Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul

324 Pages·2016·159.721 MB·English

by  Scherer, Andrew K

Mortuary Landscapes of the cLassic Maya
the Linda scheLe series in Maya
and pre-coLuMbian studies
This 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.
M o r t u a r y L a n d s c a p e s
o f t h e c L a s s i c M a y a
rituaLs of Body and souL | Andrew K. Scherer
university of texas press   austin

For those who endure, Alcuin, Vera, and especially Fotini
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
contents List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
chapter 1 .
Lived Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
chapter 2 .
Dead Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
chapter 3 .
Ritual, Liminality, and
the Mortuary Space . . . . . . . . . . . 105
chapter 4 .
The Mortuary Landscape . . . . . . 171
Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
figures 1 .22 . Central fang 34
1 .23 . Teotihuacan butterfly souls 35
1 .24 . Dental modification emphasizing the canines 36
1 .25 . Jade inlays and supernumerary incisors of a young
adult male from Piedras Negras Burial 45 37
1 .26 . Skirts and dresses of the Maya 38
1 .27 . Unprovenanced panel from the Palenque area 40
0 .1 . The Maya area 3 1 .28 . The “Old Man” sculpture from Copan 41
1 .1 . Glyphic examples of sacred essence 14 1 .29 . Two- to four-year-old child from El Kinel (Burial 4) 41
1 .2 . Classic period k’uhul 14 1 .30 . Maya dental wear 42
1 .3 . Wahy glyph from Yaxchilan Lintel 15 15 1 .31 . Dental caries, periodontal disease, and antemortem
1 .4 . Wahy in what seems to be a death scene 15 tooth loss in Piedras Negras Burial 119 43
1 .5 . The Buenavista Vase showing paired Maize 1 .32 . Dental calculus on the lingual aspect of the incisors
God dancers 18 and canines of Yaxha Burial 14 43
1 .6 . Heads in Classic Maya writing 20 1 .33 . Osteoarthritis of an Early Classic King (El Zotz
1 .7 . Heads as embodiments of people 21 Burial 9) 44
1 .8 . K’inich K’an Joy Chitam as captive on Monument 122 1 .34 . Femur cross section and vase from the grave of an
from Tonina 21 elderly woman from Piedras Negras Burial 105 45
1 .9 . Vase showing seven underworld supernaturals 22 1 .35 . Goddess O assists a vomiting supernatural 45
1 .10 . A K’iche’ boy embodies the monkey during a 1 .36 . Death God warming himself on burning
performance at Momostenango, Guatemala 22 crossbones 48
1 .11 . The head of the Maize God as a cacao pod from an 1 .37 . Severe periostitis of the right tibia from Piedras
unprovenanced vase 23 Negras Burial 111 49
1 .12 . Resurrection of the Maize God on a Classic 2 .1 . A long bone is cleaned on Día de los Muertos 50
period dish 24 2 .2 . Bird Jaguar iV’s parents as celestial ancestors on
1 .13 . Mean stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from Yaxchilan Stela 11 52
across the Maya area 25 2 .3 . Inscribed bones from Tikal Burial 116 53
1 .14 . Tabular oblique cranial modification 27 2 .4 . The death, rebirth, and dressing of the Maize God 54
1 .15 . Supernatural being crafting a human head or mask 2 .5 . The sarcophagus lid of K’inich Janaab Pakal
from an unprovenanced vessel 28 of Palenque 55
1 .16 . Central infant with wrapped head from the murals at 2 .6 . Palenque Tablet of the Cross 56
San Bartolo 29 2 .7 . Classic period crosses 57
1 .17 . The modified teeth of the primary individual from 2 .8 . SAK “ajaw-face” as vital essence in a death expression
Burial 5 of Piedras Negras 30 from Yaxchilan Lintel 27 57
1 .18 . Ik’ pattern of dental modification 31 2 .9 . SAK “ajaw-face” signs on mortuary sculptures at
1 .19 . Dental modification on woman from SE-S1 scene of Tonina 58
the murals from Structure Sub 1-4, Calakmul 32 2 .10 . Preclassic signs similar to the Classic period
1 .20 . The prominent and projecting anterior teeth of Classic “ajaw-face” 59
Maya supernaturals 33 2 .11 . Early Classic period “ajaw-face” as part of a
1 .21 . Preclassic center teeth 34 supernatural head ornament 59
ix