COSMOLOGY AND SOCIETY: HOUSEHOLD RITUAL AMONG THE TERMINAL CLASSIC MAYA PEOPLE OF YAXHA (ca. A.D. 850-950), GUATEMALA by Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz Licentiate, San Carlos University of Guatemala, 2003 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The Dietrich school of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2013 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz It was defended on April, 2013 and approved by: Olivier de Montmollin (Committee Chair), Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Robert D. Drennan, Distinguished Professor, Department of Anthropology Marc Bermann, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology Lara Putnam, Associate Professor, Department of History ii Copyright © by Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz 2013 iii COSMOLOGY AND SOCIETY: HOUSEHOLD RITUAL AMONG THE TERMINAL CLASSIC MAYA PEOPLE OF YAXHA (ca. A.D. 850-950), GUATEMALA Laura Lucía Gámez Díaz, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2013 This study of domestic ritual and symbolism centers on the ancient Maya kingdom of Yaxha in northeastern Guatemala, during the last part of the Classic period (A.D. 850-950/1000). Classic Maya high- culture functioned within a dynastic cosmology that framed royalty’s power. The central question in this dissertation is ‘how did the non-royal population participate and interact with this dynastic cosmology?’ Exploring some possible ways in which ancient Yaxhaeans participated and interacted with the local dynastic cosmology, I have hypothesized three possible behaviors derived from ethnographic studies: active engagement, resistance, and passive compliance. A comparative study of ritual practices and symbolism in ten residences of different social ranks provides the grounds for the discussion. This sample of residences includes the royal palace, a noble palace, two high-end commoner residences, and six low-end commoner residences. While the data from the eight commoner residences was obtained through original research, the information from the royal and noble palaces was recovered from previous research and salvage archaeology projects at Yaxha. The same ritual and symbolic aspects were investigated: symbolism in architectural layouts, ritual feasting, funerary rituals, dedication and termination rituals, and ritual paraphernalia. I have concluded that while nobles and high-end commoners were actively engaged with the ruling dynastic cosmology, low-end commoners were more reluctant. A certain degree of disconnection iv in the ritual practices of the higher and lower ranks has been detected, suggesting that low-end commoners might have been more passively compliant than actively engaged with the ruling cosmology. No evidence for overt resistance has been found. Although passive compliance is not a behavior usually associated with social change, ethnographic observations suggest that as a form of passive resistance, it might be a symptom of social unrest. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xvii 1. STUDYING STRATEGIES OF INTERACTION WITH THE DYNASTIC COSMOLOGY THROUGH HOUSEHOLD RITUAL AT YAXHA 1 1.1. STRATEGIES: ACTIVE ENGAGEMENT, RESISTANCE, AND PASSIVE COMPLIANCE 2 1.1.1. Active Engagement 7 1.1.2. Resistance 8 1.1.3. Passive Compliance 9 1.1.4. Strategies use by different groups of people 11 1.2. CLASSIC MAYA SOCIETY AND COSMOLOGY 14 1.2.1. Classic Maya Society 15 1.2.2. Cosmology 17 1.2.3. Ritual 21 2. METHODS: INFORMATION SOURCES AND FIELD RESEARCH 26 2.1. INFORMATION RECOVERY FROM PREVIOUS RESEARCH AND RESTORATION PROJECTS AT YAXHA 27 2.2. SAMPLING STRATEGIES: MAPPING AND EXCAVATION 31 2.2.1. Mapping and Survey 31 2.2.2. Excavation Strategy 33 2.3. CERAMIC CHRONOLOGIES 35 3. YAXHA: THE LORDS OF THE BLUE WATER 39 3.1. YAXHA’S DYNASTIES 40 3.2. YAXHA’S CIVIC CENTER 49 3.3. YAXHA’S KINGDOM 55 4. YAXHA’S RESIDENTIAL UNITS: DEVELOPMENT AND STATUS DIFFERENTIATION 58 4.1. THE ROYAL PALACE (SOUTH ACROPOLIS) 59 4.2. A NOBLE PALACE (WEST GROUP) 64 4.3. HIGH-END COMMONER RESIDENTIAL UNITS 67 4.3.1. HECR-Cheje 67 4.3.2. HECR-Saraguate 70 4.4. LOW-END COMMONER RESIDENTIAL UNITS 72 vi 4.4.1. LECR-Escobo 73 4.4.2. LECR-Chichicua 76 4.4.3. LECR-Cedro 77 4.4.4. LECR-Corozo 79 4.4.5. LECR-Chacaj 80 4.4.6. LECR-Pacaya 82 4.5. SUMMARY: TERMINAL CLASSIC HOUSEHOLD STATUS DIFFERENTIATION 85 5. ARCHITECTURAL LAYOUT AND SYMBOLISM 89 5.1. THE ROYAL PALACE: SOUTH ACROPOLIS 93 5.2. THE NOBLE PALACE: WEST GROUP 95 5.3. HIGH-END COMMONER RESIDENTIAL UNITS: CHEJE AND SARAGUATE 96 5.4. LOW-END COMMONER RESIDENTIAL UNITS: ESCOBO, CHICHICUA, CEDRO, COROZO, CHACAJ, AND PACAYA 98 5.5. SUMMARY: ARCHITECTURAL LAYOUT ACROSS THE DIFFERENT SOCIAL RANKS 101 6. RITUAL FEASTING 103 6.1. ANCIENT CUISINE AND THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF FEASTING 105 6.2. ROYAL AND NOBLE RITUAL FEASTS 110 6.3. COMMONER RITUAL FEASTS 111 6.3.1. Ceramic Containers’ Shapes 112 6.3.2. Cooking and Serving Ware 114 6.3.3. Vessel Size 118 6.4. SUMMARY: FEASTING AND RITUAL INDEPENDENCE 120 7. FUNERARY RITUALS 122 7.1. YAXHA’S FUNERARY RECORD 125 7.1.1. Terminal Classic Burial Practices at Yaxha 126 7.1.1.1. Funerary Construction 128 7.1.1.2. Burial Location 129 7.1.1.3. Body Positioning 130 7.1.1.4. Demography 131 7.1.1.5. Body Aesthetics 132 7.1.1.6. Grave Goods 133 7.1.1.6.1. Ceramic vessels 133 7.1.1.6.2. Ceramic Figurines/Whistles 136 7.1.1.6.3. Jade/Green Stones 136 7.1.1.6.4. Flint and Obsidian 137 7.1.1.6.5. Shell and Stingray Spines 138 7.1.1.6.6. Bone Artifacts and Animal Bones 140 7.2. ROYAL AND NOBLE FUNERARY RITUALS AT YAXHA 142 7.3. HIGH- AND LOW-END COMMONER FUNERARY RITUALS AT YAXHA 146 vii 7.4. SUMMARY: RITUALS OF DEATH AND LIFE AT YAXHA 154 8. CACHING AND SCATTERING: DEDICATION AND TERMINATION RITUALS 160 8.1. ROYAL, NOBLE AND COMMONER RITUAL DEDICATION AT YAXHA 161 8.2. ROYAL, NOBLE, AND COMMONER RITUAL TERMINATION AT YAXHA 171 8.3. SUMMARY: RITUAL DEPOSITS AMONG YAXHA’S DIFFERENT SOCIAL RANKS 175 9. RITUAL PARAPHERNALIA 177 9.1. CERAMIC VESSELS 178 9.2. INCENSE BURNERS 181 9.3. CERAMIC FIGURINES/WHISTLES 185 9.4. LITHIC ARTIFACTS 194 9.5. JADE/GREENSTONE 197 9.6. SHELL AND BONE ARTIFACTS 197 9.7. SUMMARY: ROYAL, NOBLE AND COMMONER RITUAL PARAPHERNALIA 199 10. CONCLUDING REMARKS: COSMOLOGY AND SOCIETY IN CHANGING TIMES 203 10.1. CHANGING TIMES 205 10.2. SOCIAL HIERARCHIES AND IDEOLOGICAL INTEGRATION 207 10.3. DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 217 11. REFERENCES CITED 220 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Conditions of comparisons between cases 6 Table 1.2 Model adaptation 7 Table 1.3 Model adaptation 2 10 Table 2.1 Yaxha’s research antecedents (sources informing this research highlighted). 27 Table 2.2 Chronology and ceramic complexes. 36 Table 3.1 Sequence of dates and events from epigraphic inscriptions. 43 Table 4.1 Sample of residential units in this study. 59 Table 4.2 Royal palace’s ceramic lots by period 61 Table 4.3 Noble palace’s ceramic lots by period 65 Table 4.4 HECR-Cheje’s ceramics by period 68 Table 4.5 HECR-Saraguate’s ceramics by period 71 Table 4.6 LECR-Escobo’s ceramics by period 75 Table 4.7 LECR-Chichicua’s ceramics by period 77 Table 4.8 LECR-Cedro’s ceramics by period 78 Table 4.9 LECR-Corozo’s ceramics by period 80 Table 4.10 LECR-Chacaj’s ceramics by period 81 Table 4.11 LECR-Pacaya’s ceramics by period 84 Table 7.1 Description of burials by social rank 156 Table 8.1 Dedication deposits in residential unit 164 Table 8.2 Termination deposits in residential unit 172 Table 9.1 Ceramic vessels in ritual contexts 180 Table 9.2 Distribution of incense burners by residential unit 185 Table 9.3 Distribution of figurines by residential unit 187 Table 9.4 Distribution of ritual artifacts by residential unit 200 ix Table 10.1 Synthesis of results by topic and hypothesized behaviors 209 Table 10.2 Ritual elements by location within residences 213 x LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1.1 Yaxha’s location in the Southern Maya area. 12 Fig. 1.2 Location of Yaxha and neighboring sites in Northeast Peten. 12 Fig. 1.3 Map of Yaxha’s civic center and known residential units. 13 Fig. 2.1 Map of Yaxha with survey transects. 37 Fig. 2.2 Map of Yaxha showing the location of investigated residential units. 38 Fig. 3.1. Yaxha’s emblem glyph. 42 Fig. 3.2 Map of Yaxha’s civic center with location of some of its stelae. 45 Fig. 3.3 Yaxha's Stelae 11, 13, and 31. 46 Fig. 3.4 Ritual scenes on graffiti. 48 Fig. 3.5 Yaxha’s civic center showing directionality in architectural layout. 51 Fig. 3.6 Maps showing similarities on the symbolic layouts of Tikal and Yaxha. 52 Fig. 3.7 Yaxha’s examples of monumental compounds celebrating directionality. 53 Fig. 3.8 Monumental compounds celebrating directionality from Uaxactun and Tikal. 53 Fig. 3.9 Regional map showing location of sites mentioned in the text. 57 Fig. 4.1 Royal and noble palaces (South Acropolis and West Group). 63 Fig. 4.2 High-end commoner residential units: Cheje and Saraguate. 69 Fig. 4.3 Low-end commoner residential units: Escobo and Chichicua. 74 Fig. 4.4 Low-end commoner residential units: Cedro, Corozo, Chacaj, and Pacaya. 83 Fig. 5.1 Yaxha’s monumental compounds celebrating directionality.