Contribution The Cohimbre Stela: Death, Sacrifice, and Political Ideology on the Guerrero Coast Gerardo Gutierrez and Jamie E. Forde Carved stone monuments have frequently provided impor- tant insights regarding religious and political ideology in ancient Mesoamerica (e.g., Boone 1999; Grove 1999; Guern- sey 2006; Guernsey et al. 2010; Pasztory 1976; Schele and Freidel 1990; Urcid 1993; Urcid and Joyce 2001). As objects produced for public display that were typically commissioned by ruling elites, they often present idealized relationships be- tween humans and supernatural beings, between rulers and their subjects, and between members of a polity and their founding ancestors. In this article, we present an analysis of one such monument, known as the Stela 1 of Cohimbre, found at the site of Terreno de Cohimbre in the Costa Chica region of Guerrero, Mexico, originally reported by Gutierrez (2007). The monument contains a rather elaborate depiction of a skeletal figure, or death deity, and is suggestive of ideo- logical views related to human sacrifice. After first providing a description ofthe archaeological context and the monument itself, we go on to compare the Cohimbre stela image to rep- resentations of similar figures in Mesoamerican iconography, presenting an interpretation of its general significance as it relates to sacrifice. Lastly we compare the stela to earli- er monuments found in Guerrero. We argue that contrasts between the Cohimbre stela and earlier monuments along the Pacific Coast suggest changes in religious and political ideologies, in which rulers were no longer portrayed as the principal intermediaries through which people propitiated the gods. Instead, deities themselves are represented independent of royal lineages, marking a different kind of interaction be- tween elites and the commoners, the latter in direct contact with the supernatural realm. This diminished role of rulers' religious and ritual authority may have owed to the collapse oflarge centralized polities ofthe Classic period, paralleling trends seen elsewhere throughout Mesoamerica at the time (Pye and Gutierrez 2007). Terreno de Cohimbre Terreno de Cohimbre, also known as Arroyo Tila, is a small site located near the eastern coast of Guerrero, in the modern municipality of Marquelia (Figure 1). The area was surveyed by Gutierrez in 2001 as part of a broader regional reconnais- sance project (Gutierrez 2010). The site itself is located along a stream that empties into the Pacific Ocean just under 4 km to the southwest, via a rich estuary that was likely utilized by the site's prehispanic inhabitants. The core of the site consists oftwo mounds (Ml and M2) raised 2-3 m above the floodplain, ranging between 40-50 m in diameter (Figure 2). Approximately 480 m to the south, a third mound is found (M3), which was disturbed by the construction of a modern house on top of it. While unfortunately disturbing its archae- ological context, the modern construction on M3 brought a number of well-preserved prehispanic artifacts to the surface, inspected by Gutierrez, including ceramics, obsidian, manos, and metates. Among the ceramics were polychromes dating to the Early Postclassic period (1000-1150 A.D.), though stratigraphic excavations are needed to firmly secure the chronology of the site. Survey beyond the core of the site indicates extensive surrounding settlement, spanning approx- imately 27 ha in the larger area known as Los Callejones. The Cohimbre stela (also termed Stela 1), was first en- countered by Gutierrez not at the archaeological site, but instead in the modern municipal palace of Juchitan. Discus- sions with multiple local residents, however, revealed that the monument had undoubtedly been taken from Terreno de Cohimbre within the last decade. Family members of the owner of the land upon which the site is found were, in fact, able to precisely identify where the monument was located prior to it having been taken (Figure 2). Thus, it is fairly clear that the Cohimbre stela was once located within the core of the site, in front of the south side of Mound 1, likely erected for public viewing. Stewardship ofthe monument is an issue that remains debated among the recently created municipali- ties of Marquelia and Juchitan, both of whose territories made up parts of the ancient lands of Azoyu. The Cohimbre Stela The Cohimbre stela itself (Figures 3 and 4) was carved on a large flat gneiss stone, measuring approximately 1.8 m in height, 80 cm in width, and 30 cm in thickness. The bottom portion ofthe stone, extending nearly 40 cm, was left blank, indicating that it was set beneath the ground, such that the monument could be propped up vertically for public display. Though portions of the stone are eroded or otherwise dam- aged, enough of it is well preserved such that much of its iconography can be discerned. The front of the monument is dominated by a carved image of an anthropomorphic skel- etal figure. The head of the figure is rendered exaggeratedly large and is adorned with a broad headdress of feathers. The mouth exhibits a wide smile or grin, surrounded by what ap- pear to be separate bones of the maxilla and mandible. The torso and limbs are also depicted as skeletonized, though the hands and feet may be fleshed. In general, the figure appears rendered as somewhat of a "caricature," given its large head, lack of neck, and general inaccuracies with regard to skeletal anatomy (e.g., numbers of teeth, rib bones, vertebrae, etc.). Overall, the image resembles skeletal deities associated with death seen widely in Mesoamerican iconography, particularly during the Postclassic (Ochoa and Gutierrez 1996-1999: 115). On the left side of the stela, though poorly preserved, is a small carved image that appears to represent a cipactli, or crocodile, particularly distinctive in Late Postclassic iconog- raphy by its truncated or "tucked in" lower jaw, frequently used to represent the first day sign in the Mesoamerican ritual calendar (Figure 5). Thus, this may represent part of a calendrical date, perhaps commemorating an event related to mexicon • Vol. XXXVII. Februar 2015 19