Maya E Groups: Calendars, Astronomy, and Urbanism in the Early Lowlands

655 Pages·2017·87.81 MB·English

by  David A. Freidel

Maya E Groups
Maya Studies
University Press of Florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

Maya
E Groups
Calendars, Astronomy, and Urbanism in the Early Lowlands
Edited by
David A. Freidel, Arlen F. Chase, Anne S. Dowd,
and Jerry Murdock
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Copyright 2017 by David A. Freidel, Arlen F. Chase, Anne S. Dowd, and Jerry Murdock
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
22 21 20 19 18 17 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Freidel, David A., editor of compilation. | Chase, Arlen F. (Arlen
Frank), 1953– editor of compilation. | Dowd, Anne S., editor of
compilation. | Murdock, Jerry, editor of compilation.
Title: Maya E groups : calendars, astronomy, and urbanism in the early
lowlands / edited by David A. Freidel, Arlen F. Chase, Anne S. Dowd, and
Jerry Murdock ; foreword by David A. Freidel and Jerry Murdock.
Other titles: Maya studies.
Description: Gainesville : University Press of Florida, 2017. | Series: Maya
studies | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017005516 | ISBN 9780813054353 (cloth : acid-free paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Mayas—Belize River Valley (Guatemala and Belize) | Maya
architecture—Belize River Valley (Guatemala and Belize) | Mayas—Belize
River Valley (Guatemala and Belize)—Antiquities. | Belize River Valley
(Guatemala and Belize)—Antiquities.
Classification: LCC F1465.M39 2017 | DDC 972.82—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017005516
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System
of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast
University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida,
University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of
South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://upress.ufl.edu
To Murray Gell-Mann, who, through his work and effort, taught the
fundamental interconnections between modern and ancient wisdom.
Murray Gell-Mann, the Robert Andrews
Millikan Professor Emeritus of Physics at the
California Institute of Technology, winner
of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics, author
of The Quark and the Jaguar, and a Santa Fe
Institute founder. Copyright © 2013, Anne S.
Dowd, all rights reserved.

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xv
Preface: On the Path of the Sun xvii
Acknowledgments xxiii
Abbreviations xxv
Part I. E Groups: Historical Perspectives
1. The Distribution and Significance of E Groups: A Historical
Background and Introduction 3
Arlen F. Chase, Anne S. Dowd, and David A. Freidel
2. E Groups and the Rise of Complexity in the Southeastern Maya
Lowlands 31
Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase
Part II. The Astronomy and Cosmology of E Groups
3. E Groups: Astronomy, Alignments, and Maya Cosmology 75
Anthony F. Aveni and Anne S. Dowd
4. The Legacy of Preclassic Calendars and Solar Observation in
Mesoamerica’s Magic Latitude 95
Susan Milbrath
5. The E Group as Timescape: Early E Groups, Figurines,
and the Sacred Almanac 135
Prudence M. Rice
6. E Groups, Cosmology, and the Origins of Maya Rulership 177
David A. Freidel
Part III. The Archaeology of E Groups
7. The Isthmian Origins of the E Group and Its Adoption in the Maya
Lowlands 215
Takeshi Inomata
8. A Tale of Two E Groups: El Palmar and Tikal, Petén, Guatemala 253
James A. Doyle
9. The History, Function, and Meaning of Preclassic E Groups in the
Cival Region 293
Francisco Estrada-Belli
10. Time to Rule: Celestial Observation and Appropriation among the
Early Maya 328
William A. Saturno, Boris Beltrán, and Franco D. Rossi
11. Ordinary People and East–West Symbolism 361
Cynthia Robin
12. E Groups and Ancestors: The Sunrise of Complexity at Xunantunich,
Belize 386
M. Kathryn Brown
13. Of Apples and Oranges: The Case of E Groups and Eastern Triadic
Architectural Assemblages in the Belize River Valley 412
Jaime J. Awe, Julie A. Hoggarth, and James J. Aimers
14. The Founding of Yaxuná: Place and Trade in Preclassic Yucatán 450
Travis W. Stanton
15. Founding Landscapes in the Central Karstic Uplands 480
Kathryn Reese-Taylor
Part IV. Conclusion
16. More Than Smoke and Mirrors: Maya Temple Precincts and the
Emergence of Religious Institutions in Mesoamerica 517
Anne S. Dowd
17. Epilogue: E Groups and Their Significance to the Ancient Maya 578
Diane Z. Chase, Patricia A. McAnany, and Jeremy A. Sabloff
List of Contributors 583
Index 591
Figures
0.1. November 6, 2011, Santa Fe Institute Working Group planning
session xxii
0.2. August 26, 2012, Santa Fe Institute Working Group
participants xxii
0.3. August 25, 2013, Santa Fe Institute Working Group
participants xxii
1.1. Chronological overview of the Maya area 4
1.2. Plan of the latest (Early Classic) version of Uaxactún Group E 9
1.3. Isometric reconstruction of the Cenote E Group 11
1.4. Distribution of E Group–type complexes 13
1.5. Reported E Groups from the Maya region 14
2.1. The two variants of the E Group plan 33
2.2. The eastern platform at Uaxactún 42
2.3. Caches from the core of Structure EII at Uaxactún 44
2.4. The plan and section of the eastern platform of the Cenote E
Group 46
2.5. E Groups from Caracol, Belize 48
2.6. The Caracol epicentral E Group east platform 51
2.7. The architectural development of the eastern platform of the
Caracol E Group 52
2.8. Expanded view and upper and lower plans of SD C8B-3 53
2.9. Distribution of 170 known E Groups 55
2.10. Perspective of the center of Ixtontón 57
2.11. Map of Yaxhá, Guatemala 61
2.12. The founder deities or “triad gods” 62