DOCSLIB.ORG

The Lord of Yellow Tree

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Lord of Yellow Tree ThePARIJournal A quarterly publication of the Ancient Cultures Institute Volume XIX, No. 4, Spring 2019 The Lordof Yellow Tree:A New Reference In This Issue: Toa Minor Polityon Sacul Stela 9 The Lord of Yellow NICHOLAS CARTER Tree: A New LAUREN SANTINI Reference to a Minor Polity on Sacul Stela 9 Stela 9 at the site of Sacul 1, Guatemala seventh century means that the early by (9.18.0.0.0, October 12, AD 790) depicts political history of the Juluup dynasty Nicholas Carter and a local ruler, K’iyel Janab, standing remains obscure. The earliest hieroglyphic Lauren Santini above a bound captive. Ian Graham took text at Sacul 1, on Stela 1, dates to AD 761. PAGES 1-9 photographs and made field sketches of It describes its patron, K’iyel Janab, as the monument in 1970 (Mayer 1990:1). “fourth in the lordship,” perhaps placing • Graham’s photographs (Figure 3) show an the foundation of the Juluup line around Sighting a emblem glyph in the hieroglyphic caption 700 (Carter 2016:242). Such a foundational Royal Vehicle: beside the prisoner. A number of internal date would substantially postdate the Observations on the details of signs in the emblem glyph are earliest formal plaza floors at Sacul 1, Graffiti of Tulix Mul, visible in the photographs, and recent which belong to the Early Classic period, Belize examination of the monument at night un- and also a sixth-century ritual deposit of der raking light confirmed their survival. hundreds of ceramic vessels and incense by However, some of those details were not burners in Plaza D (Laporte and Mejía Christophe Helmke, included in Graham’s unpublished field 2006:25, 102, 122-123, 325), but it would be Gail Hammond, Thomas Guderjan, sketch, and as a result do not appear in consistent with the Late Classic date of the Pieta Greaves, and published line drawings made from it bulk of the monumental architecture at Colleen Hanratty (e.g., Houston 1984:Fig. 6; Laporte et al. the site (Laporte et al. 1992). PAGES 10-30 2006:Fig. 12). With the missing details Mid-eighth-century predecessors or restored, the emblem glyph in question contemporaries of K’iyel Janab are named can be read as k’ante’ ajaw, “Lord of Yellow in painted texts at the cave of Naj Tunich, Marc Zender Tree,” a title not previously attested in the which they visited in the company of Editor hieroglyphic corpus. The reading adds to lords from polities including Calakmul, [email protected] the epigraphic evidence for warfare and Caracol, Ixtutz, and the unlocated site an increase in the number of royal titles of Baax Tuun (Garrison and Stuart 2004; Joel Skidmore Associate Editor among the polities of the western Maya MacLeod and Stone 1990; Tokovinine [email protected] Mountains at the end of the eighth century. 2013). Recently recognized by Barbara MacLeod (n.d.), lords from Huacutal and The PARI Journal Background Ucanal also made pilgrimages to the cave. 202 Edgewood Avenue K’iyel Janab himself may have taken office San Francisco, CA 94117 During the eighth century AD, the site in 760, when, according to Sacul Stela 4, 415-664-8889 of Sacul 1 (“Sacul”) was the capital of [email protected] he received a ritual palanquin from the the Juluup kingdom, one of several Late Ucanal king Itzamnaaj Bahlam II. The gift Electronic version Classic polities in the region of present- highlights the Juluup lord’s subordinate available at: day Dolores, Peten, Guatemala (Figures status, which persisted to as late as 779. www.precolumbia.org/ 1 and 2). Although decades of work by In that year, K’iyel Janab sponsored a pari/journal/1904 the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala vassal of his own, transforming the minor ISSN 1531-5398 have produced extensive survey data and site of Ixkun into a capital suitable for stratigraphic and ceramic chronologies for the new subject king—a move which evi- the western Maya Mountains, the paucity dently provoked a raid on Sacul by Ucanal of local hieroglyphic texts before the late (Carter 2016:244-247). In the war that The PARI Journal 19(4):1-9 © 2019 Ancient Cultures Institute 1 The Lord of Yellow Tree Figure 2. Site plan of N Sacul 1 (drawing by Nicholas Carter after Ramos 1999:Fig. 2). 0 25 50 km Figure 1. The western Maya Mountains in the Maya Jaina region. Map courtesy of Xcalumkin Precolumbia Mesoweb Press. Plaza C GULF OF MEXICO Plaza A Plaza B Plaza D Dzibanche N Bay of Chetumal o d 0 50 100 m n o H Calakmul ío El Palmar R Palenque r ve Ri ze Beli Tikal Piedras Negras Huacutal Naranjo U Lake Peten Itza s um Motul de a Yaxchilan San Jose cin Ucanal ta CARIBBEAN SEA Ri Caracol ver El Chal Ixkun Maya Itzan Mountains Ceibal Ixtonton Sacul Dos Pilas Ixtutz Petexbatun Basin Machaquila Naj Tunich Chinkultic Tres Islas Figure 3. Photograph of o r Cancuen Fragment 5 of Sacul Stela 9, by g e N Ian Graham. Gift of Ian Graham, o Sarstoon Rive í r R 2004 © President and Fellows of Harvard College, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Lake Izabal Ethnology, PM# 2004.15.1.1082.1. Quirigua iver a R otagu M Copan 2 3 Carter and Santini The Lord of Yellow Tree followed, K’iyel Janab first attacked a Figure 5. (a) Detail of Tikal Stela 31 (K’AN-TE’- subject town of Ucanal, then Ucanal la-CHAN-CH’E’N); (b) detail of Yaxchilan Lintel itself, emerging as the victor after a raid 23 (AJ-K’AN-TE’-la) (drawing by Ian Graham © on that site on February 11, 780. Both President and Fellows of Harvard College, Peabody K’iyel Janab and his vassal Yuklaj Chan Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, PM# Ahk of Ixkun were still in power in 790, 2004.15.6.7.3); (c) detail of unprovenanced panel when Ixkun Stela 1 and probably its in the Musées Royeaux d’Art et d’Histoire (ya- ba-K’AWIIL-la-AJ-K’AN-na-TE’-la; drawing © companion piece, the eroded Stela 2 at Alexander Safronov). Sacul, were commissioned. Ixkun Stela a c 1 shows the two rulers standing above a pair of captives, one of whom bears the title k’ahk’ ajaw (“Fire Lord”), which served as a secondary emblem glyph or alternative royal title for the kings of Ixtutz. b Sacul Stela 9 b Sacul Stela 9 (Figure 4a) is a limestone monument, originally 3.6 m tall by 95 Botanical identifications ofk’ante’ “ripe.” The few scattered references to k’ante’ in the Figure 4. (a) Sacul Stela 9, cm wide and 45 cm thick, carved in re- K’an te’ (“yellow tree”) denotes a cultural category of hieroglyphic corpus do not clarify the species of tree front (drawing by Nicholas lief on its front surface (Mayer 1990:4). trees whose species reference varies across languages. It indicated, while a Postclassic depiction of a k’ante’, on Carter after photographs The stela fell forward or was broken in joins other trees named in the hieroglyphic corpus after page 31 of the Dresden Codex, lacks details that might and field sketches by antiquity, fracturing the lower panel the basic colors of the ancient Maya palette: sak te’ (“white aid in species identification. himself and Ian Graham); into two large pieces (Fragments 4 and sak te’ ajaw (b) detail of the caption on tree,” as in , a title mentioned at Copan and 5, per Mayer 1990:4) and knocking off La Corona; Callaway 2011:102; Gronemeyer 2016:90), Stela 9, Fragment 5, read- K’ante’ in the Hieroglyphic Record ing U-CHAN-nu K’AN-na- two additional pieces (Fragments 2 and chak te’ (“red tree,” on page 33 of the Dresden Codex), TE’-AJAW. 3) from the left side of the fragments ihk’ te’ (“black tree,” on page 34 of the Dresden Codex, Besides Sacul Stela 9, at least three Classic monuments from the upper panel. The glyphs and perhaps a kind of oak; see Ch’orti’ ik’ar te’ [Wisdom refer to places whose names include k’ante’, none of details on Fragments 2 and 4 are badly eroded, but the rest of the 1950] and Ch’ol ic’te’ [Aulie and Aulie 1998:45]), and yax them firmly identified with a known site. The earliest, monument (Fragment 1) is in relatively good condition. At present, te’ (“blue/green tree” or “first tree,” the ceiba, on page Tikal Stela 31 (AD 445), records that the Tikal ruler Chak Fragment 1 lies in Plaza A under a thatched ramada, roughly where 15 of the Paris Codex). A similar but probably unrelated Took Ich’aak celebrated the 8.17.0.0.0 k’atun ending of it fell, with the remaining pieces collected under another ramada Yucatec word, k’anche’, refers to benches of any kind of AD 376 at “the town of K’ante’el” (k’ante’el chan ch’e’n) some meters away. wood (Barrera Vázquez et al. 1980:376). (Figure 5a). Presumably this K’ante’el, a “place of yel- Approximately the upper four-fifths of the monument In Ch’orti’, k’ante’ (“yellow tree”) names Gliricidia low trees,” was in or near Tikal, and Nikolai Grube (Fragments 1, 2, and 3) show K’iyel Janab holding a ritual fire- sepium, commonly known as madre cacao (Pérez Martínez suggested that it corresponds to the Mundo Perdido drilling staff and a small shield, wearing a jaguar-head headdress 1994:50). The term is shared with highland Mayan complex (Boot 2001:201).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Maya Mountains M Ountain Pine Ridge
    89º00'W 88º30'W 0 20 km 0 10 miles Belize City (32mi) River ize La Democracia Bel BELIZE DISTRICT Guanacaste Banana National Bank Lodge CAYO Park Western Hwy Roaring Art Box DISTRICT Creek El Pilar Archaeological The Leslies’ Belmopan Airport aya Spanish El Pilar Reserve for M Private Paradise Flora and Fauna Lookout Mount BELMOPAN River Hope Teakettle Creek Nohoch Che'en e Unitedville Village Yim Hummingbird Caves Branch Ontario Saan Highway Beliz g Archaeological Reserve Bullet Georgeville Village Roarin Ian Anderson's Jaguar Paw Tree Falls Central Farm Caves Branch Esperanza C Jungle Reserve hiqu Jungle Lodge iver Santa Elena Actun Kropf's R San Ignacio ibul Cahal Pech Tunichil Bakery n y Rd Muknal GUATEMALA Cristo Rey Tapir Mountain St Herman's Blue Hole Mopa Chial Rd Nature Reserve estern Hw Barton National Park W Cristo Rey Xunantunich San José Branch Hummin Creek gbird Succotz Rd Sibun Melchor de San Antonio River Benque Viejo Forest Hwy Mencos Nojkaaxmeen Thousand Café Casita del Carmen Reserve River Foot Falls Caves De Amour Eligio Panti Coom Cairn National Park Cree a Poustinia Land on k Rd Art Park Cooma Sibun Privassi Cairn Baldy Beacon 17º00'N (3126ft) (3346ft) Vaca Forest Pools 17º00'N Rí On Reserve o Sittee River Granite Cairn Forest Reserve Douglas D'Silva (2820ft) (Augustine) Sibun Gorge Rio Mac Vaqueros Mollejon Frio Mountain al Creek Pine Ridge r Creek e Forest Reserve River iv Rd R Chiquibul l ountain Pinec aRidge M Ma Sittee River Chiquibul Victoria National Peak Natural Park Monument Caracol Victoria Peak Archaeological CAYO DISTRICT (3675ft) Reserve STANN Chiquibul CREEK Caracol Forest s Reserve in DISTRICT ta n Cockscomb u Basin Vaca Plateau (1650ft) a Mo y Ma Chiquibul National Park Maya Mountain Forest Reserve TOLEDO DISTRICT Red Bank Chiquibul Branch River 16º30'N Bladen y 16º30'N Doyle's Nature Reserve Hw Delight n s a i (3687ft) n t Southern o u M y a Deep River Swasey Bladen a Forest Columbia River M Forest Reserve Forest Reserve Reserve 89º00'W 88º30'W.
    [Show full text]
  • Descargar Este Artículo En Formato
    Foias, Antonia E. y Ronald L. Bishop 1994 El colapso Clásico Maya y las vajillas de Pasta Fina en la región de Petexbatun. En VII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1993 (editado por J.P. Laporte y H. Escobedo), pp.469-489. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala. 42 EL COLAPSO CLÁSICO MAYA Y LAS VAJILLAS DE PASTA FINA EN LA REGIÓN DE PETEXBATUN Antonia E. Foias Ronald L. Bishop Una teoría prominente sobre el Colapso Clásico Maya de las Tierras Bajas Centrales se refiere a invasiones extranjeras de la región del río Pasión. Clave a esta hipótesis de invasiones extranjeras es un grupo de cerámica llamado vajillas de pasta fina: Gris Fino y Naranja Fino. Se propuso que estas vajillas fueron traídas del área de la Chontalpa por los invasores Putunes (Thompson 1970; Adams 1971, 1973; Sabloff 1973, 1975; Kowalski 1989; Ball y Taschek 1989; Schele y Freidel 1990). Este grupo viajó por el Usumacinta y después por el Pasión donde conquistaron los dos sitios de Ceibal y Altar de Sacrificios. La importancia de estas pastas finas queda entonces como marcador de esta invasión extranjera en las Tierras Bajas Mayas del Oeste. Seguidamente, presentamos nuevos datos sobre estas vajillas (Naranja Fino y Gris Fino) en la región de Petexbatun y discutiremos su significado dentro del problema del colapso en el drenaje del río Pasión. La región Petexbatun se localiza en el suroeste de Petén, Guatemala, entre el río Petexbatun al este, el río Pasión al norte y el río Chixoy-Salinas al oeste (Figura 1). Esta región ha sido el enfoque del Proyecto Arqueológico Regional Petexbatun de la Universidad de Vanderbilt y de la Fundación Mario Dary, bajo la dirección general de Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Chichen Itza 6 Tourism YUCATAN | 7 Location Yucatan Is Located in Southeastern Mexico, in the GEOGRAPHY Northern Part of the Yucatan Peninsula
    SALES CATALOGUE Y U C ATA N THE BEGINNING OF A NEW BAKTUN WELCOME TO YUCATaN The beginnings and origin of who we are today was born in the land of the Maya, the Mayab, with the ancient Maya civilization to which we belong and whose ancient heritage fills us with pride. Humanity in the 21st century searches to reconnect with ourselves, to become reconciled with nature and learn from their peers. We are on a quest to encounter ancient civilizations, new landscapes, new seas, new traditions, new experiences... In YUCATAN we offer the possibility of communion by virtue of our extraordinary heritage, where we have the opportunity to learn, preserve, share and enjoy the cultural, natural and tourist wealth that we possess. At the start of a new Baktun, or long-count cycle in the Maya calendar, we offer a myriad of options for recreation, leisure, knowledge, reflection, peace, health, adventure, andcoexistence throughout the length and width of the Yucatan... YUCATAN is land of origins: It is a land where everything begins anew. It is a prodigious land within the reach of travelers from the world over who seek to know and live among a culture that is more live than ever: The Maya Culture. We are heirs of this great wealth, which we should, want and wish to share with all of you and future generations. WELCOME TO YUCATAN Rolando Rodrigo Zapata Bello Governor of the State of Yucatan MAYAN MUSEUM OF MERIDA 2 Tourism YUCATAN | 3 CREDITS Rolando Zapata Bello Governor of the State of Yucatan Saul M.
    [Show full text]
  • Physical Expression of Sacred Space Among the Ancient Maya
    Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Research Sociology and Anthropology Department 1-2004 Models of Cosmic Order: Physical Expression of Sacred Space Among the Ancient Maya Jennifer P. Mathews Trinity University, [email protected] J. F. Garber Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/socanthro_faculty Part of the Anthropology Commons, and the Sociology Commons Repository Citation Mathews, J. P., & Garber, J. F. (2004). Models of cosmic order: Physical expression of sacred space among the ancient Maya. Ancient Mesoamerica, 15(1), 49-59. doi: 10.1017/S0956536104151031 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ancient Mesoamerica, 15 (2004), 49–59 Copyright © 2004 Cambridge University Press. Printed in the U.S.A. DOI: 10.1017/S0956536104151031 MODELS OF COSMIC ORDER Physical expression of sacred space among the ancient Maya Jennifer P. Mathewsa and James F. Garberb aDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, Trinity University, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX 78212, USA bDepartment of Anthropology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA Abstract The archaeological record, as well as written texts, oral traditions, and iconographic representations, express the Maya perception of cosmic order, including the concepts of quadripartite division and layered cosmos. The ritual act of portioning and layering created spatial order and was used to organize everything from the heavens to the layout of altars.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter Eight: the Bladen Management Consortium
    Chapter Eight: The Bladen Management Consortium Introduction The Bladen Nature Reserve inspires passion among its many advocates and frustration among residents of the communities that it borders. Called “the jewel in the crown of Belize’s protected area system,” for its exceptional biodiversity, dramatic topography, and archeological treasures, the 97,000-acre reserve is afforded Belize’s highest level of protection (Pinelo 2002). Only education and research are allowed in Bladen: hunting, fishing, logging, harvesting of plant materials for food, fiber, or medicine, removal of artifacts, tourism, and trespass of any sort without a permit are all prohibited. While these restrictions exist “on the books,” until recently the under-resourced Government agencies and thinly stretched non-governmental organizations tasked with enforcing them have implemented little real on the ground management in the reserve. With growing population and mounting development pressure, illegal activities in the reserve have continued to increase in the last several years, threatening both the natural and archeological resources that have made the Bladen Nature Reserve famous. The Bladen Management Consortium was born out of its founders’ conviction that the Bladen Nature Reserve was a unique resource in dire need of management and their recognition that the management challenges were beyond the capacity of any one organization. As a case study in collaboration, it highlights the many difficulties associated with initiating and sustaining an multi-stakeholder management body, particularly with regard to funding, staffing, representation, and legitimacy. It also illustrates how a few committed individuals can drive a collaborative process forward despite such challenges. Significantly, several of the key individuals and organizations involved in the Bladen Management Consortium also interact in the broader landscape of the Toledo District.
    [Show full text]
  • CATALOG Mayan Stelaes
    CATALOG Mayan Stelaes Palos Mayan Collection 1 Table of Contents Aguateca 4 Ceibal 13 Dos Pilas 20 El Baúl 23 Itsimite 27 Ixlu 29 Ixtutz 31 Jimbal 33 Kaminaljuyu 35 La Amelia 37 Piedras Negras 39 Polol 41 Quirigia 43 Tikal 45 Yaxha 56 Mayan Fragments 58 Rubbings 62 Small Sculptures 65 2 About Palos Mayan Collection The Palos Mayan Collection includes 90 reproductions of pre-Columbian stone carvings originally created by the Mayan and Pipil people traced back to 879 A.D. The Palos Mayan Collection sculptures are created by master sculptor Manuel Palos from scholar Joan W. Patten’s casts and rubbings of the original artifacts in Guatemala. Patten received official permission from the Guatemalan government to create casts and rubbings of original Mayan carvings and bequeathed her replicas to collaborator Manuel Palos. Some of the originals stelae were later stolen or destroyed, leaving Patten’s castings and rubbings as their only remaining record. These fine art-quality Maya Stelae reproductions are available for purchase by museums, universities, and private collectors through Palos Studio. You are invited to book a virtual tour or an in- person tour through [email protected] 3 Aguateca Aguateca is in the southwestern part of the Department of the Peten, Guatemala, about 15 kilometers south of the village of Sayaxche, on a ridge on the western side of Late Petexbatun. AGUATECA STELA 1 (50”x85”) A.D. 741 - Late Classic Presumed to be a ruler of Aguatecas, his head is turned in an expression of innate authority, personifying the rank implied by the symbols adorning his costume.
    [Show full text]
  • Southern Lowland Maya Archaeology and Human Skeletal Remains
    2 SouthernLowland Maya Archaeologyand Human SkeletalRemains: Interpretations from Caracol (Belize),Santa Rita Corozal (Belize),and Diane Z. Chase Tayasal(Guatemala) One classof data that is crucial to archaeologi- oretical difficulties involved in making intersite cal interpretations of prehistoric populations, comparisons. 1 their health, status,and demographicpatterns, is that derived from human burials. These are recoveredin what, at first glance,appear to be Caracol, Santa Rita Corozal, sizeablequantities in most excavationsat most and Tayasal: Temporal and Maya sites (Chase1994; Saul and Saul 1991, Skeletal Samples Tourtellot 1990a;Welsh 1988). Yet. how much Caracol, the largestof the three sites,is located do we know about the actual remains of the in the Vaca Plateauof Belizein the foothills of ancient Maya and how can excavatedsamples beused to defineancient populations? . the Maya Mountains at an elevation of over' 500 m. Long-term large-scaleexcavation was The sitesof Caracol,Santa Rita Cocozal,and started at Caracci in 1985 and hastaken place Tayasal are all Maya sites '° the southern every year since then (Chaseand Chase1987; lowlands. Each of these sites, however, is lo- D. Chase and A. Chase 1994). The earliest cated within a distinctive geographicarea and maintains a different history of human occu- pation. Investigationsat each site have.added I The author acknowledgesthe problems in comparing important information to our views of the health among archaeological populations as identified ancient Maya and, when taken together, pro- by Wood et al. (1992}. This discussion, however, will vide greater insight into both a broader in- place greater emphasis on an equally important phe- nomenon: determination of sampling problems through terpretation of the nature of ancient Maya correlation of osteological remains with other archaeo- populations and the methodological and the- logical information.
    [Show full text]
  • The Terminal Classic Period at Ceibal and in the Maya Lowlands
    THE TERMINAL CLASSIC PERIOD AT CEIBAL AND IN THE MAYA LOWLANDS Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan University of Arizona Ceibal is well known for the pioneering investigations conducted by Harvard University in the 1960s (Sabloff 1975; Smith 1982; Tourtellot 1988; Willey 1990). Since then, Ceibal has been considered to be a key site in the study of the Classic Maya collapse (Sabloff 1973a, 1973b; Sabloff and Willey 1967). The results of this project led scholars to hypothesize the following: 1) Ceibal survived substantially longer than other centers through the period of the Maya collapse; and 2) the new styles of monuments and new types of ceramics resulted from foreign invasions, which contributed to the Maya collapse. In 2005 we decided to revisit this important site to re-examine these questions in the light of recent developments in Maya archaeology and epigraphy. The results of the new research help us to shape a more refined understanding of the political process during the Terminal Classic period. The important points that we would like to emphasize in this paper are: 1) Ceibal did not simply survive through this turbulent period, but it also experienced political disruptions like many other centers; 2) this period of political disruptions was followed by a revival of Ceibal; and 3) our data support the more recent view that there were no foreign invasions; instead the residents of Ceibal were reorganizing and expanding their inter-regional networks of interaction. Ceibal is located on the Pasión River, and a comparison with the nearby Petexbatun centers, including Dos Pilas and Aguateca, is suggestive.
    [Show full text]
  • Installments 1-10
    ThePARIJournal A quarterly publication of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute Volume XIII, No. IV, Summer 2013 The Further Adventures of Merle1 MERLE GREENE ROBERTSON In This Issue: The Further Adventures of Merle by Merle Greene Robertson PAGES 1-7 • A Late Preclassic Distance Number by Mario Giron-Ábrego PAGES 8-12 Joel Skidmore Editor [email protected] Marc Zender Associate Editor [email protected] Figure 1. On the Usumacinta River on the way to Yaxchilan, 1965. The PARI Journal 202 Edgewood Avenue “No! You can’t go into the unknown wilds birds, all letting each other know where San Francisco, CA 94117 of Alaska!” That statement from my moth- they are. Evening comes early—dark by 415-664-8889 [email protected] er nearly 70 years ago is what changed my four o’clock. Colors are lost in pools of life forever. I went to Mexico instead, at darkness. Now the owls are out lording it Electronic version that time almost as unknown to us in the over the night, lucky when you see one. available at: U.S. as Alaska. And then later came the But we didn’t wait for nightfall to www.mesoweb.com/ pari/journal/1304 jungle, the jungle of the unknown that I pitch our camp. Champas made for our loved, no trails, just follow the gorgeous cooking, champas for my helpers, and a guacamayos in their brilliant red, yellow, ISSN 1531-5398 and blue plumage, who let you know where they are before you see them, by 1 Editor’s note: This memoir—left untitled by their constant mocking “clop, clop, clop.” the author—was completed in 2010, in Merle’s 97th Mahogany trees so tall you wonder if, year.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case Study of Apocalypto
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288187016 Relativism, Revisionism, Aboriginalism, and Emic/Etic Truth: The Case Study of Apocalypto Article · August 2013 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-1065-2-8 CITATIONS READS 2 2,540 1 author: Richard D Hansen University of Utah 33 PUBLICATIONS 650 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Mirador Basin Project, Guatemala View project Mirador Basin Archaeological Project View project All content following this page was uploaded by Richard D Hansen on 30 March 2016. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Chapter 8 Relativism, Revisionism, Aboriginalism, and Emic/Etic Truth: The Case Study of Apocalypto Richard D. Hansen Abstract Popular fi lm depictions of varied cultures, ranging from the Chinese, Africans, and Native Americans have repeatedly provided a variant perception of the culture. In works of fi ction, this fl aw cannot only provide us with entertainment, but with insights and motives in the ideological, social, or economic agendas of the authors and/or directors as well as those of the critics. Mel Gibson’s Maya epic Apocalypto has provided an interesting case study depicting indigenous warfare, environmental degradation, and ritual violence, characteristics that have been derived from multidisciplinary research, ethnohistoric studies, and other historical and archaeological investigations. The fi lm received extraordinary attention from the public, both as positive feedback and negative criticism from a wide range of observ- ers. Thus, the elements of truth, public perception, relativism, revisionism, and emic/etic perspectives coalesced into a case where truth, fi ction, and the virtues and vices of the authors and director of the fi lm as well as those of critics were exposed.
    [Show full text]
  • Geplünderte Maya-Monumente Aus La Naya, Petén, Guatemala
    Karl Herbert Mayer Geplünderte Maya-Monumente aus La Naya, Petén, Guatemala Resumen: En el pequeño sitio arqueológico La Naya había original- mente algunas estelas del clásico temprano y del clásico tardío. En su estilo local, las estelas se parecen a monumentos del clásico temprano del sitio El Zapote que se encuentra a tan solo 18 km al oeste de La Naya. Las semejanzas iconográficas aparecen, particularmente, en las decoraciones de cabeza y en el vestido. La única estela en La Naya la que está en buenas condiciones, la Estela 1, menciona, en su epigrafía, una relación dinástica con la ciudad de Yaxhá, centro maya que está ubicado al este de La Naya. Summary: At the small archaeological site of La Naya there were, originally, several stelae dating to the Early and Late Classic period. The stelae show a regional style related to the Early Classic stone monuments from the site of El Zapote, located only 18 kilometers west of La Naya; the iconographical similarities are particularly evident in the headdresses and costumes. The text on the best preserved monument from La Naya, Stela 1, commemorates dynastic relations to the city of Yaxhá , a Maya center east of La Naya. Einführung Der archäologische Fundort La Naya liegt im Nordosten des guatemaltekischen Departements Petén, etwa 8 Kilometer nördlich des Dorfes Las Viñas, das sich an der Straße, die die Hauptstadt Flores mit der Grenzstation nach Belize, Melchor de Mencos, verbindet, befindet. La Naya ist ein kleiner, dichtbebauter Ort nahe der großen Wasserstelle Aguada oder Laguna del Tigre. Es gibt keine stehenden Bauwerke mehr und die Siedlungshügel sind nicht sehr hoch.
    [Show full text]
  • Late Classic Maya Political Structure, Polity Size, and Warfare Arenas
    LATE CLASSIC MAYA POLITICAL STRUCTURE, POLITY SIZE, AND WARFARE ARENAS Arlen F. CHASE and Diane Z. CHASE Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of Central Florida Studies of the ancient Maya have moved forward at an exceedingly rapid rate. New sites have been discovered and long-term excavations in a series of sites and regions have provided a substantial data base for interpreting ancient Maya civili- zation. New hieroglyphic texts have been found and greater numbers of texts can be read. These data have amplified our understanding of the relationships among subsistence systems, economy, and settlement to such an extent that ancient Maya social and political organization can no longer be viewed as a simple dichoto- mous priest-peasant (elite-commoner) model. Likewise, monumental Maya archi- tecture is no longer viewed as being indicative of an unoccupied ceremonial center, but rather is seen as the locus of substantial economic and political activity. In spite of these advances, substantial discussion still exists concerning the size of Maya polities, whether these polities were centralized or uncentralized, and over the kinds of secular interactions that existed among them. This is espe- cially evident in studies of aggression among Maya political units. The Maya are no longer considered a peaceful people; however, among some modern Maya scholars, the idea still exists that the Maya did not practice real war, that there was little destruction associated with military activity, and that there were no spoils of economic consequence. Instead, the Maya elite are portrayed as engaging predo- minantly in raids or ritual battles (Freidel 1986; Schele and Mathews 1991).
    [Show full text]