E Groups, Cosmology, and the Origins of Maya Rulership
The material symbol-systems of the Preclassic (1000 BCE–250 CE) Maya reflect a focus on the daily and annual cycles of the sun and the relationship between these and the cycles of the agrarian year, particularly as represented in the anthropomorphic Maize God. The Maya sun gods, the Maize God, and the solar avatar of the Creator God Itzamnaaj or the Principal Bird Deity are depicted in architectural decoration, murals and carvings in Preclassic contexts. They are also depicted in later Classic Period (250-950 CE) contexts. I explore these images and ideas to show that the E Group phenomenon was one part of the development of a pan-peninsular religion, worldview and ideology establishing the basis for Preclassic Maya rulership. Finally, I explore the prospect that the site of Cerros has an Eastern Triadic Structure, Structure 29, rather than an E Group. I propose on iconographic grounds that this building is a solar commemorative structure and possibly a bundle house.