The Zapotec civilization appeared in the valleys of Oaxaca in western Mexico beginning around 500 BCE, with the construction of the regional capital known today as Monte Albán . Set on a flattened mountaintop overlooking the larger region, Monte Albán likely had a population of about five thousand by around 400 BCE and as many as twenty-five thousand by around 700 CE. As it grew over the centuries, so too did its stone temples and other complexes. The city exerted influence on the hundreds of much smaller communities scattered across the Oaxaca Valley. The region was highly suitable to maize cultivation, thus allowing for larger populations and monumental architecture. From the defensive walls created around their settlements, it seems the Zapotec lived in a world where warfare was especially common. Monte Albán itself was likely selected for defensive reasons.
Monte Albán. Perched on a flattened mountaintop and serving as the Zapotec capital between 500 BCE and 800 CE, Monte Albán in today’s Oaxaca, Mexico, was an easily defensible city. (credit: “Roman architecture ruins” by Andrew McMillan/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
The structures built at Monte Albán after 300 CE reflect the influence of another major Mesoamerican civilization about thirty miles northeast of Mexico City. The massive city of Teotihuacán dominated trade in obsidian, salt, cotton, cacao, and marine shells across southern Mexico and greatly influenced cultures like that of the Zapotec. The origins of the Teotihuacán settlement date to about 400 BCE, but major building at the site did not begin until centuries later. By 300, the growing city had a population of about 100,000, making it one of the largest cities in the world at the time. It exercised enormous cultural and military influence across large portions of Mesoamerica until it declined in the sixth and seventh centuries CE.
The structures built at Monte Albán after 300 CE reflect the influence of another major Mesoamerican civilization about thirty miles northeast of Mexico City. The massive city of Teotihuacán dominated trade in obsidian, salt, cotton, cacao, and marine shells across southern Mexico and greatly influenced cultures like that of the Zapotec. The origins of the Teotihuacán settlement date to about 400 BCE, but major building at the site did not begin until centuries later. By 300, the growing city had a population of about 100,000, making it one of the largest cities in the world at the time. It exercised enormous cultural and military influence across large portions of Mesoamerica until it declined in the sixth and seventh centuries CE.
Teotihuacán. The enormous size of the ruins of Teotihuacán, northeast of Mexico City, is enduring evidence of the power of this city in ancient times. This photograph was taken from the top of the Pyramid of the Moon (c. 250 CE) looking down the Avenue of the Dead and toward the Pyramid of the Sun (c. 100 CE) on the far left side. (credit: “View of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun, from Pyramid of the Moon (Pyramide de la Luna)” by”Jackhynes”/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
The Teotihuacanos built numerous stone temples and other structures organized around a north–south passageway known as the Avenue of the Dead. The largest temples are known as the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. Both are multitiered stone structures, 197 and 141 feet tall, respectively. The site also includes a large royal residence known as the Citadel, which includes the elaborate Temple of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. Elite military leaders and others lived in large apartment compounds decorated with colorful artwork depicting priests, gods, or warriors. The remaining population was spread across the roughly ten thousand square miles that surrounded the city and produced trade goods as well as agricultural products.
The size of Teotihuacán denotes its wealth and regional influence at its height. This wealth came from trading in crafts, agricultural products, obsidian tools, cloth, ceramics, and artwork. The many preserved frescos and murals show the city’s rulers dressed in elaborate clothing, including iridescent quetzal bird feathers from as far away as Guatemala, testifying to Teotihuacán’s long reach. To influence areas so far away, the city wielded power through its control of trade and use of military force and diplomacy. Sculptures at Monte Albán show Teotihuacano diplomats meeting with the Zapotec elite, reflecting mostly peaceful contact between the two civilizations. Evidence from Maya sites also demonstrates that the Teotihuacanos commonly intervened in Maya affairs deep in Central America, sometimes militarily. They may even have orchestrated a coup in the powerful Maya city of Tikal in 378.
Maya Culture
While Maya civilization was clearly influenced by the Teotihuacanos beginning in the fourth century CE, evidence of urban development and rapid population growth in the Maya heartland of Central America dates to before 600 BCE. Village life may go back much further, but in any case, by 600 BCE, the lowlands of Central America were full of small villages, each showing evidence of sophisticated pottery, architecture, irrigation techniques, and religious traditions. By 250 BCE, a handful of powerful Maya city-states had emerged. The major cities of this Early Classic period (250–600 CE) include Tikal, Calakmul, El Mirador, and a few others.
El Mirador was a dominant city before 150 CE, with a population of about 100,000 at its height. But Tikal and Calakmul were equally impressive. All had numerous large pyramid-like structures creating an impressive skyline across the spaces cleared of jungle. Most of the major cities were built next to large, shallow lakes, since access to water for drinking and irrigation was important in the lowlands, where rainfall was often insufficient. The tropical soil in the area is also insufficiently fertile, and the Maya developed a style of slash-and-burn agriculture to raise maize, squash, beans, and cacao for the growing urban populations in these cities.
The Maya were certainly influenced by Olmec civilization, though likely not directly. For example, some examples of Maya art include Olmec-derived features like the were-jaguar. The Maya also played a ritual ball game based on the earlier Olmec variety. Another possible Olmec influence was the Maya calendar. This consisted of two different parts—the 260-day Sacred Round calendar and the 365-day Vague Year calendar—that functioned together to create a 52-year cycle for measuring time and tying the dates for ceremonies to important mythological events performed by the gods.
Did the Maya Predict the End of the World?
The premise of a 2009 science fiction movie was that the Maya calendar predicted the end of the world would occur in the year 2012. While the film (called 2012) was a commercial success, the idea that the Maya predicted when the world would end has been largely discredited.
The Maya had a sophisticated calendar system evolved from earlier Mesoamerican versions, possibly the Olmec. Because it used two different calendar rounds working together, it revealed important ritual days and cycles over long periods of time. For example, one full cycle covered a space of fifty-two solar years, often called a bundle. But to explore longer chunks of time, the Maya relied on what scholars call the Long Count Calendar. This had cycles that included the winal (20 days), the tun (360 days), the k’atun (7,200 days), and the bak’tun (144,000 days). The Great Cycle occurred every thirteen bak’tun, or about every 5,125 years. And this is where the idea of the significance of 2012 comes from.
The Maya Calendar. The two Maya calendar rounds were intended to function together in order to reveal important dates years in advance. (credit: modification of work “Diagram showing engagement of tonalamatl wheel of 260 days and haab wheel of 365 positions by An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs” by Sylvanus Griswold Morley/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
According to scholars’ calculations, the Maya Great Cycle would have begun in 2012 CE. But did that really mean the Maya thought this was the end of the world? Most historians and archaeologists say the answer is a resounding “no.” Rather, that year would simply have started a new cycle, though the Maya would have seen great importance in the event and celebrated it with major festivities. It appears that only Hollywood and some imaginative modern writers have read an Earth-ending catastrophe into this date.
What does the cyclical nature of the Maya calendar system suggest about their rituals and cosmology?
Why do you think the concept of an apocalypse occurring in 2012 was so attractive to modern people?
The era of Maya greatness begins with the Classic period, starting around 250 CE and lasting until about 900. During this time, urbanization in the Maya world expanded greatly, with approximately forty different city-states emerging in different areas. Some of the most powerful were older sites like Tikal and Calakmul, along with newer locations like Palenque, Copan, Yaxchilan, and Piedras Negras. Each had its own rulers, referred to as “divine lords.” These powerful chieftains exercised their authority over the city-state through their control over religious rituals and ceremonies, the construction of temples, and especially wars they waged with other Maya city-states. Such wars were common for weakening rivals and keeping neighbors in line, and they may even have served important ritual purposes. They also allowed for the exacting of tribute from subdued enemies in the form of animal products, salt, textiles, artwork, and agricultural goods like cacao and maize. Tribute could be paid through labor as well, when defeated enemies supplied workers for the victorious city-state. Only rarely did rulers seek to control conquered city-states, however. These generally remained independent, though they all shared many cultural attributes.
The Maya World. (a) At its height, the Maya civilization included as many as forty city-states. (b) Today the ruins of Palenque and other Maya sites appear ghost-white. But during their heyday in the seventh century, their temples were painted in bright colors. (attribution a: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license; credit b: modification of work “Palenque Palace” by “Candiderm”/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
At the heart of Maya religious practices was the veneration of family ancestors, who were considered bridges between heaven and earth. Homes had shrines for performing ritual bloodletting and prayers directed to the ancestors, and deceased family members were typically interred beneath the floor. Indeed, the large stone temples themselves were in some ways grander versions of these family shrines, usually with large tombs within them, and deceased kings were effectively ancestors for the entire city-state. Ritual practices were tied to the complicated Maya calendar, and gods could act in certain ways depending on the time of year and the location of certain heavenly bodies. Shamans and priests guided rituals like bloodletting, which allowed for communication with the ancestors by releasing a sacred essence in the blood called chu’ulel. The same principle applied to the human sacrifice of war captives and especially captured rival leaders.
While we can only speculate about how the Olmec played their ritual ball game, we know more about the Maya and later versions (Figure 8.17). The intention was to reenact aspects of Maya mythology, and the game held a significant place in religious practice. Two teams of four wore ritual protective padding and passed the ball to each other without using hands or feet on long I-shaped courts flanked by sloping walls. The object appeared to be to move the ball through a stone ring without letting it hit the ground. As the use of padding indicates, the game could be quite dangerous; the ball was solid rubber and could weigh more than seven pounds. But the true danger came at the end, when losing team leaders or sometimes the entire losing team could expect to be sacrificed to fulfill the game’s ritual purpose.
A Maya Ball Court. Maya ball court designs varied from city to city, but like this one in front of a pyramid in Peten, Guatemala, all had the same I-shaped layout. (credit: “Tikal Ballcourt“ by Gary Todd/Flickr, Public Domain)
One of the reasons we know so much about the Maya is that, unlike some other Mesoamerican civilizations, they created a writing system that scholars have been able to decode and read. This system was phonetically based, with complex characters, and was far more developed than any other writing system discovered in Mesoamerica. It allowed the Maya to record their own history in stone monuments, including invaluable political histories, descriptions of rituals, propagandistic records of battles, and genealogies.
The Maya Writing System. The phonetically based Maya script baffled researchers for years and was decoded only after decades of careful work. These stucco characters are from Palenque and were likely created between the fifth and eighth centuries BCE. (credit: “Maya stucco glyphs displayed in the museum at Palenque, Mexico” by “Kwamikagami”/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)
Classical Maya civilization entered a period of decline in the ninth century CE and then deteriorated rapidly. Over a period of about a century, alliances broke down, conflicts became more common, the production of luxury goods slowed to a stop, and cities went from thriving urban centers to depopulated shells. The reason for this collapse has been a topic of debate among historians and archaeologists for many years, and much remains uncertain. Among the proposed causes are epidemic diseases, invasions, natural disasters, internal revolutions, and environmental degradation. Several of these may have been influential; it is unlikely there was a single cause.
For example, studies over the last few decades have pointed to the environmental problems created by demographic growth. This growth led to large-scale deforestation, which in turn produced soil erosion. Large populations that required high agricultural yields made Mayan civilization more vulnerable to variations in climate or a string of bad harvests caused by crop disease. Such problems would have put enormous pressure on elites and commoners alike and contributed to disorder, war, and perhaps internal revolts. However it happened, by 900 CE the Classic period of Maya civilization had come to an end. But this was not the end of the Maya. In the Yucatán Peninsula, well north of the old centers of power, Maya civilization would experience a rebirth that extended into the sixteenth century and the arrival of the Spanish.
The Maya, accomplished astronomers and mathematicians, developed one of the most accurate calendar systems in human history.
Map showing the extent of the Maya civilization (red), compared to all other Mesoamerica cultures (black). Today, these sites are located in the countries of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala (image: CC BY-SA 3.0)
Vessel, Mythological Scene, 7th-8th century, Guatemala, Mesoamerica, Maya, ceramic, 14 x 11.4 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
The Maya are a culturally affiliated people that continue to speak their native languages and still often use the ancient 260-day ritual calendar for religious practices. The ancient Maya were united by belief systems, cultural practices that included a distinct architectural style, and a writing system. They were also joined by political interaction in the form of warfare and intermarriage. They left an artistic legacy that ranges from intricately carved monolithic sculptures to complex mural cycles. The ancient Maya are credited with creating the most advanced Mesoamerican writing system, which was logo-syllabic, meaning that it consists of pictorial symbols or glyphs that represent either entire words or syllables. It is the only pre-Hispanic writing system of Mesoamerica that has been largely deciphered.
The Maya are also known for their advanced understanding of time, which they acquired through their study of astronomy and which allowed for the development of a complex calendrical system.
Public inscriptions—which decorated temples and palaces—have also contributed to our knowledge of the Maya, providing archeologists with important dates, names, and ritual information.
Periods in Maya history
Historians divide Maya history into three periods:
The Classic Period is divided into Early Classic: 250-550 C.E. and Late Classic: 600-900 C.E. During the early Classic Period, the Maya had built only a few cities in Mesoamerica. By the Late Classic Period however, the population had grown and Maya cities had been founded throughout the region. Important Maya cities include Tikal in the east (in what is today Guatemala), Palenque in the west (what is today Mexico), and Copán in the south (in what is today Honduras).
Glyphs from Lintel 25, c. 725, Structure 23, Yaxchilán, Classic Maya, limestone, 121 x 85.5 x 13.5 cm (The British Museum)
City States, ruled independently
With a population ranging in the millions and scattered throughout a vast region, the Maya were organized into small independent kingdoms or, more accurately, into city states. Each city state was ruled by a divine lord or ajaw/ahau who controlled territory around the capital city and frequently fought with neighboring states for preeminence. Political and economic rivalries among the Maya lords were fueled by an interest in acquiring territory and controlling trade routes—activities made more complicated by the remoteness of many Maya cities as well as their diverse geographies (Maya cities could be found in lowland rainforests and mountainous highlands). Different from the later Aztec, who centralized power and created a true empire, Maya power remained de-centralized and was spread throughout numerous kingdoms.
The collapse of Maya cities in the tenth century is not fully understood but may have resulted from complex factors including climate change (and resulting drought and crop failures), overpopulation, and political unrest. Following this collapse, Maya civilization continued on the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula, where Chichen Itza emerged as an important city of the Post-Classic Period. Though the city was abandoned by the thirteenth century, it was the arrival of Hernan Cortés and his Spanish fleet in the early 16th century that marked the end of the Maya civilization.
Source: Dr. Maya Jiménez, “The Maya, an introduction,” in Smarthistory, August 19, 2016, accessed August 16, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/maya-intro/.
Source: Dr. Maya Jiménez, “The Maya, an introduction,” in Smarthistory, August 19, 2016, accessed August 16, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/maya-intro/.
Across the Pacific Ocean, the Maya civilization was at its height between 300 and 900. Inscriptions have been found on monumental sculpture, public buildings, murals, pottery, shell, obsidian, bone, wood, jade, and screenfold books called codices. They were only identified as a writing system by scholars during the nineteenth century.
The majority of surviving examples of Maya writing are from the Classic period (250–900) although some date to the Late Preclassic (B.C.E.–250 C.E.). Inscriptions record calendar and astronomical information, and historical events such as alliances, wars, lineages, and marriages.
Maya glyphs were inscribed in blocks placed in horizontal and vertical rows. One or more glyphs were set in each block. It is generally read from left to right and top to bottom. The text sometimes appears in single columns, but can appear in L-shaped or other arrangements, such as on the carved lintels from the city of Yaxchilán.
Maya hieroglyphs were first identified as a writing system during the nineteenth century, when the bar-and-dot numerical system was deciphered. In the 1950s it was discovered that the script combined signs representing whole words with signs representing syllables. Certain glyphs were recognized as naming specific people and cities (known as Name Glyphs and Emblem Glyphs respectively). There were major breakthroughs in decipherment in the second half of the twentieth century and approximately 85% of the glyphs can now be read.
This limestone lintel was found by A. P. Maudslay in 1882 among the rubble where it had fallen from Structure 12 at Yaxchilán. Eight lintels were housed in this building. Commissioned around 500, they record nine generations of rulers at Yaxchilán and the accession of Mah K’ina Skull II, the tenth king of Yaxchilán. Mah K’ina Skull II commissioned this lintel, Lintel 35, which records a series of captures that he made in the surrounding region, concluding with a triumph over the great northern city of Calakmul, dated to 537. More than two centuries later (around 760), Bird Jaguar IV, the main character in Lintels 15, 16, and 17, reset the lintels recording his ancestry in Structure 12. The last three hieroglyphs tell us that the captives were seen as the ‘food’ of Yaxchilán’s patron deities.
Writing on ceramic vessels
Polychrome ceramic vessels were a symbol of status and power for the Maya. They were used by the elite and are found as offerings in rich burials. A large number of beautiful polychrome vases, bowls and dishes from the Late Classic period have been recovered from the Maya area, at sites such as Tikal, Holmul, and Seibal in the lowlands, and Nebaj in the highlands.
The vessels provide an important source of information about Maya society in the Classic period, with text and image illustrating historical and mythological events. The scenes depict scribes, merchants, rulers and other members of society.
This beautiful example was found at Nebaj, a Maya site in the highlands of Guatemala. The most common themes on Nebaj style polychrome vessels are tribute and warfare. The scene here represents the delivery of tribute to a seated lord. Above the basket presented to him are a series of six hieroglyphs which indicate his name and titles, while the other glyph panels correspond to those of the four figures in the scene. Their jewelry, clothing and spangled turbans adorned with flowers suggest that they are members of the elite.
Around 900 years ago, a Maya scribe made Códice Maya de México, a sacred book that tracked and predicted the movements of the planet Venus. Today it is the oldest book of the Americas, one of only four surviving Maya manuscripts that predate the arrival of Europeans. A remarkable testament to the complexity of Indigenous astronomy, Códice Maya de México is on display in the US for the first time in 50 years.
Getty has joined forces with Smarthistory to bring you an in-depth look at select works within our collection, whether you’re looking to learn more at home or want to make art more accessible in your classroom. This video series illuminates art history concepts through fun, unscripted conversations between art historians, curators, archaeologists, and artists, committed to a fresh take on the history of visual arts.
Vessel, Mythological Scene, 7-8th century C.E., Maya (Classic Maya), 14 x 11.4 cm, ceramic (1978.412.206) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). URL: https://youtu.be/qxvFW5mraHY
Source: Dr. James Doyle and Dr. Steven Zucker, “Vessel with a mythological scene,” in Smarthistory, February 7, 2017, accessed August 15, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/vessel-maya/.
ARCHITECTURE
Palenque (Classic Period)
by Dr. Maya Jiménez
Google photosphere of Palenque: view of the Temple of Inscriptions from the Palace
King Pakal and the expansion of Palenque
According to Maya glyphic inscriptions, the city of Palenque (in what is today southern Mexico)—comprised of temples, a ballcourt, and the largest surviving Maya palatial complex—was established in 432 C.E. However, it was not until 600-700 C.E. that the city grew in importance. The rule of the king K’inich Janaab’ Pakal, from 615 to 683 C.E., initiated an ambitious architectural expansion at Palenque, an endeavor that was continued by his sons. Local lords such as Pakal, and others like him, each ruled over one of the many Maya city states, each with their own royal court.
The palace complex is located in the center of the city, flanked by the Temple of the Inscriptions and a ballcourt. Both buildings echo the uneven terrain of the Chiapas region, and in some cases they are built into the rolling hills—as in the case of the Temple of Inscriptions.
King Pakal lived and ruled from the Palace, where various royal ceremonies took place. The unroofed portion to the east of the palace (to the right in the photo below) is believed to be the throne room where kings were crowned. Built like the city, over the course of 200 years and in various stages, the palace features a prominent tower near the center (that scholars believe may have been used as either an observatory or a watchtower).
The roofed portions that remain reveal the typical roof comb architecture of the Maya, most obviously seen in the Temple of the Sun (photo: Dennis Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0). While the palace occupies a prominent place in the city of Palenque and features a façade with multiple staircases, access to the building was limited and its enclosed spaces purposely guaranteed privacy.
A funerary pyramid
Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque, Maya, 5th-8th centuries (photo: Carlos Adampol Galindo, CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Temple of the Inscriptions has been called the greatest Maya funerary pyramid and gets its name from the relief panels inside the temple containing an unusually long glyphic inscription that includes a history of the city and its most famous ruler, Pakal (find a translation here). The enclosure at the top was decorated with the iconic Maya roof comb, and decorated with Maya inscriptions.
The pyramid consists of nine levels—the same number of stages found in the Maya underworld (this same numerological association, which was pan-Mesoamerican, is also seen at Temple I in Tikal and El Castillo in Chichen Itza). Long considered a simple pyramid with a temple on top, in 1952, Mexican archeologist Alberto Ruz Lhullier discovered that the Temple of the Inscriptions also contains an interior burial chamber. The tomb of King Pakal is found at the nadir, or lowest point, of the pyramid in a burial chamber that may have once been accessible by an interior stairway but was eventually sealed.
Drawing of the carving on the lid of Pakal’s Tomb, Palenque, Mexico, 5th-8th century CE, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City (as drawn by Merle Greene Robertson)
The location of the tomb is significant since King Pakal is buried in a subterranean chamber directly below the pyramid—and is therefore connected to the “earthly” realm. In this way, Pakal inhabits both the world of the living and the dead. The lid of the sarcophagus (a sculpted coffin placed above ground), which was carved out of a single piece of stone features a depiction of the king suspended over the jaws of the underworld (above). On the lid, as in his tomb, Pakal is positioned in an intermediary space, between the heavens—symbolized by the world tree and bird above him—and Xibalba, the Maya underworld.
Portrait Head of Pakal, Palenque, Mexico, c. 650-83, stucco (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City)
In addition to the remains of Pakal, precious materials such as jade, shells, pearls, and obsidian were discovered inside the sarcophagus. This idealized portrait of Pakal (image left) associates the king with the Maya maize god (his hair is meant to resemble corn silk). It was also found in the tomb and reveals the Maya ideal of beauty, as seen in the king’s oval face, elongated nose, and high cheekbones. His finely sculpted features and realistic portrayal reveal the naturalism of Classic Maya figurative sculpture.
While the tomb of Pakal was largely hidden from view until 1952, archeologists believe that at some point it was made accessible to those who wished to worship the ruler after his death. They also believe that—because construction of the tomb began before Pakal’s death in 683 C.E.—the Temple of the Inscriptions was most likely built to the ruler’s specifications. However, some archaeologists, after studying the skeleton’s teeth, hold that the tomb contains the remains of a man 40 years younger than Pakal—a reminder that Maya archaeology remains a dynamic area of study.
Source: Dr. Maya Jiménez, “Palenque (Classic Period),” in Smarthistory, August 19, 2016, accessed July 24, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/palenque/.
Tikal
by UNESCO
In the heart of the jungle, surrounded by lush vegetation, lies one of the major sites of Mayan civilization, inhabited from the 6th century B.C. to the 10th century. The ceremonial center contains superb temples and palaces, and public squares accessed by means of ramps. Remains of dwellings are scattered throughout the surrounding countryside. URL: https://youtu.be/hDuOnEkpI-I
Discovered in 1570 by Diego García de Palacio, the ruins of Copán, one of the most important sites of the Mayan civilization, were not excavated until the 19th century. The ruined citadel and imposing public squares reveal the three main stages of development before the city was abandoned in the early 10th century. URL: https://youtu.be/kszS5ovZtt4
Yaxchilán is located on the south bank of the Usumacinta River, in Chiapas, Mexico. It was a significant Maya center during the Classic period (250–900 C.E.) and a number of its buildings stand to this day. Many of the exteriors had elaborate decorations, but it is the carved stone lintels above their doorways which have made this site famous. These lintels, commissioned by the rulers of the city, provide a lengthy dynastic record in both text and image.
Lintels 24, 25 and 26, set above the three doorways of Structure 23, depict a series of rituals performed by Shield Jaguar II and his wife. Structure 21, commissioned by Bird Jaguar IV, housed lintels 15, 16 and 17. Bird Jaguar was Yaxchilán’s most prolific builder and at least a dozen major structures were initiated or remodelled during his reign.
In this lintel above, Bird Jaguar IV dominates a captive. Scenes representing the public display of captives occur frequently in Maya art. The capture of sacrificial victims was an essential aspect of Maya warfare, as they were necessary for many rituals. Accession rituals, for example, entailed the offering of dedicatory human sacrifices to mark the enthronement of a new ruling lord.
Lintels 24 and 25 are on permanent display in the British Museum’s Mexican Gallery. Lintel 26, the third in the series, is in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, in Mexico City.
Royal blood-letting
This limestone lintel, considered one of the masterpieces of Maya art, is one of a series of three panels from Structure 23 at Yaxchilán, where it was set above the left (south-east) doorway.
The scene represents a bloodletting ritual performed by the king of Yaxchilán, Shield Jaguar the Great (681–742), and his wife, Lady K’ab’al Xook (Itzamnaaj Bahlen III).
Wearing an exquisitely woven “huipil,” Lady K’abal Xook pulls a thorned rope through her tongue in the principal form of blood sacrifice perfomed by royal women. The rope falls on to an open codex. Her pierced tongue allowed her blood to flow as part of a ritual communication with gods and spirits. This sacrifice mirrored the Maya story of creation, when the gods let their blood to create the human race. By choosing to take part in the ritual, the queen demonstrated both her moral and physical strength to the people, and her suitability as a Maya royal. Scrolls of blood can be seen around her mouth. She kneels in front of Shield Jaguar who holds a great torch described in the text as a “burning spear” illuminating a ritual that was probably held at night or set in the dark recess of a private chamber.
Both king and queen are richly attired with Sun God pectorals. The human head worn by Shield Jaguar over his brow may be a shrunken battle trophy.
Bloodletting was a common practice in Maya life from the Late Preclassic period (400 B.C.E.–250 C.E.) onwards, and an essential part of rulership and of all public rituals. The Maya elite drew blood from various parts of their bodies using lancets made of stingray spine, flint, bone or obsidian. These objects are often found in burials and other archaeological contexts, though other perishable materials, like the rope and the bark-paper strips seen on the lintel, are now lost.
The first two glyphs in the text at the top of the lintel indicate the event and the date on which it took place, October 24, 709 C.E. (5 Eb, 15 Mak in the Maya calendar). The last glyph represents the Emblem Glyph (that is, the city name in Maya hierolglyphs) of Yaxchilán. The text on the left of the panel contains the name and titles of Lady K’ab’al Xook. The lintel has traces of Maya blue, turquoise and red pigment.
The site of Yaxchilán was only rediscovered in the 19th century as it stood in the midst of the dense tropical forest, and Maya glyphs only began to be translated in the 1960s.
Floating down the Usumacinta River in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala, various Maya sites materialize out of the dense jungle, some rising above the canopy and others subsumed by a tangle of green growth. One such site is Yaxchilán (pronounced Yash-chee-LAN) located in Chiapas, Mexico (close to the border of Guatemala) between the famous Maya cities of Copán and Palenque. The site is host to an impressive number of structures and monuments—over 100—and is especially famous for its high-quality relief carvings.
Yaxchilán’s ruling dynasty rose in the 4th century C.E., but its heyday followed several hundred years later (during what art historians call the Classic period), with Lord Shield Jaguar II who ruled for 60 years beginning in 681. He commissioned some of the most famous sculptural works at the site. His son and heir, Bird Jaguar IV, continued this tradition. Some of the most impressive Maya buildings and sculptures were created during this late-Classic period before the city-state collapsed in the 9th century.
Structure 23: royal life and power
Shield Jaguar II’s commissions at Yaxchilán’s central complex of buildings (called the Central Acropolis) include carved lintels, stairs faced with hieroglyphic writing, and stelae.
Some of the most famous lintels are those on Structure 23—a yotoot (palace building) showing Shield Jaguar II’s wife, Lady K’abal Xook. Anyone entering Structure 23 would pass underneath the limestone lintels when entering the doorways; the lintels are thus situated in a liminal space between exterior and interior.
Before the construction of Structure 23, there was a hiatus in building at Yaxchilán for about 150 years. This building’s construction is therefore important, and so too are the individuals it showcases. But why focus on Lady Xook rather than Shield Jaguar II exclusively? It might be that the ruler wanted to promote his lineage and power through his principal wife (who had more prestige than his other wives). Structure 23 is therefore important not only for advertising Shield Jaguar II’s power, but also for highlighting the important role of royal women in Maya culture. Other relief sculptures, such as Lintel 45 on Structure 44, show Shield Jaguar II with war captives to commemorate his victory in battles against rival city-states.
The three lintels on Structure 23—known as lintels 24, 25, and 26—depict different ritual moments in the life of Lady Xook. While they appear to have been carved years apart from one another, they seem to show a narrative. [1]
On Lintel 24, Lady Xook pulls a thorned cord through her tongue so that she can bleed onto paper that fills a basket on the ground before her. She is engaged in bloodletting—the ritual shedding of blood. Her husband, Shield Jaguar II, holds a lit torch above her. The glyphs (writing) on the top note Lady Xook’s titles, and mention that the events depicted occurred on 28 October 709 C.E.
Lintel 25—from the central doorway—also focuses on a bloodletting ritual carried out by Lady Xook. Bloodletting was a common ritual among elites and it is one of the most frequent subjects in Maya art. A ruler or other elites (including women), would let blood to honor and feed the gods, at the dedication ceremony of a building, when children were born, or other occasions. Rulers needed to shed blood in order to maintain order in the cosmos. The ruler was believed to be a descendent of the gods, and the act of bloodletting was of critical importance in maintaining their power and order in the community. Bloodletting was also an act related to rebirth and rejuvenation.
On Lintel 25, the effects of bloodletting are on display. The loss of blood and the burning of incense produced hallucinations, which were desired in certain ritual contexts to access other realms. In this lintel, Lady Xook (in the lower right) kneels before a vision serpent, from whose mouth emerges a figure. Look closely at the detail. Lady Xook holds a bowl in her left hand while she looks up towards the rising serpent. In addition to her patterned huipil, Lady Xook is festooned with a headdress, elaborate bracelets, earrings, and a necklace—likely made of jade. In the bowl are pieces of paper stained with her blood. She has likely burned the paper to allow the blood to ascend to the gods, and to bring about the vision serpent.
In the image, you can see that the figure emerging from the vision serpent’s mouth is armed with a shield, spear, and a war helmet. He, too, wears an elaborate headdress, a breastplate, and ear spools. The identity of this figure is debated; some scholars claim it is an ancestral figure while other believe it is Shield Jaguar II or perhaps even Lady Xook.
A glyphic inscription (oddly, written backwards) in the upper left corner of Lintel 25 notes the date of Shield Jaguar II’s ascension to the throne in October 681. The image and the inscription both reinforce the reign of the ruler and his dynastic ties, in this case via his wife.
Lintel 26, Structure 23, Yaxchilán (Maya) represents Lady Xook helping to dress her husband for battle (Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City) (view a diagram of this lintel)
The lintels exemplify the skilled carving of Maya artists at Yaxchilán—and the Maya more generally. The scenes are carved in high relief with carefully incised details decorating the raised surfaces. A beautiful diamond pattern decorates Lady Xook’s huipil, for instance, in Lintel 24.
The contour and incised lines of the lintels possess a calligraphic quality, as if they were drawn or painted rather than carved. Such careful attention to detail as well as the formal qualities of the line compare to other Maya sculptures, as well as vase painting and murals.
The Yaxchilán lintels were originally painted, although only traces remain, including red on Lady Xook’s clothing and the brilliant Maya blue color on the background of Lintel 24.
Structures 33 and 40: royal dynasties and legitimizing rule
Also located within the Central Acropolis near Structure 23, Structure 33 (dedicated around 756 C.E.) is a wonderful example of Maya Classic architecture, particularly of the Usumacinta and Peten region or “style” as some would call it. It was most likely built by Bird Jaguar IV, who like his father Shield Jaguar II engaged in a series of building projects and commissioned various monuments as part of his campaign to legitimate his rule. Bird Jaguar ascended the throne ten years after his father died, suggesting that there was perhaps a conflict about who was to become Yaxchilán’s ruler.
Structure 33, Yaxchilán (Maya) (photo: Graham Duggan, CC BY-ND 2.0)
Structure 33 rests on the side of the main plaza, making it a focal point for the area. The building itself is narrow, only one vault deep, so it was not intended to hold many people. Three entryways punctuate the exterior—which is embellished with stucco ornamentation. An elaborate roof-comb, arguably the most famous component of the temple, incorporates a decorative frieze, niches, and sculptural elements, including a sculpted human being in the central niche. It is possible that this is Bird Jaguar IV. Intricate latticework covers the symmetrical roof-comb and the building’s overall style is reminiscent of buildings found at other important Classic Maya city-states like Palenque.
Like Structure 23, carved lintels form the underside of each of the doorways on Structure 33. Lintel 1, for example, shows Bird Jaguar festooned in the fantastic clothing of a Maya ruler. The other lintels show a similar concern with rulership. Lintel 2 displays Bird Jaguar and his son and heir, Chel Te’ Chan K’inich (later known as Shield Jaguar IV), while another depicts Bird Jaguar once again dressed in royal regalia.
Hieroglyphic Stairway #2 leads up to the building. The top step of Structure 33 displays rulers, including Bird Jaguar IV and his father and grandfather playing the ballgame in a series of thirteen carved limestone blocks (today protected by an overhang and glass, see the image above). They play against Yaxchilán enemies—such as Lord Jeweled Skull who Bird Jaguar defeats.
Structure 40, Yaxchilán (Maya) (photo: Carl A, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Structure 40
Bird Jaguar IV also had Structure 40 built as part of his political campaign to secure his rulership. Structure 40 sits in the South Acropolis, flanked by two other structures. It displays the typical Yaxchilán architectural style—a rectangular vaulted building with a stuccoed roof comb. Like many other Yaxchilán buildings it had stelae associated with it, such as Stela 11 that showed Bird Jaguar IV towering over war captives accompanied by his parents. The stela, like the buildings and other commissioned works, were intended to advertise Bird Jaguar IV’s dynastic lineage and thus his right to rule.
Source: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, “Yaxchilán—Lintels 24 and 25 from Structure 23 and structures 33 and 40,” in Smarthistory, April 9, 2016, accessed July 24, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/yaxchilan-lintels/.
Chakalte’, Relief with Enthroned Ruler
by Dr. James Doyle and Dr. Steven Zucker
Chakalte’, Relief with Enthroned Ruler (lintel from La Pasadita, Guatemala), late 8th century (Classic Maya), limestone and paint, 88.9 x 87.6 x 7 cm (1979.206.1047) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) URL: https://youtu.be/yTA8PKdNx78
Source: Dr. James Doyle and Dr. Steven Zucker, “Chakalte’, Relief with Enthroned Ruler,” in Smarthistory, February 7, 2017, accessed July 24, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/chakalte-ruler/.
Quiriguá
by UNESCO
Inhabited since the 2nd century, Quiriguá had become during the reign of Cauac Sky (723–84) the capital of an autonomous and prosperous state. The ruins of Quiriguá contain some outstanding 8th-century monuments and an impressive series of carved stelae and sculpted calendars that constitute an essential source for the study of Mayan civilization. URL: https://youtu.be/g9Q0dfpZws0
The Mesoamerican ballgame and a Classic Veracruz yoke
by Dr. Rex Koontz and Dr. Steven Zucker
Yoke, c. 1–900 C.E., Classic Veracruz culture, greenstone, 11.5 x 38 x 41.5 cm (American Museum of Natural History, New York City) URL: https://youtu.be/4dpE80AU-oI
This vase shows a Maya ruler sitting cross-legged on a bench, wearing an enormous headdress to show that he is important. He is pointing to a basket full of corn bread gifts called tamales. This vase illustrates the delivery of a tribute, with glyphs naming the figures whose jewelry and turbans identify them as members of the Maya elite. The six hieroglyphs in boxes to his left list his name and titles.
Glyphs
The Maya had begun to write as early as 400 B.C.E., but from the sixteenth century Spanish missionaries destroyed their codices (screenfold books) and made them learn the Spanish alphabet. As a result, the Mayan language was lost and there was no way of deciphering the glyphs on their monuments or the handful of codices that survived.
In the eighteenth century, however, European travelers began to rediscover the Maya civilization. In particular, the publication of Antonio del Río’s report on his expedition to the ancient city of Palenque (1787) included the first illustrations of Maya script carved on stone monuments.
By the early nineteenth century, European scholars were beginning to recognize that Maya glyphs were a writing system. They made efforts to record the glyphs in drawings, engravings and casts, and collected vases and other artifacts with glyphs on them. The first European to accurately depict Maya glyphs was Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), who illustrated pages from the Dresden Codex in 1810. But, scholars did not finally understand the meaning of Maya glyphs until the twentieth century.
Tribute and warfare
Polychrome ceramic vessels were a symbol of status and power for the Maya. They were used by the elite and are found as offerings in rich burials. A large number of beautiful polychrome vases, bowls and dishes from the Late Classic period have been recovered from the Maya area, at sites such as Tikal, Holmul and Seibal in the lowlands, and Nebaj in the highlands.
The vessels provide an important source of information about Maya society in the Classic period, with text and images illustrating historical and mythological events. The scenes depict scribes, merchants, rulers and other members of society. This beautiful example was found at Nebaj, a Maya site in the highlands of Guatemala. The most common themes on Nebaj style polychrome vessels are tribute and warfare.
Painted Vessel (Enthroned Maya Lord and Attendants)
by Dr. Cara Grace Tremain
Painted Vessel (Enthroned Maya Lord and Attendants), c. 650-750 C.E., Maya, cylinder vase, ceramic, 16.51 x 20.32 cm (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C.)
The rich and famous
Getting up close and personal to the rich and famous is not something that many of us have the opportunity to experience in our lifetimes. While we may not be able to rub shoulders with them, television, magazines, and the internet provide us with a glimpse into their lives. Just as media is a form of advertising and communication today, art was a means of communication for the ancient Maya. In a world where most of the population was illiterate, the visual arts were an important tool used to record historical events and communicate political and religious ideals.
Monumental architecture and sculpture of rulers and elites were often set in public spaces for the entire populace to see, as a constant reminder of their control and authority. In restricted elite spaces, which commoners did not have access to, grandiose visual arts were unnecessary signs of wealth. Affluence and authority were instead communicated via much smaller items manufactured from exotic materials by the finest craftsmen. Painted vases were especially favored and were commissioned to portray the lives and activities of those in and around power in the ancient world. These scenes included historical individuals such as the ruler and his family, mystical deities, and natural representations of flora and fauna. They survive today as a visual snapshot into the lives of the rich and famous Maya over 1000 years ago.
The ruler in his court
Ruler sitting with legs crossed and back resting on a large cushion as an attendant offers him a small dish, Painted Vessel (Enthroned Maya Lord and Attendants), c. 650-750 C.E., Maya, cylinder vase, ceramic, 16.51 x 20.32 cm (Dumbarton Oaks Museum)
This painted ceramic, in the collection of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, D.C., shows us an intimate scene involving a ruler and the members of his court. Its style can be dated to the Late Classic period (650-850 C.E.)—a time in which painted ceramics were manufactured in large quantities, many depicting scenes of the royal court.
The ancient Maya were not a unified kingdom but were organized into different city-states, each controlled by a different ruler. The ruler was generally male, although there were a few instances in which there were female Maya rulers. Just as monarchs, prime ministers, and presidents today are supported by an administrative body, ancient Maya rulers were aided by members of their royal court. In addition to providing administrative support, courtiers also provided entertainment for rulers and we see evidence for this in the representation of musicians and dancers on Maya vases.
Two figures (detail), Painted Vessel (Enthroned Maya Lord and Attendants), c. 650-750 C.E., Maya, cylinder vase, ceramic, 16.51 x 20.32 cm (Dumbarton Oaks Museum). Photograph by Alexandre Tokovinine
Maya hieroglyphic writing was commonly painted around the rim of vases, to announce its owner and describe the contents inside (frequently a chocolate drink known as cacao). The writing states that the vase is a drinking vessel, belonging to K’ebij Ti Chan (the spelling of this name is uncertain and the first word may have alternatively been K’ebix or Kexik). He was the son of Sak Muwaan (whose name translates as White Bird), ruler of the site Motul de San Jose in Guatemala, whose exact period of reign is unknown but is likely to have been before 701 C.E. or somewhere between 711 and 726 C.E.. K’ebij Ti Chan is not the individual seated on the throne in this scene, but may be the individual seated to the left of the ruler (occupying a privileged position close to the throne). The individual on the throne is a ruler from the Naaman polity, which was based at the site of La Florida. Here is a diagram identifying what we see on the vase.
The importance of the ruler on this vase is emphasized by his placement on a throne, above the other figures in the scene. He sits with his legs crossed and back resting on a large cushion, which is in front of a chest that seems to hold sporting equipment and costume for the ballgame (more about the ballgame here). To his right a kneeling attendant offers him a small dish, perhaps containing food, but the ruler turns away toward the two attendants seated on the ground. Two additional attendants (image left), who may be in a separate room, are seen conversing with each other. Interestingly, three of the attendants are wearing the same body paint as the ruler, and all attendants wear somewhat similar jewelry and accoutrements. The representation of the outfits in this scene is in stark contrast to the large, lavish, outfits depicted on sculpture and other media. This suggests that extravagant outfits were not part of the daily life of the Maya court.
Rollout view, Painted Vessel (Enthroned Maya Lord and Attendants), c. 650-750 C.E., Maya, cylinder vase, ceramic, 16.51 x 20.32 cm (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection). Image courtesy Justin Kerr.
Script, Painted Vessel (Enthroned Maya Lord and Attendants), c. 650-750 C.E., Maya, cylinder vase, ceramic, 16.51 x 20.32 cm (Dumbarton Oaks Museum)
While excavations have uncovered architectural thrones, demonstrating that rulers did indeed sit on thrones like those depicted in this scene, materials used to manufacture cushions and costume elements are usually not recovered from ancient Maya sites. Unfortunately, because of the humid environment and acidic soils in the Maya region, many organic remains from royal court settings such as this one are not preserved in the archaeological record. Consequently, our knowledge about their use and importance within the court is largely taken from the visual record. Therefore, although this vase is unprovenienced (meaning it was not discovered from a scientifically controlled excavation) it is important to the study of ancient Maya culture and can reveal information about the past that is otherwise unavailable.
How did the Maya make these ceramics?
A cylinder-shaped vase (meaning straight-walled), like this one, was manufactured by hand from local clays available in the Maya region. Recent research shows that these vases were built up from coils placed on top of one another. Once the shape was created, it was left to dry so that it could be painted prior to firing in an open kiln. The Maya obtained different colored pigments from vegetation, minerals, and insects, and applied them using brushes made from hair, fibre, or feathers. Firing the ceramic after painting it ensured a durable, long-lasting, design.
The lack of appendages on cylinder vases required them to be held in both hands, creating a close relationship between object and person. Embellishing the exterior of vases that were in such close contact with the body allowed for an intimate and privileged means of communication. Only a select few individuals would have been privy to holding and viewing vases such as this one. Thus, care was taken to produce painted scenes of the highest quality as a means of impressing whoever came into contact with them. It is likely there were specialized workshops that produced painted vases such as this one, with artists that were in high demand and much sought-after for their skills.
What did the Maya use painted ceramics for?
The Maya used painted ceramics in feasting events to serve food and beverages, and as gifts for elites and rulers from neighboring sites. Feasts were not only a means of celebration and festivity, but were also important political events that fostered relationships between different sites. Ceramics therefore played an important social and political role as objects that were used and gifted. More significantly, the painted scenes that decorated these ceramics became valued elements in their own right and would have stimulated trade between sites that manufactured them, and sites that desired them. Consequently, vases of this kind were used, gifted, and traded between sites all throughout the ancient Maya region.
Presenting food and drink in vases such as this one is akin to serving dinner using the best family tableware, and, presumably, they were afforded the same care and high regard. Many painted vases have been recovered from burials and offerings at archaeological sites, where they were included for their ritual, symbolic, and economic value.
The great city of Teotihuacan thrived between 100 B.C.E. and 650 C.E. in central Mexico. Several hundred kilometers to the south, the Maya civilization was flourishing. Similarities in architecture and ceramics between Teotihuacan and the Maya area indicate that contact existed. The nature of this connection, however, is far from clear.
The scene on this plaque, carved in the so-called ‘Nebaj style’ of Guatemala, shows a Maya lord or ruler seated on a throne with a smaller figure at his feet. The lord wears earplugs, a large pectoral, armlets, wristlets, a belt with a mounted head and a zoomorphic headdress decorated with long feathers. On his left arm he carries a shield with a representation of the Jaguar God, a god of the Underworld.
Much scholarly discussion has centered around the influence of Teotihuacan on the Maya area. However, relatively little attention has been paid to Maya presence in Teotihuacan. This plaque is one of relatively few imported Maya objects ever found at Teotihuacan and indicates that interaction between the two cultures went both ways. Similar plaques have been found at other sites, including at the Cenote of Sacrifices (the Sacred Well) in Chichen Itza, where they were thrown as offerings.
The color of the plaque varies, with a darker hue on the left where the smaller figure was carved. This is due to the different chemical components of the jade and depends on its source. The main source of Maya jade is the Motagua Valley, in Guatemala.
The plaque is broken around the edges, which may indicate that it was reused.
King Yuknoom Took’ K’awiil, Stele 51, Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico, 731 C.E. (Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Kings in stone
In 1839, American lawyer and amateur archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens and English artist Frederick Catherwood were the first outsiders to venture into the rainforests of Central America. They brought back their romanticized accounts and drawings of the remains of ancient Maya civilization to an eager England. In their publications, Stephens and Catherwood conveyed that they had uncovered the ruins of a great civilization that was uniquely American—one that had developed without contact with Egypt, India, or China.
Solemn and “strange”
Among the many “strange” and wonderful sites they encountered, it was the monuments that most aroused their interest and sparked their Victorian sensibility for engaging past civilizations. In regard to these hefty carved stones, Stephens penned the following excerpt,
standing as they do in the depths of the forest, silent and solemn, strange in design, excellent in sculpture, rich in ornament…their uses and purposes and whole history so entirely unknown….[1]
Over the past thirty years, scholars have made substantial advances in understanding the “uses and purposes” of Maya stone sculptures, and of the ancient peoples that produced them. This progress is due in no small part to developments in the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphics, which has escalated in recent decades. Epigraphers and art historians have labored to reconstruct the history and culture of the flourishing Classic period expressed on the sculptures found throughout México, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Belize.
We now understand that the sculptors who chiseled these monuments were commissioned by privileged elites who lorded over vast city-states. These regional political and geographic partitions were dominated by singular powerful city-centers that vied for control of land and resources. Such cities were immense, and within them, architects built grand pyramids and temples embellished with sculptures. Sculpted stone was an enduring record, and as early explorers witnessed, the remains of hundreds of carved monoliths still grace the ruins of these ancient Maya cities.
A medium for political and religious rhetoric
Portrait of ’18-Rabbit’ from Stela A, Copán, Honduras, 731 C.E. (photo: Dennis Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0)
The stone monuments over which Stephens and Catherwood marveled were crucial to the social and political cohesion of ancient Maya city-states. While small-scale art objects were cloistered behind the walls of privileged homes and courts, larger stone sculptures served as the principal medium for presenting political and religious rhetoric to the public.
The most vital and imposing format was the stela—an upright flat slab of stone worked in relief on one, two, or four faces. Their placement at the base of immense pyramids or in open plazas facing small stage-like platforms suggests that they were intended to be viewed by vast audiences in conjunction with other public spectacles. These lakam-tuun (banner stones) conveyed a broad and complex set of ideologies concerning royal history and politics, ceremonial activity, and calendrical reckoning. Their just-over human scale renders them ideal for presentations of engaging and awe-inspiring ruler portraits. In the tense political atmosphere of the Classic period, enduring images of powerful leaders ensured that the public recognized the authority of the ruler, the fortitude of his or her dynasty, and of the favor of deities.
Iconography and text carved onto stelae illuminated the king’s visionary power. Contemporary notions of idealization prescribed that rulers appear youthful, handsome, and athletic. They wore a vast inventory of authoritative garb that included jade ornaments, various symbols of kingship, and an unwieldy, oversized headdress that must have been highly impractical for regular use. These figures act out one of a standard set of rites of passage: they wear battle garb to emphasize their military prowess, ritually let blood in offering to the deities, “scatter” sacred substances with outstretched hands, or participate in ritual dance. Imagine trying to dance while balancing a headdress that is half your own height! Accompanying hieroglyphic texts elaborated on the life of the ruler and his ancestors.
Portrait of King Tahn Te’ K’inich in the garb of a warrior from Stela 6, Aguateca, Guatemala, ruled 770–802 C.E. (Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Santiago; photo: Bkwillwm, CC BY-SA 3.0)
The conquering ruler
As regional conflicts became more frequent in the 8th century, military themes on portrait stelae increased.
Stela 6 from Aguateca, Guatemala, exemplifies the archetype of the conquering ruler, responsible for defeating enemies and procuring captives for ritual sacrifice. Although the hieroglyphs on this monument are eroded, the portrait appears to depict King Tahn Te’ K’inich as he brandishes a spear and shield and stands victoriously over two bound enemy captives.
Although Classic-period Maya stelae are no longer shrouded in mystery, numerous questions remain in regard to how they functioned. Perhaps most importantly, they provide only one side of the story, that of the ruler and of royal ideology. Stelae offer us little information regarding how they were received by the public, and we can only guess how effectively they impacted the common person. Although we know far more about ancient Maya stelae than Catherwood and Stephens ever imagined possible, the haze of mystery and intrigue through which they viewed these monuments has hardly evaporated.
Notes:
[1] In Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, by John Lloyd Stephens (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1993).
Stela 16, c. 711 C.E. (Classic Period), Tikal, Guatemala, 3.5 x 1.28 m (photo: Dennis Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Have you ever used an Instagram filter to make someone or something appear more perfect? When we post on social media, we can use filters to digitally manipulate images, removing some features and emphasizing others. The idea of creating a flawless image of yourself is not a new one. From Augustus of Primaporta to contemporary presidential portraits, rulers throughout history have commissioned works that depict them as they want to be seen. The Maya of Mesoamerica were no exception: Tikal Stela 16 is an example of a royal portrait stela, and it depicts Jasaw Chan K’awiil, a ruler of Tikal, an important Maya city in what is today Guatemala. Maya artists carved this stela during the Classic period (c. 300–900 C.E.). This extravagant representation of the king reveals layers of meaning about his wealth and power—and the rituals he completed as ruler related to time and the maintenance of world order.
Map showing the extent of the Maya civilization (red), compared to other Mesoamerica cultures (black). Today, these sites are located in the countries of Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Guatemala (image: CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Maya were never a unified empire. Instead, during this era of Maya history, a number of important polities struggled for power, and rulers throughout the Maya area commissioned sculptures that used figural imagery and hieroglyphic writing to proclaim their importance and record specific actions.
Left: Stela 16, c. 711 C.E., Classic Period, from the site of Tikal, Guatemala, 3.5 x 1.28 m (photo: Dennis Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0); right: line drawing of Stela 16. This sculpture was recovered by archaeologists in an architectural complex just to the west of the city center.
The royal body
The image of the king is carved in low relief. Although the detailed carving is difficult to see today (in this case, largely due to weathering), it once would have been brightly painted, which would have helped viewers “read” the image. As we can see on the stela and the line drawing of it (created by archaeologists to help us see the images more clearly), the king stands in the center of the composition, wearing formal dress. The body of Jasaw Chan K’awiil is frontal, but his face is turned to the right so that his features are in profile. This was a standard method for the depiction of Classic Maya rulers.
Annotated image of Stela 16, Tikal. The colors used in this image are not the actual colors that were once painted on the stela, but are used here to help readers see the stela.
Quetzal (photo: Harleybroker, CC BY-SA 4.0)
The depiction of Jasaw Chan K’awiil emphasizes his wealth, power, and performance. He is bedecked with rich clothing and jewelry, made of materials likely traded over long distances and worked by specialized artisans. He wears an enormous amount of jade, the most valuable material in the Classic Maya world. The blue-green color of jade recalled the green of growing maize and the blue of rushing water, and it emphasized fertility and growth. In the image on the stela, the king wears large jade earspools, which are large round ear ornaments. The king’s pectoral, or chest ornament, is made up of round jade beads.
From his hip belt dangle celts, oval-shaped jade ornaments that would have rung like bells when they came into contact with one another. The head at the center of his belt is also made of jade, and most likely represents an ancestor. Maya kings often wore representations of their ancestors on their belts to emphasize the legitimacy of their rule. Jade kneelets (like bracelets, but worn around the knee) complement the other jade jewelry, as do the king’s elaborate sandals.
Another indication of wealth are the quetzal feathers that ornament the king’s royal regalia. The quetzal—today the national bird of Guatemala—is a reclusive bird that lives in cloud forests. Each male bird grows two long green tail feathers, and these feathers were key parts of ceremonial dress for Maya elites. Jasaw Chan Kawiil’s headdress is covered in quetzal feathers, which splay to the top and side.
Detail of the headdress and feathered backrack in the upper portion of Stela 16, c. 711 C.E., Classic Period, from the site of Tikal, Guatemala, 3.5 x 1.28 m (photo: Luis Alveart, CC BY-NC 2.0)
Maya Vessel with a Procession of Warriors, c. 750–850 C.E., Late Classic Period, polychromed ceramic, 16 cm diameter (Kimbell Art Museum)
He also wears a “backrack,” likely a wooden or papier mache frame worn on the back and covered with feathers. We can see these feathers emerging all around his torso.
The jade and quetzal feathers emphasize the wealth and symbolic power of the king—but other elements point to military power as well. His hipcloth, in particular, is covered with references to warfare. The large, round objects that decorate the skirt are shields, like those carried into battle by Classic Maya warriors. Surrounding the shields are crossed bones, and the fringe at the bottom of the skirt is decorated with eyeballs. These most likely represent trophies, body parts taken from conquered enemies during battle. The skirt reminds viewers that the ruler wielded military as well as religious power.
Single rows of hieroglyphs hover in three corners of the sculpture, and they describe what’s going on. At the upper left, the first two glyphs record the date, which corresponds to 711 C.E. The next glyphs describe what the king is doing: participating in a ritual related to the passage of time.
Detail of the lower portion, with glyphs to the right and left of the ruler’s legs, Stela 16, c. 711 C.E., Classic Period, from the site of Tikal, Guatemala, 3.5 x 1.28 m (photo: Luis Alveart, CC BY-NC 2.0)
Accomplished astronomers, the Maya maintained multiple calendar systems and kept detailed records of when specific events happened. The inscription goes on to include more calendrical information as well as the name and title of the king, identifying him as the holy lord of Tikal. The inscription ends by referring to Jasaw Chan K’awiil as a “three k’atun lord.” “A k’atun is a period of twenty years, and this indicates that Jasaw Chan K‘awiil was between 39 and 59 years old when this event took place.
Rituals related to time
What is Jasaw Chan K’awiil doing here? The hieroglyphic inscription indicates that the stela commemorates a ritual performed by the king. The image supports this statement, showing us what the ritual may have looked like when performed live. In his hands, the king holds an object that scholars call “the ceremonial bar.” It is unclear what the bar is made of, or what exactly it meant to viewers, but rulers on stelae throughout the southern Maya lowlands carry the bar in various scenes. The bag that dangles from his right wrist is an incense bag. This indicates that the rite Jasaw Chan K’awiil participated in probably involved the burning of incense. Scattering incense into braziers was considered a way to communicate with otherworldly forces.
The ritual commemorated on this stela celebrated the completion of a k’atun (again, a twenty-year period). For the ancient Maya, the orderly passage of time was not a given. Instead, kings were responsible for completing rituals to ensure that time would continue as expected, and the completion of major periods of time was commemorated in artwork. At Tikal, kings commissioned special architectural complexes to mark the end of a k’atun that we now call twin pyramid complexes. They included two buildings and a walled enclosure arranged around a large patio. Inside the enclosure was a stela, placed vertically in the ground in front of an altar, a low cylindrical stone with images and hieroglyphs carved on its flat surface.
Map of Tikal with Twin Pyramid Complex N, where Stela 16 and Altar 5 were located
Plan of a typical twin pyramid complex
Stela 16 was found in Twin Pyramid Complex N, placed in front of Altar 5. Offerings of incense, flowers, or even blood would have been placed on the altar and burned as part of rituals. Although it is unclear exactly who would have seen the events recorded on this stela, some Maya sculptures and painted ceramics show nobles in attendance during rituals like this one.
Altar 5, Tikal, Guatemala (left photo: HJPD, CC BY 3.0); right drawing: public domain)
Stela 16 and Altar 5 are no longer arranged as they would have been originally, but they would have looked like these stele and circular altars at Complex Q, Tikal.
The archaeological context of Stela 16—where it was found, and what was found around it—suggests the ritual depicted was related to death as well as time. It stood in front of Altar 5, which is an altar carved in low relief. The altar depicts two individuals on either side of a pile of bones. The individuals are Jasaw Chan K’awiil and the lord of Maasal, a smaller site affiliated with Tikal. The text of the altar describes an event in which people re-entered the tomb of a dead queen. Although this is very different from funerary practice in many places today, tomb re-entry was common for Classic Maya royals. Usually done as a way to honor the deceased individual, it was considered a way to “activate” the legacy and power of the person buried inside the tomb. The pile of bones depicted on the altar was presumably extracted from the tomb of the queen.
Why do we take this scene literally? In part, because archaeologists excavating this part of the complex found a skull and bones underneath Stela 16. These are probably the same bones depicted on Altar 5. From this context, we can understand that the stela and altar worked together to tell viewers that the ritual in which Jasaw Chan K’awiil is participating on Stela 16 was related to time, death, and renewal.
A sensory experience in stone
Stela 16, c. 711 C.E., Classic Period, from the site of Tikal, Guatemala, 3.5 x 1.28 m (photo: Dennis Jarvis, CC BY-SA 2.0)
Combined, the various elements recorded on Stela 16 would have created a sensory experience for viewers when they were performed live. The iridescent color of the feathers would have shifted as the king moved in the sunlight, appearing first blue, then green. Viewers would have heard the rustle of feathers and the resonant ringing of jade pieces. They may have smelled incense and listened to the recitation of important texts, histories, and prayers.
Stela 16 recalls those sensory experiences: for the Classic Maya, sculptures were not simple representations. Instead, images could contain part of the k’uh (the vital essence) of the person they represented. Maya viewers would have understood that this image was still active. Not only did the king perform this ritual in 711 C.E., but through his depiction on this stela, he was understood to be perpetually performing it. Sculptures like this one combined religious belief—the idea that specific actions are necessary to maintain world order—with political might. This stela tells us about a specific event in Maya history, but it also reveals how Jasaw Chan K’awiil wished to be remembered: as a powerful and pious king.
Source: Dr. James Doyle and Dr. Beth Harris, “Mirror-Bearer,” in Smarthistory, February 7, 2017, accessed July 24, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/mirror-bearer/.
