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The ancient Mayan civilization is full interesting concepts that can still be seen today, as far social class goes. They had a hierarchical system that divided its people into separate categories based on social class. The hierarchal system they had was what is known as a "caste system", A caste system is based on hereditary transmission system, which means that everyone in their society was born into their social class with no choice. In this system you are required to marry within your own social class, with little to no flexibility to ever move up.This means that if you are born a peasant, you will stay a peasant. While if your father is a ruler, you will be his successor and also become a ruler. Women had a bit more freedom when it came to what they could do, but they were also restricted to staying within their social class. This system was divided into three categories; Upper, Middle, and Lower class. Upper class being Rulers, priests and nobles. Rulers being the highest level as they were seen as being related to the Gods or some how connected to them. They stood out from the rest of society because they could perform specific rituals and were like mediators between the people and the gods. Priests and nobles were also part of the upper class because of what they offered society. Priests were the only ones capable of reading and many times, they could even tell prophecies of the future to individuals. Priests were basically the keepers of knowledge and would keep track of many things such as calendars, instructing nobles, and even divining rulers. Nobles were part of just about any part of government, usually very wealthy individuals. Then came the middle class which was made up of common people such as soldiers and merchants. The lower class was made up of slaves and peasants. Mayan social classes seemed simple, but also very complex as it had many paradoxes occur. An example of this would be how rulers were related to Gods, but when they died it was clear that they were merely mortal and nowhere near actual gods. They were a type of hybrid divinity, both human and god-like. Ultimately, the Maya were a very complex society with strong beliefs that could not be easily broken as their culture would stay relatively the same throughout their timeline, as well as their various kingdoms.

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What I set out to focus on was the role of high-status Maya women in rule, with a particular emphasis on the role played by the intersection of spiritual and temporal authority. I will admit that I did not pick the first aspect out of particular interest, but rather out of a minor passing curiosity and a mild feeling of obligation to have a more specific focus than just faith and rule. I figured it would serve as a convenient filter to reduce the number of sources I would need to peruse on the link between Maya religion and kingship. While my sources are often focused on symbolism as I had expected, I did not expect some of the directions they extended into. My “filter” also unveiled some interesting patterns. Of note is that both of my subjects that possess and exercise high levels of political power(all three of them do, but one only does so later in her life than the scope of my focus on her allows) portray themselves as the Moon Goddess with high degrees of consistency, and often in a warrior or warrior-adjacent capacity.

In my “exhibit”, I focus primarily on examining three specific Maya women, using them as models to draw conclusions about the Maya royal women in a more general sense. These women, in no particular order are Lady Xoc of Yaxchilan, Lady K’abel of El Perú Waka’, and Lady Six Sky of Naranjo. As something of an outline, I aim to explore the roles of these women in steps. First I discuss the role of bridal diplomat, elaborating on the purpose such a woman serves for her family in marriage. I will then examine the Moon Goddess and how we can identify when Maya women are being depicted as her, as well as discussing the spiritual and cultural meanings these women take on by donning the guise of the Moon. Then I will focus on the spiritual and political significance a Maya woman possesses of her own accord, without drawing on that of deity. How she serves as a diviner and wellspring of her ancestor’s bloodline, and spiritual dimensions of a Maya marriage alliance. I will then examine the role of a normative Maya royal woman in warfare and expand on her significance as a diviner while delving lightly into divination as a component of war strategy. My final piece will examine non-normative Maya women. It focuses on a woman operating as a sole ruler and overseeing successful military campaigns, how she titles herself, and what spiritual symbolism underpins her political authority and legitimacy as a ruler.

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Object: Panel
Found at: Sak Nikte’, Panel 6
Date: 19th of August, 731 AD, Late Classic Period.

This piece is part of a record pertaining to the arrival at Sak Nikte’ of three royal brides from the kaan dynasty of Calakmul. These women who came to wed the kings of Sak Nikte’ did so in 520 AD, 679 AD, and 721 AD(Reese-Taylor 39). The earliest, incidentally, “is the earliest recorded event linking a royal woman with warfare”(Reese-Taylor 40). These marriages, and their recurrence over generations, indicates a longstanding interest on the kaan’s part in securing the friendship and cooperation of Sak Nikte’(Gillepsie 192). To the Maya, the house that receives a wife is inferior to the house that provides her. It follows then that when these women wed they enhanced the relative prestige and position of their family, rather than serving as a mere simple currency with which to diplomatically secure an alliance. They served a vital role in elevating the kaan, extending the kaan’s influence throughout the lowlands, and strengthening kaan hegemony as a whole(Navarro-Farr 45). And, as will be further discussed in later exhibits, these royal brides did not diminish in value once they had been wed. They possessed notable prestige and received great esteem in their new homes.

What is also of note in this piece is that both of the daughters of the kaan shown are each depicted to have come to meet her husband standing atop a war palanquin, one bride’s palanquin formed of jaguars and the other’s crowned by a serpent. While likely not the intent of the long-dead hands of this sculptor of Sak Nikte’, the nature of these arrivals happens to paint an eloquent picture. Brides coming upon battle-palanquins serves as a perfect emblem of these crucial agents of the expansion of Calakmul’s power throughout the lowlands and the ascendancy of the kaan.

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First:
Object: Temple Fresco
Found at: Palenque, Temple 14
Date: Late Classic Period.

Second:
Object: Alabaster Pot and Jadeite Bead Head
Found at: El Perú Waka’, Burial 61
Date: Late Classic Period.

These pieces allow us to talk about what appears to be a primary vehicle through which Maya royal women exert political and spiritual power. Both of these highlight associations with the Maya Moon Goddess.

In the first piece, the kneeling woman is wearing a beaded net skirt. In the Maya faith, such skirts are symbolic of both the Maize God and the Moon Goddess. The deity intended to be displayed appears to be able to be determined by the length of the skirt. Royal men would wear a shorter skirt to take on the role of the Maize God, while royal women would wear a longer one to take on the role of the Moon Goddess(Reese-Taylor 43). The presence of a beaded net skirt is very common in depictions of royal women, and indicates that such a woman is acting in her capacity as an avatar of or otherwise playing the role of the Moon Goddess.

Our second, two-part, piece is also emblematic of the Moon Goddess. The burial it was retrieved from, Burial 61, is likely that of Lady K’abel of El Perú Waka’(Navarro-Far 46). Lady K’abel was a daughter of the kaan bloodline and marriage diplomat in a similar capacity to that of the three women mentioned in the prior exhibit. The first of these items is an alabaster pot, carved with an elderly visage, most likely that of a woman. The second is a jade head, carved to resemble a youthful face. These are also related to the Moon Goddess. The Moon Goddess is depicted as a woman, as one may be expected to surmise, but also in two different varieties. She can be depicted either as an aged woman to represent her as the fading waning moon, or she can be depicted as a young woman to represent the youthful waxing moon(Simmons Clancy 240). Many cultures use the waning and waxing of the moon to measure time, and the Maya were no exception as we can see in the Lunar Series being present as part of the Initial Series within Maya writing.(Simmons Clancy 229-231). The legitimacy of Maya Kings was derived from the marking of time, and the moon is highly associated with Xbalanque, the other ruler-template alongside the vaunted Hunahpu(Simmons Clancy 230). The association between the women of Maya royalty and the Moon Goddess is an association between these women and the lunar phases. By taking on the Guise of the Moon, Maya queens and princesses are able to exercise legitimate spiritual power which is in turn transformed into the ability to exercise legitimate political power.

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First:
Object: Lintel
Site:  Yaxchilan, Lintel 24
Date:  Late Classic Period

Second:
Object: Lintel
Site:  Yaxchilan, Lintel 25
Date:  Late Classic Period

These pieces depict a woman known as Ix K’abal Xook(Navarro-Farr 51), Lady Xoc, or perhaps less impressively as Lady “Fist-Fish”(Stuart 177). She is yet another example of a kaan bridal diplomat. In this case she is married to Shield Jaguar, the ruler of Yaxchilan, as his principal wife. The first piece depicts Lady Xoc drawing a barbed rope through her tongue while kneeling before her husband, as part of a bloodletting ritual. Beneath her is a basket holding paper, which will shortly become the receptacle of her spilt blood. The second lintel depicts Lady Xoc once more. She holds the basket in one hand, while the other is extended over a brazier which she appears to have dropped something into. Her clothing and jewelry are the same as before except for textile patterns. From the brazier an ancestor spirit has arisen, bearing a shield and spear which suggests it is here as a warrior. If we return to the first lintel and look carefully, we will see markings around Lady Xoc’s mouth. These are thought to be an artistic portrayal of blood streaming from her wounded tongue(Stuart 178). If we once more inspect the second lintel, we can see markings along her cheek and possibly her mouth. What we can surmise is that this is one extended scene. Lady Xoc draws the rope through her tongue, spilling her blood onto the basketted paper. She drops the paper into a brazier, calling forth a spirit of her kaan ancestors through the burning of their shared blood. Then, with a tattered tongue and through a mouth of blood she asks that it grant its support and guidance in her husband’s coming war. That it came clad for battle is her answer.

What is also of note here is how Lady Xoc is dressed. She does not appear to be wearing a beaded net skirt, and the level of detail afforded to things such as the beads dangling from Shield Jaguar’s knees discounts the idea that her clothing’s textile pattern is an abstraction of such a skirt. In this ritual, Lady Xoc is not playing the role of the Moon Goddess. Her spiritual power here is not borrowing from that deity. Rather, it is her own and something innate to her. As a daughter of the kaan she is able to call upon the revered ancestors of that bloodline, just as Shield Jaguar would be able to call upon those of his own. These royal marriages go beyond a unification of families and political interests, they are a merger of spiritual power. If she had bore him children, Shield Jaguar’s marriage to Lady Xoc would have merged their ancestry, with both the ancestors of Yaxchilan and kaan answering to the petitions of their line.

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Object: Lintel
Site:  Yaxchilan, Lintel 26
Date: Late Classic Period.

We have yet to depart from either Lady Xoc or Yaxchilan. This lintel once more depicts Lady Xoc and Shield Jaguar. In it, Lady Xoc is handing her husband an ornate helmet carved as a jaguar, assisting him in his final preparations for war. As our prior two exhibits have demonstrated, a Maya royal bride is not a spent currency once she is wed. She does not become an inert piece on the board. She maintains agency, accorded spiritual and political significance through her role as the Moon Goddess and as the axis upon which the blood and ancestors of her line and those of her husband’s will become united. In times of war, this is not different. While most Maya queens do not seem to have been leaders in war, they do not seem to have been passive observers either. Once again, the Moon Goddess plays a role here, with Maya iconography “pointing to a link between the Moon Goddess and warfare”(Reese-Taylor 60).

Consider Yaxchilan and its ruler Shield Jaguar. He likely knows the relative strength of his army compared to that of his enemy. He can use this information to get an idea of if he will win or lose, but war makes simple things difficult and he could very well be wrong. But, there is another tool for a Maya ruler to consult before going to war: divination. In war, divination is a valuable strategic asset(Navarro-Karr 49). Securing the approval and guidance of the divine and the ancestors is a large step towards securing victory. No brilliant strategist, no mighty army, can prosper when fate itself is against them. Shield Jaguar has his own ancestors, but Lady Xoc can call upon the ancestors of the kaan to help as well. Divination is a major role of Maya queens. Lady Xoc is shown doing it, for example, while Lady K’abel’s mortuary offerings include a pyrite mirror, an effigy, stingray spines for bloodletting, and a jar for hallucinogens which are all tools of a diviner(Navarro-Karr 49). A royal bride serves as an irreplaceable asset in expanding the spiritual capabilities of her new home, whether her divinations serve to prepare for war or secure supernatural favor in peacetime governance.

As she readies her husband for war in the physical world by handing him his helmet, Lady Xoc and women like her support him in the realm of the spiritual through her divination. She may not be at his side in battle, but her hand grips his weapon and helps plunge it into their enemies all the same.

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Object: Stela
Site: Naranjo, Stela 24
Date: Late Classic Period.

As said before, the royal women of the Maya generally played a subordinate and supportive role in times of warfare. However, this was not universally the case. This piece depicts Lady Six Sky, ruler of Naranjo, standing atop a defeated enemy king and denoting her as conqueror and captor. Lady Six Sky ruled Naranjo as a regent to her son, who was not yet old enough to rule(Navarro-Farr 48). While regent suggests a picture of a limited caretaker, in Lady Six Sky’s case the regency appears to be little more than a nominal cover for her role as the de facto master of Naranjo. The name of her son’s father is not known to have been recorded, and Lady Six Sky arrived in Naranjo after its previous ruling dynasty had been wiped out(Doyle 2). Lady Six Sky is almost certainly responsible for at least eight victorious military campaigns, though they are attributed to her son, as it is unlikely that a five year old child played any true role(Doyle 4). Lady Six Sky’s wars were of such magnitude that research exists that “details the environmental aftereffects of these violent campaigns and her likely role in them”(Navarro-Farr 48), and they are recorded in terms such as “like a conflagration of the eastern Peten”(Doyle 4). Throughout her son’s rule Lady Six Sky maintained political relevance, and upon his death arose as the sole ruler of Naranjo in her own right(Doyle 7). Lady Six Sky used the title of Ix Kaloomte’, meaning something roughly equivalent to “Empress” or “Female Overlord”. The title of Kaloomte’ was prestigious, being used only by the highest of rulers(Navarro-Farr 44). Of note, throughout all of her depictions that I have seen, Lady Six Sky is wearing a beaded net skirt. In her every depiction, she is in the role of the Moon Goddess. The Moon Goddess is linked to warfare and destruction (Reese-Taylor 60), an aspect Lady Six Sky appears to have emphasized to justify and reinforce her role as ruler.

Lady K’abel of El Perú Waka’ shares both consistent portrayal as the Moon Goddess and the title of Ix Kaloomte’ with Lady Six Sky. She portrays herself as wearing the beaded net skirt, and often as holding a shield(Navarro-Far 44). This shield imagery extends to a figurine of her found in a burial and even to her burial, where a serving vessel was placed in mimicry of shield(Navarro-Farr 48). The pairing of this tool of war and the persona of the Moon Goddess evokes a warrior image, though Lady K’abel does lack the same captor imagery as Lady Six Sky. The recurrence of consistent Moon Goddess imagery  in another powerful Maya woman suggests to me that association with the Moon Goddess is the basis by which such women were able to exercise their political power among the ancient Maya.

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David Stuart
Blood Symbolism in Maya Iconography, 1988

Flore Simmons Clancy
The Ancient Maya Moon: Calendar and Character, 2015

James A. Doyle
Lady Six Sky and the Definition of Ritual Space at Naranjo,  2005

Kathryn Reese-Taylor, Peter Mathews, Julia Guernsey, and Marlene Fritzler
Warrior Queens Among the Classic Maya, 2009

Olivia C. Navarro-Farr , Mary Kate Kelly, Michelle Rich, & Griselda Pérez Robles
Expanding the canon: Lady K’abel the Ix Kaloomte’ and the political narratives of classic Maya Queens,

Susan D Gillespie, Rosemary A Joyce
Gendered Goods: The Symbolism of Maya Hierarchical Exchange Relations, 1997

Image Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:La_Corona,_Panel_6,_Maya,_La_Corona,_El_Peten_department,_Guatemala,_Late_Classic_period,_dedicated_August_18,_731_AD,_limestone_-_Dallas_Museum_of_Art_-_DSC04636.jpg

https://www.aerobaticsweb.org/images/MEXICO/Mexico_03372_1152x1536.jpg

Expanding the canon: Lady K’abel the Ix Kaloomte’ and the political narratives of classic Maya Queens

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yaxchilan_Lintel_24.jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_Museum_(6424926723).jpg

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yaxchilan_Lintel_26.jpg

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/File:MA_D367_Maya_stela_24,_Naranjo,_Guatemala.jpg

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By Joshua Kemp

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Introduction of Pacbitun Tomb Royal Burial

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Introduction of Pacbitun Tomb Royal Burial

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The tombs in Pacbitun, located in west central Belize are notable both in terms of size, with over 40 structures across 5 major plazas and constitute one of the earliest known sites in the southern Maya lowlands, and as a result have been found to be inhabited from roughly 900 BCE to 900 C.E. Of the many structures at the Pacbitun site few were more structurally impressive than the one designated as Structure 1, located in the first and largest of the 5 plazas, measuring “almost 18 m wide, with a Terminal Classic central stair nearly 12 m wide. Atop the plastered summit was a one-room masonry building (once vaulted) with a single, central doorway in both the front and rear walls of the superstructure. Including an estimated height (4m) for the vaulted building, Structure 1 at completion would have been over 16 m tall. This was the most elevated structure at Pacbitun, and the size was enhanced further by the building location atop Plaza A, the central and highest plaza at the site” [1]. With 5 main plazas one could theorize that it was structured in this was due to the religious symbolism of each outer plaza forming a circle with the 5th in the center thereby  causing the site itself to be structured as the shape of a stone or sun, though Pacbitun loosely translating to “stone set in earth” makes stone the more likely choice [3]. BU 1-9 an interior tomb inside of Structure 1 is of note because of the unusual variety in pottery found in the burial chamber with the remains of nineteen painted vessels, many complete, about one quarter polychromes, the remainder monochrome, mostly black or brown-black tone. The ceramics represented a variety of different forms; ten bowls, four dishes, two vases, two pitchers, and one jar, with some stacked or nested inside others [1]. These ceramics help to date the burial tomb itself, belonging most likely to the early Coc phase of the Late Classical period, though other offerings were found in the chamber including “polished jade and iron pyrite beads (3 jade, 1 pyrite tube), a matching pair of circular shell ear flares, five hollowed bone tubes, a drilled, circular, slate disk, presumably the backing to a polished pyrite mosaic plaque, or mirror (pyrite polygons had corroded away). Of particular interest was a large marine (Spondylus americanus) valve with an eroded painted symbol on the inside surface, this Spondylus shell was positioned at the back of the head, like a skullcap.” [1]

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Black on Red Ceramic dishes found in the Pacbitun Tomb, dated to the Late Classic Period [2]

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What: Ceramic dishes
Where found:  Pacbitun, Belize
Date: Late Classic

The importance of ceramics in the Classic period of Maya culture cannot be overstated, serving both as a tool through which to foster alliances through gift giving as well as more utilitarian uses for the vessels themselves. Though for many potters the imagery as well as decoration through which they could depict on the pottery was far more important than the actual use of the pottery itself. It was common for potters to favor cylindrical vases and plates in order to maximize the area in which they could use for imagery in every piece. Additionally, various color schemes bore different connotations in the pottery, in the case of these examples, the black background is representative of supernatural forces meant to evoke depiction of the underworld due to the dark coloring [3]. This is almost certainly intentional due to the Pacbitun burial site being host to a sacrificial alter and lines up perfectly with religious understandings of the Maya. Despite the use of color in order to draw connotation-based meaning from the ceramic’s illustration, some potters refrained from using a multitude of colors showing a preference for black, red and sometimes cream, though there are instances of more broadly decorated vibrant coloring being used which included tones such as yellow, purple, red and orange in order to cause the illustrations to be more provocative to the viewer. Despite the importance of pottery for the Maya, the early Maya were known to have used gourds as vessels for foodstuffs as well as liquids before pottery became more widespread, though even as ceramic became dominant the first ceramic products closely resembled gourds both in terms of shape and function and was decorated only with simple slips.

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Object 2: The Margarita Tomb Pyrite Mirror

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Object 2: The Margarita Tomb Pyrite Mirror

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What: The Margarita Tomb
Where found: Copán, Honduras
Date: Late Classic

The Margarita Tomb, located in Copán, Honduras is a Late classic period acropolis with one of the largest caches found associated with a Maya woman thus far. it is significant as a potential resting place for the wife of K'inich Yax K'uk Mo’ who ruled the region from 426 to 435 c.e. The number of items found in the tomb lead archeologists to suggest that this was a Maya royal burial. In total it contains over 2000 items ranging from baskets to bone needles and grindstones, vessels containing the remains of food as well as precious items such as jade jewelry, seashells as well as pyrite mirrors. [4] One artifact is particular of note is a stucco basket with a lid with a line-line polychrome design on it, it had deteriorated in quality over time but what was able to remain preserved depicted a figure wearing a decorated maya headdress similar to monuments outside the tomb in the surrounding area. This basket in particular was the vessel for a large number of artifacts including hand carved shell rings which had intact faces, with inlaid jade eyes discoveries such as these have not been duplicated in  Copán  with regards to the quantity of artifacts found. The remaining artifacts designs seemed to emulate Teotihuacan in central Mexico which would suggest a diffusion of Maya influence from the Mexican highlands through Guatemala into Honduras a cultural spread that is very exciting to think about.

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Object 3:  Royal Maya Burial Rites and remains

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Object 3:  Royal Maya Burial Rites and remains

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What: Mayan royalty remains
Where:  Copán, Honduras
Date: Late Classic

The burial rites preformed of the Maya grave sites are complex, with the majority of identified burials of individuals lying in an extended position, on their backs (supine), with heads to the south. This pattern is well documented in neighboring valley sites [5]. Regarding the sites elite burials Pacbitun contains a large number of burials of male and female pairs. There are also several examples of sacrificial victims of both adults as well as children [6]. Offerings of commoners were often simple, as well as limited in quantities but graves of more elite individuals often contained a wide variety of offerings such as jade jewelry and ornaments, marine shell ornaments, as well as flints, painted pottery, and even musical instruments. Musical instruments are somewhat rare finds in Maya burial sites and included a variety of rattles, flutes whistles or even drums [7]. However, the majority of the instruments that were recovered from burial sites were those of elite Maya women, or individuals of sub-elite status residing in the Core Zone during the last part of the Classic period [8].

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Interior plan of the Pacbitun BU 1-9 (tomb) interior

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Object 4: Pacbitun Tomb Royal Burial interior view

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Object 4: Pacbitun Tomb Royal Burial interior view

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What: Rendered Layout of Pacbitun tomb interior
Where:  Pacbitun, Belize
Date: Preclassic to Terminal Classic

The structure of the Pacbitun tomb is noteworthy because of the fact that as the tomb was not filled in with dirt after its completion it allowed for an excellent examination of Maya tombs in terms of cultural material with regards to burial practices. The structure as shown above depicts the body surrounded by nineteen total painted vessels in a small variety of colors in the late classic style, as well as several smaller ornaments such as furnishing of polished jade and iron, a matching pair of circular shell ear flares, five hollowed bone tubes, a drilled and circular slate disk. The structure of the burial site at large as described by the “Defining Royal Maya Burials” chapter denotes the existence of a large chamber comprised of an altar, with the remaining three chambers potentially designated for the sacrifices giving this burial site religious significance and attributing this practice to “a kind of “cult of the dead,” or ancestor worship.” With others in the text attributing the ancestor worship as being responsible for a royal cult of sorts in which the Maya elite are seen as semidivine. In order to define when a Maya burial site could constitute a royal burial several criteria are typically relied on and no single marker is sufficient evidence; combination of markers must exist for the appropriate identification to be made . . . (including) codex remains, cinnabar, mirrors, stone vessels, jadeite jewelry . . . ceremonial bars, certain rare shells, textual materials, and perhaps stingray spines. [9]

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Burial Artifacts from Pacbitun, a tan bowl vessel, a drawing of Spondylus Valve found beneath cranuium with eroded heiroglyphic symbols on the inside

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What: Ceramic bowl and Spondylus Valve drawing
Where:  Pacbitun, Belize
Date: Late Classic

Burial offerings were a large part of Maya burial rites, especially so for members of elite status. The offerings left for the deceased varied greatly based on the social status they had in life, with offerings of commoners were often simple, as well as limited in quantities but graves of more elite individuals often contained a wide variety of offerings such as jade jewelry and ornaments, marine shell ornaments, as well as flints, painted pottery, and even musical instruments. Musical instruments are somewhat rare finds in Maya burial sites and included a variety of rattles, flutes whistles or even drums [7]. Some artifacts were left as part of burial custom for religious reasons, for instance, a jade or stone bead was a typically placed inside the mouths of the deceased to serve as payment for the afterlife, additionally the significance of jade lies in the similarity in appearance between the jades green color and the green of maize stalks, which was considered to be a symbol of life giving as well as rebirth due to being the cornerstone of the Maya culture as a foodstuff. Similarly, marine artifacts such as seashell jewelry were sometimes placed in the tomb in order to emulate the sense that the body was placed in the underworld to facilitate a easy transfer to the afterlife while nobility were commonly buried along with headdress, bracelets, and necklaces in order to distinguish themselves in the afterlife from those of the lower class [10].

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[1] Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley : Half a Century of Archaeological Research, edited by James F. Garber, University Press of Florida, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csusm/detail.action?docID=801057.
[2] Fig. 14.2. Ceramic vessels from Pacbitun BU 1-9: (a) Black-on-Red dish, vessel no. 4 (diameter 28.7 cm); (b) Black-on-Red dish, vessel no. 11 (diameter 28.4 cm).
Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley : Half a Century of Archaeological Research, edited by James F. Garber, University Press of Florida, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csusm/detail.action?docID=801057.
Created from csusm on 2022-04-29 03:24:15.
[3] Plate with Rattle Feet. A.D. 650-750. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, https://collections.mfa.org/objects/447843/plate-with-rattle-feet?ctx=6dd03527-52a2-46 8-bc57-f2e025a81689&idx=0. Accessed 28 April. 2022.
[4]  BELL, Ellen E., et al. “The Margarita Tomb at Copán, Honduras : A Research Update.” Expedition, vol. 42, no. 3, University of Pennsylvania Museum, 2000, pp. 21–25.
[5] Welsh, W. Bruce M. (1988), An Analysis of Classic Lowland Maya Burials. BAR International Series 409, Oxford.
[6] Robertson, Catriona M. (2011), Mortuary Behaviour of the Ancient Maya at Pacbitun, Belize. M.A. thesis, Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON
[7] Healy, Paul F. (1988), “Ancient Maya Music”, Archaeology 41(1):24-31.
[8] Cheong, Kong F. (2013), Archaeological Investigation of the North Group at Pacbitun, Belize: The Function, Status, and Chronology of an Ancient Maya Epicenter Residential Group. M.A. thesis, Department of Anthropology, Trent University, Peterborough, ON; Healy, Paul F. (1988)
[9] Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley : Half a Century of Archaeological Research, edited by James F. Garber, University Press of Florida, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csusm/detail.action?docID=801057.
[10] James L. Fitzsimmons. Death And The Classic Maya Kings, Chapter Three Royal Funerals pages. 61-104. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas (2009).

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Maya dances were a big part of their culture, so big that their dances have lasted through a lot. These dances were able to pass through Spanish conquests and Christianization because their dances have gotten through these hard times and were able to survive so long that they are still here today. The message of the dances have changed a little from around the Early Colonial times to modern times. The dances back in the Colonial time represented dance objects, religious beliefs and political messages. Now in modern times the dances are a little different. They still put emphasis on dance objects like in the Colonial times, but now they have geared more towards a different type of celebration of their religious beliefs and their culture. The dances were introduced by Euorpeans, but goes all the way back to the influences of the prehispanic time. Different areas took to the dances differently; the area of the highland was more known for their dances with the extravagant costumes and colors. The highland Maya emphasized giving tribute to ancient names and their iconography which is like a series of Maya ceramic art. The lowlands were not as known for the dances; they are more subtle when it came to the dances, but that doesn't mean they didn't have a big significance to all of the Maya. Within the last 16 centuries there have been several witnesses that can confirm the importance of the dances and how important they are to their ritual ceremonies. Glyphs served as an important part of Maya culture and these glyphs could be used to show words or symbols that could be combined to form any word or concept in the Maya language. In glyph dancing is interpreted as ahk’ot. The glyphs show from anywhere to one to several different dancers it also describes the instruments and objects used in Maya dances. There wasn't just one type of dance there were all different types of dances that were very diverse In fact there were over 1,000 different types of dances. For example there was the Flapstaff dance and the God K Specter dance. This showed that the dancers were performed by rulers back in the classic period.

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Object: Maya Costumes
Found: Highland (Mexican Regions and Lowlands (Adjacent to Guatemala and Belize)
Date: A.D. 250 Classic period

Costumes were a very big part of the Maya culture and how they would perform their dances. Since the dances were so popular and so common. There would be shops that would sell or rent out masks and costumes to people who were going to perform these dances.The costumes were so intricate and precise that there was a specific protocol call for how to make these costumes. The Maya wanted to keep the tradition of wearing masks that had recognizable features of their past ancestors. They wanted to make sure that no matter what generation it was the costumes and masks still stayed having the same look. They also have specific strategies for how these dances are performed. Men dress in costumes that most of the time are the symbol of animals such as a bird, leopards, bulls and many more. Their costumes now are still extravagant and extremely colorful like how they used to be. They usually incorporate several objects in their dances such as smoke candles that tint the sky with different colors such as blue. The dancers use their heels, feet and voice to make distinct sounds while performing these dances. The dances were said to be organized by kings that were treated like gods. Certain dances like the little bulls dance date back to around two thousand years ago which shows that these dances have been around for a long time and still going on to this day.

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Object: Maya Ritual Dances on Ceramics
Found: Guatemala Maya Early Classic
Date: AD 250 to 550

Dances were used to symbolize  many occasions such as birth celebrations or even death. These dances were all extremely diverse and represented several different occasions; hieroglyphics and ceramics would show and tell different versions of how these rituals were performed. For example the Maya would do the intensive dances for tragic events like deaths so that those who have lost their lives could be recognized in Maya culture. It takes a lot of preparation to prepare for these dances. In fact men will go through training to perform these dances due to how serious these dances are to the Maya. Since back in the classic period it was shown that rulers were the dancers when we look at the poratits of the rulers on stelae it was most likely that these rulers were in the middle of a ritual dance due to the poses they are in on the steale. Steale was there to document what was happening in those dancing rituals. If you look back at the now you can see images of rulers performing those ritual dances. These steale show a lot about how the dancing rituals were really performed and when the Maya in today's society perform these dancing rituals they are able to keep the tradition going in a close way to how they used to perform their dancing rituals in the Classic period.

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Grube, Nikolai. “Classic Maya Dance: Ancient Mesoamerica.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 10 Oct. 2008, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ancient-mesoamerica/article/abs/classic-maya-dance/15CE567AA1160644B4552B24F3D4474B.

Looper, Matthew George. To Be like Gods Dance in Ancient Maya Civilization. University of Texas Press, 2009.

Manufacturing Identities: Masking in Postwar Highland Guatemala ...https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0094582X11427891.

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The ancient Maya people were greatly interested in jade and all that it had to offer. Jade was often used as jewelry for ceremonial purposes. Rulers and their families would often dress in costumes with jade additions and dance for their community. The jade pieces were worn as necklaces, ear pieces and belt ornaments. Jade can be known to be rather heavy and some individuals would experience difficulty just standing or walking while wearing large amounts of the jewelry. The largest version of jade are the Jade Head Pendants. They are pieces that have been carved into faces or to represent the faces of gods. There are four main and largest pieces throughout the world. Jade is known to symbolize wealth and status. The heavier the jewelry on an individual represents their position in society. Jade also comes with a negative connotation. It was also viewed as a burden to those in political offices and elite rank. Royal officials were constantly under the stress of looking after their entire community, maintaining rituals and sacrifices, and trying to maintain the fertility of the land altogether. It was a cycle for those in power to have an increased amount of burdens as they grew more wealthy. Financial burdens were the most stressful.

As for the Maya temples, many would refer to them as the house of gods. They weren’t necessarily used for communal worship of the gods but more for conjuring the gods, representing the living and the divine. The three-stone hearth, constitutes an essential theme of template ritual and imagery. It represented the smoke from a hearth fire, in the center of three stars that represent the three stones of the cosmic hearth. The four-sided Maya house structure was built in order to connect to the cosmos. This cosmic house metaphor embodies and channels very essential and powerful principles of the cosmos. In addition to the Maya houses, for the ancient Maya a common term that was frequently used was k’u na, meaning “god’s house.” The Maya people devoted their time and energy daily to the temples in order to please their gods. Using the same rituals and order so that there wouldn’t be any disruptions with their land and homes. Some would consider the houses from the ancient Maya temples as a cult. They were specially designed to be the earthly dwellings of gods. Considering the Maya house's purpose is for dwelling of the gods, there wouldn’t be any type of meeting within the temple for mortals.

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Object: Jade Head Pendant in the Round
Found:  Guatemalan site of Ucanal
Date: Classic period

Jade is known to symbolize wealth and status for the Maya people. Considering the jade ornaments symbolized titles, positions, and status, they were restricted to only the highest-ranking families of ancient Maya society. The weight of the jade contributes to various factors such as its function, metaphorical meanings, and a bridge connecting to other materials, people, and practices. The jade head pendant found at the archaeological site of Ucanal, Petén, in Guatemala was approximately 180 x 113.3 x 79.8mm and 2363g. It is known to be the largest and heaviest jade head pendant found throughout the entire Class-period in the Maya area. The Ucanal head pendant can also be known as the “apple” jade due to its milky green color. From the size and location of the Ucanal jade head pendant, it is inferred that the group who it belonged to was a royal or elite architectural group. Blue or bright green jade represents high quality but is also rare and is only existent in a few of the jade-bearing regions. Each and every source area contains different qualities and colors of jade. The difference with the Ucanal head and other Class Maya jade head pendants found is that it is asymmetrical and the facial features that are carved into it are more shallow. The size and weight of a jade pendant infer what they were used for and who they were used by. Small pendants were used as a necklace and larger pendants were used as belt ornaments.

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Object: Jade Necklace
Found: Ucanal, Guatemala
Date: Classic Period

Jade ornaments were the symbols of burdens for the political office and elite rank. The Classic Maya word for “burden” is ikaatz. The highest royal officials felt the burdens of looking after their people, ensuring their land was fertilized, and public performances. Another burden can be within the political-religious office and is known as “cargos” in Spanish. A cargo holder gives a lot of effort when it comes to paying and supplying for the resources that are needed in order to execute community ceremonies. The financial and labor burdens tend to increase as the status of the cargo holder increases. When jade ornaments are worn as jewelry, they can be considered parts of ritual work such as sacrifices of Maya rulers to their gods. Rulers wearing the jade ornaments would add a substantial amount of weight for them to carry aside from their traditional headdress, tinklers or clothing. If pendants became too heavy they would have to be paired with other jewelry to evenly distribute the weight on the body such as applying more to the back of the neck or ears. On ceremonial occasions, the rulers would wear costumes and dance along with his family. Dancing with the weight of jade pendants is found to be more difficult than walking slowly or even sitting. A ceremonial dance could include the Rabinal Achi, which is a contemporary Maya dance-drama. During this dance Eagle and Jaguar characters carry back racks resembling the Maize god who danced up to earth from the underworld. Dressing up in jade ornaments and costumes to perform was a way for the Maya to enter into liminal time. Murals and polychrome pots during the Classic-period made references to the importance of dressing up and performing.

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Object: Classic Maya Temple
Found: Yucatán, Mexico
Date: Classic Period

Temple pyramids form the core of and center of Maya sites representing the living and the divine. The many temple buildings are known to be complex art for the ancient Maya, this could include large platform masks or stone monuments. The temple represents a house for the gods and a model of the universe. The symbolism of the three-stone hearth creates a theme of ritual and imagery. Hearths that are in the form of temples are used to conjure and communicate with the divine. It has been found during the nineteenth century that the Maya houses and the Classic monumental structures are in fact very similar. Today, we can still see a basic feature displayed on Maya houses called the pole-and-thatch. Some features on the Maya houses were structured to represent conservative survivals of the original wood-and-thatch houses. The four-sided house was made to be a model for the universe, it is a cosmic house metaphor. The basic Maya house defines the temple as a dwelling place. Some even call them “gods’ houses”. During early civilization the houses were usually used for the dwellings of gods rather than a place for the community to worship as a whole. We tend to see this more with the ancient Maya. The common term used for “god house” is k’u na. It is common for gods to appear in their thatched houses.

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Object: Mayan Urn
Found: Chichen Itza
Date: Classic Period

As the Maya burned offerings for divine beings, the censers begin to form a thematic link to the three-stone kitchen hearth. Incense burners were known to be the kitchen hearths of the gods and ancestors. The cache censers are often show cacao pods on their sides, giving the illusion of growing trees with cacao. Censers and cache vessels are also tied to the architecture of the ancient Maya temples and the four-sided Maya houses. The Maya vessels display many similar iconographic formats that have been found on stucco temple facades during the Classic period. We can see many similarities with the Early Classic Maya art as well when it comes to architecture and iconographic formats in the buildings structures. To compare, we also see that Late Pre-Classic period structures have the same patterns, the censers also seem to show temple facades. The front facing masks on the Classic censers and cache vessels are ritual urns of the temple. During certain ritual acts these specific urns acted as mini temples for the Maya, a dwelling space for the gods. Fire offerings were greatly favored and were considered to be a central part of the Classic Maya temple ritual. The Classic meaning of “the fire entered” is och k’ak’. Individuals often used fire in order to conjure the gods.

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Object: Jade Hearth
Found: Guatemala
Date: Late-PreClassic period

Maya rulership has always been tied to the overall concept of world center. This was shown by the jewelry and individual would wear or even a costume that was on a royal body. When jade was placed on the center of a crown, the Maya would say that it symbolized the world axis. These displays would resemble the world tree and the jade hearth. During the Late-PreClassic period, the Jester God displayed what was known as the “monster bird” with growing trees, Kaminaljuyu Stela 11, and the Dumbarton Oaks plaque. These three all represented the three circles for rulers. These headdress elements were personified forms of the axis mundi. In contrast to crowing rulers with these elements, they would also display the Principal Bird Deity. This was one of the most significant gods during the early Maya pantheon. This god represented jade, which was extremely precious to the Maya.

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Burning Bodies during Maya Censer Rituals. New Insights from Monumental ... https://www.jstor.org/stable/45163475.

Azarova, Mayya. “Maya Jade T-Shape Pendants within Mesoamerican Wind-Jewel Tradition.” EScholarship, University of California, 17 June 2016, https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7s96b4gh.

Halperin, Christina T., et al. “The Weight of Ritual: Classic Maya Jade Head Pendants in the Round: Antiquity.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 27 June 2018, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/abs/weight-of-ritual-classic-maya-jade-head-pendants-in-the-round/EB6B7C63B57A6B0FAB2179FE62F4FAA0.

Taube, Karl A. “The Symbolism of Jade in Classic Maya Religion: Ancient Mesoamerica.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 19 July 2005, https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ancient-mesoamerica/article/symbolism-of-jade-in-classic-maya-religion/63F3CD8883DE47DEE7417FFDBE4CB926.

Taube, Karl. “The Jade Hearth: Centrality, Rulership, and the Classic Maya Temple.” Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: a ..., Dumbarton Oaks, 24 May 2014, https://www.academia.edu/423365/The_Jade_Hearth_Centrality_Rulership_and_the_Classic_Maya_Temple.

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Stelae were also extremely important in the Maya culture. It was seen that stelae was engraved around the Classic period which was around A.D. 250-850. Stelae was an upright stone slab. Stelae are big limestones that are flat and standing upright. These stelae usually have one or more royal figure faces carved onto them. The stelae were called stela if you were only talking about one of the limestone slabs. These stelae went along hieroglyphic texts that embraced stations that were important to the Maya calendars called period endings. These stelae were used to tell several different stories that had to deal with rulers or gods. These stelae were mainly seen around the lowlands in the Maya kingdoms. These stelae are in ceremonial plaza and temple precincts.  Stelae took a big role in how Maya would perform their rituals. Rulers used the stelae to show respect to their gods. Maya had several different rituals so stelae were used a lot mainly by rulers. It was so that the gods could be remembered and so that any ritual that would have could be documented down. Sometimes hieroglyphs were harder to translate so with using pictures on the stelae it was much easier to translate what happened in the Classic period. The stelae was also used in ongoing periods as the period went by and ended the next period of time would just add onto these stelae. Before stelae was a thing they Maya used altars which were found in more places they were sculpted boulders, cylinder pedestals, or tables but these types of altars were considered separately. The altars were used for censers, ritual fires, and other offspring These altar stones were much smaller than the stelae built now. The smaller stone of altars wouldn't work long term because there was so much more to carve out which is why the Maya switched to limestone because it was a much bigger and stronger stone that could keep all what the Maya needed when it came to the rulers and respect for their gods. When stelae came in the Maya rulers were able to do so much more when it came to giving tribute to their gods because of the better stone that limestone was for them.

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Object: Maya Stelae
Found- Guatemala
Date- Classic Period A.D. 250-850

Stelae was a big part of Maya rituals It was used to document a large part of rulers lifes. One example would be the ritual dances which if you look at stelae you can see that there are images of rulers performing in these ritual dances. The dances could be for any event like a ruler's birth or the death of a ruler The danced rituals could also be the rulers giving tribute to the gods that they worshiped . These images are important to document because they are like books to help the next generation remember so that they can keep doing the same traditions that their culture has always been doing.   Some other rituals that were on the stelae were bloodshed rituals which were an offering to the gods which usually resulted in someone piercing another's body part and or if there could have been a body part that was burned. The smoke that came from the bloodshed was part of the ritual.

Not only did they include dances, but the stelae included all different types of events that happened with rulers such as trampling conquered enemies, gaining a seat with power, inaugurations, visions of the royal ancestors. The stelae were like books used to document what was happening by rulers to give tribute to the gods.

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Object: 265 Calendar and Maya Stelae
Found: Guatemalan Highlands
Date: August 11, 3114 BCE

Although it seems like Maya rulers mainly used stelae to give tribute to their gods and document certain rituals it was also known that the Maya would write the passing of years. This was called period ending. They did this because they were aware of ancient customs. The Maya went through several different periods, they needed a way to document when a period would end and move on to the next one. This is why they used steal because the people in the next period would be able to continue writing down the periods for the next generations on the steale. So much was written on the stelae they also would write many different symbols like astronomy symbols. They would write down shapes like the moon shapes to hint what was in the upper sky. They also used these symbols to mark down the 265 year may cycle which was. This was the yearly cycle the maya used to  write down important events that were in relation to their gods. A lot that the Maya did was in tribute to their gods. Mostly everything that was on the stelae was about rulerships showing respect to the gods or about the gods themselves

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Within the ancient Maya civilization, the stone known as jade was considered to be more valuable than gold. As the most highly valued commodity available, it was popularly used as a status symbol among Maya rulers of the time. While possession of jade pieces was not restricted only to royalty, those within the sphere of rulership often had a multitude of jade items, along with rare items made with much larger fragments of jade stones.

The more jade pieces that adorned Maya royalty, the more they were revered as powerful and stately to their people. Even in comparison to other highly valued materials in the Maya area, jade was to be emulated as a symbol of wealth and leadership when in a person’s possession. For example, feathers of the quetzal bird were used by the Maya during important rituals. These feathers were valuable due to their strikingly similar vibrant green shade to the most coveted color of jade stones. The Maya people took great pains to gather many of these feathers and fashion them into regalia that were combined with jade and other precious materials to display the eminence of those in Maya rulership.

This exhibit will display several uses of jade within the high ranks of the Maya. Jade was not only highly valuable, but highly symbolic as well, and could represent several concepts depending on the purpose and occasion that the jade items were created to fulfill. For example, jade ornaments could represent the burden and weight carried by those that held high ranks among the Maya. It could also be worn as a way of showing sacrifice and devotion during religious rituals. Jade was used for both ritual and aesthetic purposes. It was also representative of a person’s breath and soul, which was a powerful piece of Maya identity. Jade was symbolic of the sun, maize, and agriculture as a whole. It was also used in headbands, depicting many forms of the “jester god.”

While each of these purposes are distinct from one another, each took part in vital areas of daily life for the Maya people. Government, religion, agriculture, and ritual all served as pieces of Maya identity, and worked together to create a functioning society in the ancient world. This culture was undeniably defined by the rulership present, which led the people forward as a people and as a civilization. Through it all, jade was a major player when it came to the Maya as we know them.

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While wearing jade ornaments was a well-known status symbol among the Maya, this element was nonetheless a stone. As such, it weighed a substantial amount, which increased as did the amount of power that rulers wished to project to their people. While jade served as a literal burden upon Maya royalty that desired to display their status, it also served as a powerful symbol of the burden of office. This metaphorical “weight” of high rank followed rulers for their entire reign, and was reflected by the physical weight of jade stones. This weight being felt both physically and emotionally served as a reminder when officials led their people into war, or protected them within agricultural and religious practices. With every action taken by Maya rulers, they were conscious of the consequences that may occur, and the responsibility they had to their people.

It must also be noted that the weight produced by jade items was comparable to the weight that many Maya commoners carried daily as they went about their regular activities, such as transporting water or other ceramics. Because of this, Maya rulers may have also been reminded of the lives of lower-ranking individuals due to the weight of their jade ornaments. These thoughts would ideally keep rulers as humble as possible, while simultaneously making them stronger as they carried around additional weight everywhere they went. Thus, these individuals in power were prompted to keep the burden of their position in mind each time they paraded their multitude of jade adornments.

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As was mentioned in the last entry, jade was a stone, and therefore tended to weigh down the rulers that wore jade as a symbol of their power and wealth. In conjunction with this, the weight of jade also served as a sign of the wearer’s sacrifice and devotion during religious rituals. In many civilizations, religious practices require little movement, and thus ceremonial regalia can be imposing without causing much trouble to the wearer. With the Maya, however, this is a different story. Many of the religious rituals that the Maya perform involve dancing, which requires lively and prolonged movement. Because of this, rulers that wore jade items endured almost painful conditions as they were hindered by the weight of the stones. This experience reflected the sacrifice that they were willing to give in the name of religion and ritual.

The polishing of the jade for rituals reflects Maya rulers’ religious devotion. Jade is polished for maximum shine, as reflective qualities were one of the most important aspects of jade to the Maya people. This shininess was prized by the Maya, and was displayed on ritual jade pieces used in ritual. Additionally, jade was polished to establish certain acoustic properties. During rituals, jade was worn on belts and was meant to sound metallic as it clinked together, which was not a sound produced by unworked jade. This thorough polishing process demonstrated devotion because it took time and patience for an individual to produce. Devotion and sacrifice were principal aspects of religious rituals that were contributed to by the state of a ruler’s jade ornaments.

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In Maya society, a person’s breath was a symbol of their soul, especially their final breath as they died. Earspools served as a representation of this breath spirit, especially due to their shape. Earspools resembled blossoms, which were so widely known as metaphors for the breath and soul that they were also shown in Maya art through the Late Classic Period. This symbolism did not just apply to earspools, however, but was also used with jade beads in other contexts. There was a common practice to put a jade bead into the mouth of a person that had recently died in order to capture their breath and soul within the bead.

Another version of this practice involved putting jade into the person’s mouth another way; Maya people would inlay jade fragments into an individual’s teeth, most commonly within the teeth that are visible when smiling. Because the process of placing the jade within the teeth was long and excruciating, this practice also showed an individual’s ability to withstand pain over long periods of time. This would have added to a ruler’s powerful and strong reputation in addition to the effects for their soul. Jade was also thought to improve an individual’s patterns of speech, and to cleanse their breath in some way as it passed over the stones. Additionally, because the jade was already inside of the ruler’s mouth, it was sure to capture their breath and soul after their passing, which would allow their life force to continue after they were physically gone.

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Jade also represents the ancient Maya sun god as well as maize. Jade is thought to have symbolized the sun for several reasons. The first of these reasons is that it absorbs heat from the sun easily, due to being a conductive stone. Another reason that jade is thought to represent the sun is because it was found primarily in the east by the Maya people, and the sun rises in the east. Jade represents maize because of its green color, and how this is reminiscent of the external leaves (“ears”) found on a maize plant. Jade also represents growth due to its shade, which connects it to the maize deity as well. Because of this, jade therefore also acts as a symbol of agricultural abundance for the Maya people. Rulers also saw this symbolic representation with the maize jester god, who was often depicted on rulers’ headpieces. Maya leadership would use jade as a way to bring about plentiful crops, and a successful harvest. Kings would use the stones to ask these deities for favorable outcomes when it came to their people’s prosperity in the fields. It is also important to note that the colors green and blue, which are common in jade, are associated with the world center. This allows jade to be lent to many aspects involving the earth. Because jade supposedly gave Maya rulers influence over the sun and agricultural success, this allowed for royalty to garner more power and support from their people as a result of having large amounts of jade.

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Maya royalty wore headbands akin to crowns, which included a jade piece depicting the “jester god.” In fact, there are three iterations of the jester god: the piscine jester god, maize jester god, and avian jester god. The piscine iteration of the jester god represents a shark or a serpent, and is not shown as the headband pendant as often as the other iterations. The second iteration of the jester god represents the Maya maize god, and was covered in the previous entry. The third iteration of the jester god is an image of the Principal Bird Deity from the Popol Vuh Maya creation story, combined with a tree. This iteration is the most important when discussing power and position, as it is the most literal example of kingship. This image represents the rulership of the “crown” wearer, mainly because it has been shown to have an “ajaw” hieroglyphic present (meaning “lord”) within the tree symbolism. This image cements the power of the ruler that displays this jade item. The wearer’s power is also increased because the image of the Principal Bird Deity serves as a reminder of the Hero Twins’ defeat of the false sun.

This headband also shows the wearer’s leadership in a much more literal way in addition to the “ajaw” hieroglyphic. Because it is worn on the head, the jade pendant is at the highest possible point on the body. This means that the jade stone is as close to the heavenly plane as possible, which demonstrates the individual’s right to divine rulership.

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Andrieu, C., Rodas, E., & Luis, L. (2014). The values of classic Maya jade: A reanalysis of Cancuen's jade workshop. Ancient Mesoamerica. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from Academic Search Premier.

Halperin, C. T., Hruby, Z. X., & Mongelluzzo, R. (2018). The weight of ritual: Classic Maya jade head pendants in the round. Antiquity. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://cc.csusm.edu/pluginfile.php/3734569/mod_folder/content/0/Halperin%20et%20al._2018_The%20Weight%20of%20Ritual.pdf?forcedownload=1.

Houston, S. (2009). Jaded Smiles. Archaeology. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from Academic Search Premier.

Lucero, L. J. (2003). The politics of ritual: The emergence of classic Maya rulers. Current Anthropology. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from Academic Search Premier.

Norman, H. (n.d.). Precious stone of grace. Natural History. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from Academic Search Premier.

Taube, K. A. (2005). The symbolism of jade in classic Maya religion. Ancient Mesoamerica. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from Academic Search Premier.

Taube, K. A., & Ishihara-Brito, R. (2012). From stone to jewel: jade in ancient Maya religion and rulership. Ancient Maya Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://cc.csusm.edu/pluginfile.php/3734569/mod_folder/content/0/Taube%20and%20Ishihara_2012_From%20Stone%20to%20Jewel.pdf?forcedownload=1.

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Object: Glyphs
Found: San Bartolo Guatemala
Date: 3rd Century BCE

Glyphs are also used during this time. Glyphs are words or symbols that are written on stone. They were like an easier way to under hierpglygphs the way hieroglyphs were writing, making it sometimes hard to translate what was actually being said. wIth the help of glyphs and stelae words in the Maya language were  much easier to understand. The glyphs which are usually around ten glyphs painted on stone blocks look similar to Epi-olmec. When it comes to glyphs they are connected to the monkey-faced god C glyph, which is related to the story of the Popol Vuh and the Hero twins. This is a story about how the Maya believe the universe was created. It's in a sense like the bible for the Maya. The story consists of the Maize God and the Hero Twins. The Hero Twins were the kids of the Maize God. The Maize God had died in the underworld and the Hero Twins came and saved their father. For the Maya the characters are symbols of creation. The Maya would see one hero twin as a monkey and the other the artisan because of trickery from the twins both twins were turned into monkeys which is where their monkey-face God comes from.  This is also when the day keeper came which was called the calendar priest he was in charge of maintaining records of time and so much more.

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Object: Stela H Copan Monument
Where Found: Copan, Honduras
Date: Long count 9.14.19.5.0

Category Entry: Figure 2. Stela H from Copan, depicting the ruler Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awii in elaborate attire. Behind it is the stairway that defines the eastern edge of the Great Plaza. These stone monuments depict rulers and other elites engaging in performances, Inomata writes, many stelae show rulers in elaborate attire, such as feathers headdresses, masks, jade pectorals, and shell belts, often in the guise of the Maize God or some other deity" (Inomata, p. 810).
Maya theater played an important part for the Maya government. These performances were organized by rulers to show the role of how maya politics was used in maya government “these often depict rulers and other elites engaging in performances, indicating that the dominants were not only sponsors of theatrical events but also protagonists” ( Inomata ,p.810). Inomata writes “the word cha’nil, which may be translated as “something being watched”, in monuments depicting dance scenes” (Inomata, p.810). These mayan rulers would perform for a large audience as the audience would witness these ritual dance performances “the central role of theatrical performances in the constitution of a political community implies that it is a critical arena for the negotiation of meaning and power’ (Inomata, p. 808).

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Figure 7.4 Painting on a Cylinder Vase excavated at Aguateca. It shows a scene of a meeting held in a room of an Elite residence

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Object: Ceramic Painting on a Cylinder Vase
Where Found: Aguateca, Guatemala
Date:

Category Entry: Figure 7.4 Painting on a cylinder vase excavated at Aguateca. It shows a scene of a meeting held in a room of an Elite residence. Inomata writes, numerous ceramic paintings depict scenes of courtly gatherings, which most likely took place in royal palaces and elite residence" (Inomata, p. 203). The paintings were seen as a point of view of an audience in front of the meetings.

Public events took place as it represented and showed how the maya government had a role for maya societies, Inomata writes “not only is performance shaped by thoughts of individuals and meanings shared among participants, but such acts, through interactions with other participants, objects, and their surrounding setting, define and impose meanings and values'' (Inomata, p. 190). Some of the performances and acts of rituals shape the groups of people’s interactions, Inomata writes “ritual imposes a certain type of power relations among participants not by transmitting specific messages but by the formalism of its acts” (Inomata, p. 191). Inomata also writes “given this defining force of the form of performance as opposed to the ambiguity in its symbolic contents, a productive approach may be to examine how theatrical events shape social relations among participants, in what contexts such symbolic acts become meaningful, and how dominant ideologies are imposed, resisted, and subverted” (Inomata, p. 191).

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Figure 7.5 Ceramic Drums found in storage rooms of the Royal Palace of Aguateca

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Object: Ceramic Drums
Where Found: Aguateca, Guatemala
Date: Classic Maya Period

Category Entry: Figure 7.5 Ceramic Drums found in storage rooms of the Royal Palace of Aguateca. The sealed room of structure M7-22 of the Palace Group contained such theatrical objects as ceramic drums and ceramic masks (Looper, p. 207).

The Classic Maya’s form of government was shown to be free at times as many of the classic maya farmers have left their residential areas and moved elsewhere as well as changing their political affiliations. They would then also exchange many goods within their social interactions between producers and consumers. Goods like utilitarian ceramics were exchanged, Inomata writes, “without significant political interventions from the central authority” (Inomata, p. 205). Inomata writes, although the Maya may have conducted daily life without considerable intervention from the central authorities, there existed various processes in which individuals were involved in polity-wide affairs  possibly including taxation by elites, the distribution of certain goods, the supply of water during dry seasons through centralized reservoirs and service in military campaigns (Inomata, p. 206).  Some of the elite residences had various of musical instruments, Inomata writes, “such as conch horns, ceramic flutes, ceramic whistles, ceramic drums, and bone rasps, suggesting that these political elites engaged in musical performances on various occasions” (Inomata, p. 207). Not only did they play for musical performances but theatrical ones as well, it was shown that that was very important to the royal residents.

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Figure 7.6 Ceramic Mask found in the storage room of the Royal Palace of Aguateca (conservation work by Harriet Beaubien)

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Object: Ceramic Mask
Where Found: Aguateca, Guatemala
Date: Classic Maya Period

Category Entry: Figure 7.6 Ceramic Mask found in the storgae rooms of the royal palace of Aguateca. This mask was taken care of by Harriet Beaubien. This mask was worn by the ruler of Aguatecas for ceremonial occasions.

Political elites were involved in various theatrical and musical performances. Some of the elite residences had various of musical instruments, Inomata writes, “such as conch horns, ceramic flutes, ceramic whistles, ceramic drums, and bone rasps, suggesting that these political elites engaged in musical performances on various occasions” (Inomata, p. 207). Not only did they play for musical performances but theatrical ones as well, it was shown that that was very important to the royal residents. Theatrical drums were played and the masks were worn by the ruler of Aguateca for ceremonial occasions, Inomata writes, in classic maya society theatrical performance was not mere embellishment of underlying political mechanisms, but a critical part of politics in terms of reality of social process and of the native perceptions” (Inomata, p. 209). These theatrical performances were one of the mayas most ranked most significant administrative work for the Maya elites. Inomata writes, as in any society, community rituals in classic mayas society served among other social functions to define and maintain asymmetrical power relation” (Inomata, p. 210).

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Object: Bonamoak Mural
Where Found: Chiapas, Mexico
Date: Late Classic period

Category Description: Figure 2.20 Main dancers Bonampak Room one mural, detail of south wall. Illustration by Heather Hurst with Leonard Ashby.
Figure 2.21 Musicians, Bonampak Room one mural detail of the west wall.

The Bonampak mural painting has three rooms. This mural depicts mainly a ruler's son, “the occasion of the procession is the designation of the ruler's son as heir”, (world of music, p.38). All three rooms depicted were related. Looper writes, the murals historical context the program of Structure 1 Celebrates a political alliances forged between Bonampak, Yaxchilan, and Lacanha" (Looper, p. 61).

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Jordan, Keith. Stone Trees Transplanted? Central Mexican Stelae of the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic and the Question of Maya 'Influence', Archaeopress, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csusm/detail.action?docID=5940170.

Rice, Prudence M.. Maya Calendar Origins : Monuments, Mythistory, and the Materialization of Time, University of Texas Press, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csusm/detail.action?docID=3443317.

Stuart, David

1996 Kings of Stone: A Consideration of Stelae in Ancient Maya Ritual and Representation. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 29/30:148-171.

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Object: Glyph
Found: Palenque, Temple 19
Date: Early Classic Period
This symbol was used as a form of representation for elites in Mayan society during the early classic period. Individuals who were considered lords/rulers had this symbol near them when being represented in inscriptions. It was believed that these individuals had some sort of tie to "supernatural" beings, allowing for them to be seen as vessels for these Gods. Therefore, they were in charge of sacred rituals and would wear things such as headdresses, jade, and various types of jewelry that would indicate their status and why they were among the elites. These individuals had to be born into these roles as stated earlier that they had a caste system. Only their offsprings could become their successors, therefore only allowing family to be be considered as an "Ajaw" Royalty was pre-destined as everyone who was able to have the "Ajaw" title was royalty by birth. This was the highest ranking title during the Early Classic Period and these individuals were the ones who could make or break their communities. An example of this could be the popular rulers such as "Pakal the Great" who was the longest ruler ever in the Mayan world. "Ajaw" was one of the earliest known terms/symbols of elites.

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2006 Politics and Theatricality in Mayan Society. In The Archaeology of Performance: Theaters of Power, Community, and Politics, edited by Takeshi Inomata, and Lawrence S. Coben, pp. 187-221. AltaMira Press, New York, NY.

2006 Plazas, Performers, and Spectators: Political Theaters of the Classic Maya. Review. Current Anthropology 47(5):805-842.

Looper, Matthew G.. To Be Like Gods : Dance in Ancient Maya Civilization, University of Texas Press, 2009. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csusm/detail.action?docID=3443390.

Lucero, Lisa J.. Water and Ritual : The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers, University of Texas Press, 2006. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csusm/detail.action?docID=3443111.

Morehart, Christopher T., and Noah Butler. “Ritual Exchange and the Fourth Obligation: Ancient Maya Food Offering and the Flexible Materiality of Ritual.” The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. 16, no. 3, 2010, pp. 588–608, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40926124.

Sanchez, Julia L. J. “Procession and Performance: Recreating Ritual Soundscapes among the Ancient Maya.” The World of Music, vol. 49, no. 2, 2007, pp. 35–44, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41699763.

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Object: Glyph
Found: Palenque, Temple 19
Date: Late Classic Period

This symbol was a representation of what was supposed to be below an "AJAW"/Lord. During the late classic period it was seen more and more due to the fact AJAW was being given to various people. Therefore, they need to have someone below them. These individuals served as a type of governor to small cities. They were nobles and as such they were to hold subordinate offices to their higher ups. This title was meant to better balance out power systems between various individuals, as there could only be one ruler. These individuals were also born into this, but they had to go through rituals of enthronement in order to receive their right to be a "Sajal". These individuals were to be considered elite court members who were not as highly ranked as rulers. It was also know that their could be a "ba"-sajal", which basically meant the head sajal. This was not used as much with Ajaw, but most likely because there could only be one ruler. Thus, letting us know that even though there could only be one ruler, it was still possible to have multiple sajal's during this time period. They still had very much political power, these titles were given to people in order to have spatial disposition throughout their kingdom.