蒙特阿班的“舞者神殿”

所谓的“Danzantes”(即“舞者”)是在平台外侧设置的大块石板上的人物浅浮雕。Danzantes是有轻微的奥尔梅克表现形式(即向下弯的嘴)的裸体男子，并以奇怪的橡胶状姿势呈现，就像他们在粘液中游泳或跳舞一样。他们之中有些似乎是老人，蓄着胡须，没有牙齿或只有一个突出的门牙。在蒙特阿班大约有300个这样奇怪但同时又极具表现力的浮雕作品，大家可能会问，它们到底有什么作用，或者他们描述的究竟是谁。从扭曲的四肢和张口闭眼的面部表现来看，这些人物显然是尸体，是被蒙特阿班早期统治者们杀死的敌对首领或国王的形象。在一些案例中，人物的生殖器被清晰地描绘出来，中美洲文化中裸体通常被认为是对俘虏的羞辱。此外在一些Danzantes身上还描绘了阉割的图像，血从被切断生殖器上流出并呈鲜花状。对于暴力行为最有力的证据来自一个仅剩头颅得Danzantes，它显然是被人斩首了。
The so-called Danzantes (i.e. “dancers”) are bas-relief figures on large stone slabs set into the outside of the platform. Nude men with slightly Olmecoid features (i.e. the down-turned mouth), the Danzantes are shown in strange, rubbery postures as though they were swimming or dancing in viscous fluid. Some are represented as old, bearded individuals with toothless gums or with only a single protuberant incisor. About 300 of these strange yet powerful figures are known at Monte Albán, and it might be reasonably asked exactly what their function was, or what they depict. The distorted pose of the limbs, the open mouth, and closed eyes indicate that these are corpses, undoubtedly chiefs or kings slain by the earliest rulers of Monte Albán. In several individuals the genitals are clearly delineated, usually the stigma laid on captives in Mesoamerica where nudity was considered scandalous. Furthermore, there are cases of sexual mutilation depicted on some Danzantes, blood streaming in flowery patterns from the severed part. Evidence to corroborate such violence comes from one Danzante, which is nothing more than a severed head.
记得小的时候在一本小书上看到对蒙特阿班舞者神殿的描述，当时觉得有点恐怖但却又有一种说不出的神秘吸引力，从此对萨波特克人印象在脑中挥之不去。