The Maya Ceramic Book of Creation The Trials of the Popol Vuh Hero Twins Displayed on Classic Maya Polychrome Painted Pottery “First they entered the dark house. […] but they didn’t burn the torch - instead, something that looked like fire was substituted. This was the tail of the macaw, which looked like a torch to the sentries.” (Tedlock 1996, 119) “So next they entered the midst of the fire, a house of fire with only fire only inside. They weren’t burned by it, just toasted, just simmered, so they were well when it dawned.” (Tedlock 1996,125) Laura Beukers Text: Tedlock, D., 1996. Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings. New York: Simon & Schuster. Figures: Kerr, J. Maya Vase Database: Kerr Number 1561, added 01-04-1998. Digital image, www.mayavase.com, accessed 2009-2013. Kerr, J. Maya Vase Database: Kerr Number 3831, added 25-01-1999. Digital image, www.mayavase.com, accessed 2009-2013. The Maya Ceramic Book of Creation The Trials of the Popol Vuh Hero Twins Displayed on Classic Maya Polychrome Painted Pottery Author: Laura Beukers Course: Research Master Thesis – ARCH 1046WTY Student number: 0417920 Supervisor: Professor M.E.R.G.N. Jansen Specialisation: Religion and Society of Native American Cultures University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology Leiden, 17 June 2013 Email: [email protected] Telephone number: +31793518367 +316174232 Table of Contents Preface ..................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1: The ancient and contemporary Maya ...................................................... 11 1.1 The ancient Maya civilization ...................................................................................................... 11 The Preclassic period (ca. 2000 B.C.-A.D. 250) .............................................................................. 12 The Classic period (ca. A.D. 250-900/1100) .................................................................................. 17 The Terminal Classic (800-900/1100) ............................................................................................ 20 Postclassic (900/1100-1500) ......................................................................................................... 22 Conquest (1502-1697) ................................................................................................................... 23 1.2 The rediscovery of the Maya civilization and decipherment of the script .................................. 24 1.3 The contemporary Maya ............................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 2: The “seeing instrument” of the Ancient Maya ...................................... 30 2.1 The alphabetic Popol Vuh ............................................................................................................ 31 History of the document ............................................................................................................... 32 Originality of the Popol Vuh .......................................................................................................... 33 Authors of the Popol Vuh .............................................................................................................. 35 2.2 The hieroglyphic Popol Vuh ......................................................................................................... 36 2.3 The oral Popol Vuh ...................................................................................................................... 39 2.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 3: Maya ceramics ................................................................................................. 42 3.1 Production and painting .............................................................................................................. 43 Production process ........................................................................................................................ 43 Painting process ............................................................................................................................ 44 Workshops..................................................................................................................................... 45 3.2 Hieroglyphic texts ........................................................................................................................ 46 The PSS .......................................................................................................................................... 47 3 3.3 Maya artists ................................................................................................................................. 50 3.4 Functions ..................................................................................................................................... 53 Service ware .................................................................................................................................. 54 Social currency .............................................................................................................................. 56 Funerary ware ............................................................................................................................... 58 3.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 4: Theory and Method of iconography ......................................................... 61 4.1 Iconographical theory .................................................................................................................. 61 Panofsky’s iconography ................................................................................................................. 61 Primary meaning ........................................................................................................................... 63 4.2 Semiotcs ...................................................................................................................................... 64 4.3 Iconographical method................................................................................................................ 67 4.4 Illustrating a story ........................................................................................................................ 70 4.5 Concluding remarks ..................................................................................................................... 73 Chapter 5: The Hero Twins identified ............................................................................ 75 5.1 The birth of heaven and earth ..................................................................................................... 75 The creation of the cosmic in the Classic period ........................................................................... 76 The creator gods............................................................................................................................ 79 5.2 The trials of Jun Junajpu and Wuqub Junajpu ............................................................................. 82 Jun Junajpu and Wuqub Hunajpu ................................................................................................. 83 Head in tree ................................................................................................................................... 84 Ballgame scene .............................................................................................................................. 85 5.3 The birth of Junajpu and Xbalanq’e ............................................................................................. 88 Junajpu and Xbalanq’e .................................................................................................................. 88 The Hero Twins identified ............................................................................................................. 90 Iconographical elements of the Hero Twins ................................................................................. 91 Nominal glyphs .............................................................................................................................. 93 4 Examples of representations of the Hero Twins ........................................................................... 93 5.4 Categorizing the Hero Twins scenes on Maya ceramics ............................................................. 95 Chapter 6: The Hero Twins on earth .............................................................................. 98 6.1 The defeat of Wuqub Kaqix ......................................................................................................... 98 Wuqub Kaqix ................................................................................................................................. 98 Shooting of Wuqub Kaqix .............................................................................................................. 99 6.2 The defeat of Sipakna and Kab’raqan........................................................................................ 107 Sipakna .......................................................................................................................................