Lightning Warrior: Maya Art and Kingship at Quirigua

278 Pages·2010·127.076 MB·English

by  Looper, Matthew George

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LIGHTNING WARRIOR
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the linda schele series
in maya and pre-columbian studies
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Lightning
Warrior
MAYA ART AND KINGSHIP AT QUIRIGUA
Matthew G. Looper
University of Texas Press
Austin
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This series was made possible through the generosity
of William C. Nowlin, Jr., and Bettye H. Nowlin.
Copyright © 2003 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2003
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.
∞ The 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
Looper, Matthew George, 1966–
Lightning warrior : Maya art and kingship at Quirigua / Matthew G.
Looper.—1st ed.
p. cm. — (Linda Schele series in Maya and pre-Columbian studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0-292-70556-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Quirigua Site (Guatemala) 2. Maya sculpture—Guatemala—
MotaguaRiver Valley. 3. Stele (Archaeology)—Guatemala—Motagua
River Valley. 4. Mayas—Kings and rulers. 5. Mayas—Guatemala—
MotaguaRiver Valley—Antiquities. 6. MotaguaRiver Valley (Guate-
mala)—Antiquities. I. Title. II. Series.
f1435.1.q8 l66 2003
972.81'31—dc21 2003010416
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Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. Life at the Crossroads|Quirigua before K’ak’ Tiliw 35
2. A Restive Vassal|The Early Reign of K’ak’ Tiliw 57
3. Rebellion and Revival|The First Stelae of K’ak’ Tiliw 76
4. Dreams of Power|Stelae F, D, and E 122
5. Foundation of the Cosmic House|Stelae C and A and
Zoomorph B 158
6. In Honor of a Great Warrior|The Legacy of K’ak’ Tiliw
186
appendix a.Rulers of Quirigua 205
appendix b.Historical Events Recorded in the Texts
of Quirigua 207
appendix c.Selected Historical Events from the Texts
of Copan 211
appendix d.Transcriptions and Translations of the
Monumental Inscriptions Commissioned by K’ak’ Tiliw
213
Notes 231
Bibliography 239
Index 255
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Preface
In 1990(the year I began my studies of ancient Maya art preceded him, only four are named in inscriptions. Peter
in graduate school) my dissertation advisor, the late Mathews identified the name of the first or second Quiri-
Linda Schele, and anthropologist David Freidel released gua king, associated with a date in the year 455 (Jones
their book A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient and Sharer 1980). Third and fourth successors may be
Maya. Using hieroglyphic texts as a foundation, this documented from near the end of the fifth century (Jones
book endeavored to pave the way for a distinctly human- 1983a). Another ruler is known to have been active at
istic understanding of the ancient Maya, in which the 653, but his position in the dynasty is not clear (Schele
achievements of this civilization are attributed not to im- 1989d). K’ak’ Tiliw himself was succeeded by a ruler
personal economic trends but rather to individual histor- known by the nickname “Sky Xul,” who ruled for only
ical agents. Thus, texts and their associated images are about ten years, 785–ca. 795 (Jones and Sharer 1980; Kel-
situated within contexts of political struggle, in which ley 1962). After 795 the dynastic sequence becomes un-
elites competed against each other to achieve or main- certain, with possibly two rulers following in quick suc-
tain ascendancy. cession. The last known ruler, nicknamed Jade Sky,
Inspired by this pioneering book, my dissertation appears in association with dates in 805 and 810 (Grube,
(completed in 1995) explored the history of one of the Schele, and Fahsen 1991; Kelley 1962).3
most astonishing of these actors known, whose name While one goal of my dissertation was documentation,
was probably K’ak’ Tiliw Chan Yo’at/Yo’pat, high king of another was to attempt a synthesis of what I saw at the
Quirigua, a relatively small ceremonial city located in time as divergent emphases on esoteric, political, or sty-
southeastern Guatemala (Fig. P.1). This ruler, whose listic aspects of Maya art. Few studies, in my view, util-
name I have taken the liberty of shortening in the present ized style together with iconography to reveal the inte-
book to K’ak’ Tiliw, first became known to the modern grated politico-religious meanings of these works.
world through the work of David Kelley (1962).1The out- Among the many insights provided by this holistic ap-
line biography of this ruler was worked out in various proach was the clarification of the relationship between
subsequent studies.2 Reigning from 725 to 785, K’ak’ the political identity of the king of Quirigua and the var-
Tiliw was by far the most important ruler of Quirigua. In- ious supernatural entities with whom he was associated
deed, his remarkable history and associated monuments through ritual performance and other techniques. In par-
mark him as one of the most prominent figures in all of ticular, although he is named consistently, the identity of
Maya history. Until my dissertation, however, the monu- K’ak’ Tiliw is not stable but develops within a complex
ments commissioned during his reign had never been historical discourse, articulated through what I call per-
studied in detail or as a unit. sonae or historically specific conventional identities. My
Although Kelley referred to K’ak’ Tiliw as “Ruler I,” we goal in the present book is to chart this discourse on both
now know that he was actually designated the fourteenth local and regional scales, as expressed in the design of
successor of his dynasty (Riese 1982). Of the rulers who ceremonial cities, particularly Quirigua and its principal
vii
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rival, Copan. It suggests a shift of attention from the Stelae S, H, J, F, D, E, C, and A, and Zoomorph B.4The
monumental commissions of a single ruler toward a his- monumental texts and images of the two (or three) kings
tory of interwoven and inherently unstable identities. who succeeded K’ak’ Tiliw also contain useful infor-
One of the distinct tendencies of the recent mon- mation for interpreting the history of his reign.
ographs on Classic Maya sites is to separate hieroglyphic Supplementary information is embodied in architec-
texts from iconography and/or to privilege one or the ture, ceramics, and other archaeological data, which
other (Houston 1993; Newsome 2001; Tate 1992). The have been well established through the efforts of a
texts and images work together, however, to convey the number of archaeological projects. These began with
specific meanings of the monument. The result of this some clearing and test pitting by Alfred P. Maudslay in
scholarly treatment is to lessen the impact of the monu- 1883, followed by more substantial excavations spon-
ments’ rhetoric. In contrast, this book seeks to recon- sored by the School of American Archaeology and the Ar-
struct the politico-religious history of Quirigua, through chaeological Institute of America under the direction of
an approach which gives equal weight to textual and pic- Edgar Lee Hewett between 1910 and 1914 (Maudslay
torial data, firmly grounded in the archaeological record. 1889–1902; Saville 1919). Although a number of the pub-
It should be noted that this approach diverges somewhat lications relating to these expeditions were by Hewett
from traditional art history (especially Mesoamerican art himself, the assistant director of the project, Sylvanus G.
history), in that it does not privilege the “masterpieces” Morley, reported many of the results in his monumental
but gives equal consideration to small, poorly carved, or study The Inscriptions of Petén(1937–1938) and in a guide-
eroded monuments. In fact, some of the most battered book to the site published in 1935.5 Morley also pub-
and crudely executed sculptures at Quirigua are of the lished short articles on the expedition, of which his 1913
greatest historical significance—such as Stela H. In gen- article is the most important (Morley 1912, 1913). The full
eral, my intention is to create a fresh understanding of results of these expeditions, however, were never pub-
Maya art history through an exploration of the historical lished. Morley’s Inscriptions of Peténalso includes research
foundations and relationships of monumental rhetoric he conducted at Quirigua under the auspices of the Car-
at Quirigua. This involves detailed and comprehensive negie Institution of Washington in 1919 and 1923. The
comparisons of iconography, style, and rhetorical strate- Carnegie Institution sponsored brief projects at Quirigua
gies not only within Quirigua itself but also with other in 1933 and 1934 (Ricketson 1933, 1935; Strömsvik 1941,
sites with which Quirigua was in contact. These include 1952). However, the most comprehensive excavations at
especially Copan but also other lowland centers. Such an Quirigua were those conducted under the auspices of the
analysis allows for a richer historical perspective on University of Pennsylvania Quirigua Project of 1974–
Maya art than has generally been achieved in previous 1979, which were designed to provide a more complete
studies. In addition, my historical focus motivates a cri- archaeological picture of the ancient site. This project in-
tique of some of the interpretations that have been made cluded not only extensive excavations and reconstruc-
of Maya art in the past, including the existence of a tions of the acropolis and surrounding site core but map-
master narrative that underlies iconography as well as ping and excavations in outlying areas of the Motagua
the concepts of normative “Maya style” and “southeast- valley. The results of these investigations have been pub-
ern Maya style.” lished in the Quirigua Reports series.6A number of sum-
mary articles relating to this research have also appeared
Documentation
(Ashmore 1984, 1987; Jones and Sharer 1980, 1986;
The center from which K’ak’ Tiliw presided during the Sharer 1978, 1980).
eighth century is today called Quirigua, after a nearby vil- While Maudslay made some excavations of structures
lage. Discovered in 1840 by the English artist Frederick at Quirigua, his most important contribution is clearly
Catherwood and made famous through American trav- in the area of documentation of the sculptures at the site.
eler John Lloyd Stephens’s book Incidents of Travel in Cen- It was he who discovered most of the major sculptures
tral America, Chiapas, and Yucatan(1841), this archaeologi- and provided the alphabetical designations used in this
cal site is located on the floodplain of the Motagua River,
which originates in the Guatemalan highlands and flows
northeast into the Caribbean. This study focuses pri- Facing page
marily on the eleven freestanding monuments attributed P.1.Map of the Maya region, showing sites discussed in this
to K’ak’ Tiliw—in chronological order: Altars M and N, book. Drawing by Thomas Tolles and the author.
viii lightning warrior
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preface ix