Architecture and the Origins of Preclassic Maya Politics

186 Pages·2017·12.641 MB·English

by  James Doyle

ARCHITECTURE AND THE ORIGINS OF PRECLASSIC
MAYA POLITICS
Architecture and the Origins of Preclassic Maya Politics highlights the dramatic
changesintherelationshipofancientMayapeoplestothelandscapeandto
each other in the Preclassic period (ca. 2000 BC–AD 250). Offering
a comprehensive history of Preclassic Maya society, James Doyle focuses
on recent discoveries of early writing, mural painting, stone monuments,
and evidence of divine kingship that have reshaped our understanding
of cultural developments in the first millennium BC. He also addresses
one of the crucial concerns of contemporary archaeology: the emergence
of political authorities and their subjects in early complex polities. Doyle
shows how architectural trends in the Maya Lowlands in the Preclassic
period exhibit the widespread cross-cultural link between monumental
architectureofimposingintent,humancollaboration,andurbanism.
James Doyle is an archaeologist and Assistant Curator of the Art of the
Ancient Americas at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. His
areasofexpertiseincludetheartandarchaeologyofMesoamerica,Central
America,andColombia.Hehascontributedtomajorartexhibitions,writes
forthemuseum’s blog,andpromotespre-Columbianartandarchaeology
throughsocialmedia.

ARCHITECTURE AND THE
ORIGINS OF PRECLASSIC
MAYA POLITICS
JAMES DOYLE
TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt
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Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107145375
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Firstpublished2017
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AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
names:Doyle,JamesA.,1983–author.
title:ArchitectureandtheoriginsofpreclassicMayapolitics/JamesDoyle.
description:Cambridge,UnitedKingdom;NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016.|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
identifiers:lccn2016031779|isbn9781107145375(hardback)
subjects:lcsh:Mayaarchitecture.|Mayas–Politicsandgovernment.|Mayas–Antiquities.|
Architecture–Politicalaspects–Mexico–History–To1500.|Architecture–Political
aspects–CentralAmerica–History–To1500.|Landscapearchaeology–Mexico.|
Landscapearchaeology–CentralAmerica.|Socialarchaeology–Mexico.|Social
archaeology–CentralAmerica.
classification:lccf1435.3.a6d682016|ddc972/.6–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016031779
isbn978-1-107-14537-5Hardback
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URLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetwebsitesreferredtointhispublication
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CONTENTS
ListofFigures pagevii
PrefaceandAcknowledgments xi
1 INTRODUCTION 1
ThePreclassicMaya 2
OverviewoftheAncientMaya 3
PushingtheLimits 5
ConstructingSocialMeanings 6
UrbanismandPolitics 9
SocialTransformations:Gathering,Monumentalization,and
AbandonmentasResilience 12
2 SETTING 15
PreclassicCulturalTraditions 16
CentralLowlands 18
PeténLakesandEastward 19
SouthernPlateauBoundary 22
ElMiradorArea 23
ElPalmar,Guatemala:CaseStudy 24
3 MESOAMERICAN AND MAYA MONUMENTALITY,
IDENTITY, AND POLITICS 26
TheArchaeologyofMonumentality 27
MesoamericanMonumentalityandKingship 28
MayaMonumentality 30
MayaInvisibleDwellingsandInvisibleGatherings 31
TheFirst(Detectable)Settlements:1000–700BC 33
TheRiseofRectangularity:700–500BC 34
Conclusions 36
4 MIDDLE PRECLASSIC MAYA E-GROUP PLAZAS:
DISTRIBUTION AND GEOPOLITICS, 800–300 BC 37
EarlyMayaConstructionTechniques 39
v
vi CONTENTS
E-Groups 42
E-GroupChronology 47
E-GroupForm 58
E-GroupDistributionandEarlyMayaPolitics 59
ConstructingE-GroupMeaningintheMiddlePreclassic 63
ReligiousImplications 63
Conclusions 69
5 THEARCHITECTUREANDSPACESOFTHEEARLYAJAW,
ca. 300–1 BC 71
LatePreclassicMayaArchitecturalTechniques 72
CentralLowlandsMonumentalArchitectureandSculpture 75
TheMonumentalizationofE-Groups 75
LatePreclassicElPalmarE-GroupChronology 79
CentralLowlandsTriadicGroups 81
InvestigationsintheElPalmarTriadicGroup 88
TriadicGroupsandLatePreclassicSitePlanning 90
PriorResearchonMayaSitePlanning 90
TheTriadicGroupandPreclassicMayaSitePlanning 91
MeaningsofLatePreclassicSitePlanning 95
MonumentalE-Groups:UnderWhoseAuthority? 103
Conclusions:MotivationsforandEffectsofMayaMonumentalization 106
6 MIGRATION AND ABANDONMENT 109
TheArchaeologyofAbandonmentand“Collapse” 111
TheFirstMaya“Collapse”:TheEndofthePreclassic 112
SettlementRupture:AbandonmentandContinuityintheCentral
Lowlands 114
UnsustainableBuildings:MonumentalTriadicGroups 123
MaterialChanges:TheElusiveProtoclassic 125
IncompleteCollapseofElPalmar:AbandonmentandResilience 129
Conclusions 139
7 THE PRECLASSIC BIG PICTURE 140
Conclusions 140
ArchaeologyofEmergingMayaPolitics 143
FinalConsiderations 145
Bibliography 147
Index 168
FIGURES
1.1 CruciformcacheatCival. page3
1.2 TimelineofculturalperiodsintheMayaLowlands. 4
2.1 MapofMayaLowlandswithregionalculturaltraditions. 17
2.2 DetailmapofCentralLowlands’culturaltraditionsites. 19
2.3 DetailmapofBuenavistaValleywithsitesmentionedinthetext. 24
3.1 EarliestMayaarchitecture.Examplesofapsidal,keyhole-shaped,and
circularlowplatforms. 34
4.1 PlanoftheE-GroupPlazaatYaxha,Guatemala. 38
4.2 Earlyexamplesofstuccomodeling,Hunahpustructure,SanBartolo. 41
4.3 MapshowingsiteswithE-GroupsintheCentralLowlandsarea. 42
4.4 DiagramofidealizedE-Group. 43
4.5 (Above)PlanofElPalmarE-Group.(Below)PlanofMundoPerdido,
Tikal,LatePreclassicPeriod. 48
4.6 (a)CrosssectionofElPalmarStructuresE4-1andE4-4withprofiles
ofexcavatedareas.(Below)ReconstructioncrosssectionofTikal
Structures5C-54and5D-86.(b)ReconstructedsequenceofEl
PalmarStructuresE4-1andE4-4. 49
4.7 RepresentativePreclassicceramicvesselsrecoveredfromElPalmar
andtheBuenavistaValley. 50
4.8 (a)Possibleposthole,excavationunitEP-8A-15,withbluejade
polishedbifacereductionflakeinsitu,(b)bluejadeinlaboratory. 52
4.9 StructureE4-1-5th:(a)north-sectionprofile,EP-8A-13;(b)
photographofEP-8A-13;(c)photographsofEP-8A-13and
EP-8A-14. 53
4.10 SemicompletevesselfromEP-8A-14,depositedduringthe
constructionofE4-1-4th. 54
4.11 StructureE4-1-4th,unitsEP-8A-9andEP-8A-10. 55
4.12 MiddlePreclassicfigurineheadsrecoveredfromElPalmar. 56
4.13 MiddlePreclassicstuccofloorsamplesrecoveredfromElPalmar
StructureE4-1:(a)EP-8A-16-1and(b)EP-8A-14-7. 57
4.14 ViewshedsfromElPalmar(white)andTikal(darkgray). 60
4.15 ViewshedsfromsiteswithMiddlePreclassicE-Groups. 61
4.16 ViewshedsfromallE-Groupsites. 62
4.17 FillofElPalmarE-Grouppyramid,StructureE4-1–4.(Inset)Chert
flakesrecovered. 67
5.1 PhotographofUaxactunE-VII-sub. 73
5.2 DiagramofMayaapronmolding. 74
vii
viii LISTOFFIGURES
5.3 RicketsonandRicketson’sreconstructiondrawingofUaxactun
E-VII-subeastfacade:(a)upperzone;(b)middlezone;(c)lower
zone. 76
5.4 MundoPerdidomask(Structure5D-86). 77
5.5 ExteriorwallsofElPalmarE4-1-2nd. 80
5.6 ExcavationsatthesummitofStructureE4-1-1:(a)northprofileof
EP-8B;(b)remainsofsummitbuildingwalls;(c)floorofsummit
building. 82
5.7 Megalithicstairblockscoveredinplaster,ElPalmarStructureE4-1-1:
(a)profileofstairandfloorconstructions;(b)photographofstairs
insitu;(c)blockduringremoval. 83
5.8 Monumentalmasks,LatePreclassicperiod.Comparisonofmasks
from(a)Cerros,(b)Cival,(c)Holmul,(d)SanBartolo. 84
5.9 Comparisonofmasksfrom(a)Nakbe,(b)ElMirador,(c)El
Pesquero. 87
5.10 Photographsofstackedcut-blockconstruction,ElPalmarTriadic
Group,unitEP-2A-1. 88
5.11 Stuccopiecesandpainted-redapronmolding,ElPalmarTriadic
Group. 89
5.12 (a)ElPalmarsitemapwithplazadimensionsoverlaidonmajor
structures:(b)TriadicGroup;(c)StructureE4-5;(d)StructureE5-5;
(e)PlatformE5-7;(f)SouthGroup. 92
5.13 CentralElMiradorwithElLeonGroupplazahighlighted. 94
5.14 OthersiteswithpossibleproportionalplanningintheLatePreclassic:
(a)Tikal;(b)Yaxha;(c)Calakmul. 96
5.15 ElPalmarStructureE4-4cacheplates. 99
5.16 SanBartoloE-Group. 106
6.1 Possibledefensivewall,Cival. 114
6.2 Examplesofmassive,restrictedcourtyardTriadicarchitecture:(a)El
Palmar;(b)Cival;(c)reconstructiondrawingofElTigre,ElMirador;
(d)finalphase,LasPinturas,SanBartolo. 118
6.3 Examplesoflow,openTriadicarchitecture:(a)reconstructionof
NorthAcropolis,Tikal,LatePreclassicperiod;(b)GroupH,
Uaxactun;(c)reconstructiondrawingofNaranjoGroupB-5;(d)
YaxhaNorthAcropolisandNortheastAcropolisGroups. 119
6.4 LocationofTriadicGroupB-5,Naranjo,inrelationtotheE-Group
plaza. 120
6.5 (a)DetailofStela43,Yaxha;(bandc)detailofstuccofacade,Yaxha,
NorthAcropolis. 121
6.6 SouthernbuildingoftheGroup-Eplaza,Uaxactun:(a)plan;(b)plan;
(c)reconstructiondrawing. 122
6.7 Same-scalecomparisonofTriadicGroupsfrom(a)Uaxactunand
(b)ElMirador. 123
6.8 Photographsofpossibleerodedfrieze,UnitEP-9A-1. 125
6.9 PhotographsanddrawingsofProtoclassicceramics,ElPalmar. 126
6.10 AnalysisoftheBuenavistaValleycorridor. 128