Death and the Classic Maya Kings (Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies)

313 Pages·2009·5.28 MB·English

by  James L. Fitzsimmons

death and the classic maya kings
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Th e Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies
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death and the classic
maya kings
james l. fitzsimmons
university of texas press
Austin
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Th is series was made possible through the generosity of
William C. Nowlin, Jr., and Bettye H. Nowlin, the National
Endowment for the Humanities, and various individual donors.
Copyright © 2009 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2009
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent
to:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
Th e paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of
ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fitzsimmons, James L.
Death and the classic Maya kings / by James L. Fitzsimmons. — 1st ed.
p. cm. — (Th e Linda Schele series in Maya and Pre-Columbian
Studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-292-71890-6 (cl. : alk. paper)
1. Mayas—Kings and rulers—Death and burial. 2. Mayas—Funeral
customs and rites. 3. Mayan languages—Writing. 4. Tombs—Mexico.
5. Human remains (Archaeology)—Mexico. 6. Mexico—Antiquities.
I. Title.
f1435.3.f85f57 2008
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2008014909
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for Rebecca
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contents
list of figures and tables xi
a note on orthography xv
acknowledgments xvii
chapter 1: celebrations for the dead 1
Anthropology and Death Rituals 3
Th e Classic Maya Case 7
Methodological Concerns 10
Kingship and the Ancestors 15
chapter 2: death and the afterlife
in the lowlands 17
Earth 18
Maize 22
Mortality 24
Writing Death 25
Th e Self and the Soul 39
Breaths of Life and Death 42
Way 44
To the Afterlife 48
Celestial Bodies and Maize Gods 52
chapter 3: royal funerals 61
Waiting for Interment 61
Gravemakers 64
Tombs as Underworld Surfaces 68
Tombs as Caves 71
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death and the classic maya kings
Tombs as Houses 72
Timing and the Ritual Process 72
Embalming and Processing 74
Dressing and Bundling the Corpse 76
Painting 81
Arranging the Body, Arranging the Furniture 83
Sealing the Tomb 101
chapter 4: death and landscape 105
K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ 107
Lowland Founders and Local Variations 112
Cults of Personality 117
Bird Jaguar IV 120
Gods and Orchards at Palenque 123
Souls within Buildings 130
Ancestor Shrines 134
chapter 5: entering the tombs
of the classic maya kings 142
Patterns of Reentry at Piedras Negras 145
Fire in the Motmot Burial 156
Fire and History at Tonina 160
Family Aff airs 161
False Reentry 162
Painting, Drilling, and Bone Peeling 164
Th e Portable Dead 166
chapter 6: the dead king and the body politic 170
Royal Funerals: Public or Private? 178
Bodies and Monuments 180
Corpses, Souls, and Mourners in Transition 181
guide to appendixes 185
appendix 1: burial structures and contexts 188
appendix 2: body preparations
and funerary activities 194
viii
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contents
appendix 3: grave goods 202
notes 209
references 227
index 261
ix
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