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The Dwarf Motif in Classic Maya Monumental Iconography

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The Dwarf Motif in Classic Maya Monumental Iconography THE DWARF MOTIF IN CLASSIC MAYA MONUMENTAL ICONOGRAPHY: A SPATIAL ANALYSIS Wendy J. Bacon A Dissertation in Anthropology presented to the faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2007 Dissertation Supervisor Graduate Group Chairperson Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 3292005 Copyright 2007 by Bacon, Wendy J. All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3292005 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COPYRIGHT Wendy J. Bacon 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. for my mother Mary C. (Bacon 1 9 2 7 -2 0 0 3 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks are due R. Atkinson (Penguin Books), Joseph Ball (San Diego State University), Timothy Bergen, Sue Bergh (Cleveland Museum of Art), Mary Bergin- Cartwright (Oxford University Press), Julie Brown (Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology), Juan Can Balan (Universidad Autonoma de Campeche), Arlen Chase (University of Central Florida), Frank Elomparato (Labyrinthos Press), Patricia Goodman (Steve Goodman Photography), David Greene (Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute), Nikolai Grube (Universitat Bonn), Stephen Houston (Brown University), Isensee GmbH Verlag, Barbara and Justin Kerr (Kerr Associates), James McDonald, Tina McDowell (Carnegie Institution of Washington), Walda Metcalf (University of Pennsylvania Museum Publications), Helen Najarian (Peabody Museum Press), Hubert Robichaux (University of the Incarnate Word), Beverly Sollenberger, P.A. Spencer (Egypt Exploration Society), Stanford University Press, Phillip Wanyerka (Cleveland State University), and Joseph Zrinski for permission to reproduce illustrations. Nikolai Grube kindly shared his drawing of Oxpemul Stela 19. Patricia Goodman graciously rendered the dwarf of Acanmul from a photograph generously provided by Joseph Ball. Catherine Hicks and Marco Manzo (University of Pennsylvania) answered stylistic questions. Max Gillilan, Richard Gillilan, Patricia Goodman, Stephen Goodman, Patricia Kervick, and Amy Zoll provided technical assistance. I am indebted to (at the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania): the Precolumbian Society, especially Lloyd Anderson, Jeanna Carey, Gaye Greenwald, John Harris, Christopher Kocher, Lynn Matson, Naomi Smith (who, in a sleet storm, took a cab all the way from New York City to Philadelphia just to hear my lecture), and Bette Zippin; the staff of the Museum Library, particularly Jean Adelman, Anita Fahringer, Carole Linderman, Sheryl Tisdale, and John Weeks; the iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. American Section, including Carl Beetz, William Coe, Elizabeth Easby, Christopher Jones, and Arthur Miller; and my colleagues lately of the Department of Anthropology: Elin Danien (who Jewish-mothered me through this [Danien 2002:244]), Steve Epstein, Susan Johnston, and Eleanor King. These last will join me in thanking the ancient Maya for chocolate, a quantity of which was vital to this production. I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of physicians Gordon Bendersky (Hahnemann University), William Mackenzie (Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children), and Victor McKusick (Johns Hopkins University). Joseph Ball, Sharon Bowen, Julie Brown, Antonia Foias, Ian Graham, Nikolai Grube, Timothy Hagerty, John Harris, William Haviland, Nicholas Hellmuth, Stephen Houston, William Mackenzie, Simon Martin, Patricia Nietfeld, Mary Lucas Powell, Gary Richards, Hubert Robichaux, Jeremy Sabloff, Ivan Sprajc, Lou Stancari, Carolyn Tate, and Marc Zender supplied data. Wendy Ashmore, Gordon Bendersky, Della Collins Cook, Elin Danien, Anita Fahringer, Nikolai Grube, Christina Halperin, Laura Johnson-Kelly, Christopher Jones, Mary Ellen Miller, Anatole Pohorilenko, Jeremy Sabloff, Robert Sharer, and Kharlena Ramanan recommended bibliography. Peter Harrison saved me from a blunder in Tikal structure numbers. William Coe suggested that I research depictions of achondroplasia on Classic Maya stela for my Senior Thesis at the University of Pennsylvania in 1978. Gratitude is due my graduate committee: Wendy Ashmore, Jeremy Sabloff, and Robert Sharer. The support of the Johnson City, New York Community of Christ as well as that of my indaws, Carol Gillilan and Ronald Gillilan, has been most valuable to me. Finally, cold prose falls far short of expressing my warmest gratitude to my parents, Mary Bacon and Ogden Bacon, and to my son, Max Gillilan, for their immeasurable sacrifices. To say that this dissertation would never have seen the light of day without the multifaceted support of my spouse, Richard Gillilan, is an understatement of dimension only he can fathom. As its length is only exceeded by my debt to them, this work is dedicated to my family. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT THE DWARF MOTIF IN CFASSIC MAYA MONUMENTAL ICONOGRAPHY: A SPATIAL ANALYSIS Wendy J. Bacon Robert J. Sharer Although scholars of Classic Maya art have described certain short-statured figures as achondroplastic dwarves and endowed them with mystical significance, the motif has gone undefined biologically, iconographically, and ideologically. This contextual analysis of 45 short-statured individuals, depicted on archaeologically provenienced monuments, identifies the anatomical and cultural attributes that define the dwarf motif. Investigation at all levels of settlement, from small, dependent sites to regional superpowers, demonstrates how ancient Maya artists adapted broadly shared iconography to express local identity. While epigraphic, ethnohistoric, and ethnographic data support a variety of roles for dwarves, shifting over 300 years, monumental depictions of dwarves are consistently associated with symbols of liminality, implying that the motif represented the process of transition for the ancient Maya. This analysis of the dwarf motif grounds the interpretation of iconography not only firmly in archaeological context but within the ancient Maya conception of time and their ideological integration of the natural and supernatural as well. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: THE DWARF MOTIF AND MAYA ICONOGRAPHY: A REVIEW Introduction 1 Archaeological Methods of Interpreting Iconography 4 The Conjunctive Method 5 The Cognitive Method 6 The Contextual Method 7 Spatial Analysis 9 The Dwarf Motif in the Art of Other Societies 11 The Dwarf Motif in Maya Art 14 Early Use of the Term ‘Dwarf: 1895 to 1930 14 Functional Terms: 1930 to 1950 15 ‘Dwarves’ Identified on Monuments: 1950 to 1970 16 Studies of Maya Dwarf Iconography: 1970 to 2005 18 Methodology 28 Defining the Dwarf Motif 28 Terminology and Usage 34 CHAPTER 2: THE BIOLOGY OF SHORT-LIMBED DWARFISM Diagnosis of Short-Statured Conditions 36 Review of Short-Stature Classifications 37 Achondroplasia 42 Etiology, Risk Factors, and Frequency 43 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Pathogenesis 47 Diagnosis 48 The Paleopathology of Short Stature 50 The Classical World 51 The Old World 54 The New World: North and South America 57 The New World: Central America 59 Summary 63 CHAPTER 3: CATALOG OF MONUMENTS Introduction 65 Acanmul Structure 9 Column 69 Calakmul Stela 16 71 Calakmul Stela 29 72 Calakmul Stela 89 74 Caracol Stela 1 76 Caracol Stela 4 78 Caracol Stela 5 80 Caracol Stela 6 Front 82 Caracol Stela 6 Back 84 Caracol Stela 8 85 Caracol Stela 9 86 Caracol Stela 11 88 Caracol Stela 19 90 Caracol Stela 21 91 Dos Pilas Stela 14 93 Dos Pilas Stela 15 95 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. El Peru Stela 34 97 La Florida Stela 7 100 La Milpa Stela 4 Front 101 La Milpa Stela 4 Back 103 La Milpa Stela 12 105 Motul de San Jose Stela 2 Front (West) 106 Motul de San Jose Stela 4 108 Oxpemul Stela 19 109 Santa Rosa Xtampak Palace Panel 111 Sayil Structure 4B1 East Column 113 Sayil Structure 4B1 West Column 115 Tikal Structure 5D-1 (Temple I) Lintel 3 116 Tikal Structure 5C-4 (Temple IV) Lintel 3 119 Tikal Structure 5D-52 Lintel 121 Tikal Structure 5D-141 Facade 124 Tzum Stela 5 126 Uxul Altar 2 127 Xultun Stela 3 129 Xultun Stela 7 130 Xultun Stela 8 132 Xultun Stela 10 133 Xultun Stela 22 135 Xultun Stela 23 136 Xultun Stela 24 138 Xultun Stela 25 139 Yaxchilan Hieroglyphic
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