
Mexico City, 1954, p. 153.
29

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Scale, Pitch and Tuning of the holes having been altered in any 3O
Martí, 1968, op. cit., pp.
Marti has made an attempt to group flutesway, yet the peculiar off-center alignment
259-264.
into geographical locations by the scales of the stops leads one to question what 31
they produce.30 A great deal more re- structural patterns were the norm. When Charles M. Boilés, "The Pipe
search needs to be done in this area, blown loudly, the instrument plays an and Tabor in Mesoamerica,"
Yearbook, Inter- American
however, before any conclusive evidence accurate pentatonic scale; that is, a scale
Institute for Musical Research,
may be presented. (We may hope soon torepresenting the successive intervals of II, 1966, p. 55.
see the results of a more scientific study two major seconds, a minor third, and a 32
by Boilés who is presently in the process major second, beginning on the tonic Miguel Galindo, Nociones de
of an extensive analysis of flute tunes.31 ) note of C#. Softly blown, the scale is Historia de Música Mejicana,
Colima, 1933, pp. ioo-ioi.
Because we have no surviving pre- altered to an imperfect pentatonic scale,
33
Conquest musical notation, it is difficult the C# to A interval representing a H. T. Cresson, "Aztec Music,"
to determine just how the Mesoamericansdiminished fifth rather than a perfect Proceedings of the Academy
played their instruments and what sounds fifth. This seems to argue in favor of the of Natural Sciences of Phila-
first scale as the intended one. In addition, delphia, Part I, 1883, pp. 86-94.
were favored. Miguel Galindo tried to
34
prove that pre-Cortesian five-tone flutes according to Stanford's findings concern- Stevenson, op. cit., p. 82.
strayed beyond the bounds of conventionaling the favored qualities in sound of Burgoa's Palestra Historial
pentatonic scales that may be produced musical instruments ( mentioned at the (Mexico, Juan Ruyz, 1670;
by playing the black keys only ( i.e. cover-beginning of this article) , "loud," and reproduced in 1934 by Pub-
licaciones del Archivo General,
ing the stops completely ) .32 H. T. Cresson "clear" most closely describe the first scale
XXIV) relates musical con-
posits that flutists overblew and half- tested. Of those scales Marti presents by ditions of the Oaxaca region.
stopped ( i.e. covered the holes partially ) culture, that of the Olsen flute comes 35
to create a wide range of tones.33 It may closest to approximating one ambiguously Boilés, op. cit., pp. 52-53-
have been overblowing and halfstopping identified as from "Mexico"38 and one 36
Ibid., p. 53. Examples are:
to which Francisco de Burgoa was refer- from Quiahuiztlan, Veracruz.39 The latter Kwikachalani: one who sings
ring in his Palestra Historial when he comparison provides some additional out of tune.
complained of the "out-of-tune flutes evidence, even if it is of questionable Toskinenetvilistli: consonant
or tuned voices.
played by native Mexicans to evoke their reliability, of a Gulf Coast- Veracruz origin
gods."34 for the Olsen flute. 37
Marti, 1 96 1, op. cit., p. 95.
Tuning of instruments in Mesoameri- 3»
can cultures is also a matter of debate. The Ceramic Type Marti, 1968, op. cit., p. 259.
extant flutes vary greatly in mouthpiece An exact determination of clay types This is the second from the
bottom scale line at the left.
style, barrel lengths and diameters, factors composing this flute is best achieved
The flutes are in the Génin
which all relate to the resulting pitch of through the x-ray diffraction technique.40
Coll., Musée de l'Homme,
the flute. Boilés, citing evidence of tuning As this type of analysis was not available Paris.
techniques in ancient manufacture of to the writer, descriptions of various 39

Mexican flutes, relates that archeologists ceramic types, some color photographs Ibid., p. 262, indicated as
have found instruments whose holes have from Quiahuiztlan, Veracruz.
and comparison with other ceramic
40
been slightly enlarged after firing or, in objects served as guides in the investiga- For information on this
some cases, patched with clay in order to tion of the Olsen flute. Two conclusions method see Wayne C. Isphor-
drill new ones in a slightly different were reached which, until an analysis of ding, "Combined Thermal
location.35 Interestingly enough, the the clay is made, must be considered X-Ray Diffraction Technique
for Identification of Ceramic-
Náhuatl vocabulary ( compiled by tentative.
ware, Temper and Paste Min-
Molina ) includes words concerned with The first is that a description of Vera- erals," American Antiquity,
concepts of tuning and singing or playing cruz ceramics by Sage Culpepper Belt XXXIX, July, 1974, PP-
in tune,36 and Marti relates information seems most closely to approximate the 477-483.
41
from the early writers about the acute ceramic type of the flute.41 The gray clay,
Sage Culpepper Belt, "Vera-
sense of pitch at least among the Aztecs in natural earth color and red slips, the appli- cruz Ceramic Techniques,"
the sixteenth century.37 cation of a thick white substance (possibly Ancient Art of Veracruz,
The Olsen flute seems to show no signs kaolin) , and white and Maya blue (atta- op. cit., pp. 38-41.

30

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 Fig. 3
Detail of the head of the
Olsen flute.

pulgite or palygorskite ) used as post-

fired colors are all part of Veracruz ceramic
manufacture and likewise are properties
of the Olsen flute. The process of slipping
and burnishing and the frequent use in
Veracruz of mold-made pieces for the
manufacture of flutes and whistles also
corresponds with the stylistic traits of the
instrument under discussion.42
A second observation concerns the
similarity in clay type and coloration of
the Olsen flute to a "Xantile" figure from
Teotitlan del Camino in the Yale Univer-
sity Art Gallery ( 1973.88.19). In both, a
gray clay, brown slip, and similar red, blue
and thick white paste are used. The bur-
nishing on the barrel of the flute may be
lacking on the "Xantile" figure because of
its size and use.
It is well known that the pottery styles
of Veracruz and Teotitlan del Camino ( a
site of the northern border between the
states of Oaxaca and Puebla ) share certain
affinities. In Postclassic times, the Mixtec-
Puebla ceramic style (which was cen-
tered at Cholula ) was widespread and
invaded central and southern Veracruz
sites, Cempoala and Isla de Sacrificios
42 45
among them.43 Cholula thus became a
Ibid., p. 40. Caecilie Seler-Sachs, "Die
key town to which the Gulf Coast looked Reliefscherben von Cuicatlan
43
for trade.44 Along this trade route was Robert Chadwick, "Postclassic und Teotitlan del Camino,"
Teotitlan del Camino, a site which defi- Pottery of the Central Valleys," Proceedings of the XVIII
nitely shared in an exchange with the Handbook of Middle Ameri- International Congress of
Coast. Caecilie Seler-Sachs studied this can Indians, X, Austin, 197 1, A mericanists, London, 1 9 1 2 ,
p. 241. See also Wilfredo du (Kraus Reprint, Nendeln/
relationship briefly in an article of 1 912, Solier, "A Reconnaissance of Liechtenstein, 1968), p. 215.
concluding that pottery remains from Isla de Sacrificios, Veracruz,
Teotitlan were most closely associated Mexico," Notes on Middle
with the motifs and styles on the Gulf American Archaeology and
Ethnology, Carnegie Institute
Coast.45 It is, therefore, not merely by
of Washington Division of
chance that the Olsen flute is related in Historical Research, XIV,
style to the flute from Cholula mentioned March 30, 1943, PP- 63-71;
earlier in this article and to polychromed and Michael Coe, "Archaeo-
logical Synthesis of Southern
pottery from Teotitlan del Camino.
Veracruz and Tabasco," Hand-
book of Middle American
Bell Ornamentation Indians, op. cit., Ill (part II) ,
The relationship the decorative head on p. 715.
44
the bell of the flute ( Fig. 3 ) bears with
Miguel Covarrubias, Indian
the facial types of "Xantile" figures and Art of Mexico and Central
effigy censers from Teotitlan, Veracruz A merica, New York, 1957,
and Mayapan is another indication that p. 294.

31

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Fig- 4
Head of a "Xantile" figure,
Teotitlan del Camino. J. C.
Leff Collection. Photograph :
Elizabeth Kennedy Easby,
Ancient Art of Latin America
From the Collection of J. C.
Leff, Exhibition catalogue,
The Brooklyn Museum, Nov.
22, 1966-March 5, 1967,
fig. 4M.
32
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Fig. 5 Fig. 6
Head from a Mayapan effigy Ceramic vessel and profile
censer. Photograph : Boletín detail of Macuilxóchitl. Illus-
( Instituto Nacional de Antro- tration: Eduard Seier, Gesam-
pologia e Historia) 9, Sept., melte Abhandlungen zur
1962, p. 11. Amerikanischen Sprach -und
Altertumskunde, III, Graz,
Austria, i960, p. 457.
this instrument originated in an artistic
milieu where trade wares were influential.
Both McBride and Paddock have already
noted the similarities between "Xantile"
figures, a characteristic ceramic sculpture
of the region of Teotitlan del Camino,
and monumental clay sculptures in Vera-
cruz.*6 The appearance of these sculptures
in Postclassic times ( in Veracruz during
the period of Mixteca-Puebla influence)
coincides with a similar development in
Mayapan. The effigy censers from this
Postclassic site bear a close familial
resemblance to the types previously
mentioned.
An exchange between the Yucatán
peninsula and the Gulf Coast had already
been set up in Late Classic times after the
disappearance of Teotihuacan influence
in Mesoamerica. At that time Veracruz
people ignored Mayan architectural tradi-
tions but assimilated polychrome pottery
styles ( in white, Maya blue and other
colors ) and minor productions, especially
in the form of musical instruments.47 Such
trade in pottery objects continued into
Postclassic times as we know from the
close resemblance of the effigy figures of
Mayapan and Veracruz monumental clay
sculptures (compare Figs. 4 and 5 with
Fig. 3).
Certain features are shared by these
ceramic sculptures with the head of the
Olsen flute: a simplification of ornamen-
tation; the use of exaggerated realism; the
prominence of facial features such as
protruding upper eyelids, ridged eye-
brows, and prominent noses with flaring
nostrils; and the cut-away or hollow eyes
producing a blank stare. The relationship
of the Olsen flute to these mid-to-late
Postclassic "Xantile" figures or effigy cen-
sers seems to indicate a late date for the
instrument as well.
Iconography
Marti's suggestion that the appended
decoration on the distal ends of some
flutes represents gods leads one to question
whether, in fact, the Olsen flute allows
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 Fig. 7
Dancer-musican figurine,
provenance not given. Pho-
tograph : Samuel Marti,
Canto, danza y musica pre-
cortesianos, Mexico City,
i96i,p. 197.

Colombian art offers, perhaps, an alterna- 46

any such association. Further, the historian
José Luis Melgarejo cites evidence of
three flutes (two from Quiahuiztlan,
Veracruz, and the one already mentioned
here from Strebel's Alt-Mexiko** ) of the
late Postclassic period which terminate,
in his opinion, in the head of the deity
of song and dance, Macuilxochitl.*9 The
traits peculiar to this god "Five Flower"
( intimately associated with Xochipilli )
are facial decoration surrounding the
mouth which shows a human hand with
fingers; as well as a close-fitting headdress
with the crest of a bird on top; and a
gourd rattle carried in one hand. Sahagún's
identification of the god is more elaborate,
describing the use of much color and
ornamentation. 5 °
Because a good deal of the pigment on
the flute bell has disappeared, it is difficult
to determine whether there once was the
painted decoration around the mouth,
for instance, or other distinguishing
coloration. The crest on top of the head
and large earplugs, however, traits of
Macuilxóchitl which vary greatly in the
many representations ( for one example,
see Fig. 6) , are marked on the Olsen flute.
Two attributes, though, are not sufficient
for identification of the god, and we
must consider other options.
The representation of musicians in pre-
tive. Though they may vary greatly in
coloration, type and decoration, as general
traits most musician figures have a crest
on their heads, often in the form of a head-
dress, and large ear-plugs ( Fig. 7 ) .5 *
With this adornment, they are probably
intended as impersonators of the god of
music. Certainly many accounts of the
priests and performers donning the cos-
tumes of the gods for festivals and rites
have come down to us. Because of the lack
of more conclusive evidence that the
Olsen flute head does represent Macuilxó-
chitl, I believe we might regard this as
perhaps the head of a musician wearing
part of the costume of the god he may be
impersonating.
This close association of the Olsen flute
with Marti's illustrations of Gulf Coast
instruments, and with Belt's description of
ceramic types there, seems to suggest a
Veracruz-Gulf Coast provenance. The rela-
tionship to the style of "Xantile" and
effigy censer figures (of the Mayapan-
Veracruz-Teotitlan del Camino trade
route ) supports a late Postclassic date.
Though not of the best period of instru-
ment manufacture in Mesoamerica, this
flute, nonetheless, is important for the
inter-cultural ties it suggests.
Harold McBride, "Figurine
Types of Central and Southern
Veracruz," Ancient Art in
Veracruz, op. cit., p. 27.; and
John Paddock, ed., Ancient
Oaxaca, Stanford, 1966,
fig. 291.
47
Coe, op. cit., p. 705.
48
See footnote 26.
49
Marti, 1968, op. cit., p. 248.
50
Fray Bernardino de Sahagún,
Florentine Codex: The General
History of the Things of New
Spain, (trans, by Arthur J.O.
Anderson and Charles E.
Dibble), Book I : The Gods,
Sante Fe, 1950, p. 14-
51
For other examples, see Marti,
1968, op. cit., pp. 30, 81, 89,
100, 101, 121, and 150; and
1 96 1, op. cit., p. 195. The
example illustrated here is
related by type and by nature
of its removable head to a
pottery figurine of a bird-
headed warrior in the Olsen
Collection (I959-55-M B-C,
Mexico, East Coast, Central
Veracruz, A.D. 250-550) .

33

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