Lords of the Hills

1994 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas P. Dunning ◽  
Jeff Karl Kowalski
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Important Relationship ◽  
Late Ninth Century ◽  
The City ◽  
Chichen Itza ◽  
Divine Kingship

AbstractA regional investigation of the ancient Maya settlement patterns of the Puuc suggests that this region was occupied by increasing numbers of people seeking to maximize control over prime agricultural soils during the Late Classic period. During the Late Classic the eastern Puuc region was controlled by numerous autonomous major centers that carried on the Classic Maya tradition of divine kingship. During the late ninth century a.d., the city of Uxmal briefly emerged as the politically dominant center of the region and was involved in an important relationship with the city of Chichen Itza. By a.d. 950, however, Uxmal and the other major centers of the Puuc had ceased all important elite activities.

An Ancient Maya Measurement System

1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia J. O'Brien ◽  
Hanne D. Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Measurement System ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Measuring System ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Chichen Itza

In this report we attempt to answer the question: which measurement system did the Late Classic Maya use to build their buildings? Measurements were collected from ten buildings at three Puuc style archaeological sites: Uxmal, Kabah and Chichén Itzá, which date about A.D. 750-1000. The tentative results of the study suggest the Maya employed a measurement system involving what we are calling a zapal, which was 147 ± 5 cm long. A zapal was divided into 16 units, kab, of 9 xóot’ each, or 9 units, oc, of 16 xóot’ each. Thus, there were two alternative ways of grouping the 144 xóot’ that made up each zapal. An examination of the linguistic and ethnohistoric data reveals nothing to contradict the notion that such a measuring system was present among the ancient Maya, and that multiples of 3, 4, and 12 are involved.

scholarly journals BUILDING HIGH-PRECISION AMS 14C BAYESIAN MODELS FOR THE FORMATION OF PERI-ABANDONMENT DEPOSITS AT BAKING POT, BELIZE

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Julie A Hoggarth ◽  
Brendan J Culleton ◽  
Jaime J Awe ◽  
Christophe Helmke ◽  
Sydney Lonaker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Models ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Eighth Century ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Maya Lowlands ◽  
Human Skeletal Remains ◽  
Late Ninth Century ◽  
Baking Pot ◽  
Group B

ABSTRACT Deposits linked to abandonment have been widely recorded across the Maya lowlands, associated with the final activities occurring in ceremonial areas of Classic Maya centers. Various models have been applied to explain the activities that lie behind the formation of these contexts, including those linked to rapid abandonment (e.g., warfare) and others focused on more protracted events (termination rituals, and/or pilgrimages). Here, we assess Bayesian models for three chronological scenarios of varying tempo to explain the formation of peri-abandonment deposits at Baking Pot, Belize. Using stratigraphic information from these deposits, hieroglyphic dates recovered on artifacts, and direct dates on human skeletal remains and faunal remains from distinct layers in three deposits in Group B at Baking Pot, we identify multiple depositional events that spanned the eighth to ninth centuries AD. These results suggest that the processes associated with the breakdown of institutionalized rulership and its command of labor to construct and maintain ceremonial spaces were protracted at Baking Pot, with evidence for the final depositional activity dated to the mid-to-late ninth century. This interval of deposition was temporally distinct from the earlier deposition(s) in the eighth century. Together, these data offer a detailed view of the end of the Classic period at Baking Pot, in which the ceremonial spaces of the site slowly fell into disuse over a period of more than a century.

Stature at Tikal, Guatemala: Implications for Ancient Maya Demography and Social Organization

1967 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Haviland
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Class Division ◽  
Lower Status ◽  
Simple Class ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Maya Site

AbstractThis paper presents an analysis of stature of the prehistoric population from the Maya site of Tikal, Guatemala. From this analysis, based on 55 skeletons from the Tikal burial series, three important conclusions emerge with respect to ancient Maya demography and social organization. (1) Tikal was settled by people of moderate stature, and this remained relatively stable over several centuries. A marked reduction in male stature in Late Classic times may be indicative of a situation of nutritional stress, which may have had something to do with the collapse of Classic Maya civilization. (2) Stature differences between those buried in tombs and others at Tikal suggest that, in the last century B.C., a distinct ruling class developed at Tikal. This simple class division of rulers and commoners may have become more complex in Late Classic times. (3) There was a marked sexual dimorphism in stature between males and females at Tikal. This is probably partially genetic and partially a reflection of relatively lower status for women as opposed to men in Maya society.

K’ak’ Upakal K’inich K’awil and the Lords of the Fire

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Pérez de Heredia ◽  
Péter Bíró
Keyword(s):  
Ninth Century ◽  
Historical Reconstruction ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Ceremonial Life ◽  
Chichen Itza

This chapter integrates ceramics, stratigraphy, epigraphy, and careful readings of ethnohistoric sources to propose a historical reconstruction of Chichen Itza, focused particularly on the ninth century. The authors reject the partial and total overlap models for Chichen Itza construction and settlement and argue for the sequential construction of architecture in the Late Classic, Puuc, and International styles. Focusing on the individual named K’ak’ Upakal, the authors reconstruct the activities of this early ruler, his relatives and his court and the rituals at the core of Chichen’s ceremonial life.

Sak Tz’i’, a Classic Maya Center: A Locational Model Based on GIS and Epigraphy

2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armando Anaya Hernández ◽  
Stanley P. Guenter ◽  
Marc U. Zender
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Information Systems ◽  
Analytical Tool ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Maya Lowlands

AbstractThe ancient Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions of the upper Usumacinta region record an intensive interaction that took place among its regional capitals. The precise geographic locations of some of these sites are presently unknown. Through the application of the Gravity Model within the framework of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we present the probable locations and possible territorial extents of a few of these: Sak Tz’i’, Hix-Witz, and the “Knot-Site.” On this occasion, however, we concentrate our discussion on the role that the kingdom of Sak Tz’i’ played in the geopolitical scenario of the region. It is our belief that this case study constitutes a good example of how, through a conjunctive approach that integrates the archaeological with the epigraphic data, GIS can represent an excellent analytical tool to approach archaeological issues such as the political organization of the Maya Lowlands during the Late Classic period.

scholarly journals Lord of the Maya Creations on his jaguar throne: the eternal return of Elder Brother God L to preside over the 21 December 2012 transformation

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (S278) ◽  
pp. 203-213
Author(s):  
John B. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Rites Of Passage ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Eternal Return ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
The World ◽  
Western Scholarship

AbstractSpeculation about what ancient Maya texts have to say about 2012 is becoming a global phenomenon in popular culture. This speculation, largely apocalyptic, is more often based on acquaintance with historical Western interpretations than on familiarity with the texts themselves and their cultural contexts. This paper approaches the 2012 phenomenon through close readings of Maya texts and images considered within the contexts of historical and contemporary Maya culture and Western scholarship. It focuses on images of mythological events depicted on two Late Classic Maya vessels: the ‘Vase of the Seven Gods’ (Kerr no. 2796) and the ‘Vase of the Eleven Gods’ (Kerr no. 7750). These images are interpreted as representing deities, gathered in ‘cosmogonic conclave’, preparing to re-create the world with their sacrifices at the last completion of a great cycle and the beginning of a new 5,125-year 13-Bakˈtun Maya ‘Long Count’. The rites of passage are presided over by an enigmatic Venus-warrior/sacrificer deity previously known only as God L. God L's principal name and nature had remained undeciphered and his identity obscure until the author's researches resulted in the decipherment and ‘reading’ presented here. This study offers an explication of why God L, whom the author has demonstrated is the Maya god of tobacco among his many aspects, takes the senior role in presiding over these 13-Bakˈtun completion rituals and why it is reasonable to hypothesize that the same entities would be back for the fulfillment of the present cycle in 2012.

Survival and Revival of Terminal Classic Traditions at Postclassic Mayapán

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Milbrath ◽  
Carlos Peraza Lope
Keyword(s):  
East Coast ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Carnegie Institution ◽  
Terminal Classic ◽  
International Style ◽  
Archaeological Project ◽  
Local Traditions ◽  
The City ◽  
Chichen Itza

AbstractRecent INAH excavations and reanalysis of data from the Carnegie Institution archaeological project document the survival and revival of Classic and Terminal Classic traditions at Postclassic Mayapán, the last Maya capital in Mexico. The survival of some Terminal Classic ceramic types and architectural forms at Mayapán around A.D. 1100–1200 reflects a pattern of continuity. A revival of earlier traditions is notable in the erection of stelae marking the katun endings and in Postclassic architecture that incorporates iconographie elements from Terminal Classic Puuc sites and the city of Chichén Itzá. The rulers and priests of Mayapán displayed their connection with the Terminal Classic Maya heritage to assert political power. The Puuc revival at Mayapán is linked with the Xiu priests, whereas the revival of the Itzá heritage of Chichén Itzá is affiliated with the Cocom rulers. Between A.D. 1250 and 1400, revival-style architecture at Mayapán was inspired by local traditions in the area of Yucatán. After A.D. 1400, trade contact with the East Coast inspired new art forms linked with the international style associated with Mixteca-Puebla art.

Understanding Late Classic Maya Mortuary Ritual in Caves

2018 ◽  
pp. 133-158
Author(s):  
Amy R. Michael ◽  
Gabriel D. Wrobel ◽  
Jack Biggs
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Health Data ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Ancient Maya ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Mortuary Practice ◽  
Mortuary Ritual ◽  
Analytical Approaches

Bioarchaeology frequently investigates dental health in burial populations to make inferences about mortuary variability within and between ancient groups. In this chapter, micro- and macroscopic dental defects were examined in a series of ancient Maya mortuary cave and rockshelter burials in Central Belize. The nature of mortuary cave ritual use and funerary performance in the Late Classic is widely debated in the literature. This study utilizes two analytical approaches, mortuary practice and paleopathology, to better understand mortuary variability between two site types that may be distinguished by social status in life. Ethnohistoric accounts focused on mortuary activities in the Late Classic period have described sacrificial victims as individuals originating outside of the elite population. To test these accounts, this study compares the dental health data of individuals from non-elite (rockshelter) populations to elite (cave) burial contexts.

DEBATING CHICHEN ITZA

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Ringle
Keyword(s):  
San Diego ◽  
Ninth Century ◽  
Tenth Century ◽  
University Of California ◽  
Present Evidence ◽  
Late Ninth Century ◽  
The University ◽  
Chichen Itza

AbstractTeams from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have put forth a new chronology for Chichen Itza that challenges recent scholarly opinion favoring a date of roughlya.d.800/850–1000/1050 for the so-called “Toltec” or Modified Florescent occupation. The new chronology instead argues for the placement of this occupation betweena.d.950–1150, a span favored by scholars prior to the 1970s. This paper presents a critique of the ceramic, radiocarbon, and stratigraphic foundations of these arguments, arguing that, on present evidence, Chichen Itza experienced a tenth-century florescence. Although the site may very well have been occupied into the next century, at present we have no absolute dates aftera.d.1000 and no evidence for later monumental construction. Furthermore, arguments for a proposed hiatus or discontinuity at the onset of the Modified Florescent period are rejected in favor of a model of continued development of Toltec ideas from the late ninth century onward.

Artistic Connections Between the Chichen Itza Toltec and the Classic Maya

1954 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Rands
Keyword(s):  
Classic Maya ◽  
Present Writer ◽  
The South ◽  
Late Classic ◽  
Water Lily ◽  
Maya Archaeology ◽  
Single Motif ◽  
Maya Area ◽  
Chichen Itza

A recent development of some interest in Maya archaeology has been the appearance of several studies showing rather unexpected connections between the art of the Toltec period at Chichen Itza and that of the late Great period in the Classic centers to the south. Inferentially, this may indicate the approximate contemporaneity of the Chichen Itza Toltec and the late Classic Maya. Such a reconstruction is not only a far cry from the outmoded concept of “Old” and “New Empires” but, as Lothrop (1952, p. 112) points out, challenges the generally favored 11.16 (Goodman-Martinez- Thompson) correlation of the Maya and Christian calendars. Three studies may be cited as of particular importance in emphasizing the affinity of Chichen Toltec and Classic Maya art. Monographs by Proskouriakoff (1950) and Lothrop (1952) deal, respectively, with sculptured monuments from the Maya area as a whole and with metal objects from the sacred cenote at Chichen Itza. A paper by the present writer (Rands, 1953) is concerned with portrayals of a single motif, the water lily, in the Maya area.

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