Refers to the period in Mesoamerica from around 1200 CE to 1521 CE most associated with the ascendance of the Aztec empire. In pottery and ceramics, the period features polychrome vessels from the Cholula and Mixtec regions and animal effigy vessels decorated with emblems rather than narrative scenes. Sculptural styles of the period reveal near life-size, standing figures with softly modeled features and carved surface patterns indicating costumes, body paint or tattoos. Lapidary artistic innovations expand in the period, featuring jade, pearls, tecali vessels, footed rock-crystal cups, crystal and obsidian earspools, and turquoise jet, coral and amber ornaments in ritual ceremonies. Prominent use of hardstone carvings include ceremonial vessels ornamented by low relief and sculptures of humans, deities, animals, and plant forms comprised of jadeite and other greenstones, diorite, chalcedony and rock crystal. The Aztec also popularized turquoise mosaics and feather headdresses in this period.
