The Ancient Maya J-Term 2017
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
With the Protection of the Gods: an Interpretation of the Protector Figure in Classic Maya Iconography
University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2012 With The Protection Of The Gods: An Interpretation Of The Protector Figure In Classic Maya Iconography Tiffany M. Lindley University of Central Florida Part of the Anthropology Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Lindley, Tiffany M., "With The Protection Of The Gods: An Interpretation Of The Protector Figure In Classic Maya Iconography" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2148. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2148 WITH THE PROTECTION OF THE GODS: AN INTERPRETATION OF THE PROTECTOR FIGURE IN CLASSIC MAYA ICONOGRAPHY by TIFFANY M. LINDLEY B.A. University of Alabama, 2009 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2012 © 2012 Tiffany M. Lindley ii ABSTRACT Iconography encapsulates the cultural knowledge of a civilization. The ancient Maya of Mesoamerica utilized iconography to express ideological beliefs, as well as political events and histories. An ideology heavily based on the presence of an Otherworld is visible in elaborate Maya iconography. Motifs and themes can be manipulated to convey different meanings based on context. -
Archaeological Reconnaissance in Southeastern Campeche, México
FAMSI © 2003: Ivan Šprajc Archaeological Reconnaissance in Southeastern Campeche, México: 2002 Field Season Report With Appendices by Daniel Juárez Cossío and Adrián Baker Pedroza, and Nikolai Grube Research Year: 2002 Culture: Maya Chronology: Classic Location: Campeche, México Sites: Various Table of Contents Abstract Resumen Acknowledgments Introduction Comments on Particular Sites El Mameyal La Victoria Altar de los Reyes El Chismito Los Tambores Balakbal Altamira Other sites Concluding Remarks List of Figures Appendix 1: Emergency consolidation works at Mucaancah by Daniel Juárez Cossío and Adrián Baker Pedroza Appendix 2: Epigraphic Analysis of Altar 3 of Altar de los Reyes by Nikolai Grube Sources Cited Abstract The project represented the fourth season of reconnaissance works in an archaeologically little known region of central Maya Lowlands. Several formerly unknown archaeological sites were surveyed in the southeastern part of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve and in the adjacent region to the east, and two large sites reported by Karl Ruppert’s expeditions in 1930s were reexamined. The location and basic characteristics of the sites, mainly pertaining to the Classic period, were recorded and some surface pottery was collected. At Altar de los Reyes, a major urban center, two main architectural complexes were mapped and some interesting sculpted monuments were found, including an extraordinary altar with a series of emblem glyphs. Resumen El proyecto representó la cuarta temporada de trabajos de reconocimiento en una región arqueológicamente poco conocida de las tierras bajas mayas centrales. Inspeccionamos varios sitios arqueológicos previamente desconocidos en la parte sureste de la Reserva de la Biósfera de Calakmul y en la región adyacente hacia el este, y reexaminamos dos sitios grandes reportados por las expediciones de Karl Ruppert en la década de 1930. -
11 UNDER the RULE of the SNAKE KINGS: UXUL in the 7TH and 8TH Centuries*
UNDER THE RULE OF THE SNAKE KINGS: UXUL IN THE 7th AND 8th CENTURIES Nikolai Gru B E Kai Del V endahl Nicolaus Seefeld Uxul Archaeological Project Universität Bonn Benia M ino Volta Department of Anthropology, University of California-San Diego RESUMEN : Desde el 2009, la Universidad de Bonn efectúa trabajos arqueológicos en el sitio de Uxul, una ciudad maya del Clásico en el extremo sur del estado de Campeche. El objetivo del proyecto es investigar la expansión y desintegración de los poderes hegemónicos en el área maya, con un enfoque en la zona central de las Tierras Bajas y específicamente en la estrecha relación de Uxul con los gobernantes de la poderosa dinastía Kaan de Calakmul. Evidencia novedosa confirma las hipótesis de que Uxul estuvo bajo control de Calakmul en el siglo V ii y de que su caída se puede relacionar directamente con las derrotas de los gobernantes Yukno’m Yich’aak K’ahk’ y Yukno’m Took’ K’awiil a cargo de Tikal en 695 y 736 d. C., respec- tivamente. Cuando las autoridades centrales colapsaron en la segunda mitad del siglo Viii, la población de Uxul ni siquiera fue capaz de mantener la infraestructura más importante para sobrevivir: aquella relacionada con el manejo del agua. PALAB R AS CLAVE : Uxul, Calakmul, palacio real, manejo de agua, colapso. ABST R ACT : Since 2009, the University of Bonn is conducting archaeological investigations at Uxul, a medium sized classic Maya city in the extreme south of the Mexican state of Campeche. The project’s research goal is to investigate the expansion and disintegration of hegemonic power in the Maya area, concentrating on the core area of the Maya Lowlands and especially on Uxul’s close relation to the powerful Kaan dynasty at Calakmul. -
Who Were the Maya? by Robert Sharer
Who Were the Maya? BY ROBERT SHARER he ancient maya created one of the Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador until the Spanish Conquest. world’s most brilliant and successful The brutal subjugation of the Maya people by the Spanish ca. 1470 CE civilizations. But 500 years ago, after the extinguished a series of independent Maya states with roots The Kaqchikel Maya establish a new Spaniards “discovered” the Maya, many as far back as 1000 BCE. Over the following 2,500 years scores highland kingdom with a capital at Iximche. could not believe that Native Americans of Maya polities rose and fell, some larger and more powerful had developed cities, writing, art, and than others. Most of these kingdoms existed for hundreds of ca. 1185–1204 CE otherT hallmarks of civilization. Consequently, 16th century years; a few endured for a thousand years or more. K’atun 8 Ajaw Europeans readily accepted the myth that the Maya and other To understand and follow this long development, Maya Founding of the city of Mayapan. indigenous civilizations were transplanted to the Americas by civilization is divided into three periods: the Preclassic, the “lost” Old World migrations before 1492. Of course archaeol- Classic, and the Postclassic. The Preclassic includes the ori- ogy has found no evidence to suggest that Old World intru- gins and apogee of the first Maya kingdoms from about 1000 sions brought civilization to the Maya or to any other Pre- BCE to 250 CE. The Early Preclassic (ca. 2000–1000 BCE) Columbian society. In fact, the evidence clearly shows that pre-dates the rise of the first kingdoms, so the span that civilization evolved in the Americas due to the efforts of the began by ca. -
A Broken Sky: the Ancient Name of Yaxchilan As Pa’ Chan
PARI Online Publications A Broken Sky: The Ancient Name of Yaxchilan as Pa’ Chan SIMON MARTIN University of Pennsylvania Museum Emblem glyphs have long been a focus of research in Maya studies and remain the primary means by which we attempt to penetrate and comprehend the political geography of the Classic Maya. By now it is well known that each represents a royal title and describes the k’uhul ajaw or “holy lord” of an individually named polity or kingdom.1 Many of these compounds have a b succumbed to decipherment in recent years, unmasking the original names of these petty states. Slowly we are building an indigenous nominal landscape, a map of political identity that was rich in both topographic and conceptual symbolism. The emblem glyph of Yaxchilan, Chiapas, Mexico, was one of eight identified by Heinrich Berlin in his original discovery of the form (1958). In fact, the site used two distinct emblems, often paired, which c d Berlin dubbed Y-1 and Y-2. Yaxchilan monuments are Figure 1. The cleft sky sign in the Yaxchilan Emblem generously provided with examples of both, but it is Glyph: a) T561; b) T562; c) YAX St.10, H2; d) PNG P.3, K1. clear that Y-1—nicknamed “cleft sky” or “split sky”— was the more dominant, not least because it was the arching divide or V-shape cut (Figure 1c), although in only one seen in foreign contexts (appearing in the most foreign mentions tendril-like emanations, known inscriptions of Piedras Negras, Palenque, Bonampak, as T299, are added (Figure 1d). -
The Glyph for Antler in the Mayan Script
f No. 11, 2004 WAYEB NOTES ISSN 1379-8286 THE GLYPH FOR ANTLER IN THE MAYAN SCRIPT Luís Lopes1 and Albert Davletshin2 1 email: [email protected] 2 Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow email: [email protected] The glyph numbered 291 in Sir John Eric Thompson’s catalogue (1962), T291, depicts a ‘deer antler’. In the Classic Period inscriptions the sign in question is quite frequently found in the name phrases of powerful humans, deities and supernatural creatures. Some examples are given below: ’a?-[ku?]-lu-mu-chi ’a?-[ku?]-lu-ANTLER-b’a – the name of a deity recorded on La Mar Stela 1, A11 (Fig.1), and on the Sotheby’s Panel, I2 (Fig. 2); ANTLER-chi-CHAN – the name of the so-called ‘Deer-Snake’ on codex style ceramics (Fig. 3); YAX-ANTLER-JOL – the name of the 4th king of Yaxchilan (Fig. 4); ANTLER-CHAN-na-’a-ku – the name of a captive from Hiix-Witz recorded at Yaxchilan (Fig. 5); ANTLER--INVERTED-VASE - title of the Yaxchilan king Ya’xuun-B'ahlam IV, also applied to earlier Yaxchilan kings and possibly recorded on the San Diego Cliff carving (Figs. 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11); T4--ANTLER--INVERTED-EARTH, T4--’a--ANTLER--INVERTED-EARTH – a title of th the 26 king of Tikal (Jasaw-Chan-K'awiil’s title) on Tikal Stela 5 (Fig. 8), and bones and jade vessel from Tikal Burial 116 (MT38A, 38C, 38D, 50, and MT56).1 In this note we present iconographic and phonetic evidence that points towards a reading of XUKUB' "horn, deer antler" for this glyph. -
Codex-Style Fragments from Structure XX, Calakmul
Codex-style fragments from Structure XX, Calakmul by Kai Delvendahl During excavations in 2001 and 2003 by the Proyecto Arqueológico Calakmul (PAC) under the general direction of Ramón Carrasco Vargas, a so-called 'trash deposit' was uncovered on the south side of Structure XX of Calakmul, consisting of more than fifteen thousand ceramic fragments (Fig. 1). Structure XX, located on the western extreme of the Plaza de los Prisioneros of the Grand Acropolis or ‘West Group’, was during much of the Late Classic probably the main entrance to the largest palace complex in the Maya Lowlands, the Grand Acropolis Group. This palace complex measures roughly 336 m north-south by 344 m east-west and consists of 17 courtyards, surrounded by an estimated 80 buildings. The deposit was associated with the latest floor of a relatively small courtyard immediately behind Structure XX, some 1.6 m underneath actual soil surface. During the building’s use as an entrance to the Grand Acropolis Group at least from the early Late Classic onwards, the courtyard behind Structure XX might have functioned as a point of dispersion, granting relatively easy access to several of the other 16 courtyards of the palace complex (Delvendahl 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008). Of course, the location close to the only entrance to the palace group and the fact that almost no other material (such as conch, obsidian, carbon, etc.) was found, makes the term 'trash' dubious. However, around 95% of the ceramics were of domestic kind, especially of 'Ciricote Compuesto'-type, large bowls with wide necks used for storage, which were so popular in Calakmul that the same type was used all through the Early and Late Classic. -
The PARI Journal Vol. IX, No. 2
ThePARIJournal A quarterly publication of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute Volume IX, No. 2, Fall 2008 Inscriptions and Iconography of In This Issue: CastilloViejo, Chichen Itza Inscriptions and Iconography of PETER SCHMIDT Castillo Viejo, DAVID STUART Chichen Itza BRUCE LOVE by Peter Schmidt, David Introduction a glyph panel was photographed on the Stuart, and Bruce Love west jamb of that building and that the Castillo Viejo, or the Castillo at Old negatives were developed and found to PAGES 1-17 Chichen (designated 5B18 in the Carnegie be satisfactory before backfilling the ex- survey of Maya structures), lies within the • cavation. Therefore it is somewhat cu- Principal Group of the Southwest, roughly Some Thoughts rious that Proskouriakoff would write 350 meters west of the Initial Series Group almost 40 years later that there was “no About a New Vase and 1.3 kilometers southwest of El Castillo and an Old God adequate record” of these inscriptions (Ruppert 1952:111, Figs. 77, 142b-e, 151) prior to 1953, when Carnegie photogra- by (Figure 2). The west jamb of the temple on pher David de Harport, graduate student Raphael Tunesi top of Castillo Viejo contains hieroglyphic in training at Mayapan, photographed PAGES 18-23 inscriptions that were published and dis- them (Proskouriakoff 1970:459; Pollock cussed by Tatiana Proskouriakoff in 1970 • 2006[1953]:163). The 1953 photographs (Figure 1). The inscriptions have drawn and subsequent drawings later formed A Future Cache in scant attention since Proskouriakoff’s ar- Guatemala ticle, but recently the INAH Chichen Itza by Archaeological Project, under the direc- Elayne Marquis tion of Dr. -
The Meaning of the Maya Flapstaff Dance
Glyph Dwellers is an occasional publication of the Maya Hieroglyphic Database Project, at the University of California, Davis. Its purpose is to make available recent discoveries about ancient Maya culture, history, iconography, and Mayan historical linguistics deriving from the project. Funding for the Maya Hieroglyphic Database Project is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, grants #RT21365-92, RT21608-94, PA22844- 96, the National Science Foundation, #SBR9710961, and the Department of Native American Studies, University of California, Davis. Links to Glyph Dwellers from other sites are welcome. © 2003 Martha J. Macri & Matthew G. Looper. All rights reserved. Written material and artwork appearing in these reports may not be republished or duplicated for profit. Citation of more than one paragraph requires written permission of the publisher. No copies of this work may be distributed electronically, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the publisher. ISSN 1097-3737 Glyph Dwellers Report 17 December 2003 The Meaning of the Maya Flapstaff Dance MATTHEW G. LOOPER About ten years ago, at the Maya Meetings at Texas, Elisabeth Wagner and I discussed possible meanings of the rituals depicted on Yaxchilan Stelae 11 and 16 and Lintels 9, 33, and 50. These eighth-century sculptures show rulers and subordinates holding or exchanging flapstaffs—staff-like objects which incorporate a tubular fabric banners with T-shaped cutouts. The first clue to understanding the flapstaffs comes from Carolyn Tate’s observation that the dates of the flapstaff rituals shown on these monuments at Yaxchilan all fall at the end of June, around the time of the summer solstice (Tate 1985; 1992). -
Altun Ha and the Water Scroll Emblem Glyph
Ancient Mesoamerica, 29 (2018), 113–135 Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2018 doi:10.1017/S0956536117000256 KINGS OF THE EAST: ALTUN HA AND THE WATER SCROLL EMBLEM GLYPH Christophe Helmke,a Stanley P. Guenter,b and Phillip J. Wanyerkac aInstitute of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Karen Blixens Plads 8, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark bFoundation for Archaeological Research and Environmental Studies, 164 W 400 N, Rupert, Idaho 83350 cDepartment of Criminology, Anthropology, and Sociology, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Ave. RT 932, Cleveland, Ohio 44115 ABSTRACT The importance of emblem glyphs to Maya studies has long been recognized. Among these are emblems that have yet to be conclusively matched to archaeological sites. The Water Scroll emblem glyph is one such example, although it appears numerous times in the Classic Maya written corpus between the sixth and the eighth centuries. These many references are found at a variety of sites across the lowlands, attesting to the importance of this ancient kingdom and the kings who carried this title. In the present paper, we review the epigraphic and archaeological evidence and propose that this may be the royal title of the kings who reigned from Altun Ha, in the east central Maya lowlands, in what is now Belize. In so doing, we also begin to reconstruct the dynastic history of the Water Scroll kings, from the vantage of both local and foreign sources. INTRODUCTION transport and trade inland to the central lowlands. This connection is made clear in the realm of ceramics, for many of the Late In 1965, while excavating at the northern Belizean site of Altun Ha, Classic forms and decorative modes found at Altun Ha are identical David M. -
Ancient Maya Economy: Lithic Production and Exchange Around Ceibal, Guatemala
Ancient Mesoamerica, 28 (2017), 279–303 Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2017. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. doi:10.1017/S0956536116000183 ANCIENT MAYA ECONOMY: LITHIC PRODUCTION AND EXCHANGE AROUND CEIBAL, GUATEMALA Kazuo Aoyama Faculty of Humanities, Ibaraki University, Bunkyo 2-1-1, Mito, Ibaraki 310-8512, Japan Abstract This article discusses the results of my diachronic analysis of lithic artifacts collected around Ceibal, Guatemala, in order to elucidate one aspect of long-term changing patterns in the pre-Columbian Maya economic systems and warfare. The importation of large polyhedral obsidian cores and local production of prismatic blades began as the result of sociopolitical development in Ceibal during the early Middle Preclassic Real-Xe phase. El Chayal obsidian was heavily used during the early Middle Preclassic period, while San Martín Jilotepeque was the principal source in the late Middle Preclassic, Late Preclassic, and Terminal Preclassic periods, and El Chayal once more became the major source in Ceibal during the Classic period. There is increasing evidence of the production and use of chert and obsidian points in the central part of Ceibal during the Late and Terminal Classic periods, indicating elites’ direct involvement in warfare. Although the spear or dart points were predominant weapons in Classic Maya warfare, the increase in both chert small unifacial points and obsidian prismatic blade points in Ceibal points to bow-and-arrow technology by the Terminal Classic period. -
Beyond Capitals and Kings: a Comparison of Animal Resource Use Among Ten Late Classic Maya Sites
BEYOND CAPITALS AND KINGS: A COMPARISON OF ANIMAL RESOURCE USE AMONG TEN LATE CLASSIC MAYA SITES By ASHLEY E. SHARPE A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2011 1 © 2011 Ashley E. Sharpe 2 To my parents, Who taught me the value of curiosity 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am indebted to a number of individuals for helping me finish this thesis, first and foremost among them my advisor, Dr. Kitty Emery. With her expertise and, sometimes more importantly, patience, I was able to accomplish much more with this study than I had originally anticipated. I am also grateful for her help in providing me with the original datasets of the faunal material she had analyzed from Piedras Negras and Aguateca, and for acquainting me with a number archaeologists and other individuals both directly and indirectly associated with the excavations covered in this study, all of whom were able to provide invaluable assistance in my quest to reconstruct past patterns of animal resource use. I must also thank my supervisory committee member, Dr. Susan deFrance, for helping me with some of the initial identifications for the Sierra del Lacandon material when I first began the analysis, and for urging me to look at the broader implications of some of my data. I am also grateful to my committee member, Dr. Susan Milbrath, whose passion for ancient Maya culture and mythology prompted me to explore explanations I would not otherwise have considered.