THE JAGUARS OF ALTAR Q, COpAN, HONDURAS

14 Pages·2009·2.48 MB·English

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THE JAGUARS OF ALTAR Q, COpAN, HONDURAS: FAUNAL
ANALYSIS, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND ECOLOGY
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224 BALLINGERand STOMPER Vol. 20,No.2
INTRODUCTION
Thediscoveryofanoffertorycacheoffelinebonesyieldedanexcitingglimpse
ofancient Maya ritual behavior toarchaeologists. Felinebones fmed themasonry
crypt to the east ofAltar Q at Copan, Honduras, an altar whose sides bear high
reliefportraits ofthe sixtccn ruters ofCopan'sClassic Period dynasty. The cache
at the foot ofAllarQ contained the remains ofat least fourteen large felines, two
macaws,and thetail fansofsevenotherbirds.Thisisa reportofthediscoveryand
preliminary analysis of the offertory complex associated with AltarQ and Struc
turelQL16in theAcropolisareaoftheMainGroup.JeffreyStamper,thenagraduate
student under the supervision of Dr. William Fash, the Director of the Copan
AcropolisArchaeological Projectinstituted undertheauspicesofthegovernment
ofHonduras, excavated theoffertorycomplex in1988.Theofferingconsisted ofa
scaled cryptcontaining the remainsofat least14large felines, including Pallthera
onca, and macaws (Amsp.)associated witha stonealtaron a low, round platform
that was placed on the central axis of the western side of Structure 10L16in the
Main Group atCopan.
Until now, the evidence that large felines were involved in Maya ritual has
consisted ofskeletonsofsingleanimalsand portionsofskeletonsofcatsburied in
ritual contexts (pohI1983, 1990). Landa (Tozzer1941)discussed animal sacrifices
statingthatanimalswereused in ritualsandweresacrificed.They werepresented
to the gods either alive or not, sometimes dismembered but also whole (Tozzer
1941).ThecacheatCopanisthelargestcacheoffelid,\('bonesdiscoveredbyMaya
archaeologists todate.
JAGUARSYMBOLISM
Maya art and iconography are rich with depictions of jaguars. The same is
trueofother Mesoamerican civilizations. Copan, Palenque, Uxmal, and Ttkal are
among the lowland Maya sites where jaguarsare featured prominently (Morley,
Brainerd,andSharer1983;Spinden1975;Tonerand Glover1910).Spinden (1975)
considered them second only to the snake in symbolic importance to the Maya.
Cae(1972) pointed out the linksbetween rulers and jaguarsand theseparationof
king and commoner in native Mesoamerican religions. He further remarked on
the antiquity of the jaguar as il religious icon and its ties to Mesoamerican reli
gionsand the ruling lineage (Cae1972).
Images of jaguars frequently decorate ceramics recovered from Maya sites,
appearing on a variety of vessels. On these, men often wear clothes with jaguar
markings or jaguar pelts (Spinden 1975: 149). Many times jaguar symbolism is
partofa ritualorreligiouscontextonvessels,suchasonefrom AltardeSacrificios.
On thisvessel,therulerofYaxchilan isdressed injaguarskin trousers,miltsmade
of jaguar paws complete with claws, and a jaguar headdress. Asecond figure in
jaguar regalia is near that has the arms, hands, tail and feet of the jaguar on a
humanbody (Saunders 1989: 146).
Thejaguarepitomized twodifferent kindsofstrengthtotheMaya.Thejaguar
motif was associated with the underworld and its supernatural power and also
with physical strength. The association with physical strength derived from the
Winter2000 JOURNALOF ETHNOBIOLOGY 225
fact thatjaguarsarcpowerful,nocturnal hunters. Ideasofthesupernaturalpower
ofthejaguararosefrom theearly totemic traditionofMesoamericaand thejaguar
nagllal's (spiritual co~essence)relationship to the shaman's power. Possession of
supernatural powerandphysical strength was important to Maya rulersbecause
their political power rested on theirability toactas a priestly bridgebetween the
ancestors, the underworld, and the livingworld (Scheleand Freidel1990).
Maya artists juxtaposed rulers and warriors with jaguar symbolism in art.
Strength and prowess ofcombat were required ofboth the ruler and the warrior
but especially of the ruler. Afearsome beastof the tropical forest, thejaguar per
sonifiedadualsymbolism:controlofthesupernatural,anecessarypowerfor Maya
kings,and thephysical prowessneededby thesuccessful warrior(Saunders1989;
Hassig1985).
Mesoamerican cultures from Dlmec to Aztec revered the jaguar. The Dime<:
associated jaguarswith shamanic powerand filled theirart with imagesofwere·
jaguars.TheAztecs linked thejaguartowar,sacrifice,and royalty(Saunders1989:
150;Hassig1985).Furthermore, theyassociated jaguarswithjade, rain, and fertil
ity (Sawlders 1989). At the time of the Spanish conquest, Aztec (Mexica) traders
routinely transported peltsand liveanimals from outlying parts oftheempire to
thecapital. Picturesofboth liveanimalsand peltsappearon tradeandtributelists
of goods moving from Soconusco, the colonial province located on the coastal
plain ofthestateofChiapas, Mexico, to theAztec Empire (Voorhies 1989).
Relictsofthissymbolismare found today in remoteareasofCentral America,
Mexico, and South America. Jaguar symbolism is most visible in masks and cer
emonies performed in isolated villages. Wearing a jaguar mask transforms the
wearerintoanewcreaturethatcombinesanimaLhuman,and supernaturalquali
ties(Saunders1989).Thus, thejaguarisan ancientandpotentsymbol permeating
nativecultures of Mexico,Central, and SouthAmerica.
ARCHAEOLOGY
Aspartofthefirst season'sworkoftheCopanAcropolisArchaeologicalProject,
William Fash conducted preliminary investigations of Structure lOL-16 and the
adjacentPlazaareasin1988(Fash1991;Agl.lrcia,StoneandStomper1989).During
thespringofthatyear,excavationsatthesiteofthewesternbaseofStructurelOL·
16and AltarQ were inprogress, supervised byJefferyStomperand veteranlocal
excavator, Ismael Gon:.~alcz.Stamper concentrated the initial excavations on the
area in front ofand beneath AltarQ, anticipating finding the dedicatory offering
or other remains ofassociated ritualsat that locus. Otherexamples ofdedicatory
caches had been found either directly in flunt ofor underneath altars and stelae
elsewhereatCopan (Stromsvik1941).Anarea wasmarked offdirectlywestofthe
altarand excavated to a depth of120em. Fearing for the integrity ofthe trench if
hedugbetween thestone supports that uphold AltarQ, Stomperelected instead
to tunnel beneath the altar from the eastern sidewall of the same pH. This mini
tunnel excavation beneath the altar produced no evidence of a cache, nor was
there anyevidence that the area under the altarhad been disturbed.
226 BALLINGERand STOMPER Vol. 20, No.2
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FIGURE 1.-The EastCourt. MainGroup,Copan, Hondur,lS. Supplied by William and
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Winter2000 JOURNALOFETIINOl3l0LOGY 227
Stamper began another pit that mirrored the location of the previous one.
Immediately,hefound twofeatures. Thefirst wasaplain, round altar,CPN 13470,
with a diameter of 36 em. Altars such as these were used as stands for incense
burners elsewhere in Copan during the Late Classic period (Fash 1983:464). The
second feature waswhat appeared tobeseveral roughslabsofslone, Feature8,in
a line below the level of the last plaza floor. Theexcavation wasexpanded to un
cover theextent ofthis feature.
The capstones were aligned in a north-south direction, sloping from cast to
west, and covering the masonry crypt that contained the animal bones. Probing
between thestones revealed a hollowarea apprOXimately1.3m deep and at least
1mwide. WhenStamperremoved thecapstones,hefound thatdebrisfrom places
where the walls had caved in filled the crypt. The crypt, measuring 131 em long
and 48em wide, had wallsofeightcoursesoffinely cutbuildingstone rising toa
heightofl17cm.
Within thecrypt, theexcavators found animal bones.The removalofthe first
level of bones revealed an irregular intrusion of lime plaster in parts of the cist.
Excavation of this layer revealed that more bones were embedded in the layerof
plaster with still more bones below it. These layers were removed in the plaster
matrix in large sections and kept separated. Stompercontinued excavations into
lhe fill under thecist toa depth of3m under theplaza level. He recovered only 7
fragmentsofceramicsfrom underthecisloApproximately319em below theorigi
nal cist floor, the excavators uncovered an earlierplaster floor ofthe West Court.
Excavations were terminated at this point.
Twosmallshaftsadjacenttothecistwerealsouncoveredjustoutsidethenorth
east and southeast corners of the cist. The inside of the roughly square shafts
measured 22 em on each side. At the bottom of one shaft were nine whole pris
maticobsidianbladeletsand partsoftwoothers. Located25cmabovetheobsidian
werethebonesofa medium-sized bird.Thesecondshaftalsocontained thebones
ofa bird butnoobsidian. Nothingelse was found.
Stamperexcavated the entire area between AltarQ and Structure LlO-16, re
vealinga round platform ofsmall, faced stones twocourses high in some places.
Unfortunately, thewhole platform wasnot preserved. Located in thecenterofthe
platform was an oval stone with a smooth upper surface, repeatedly charred by
fire. Resting on the top of the platform was a small, highly polished fragment of
jade. The area around the platform yielded incensario fragments, a ceramic in
censeburner. Inanadjacent area tothe westoftheplatformjustbelow the levelof
the last plaza floor, a small cacheofobsidian lancetswas found.
FAUNALANALYSIS
During thesummerof1988,the faunal material was identified and recorded,
and a preliminary report was filed at the Central Office of the Project in Copan
(Ballinger 1988). The bones were counted, sorted into skeletal clements, and ex
amined forpathologicalconditionsand anomalies.t Ballingerusedweight-bearing
bonesoftheappendagestodeterminetheminimum numberofindividuals(MNI)
becauseweight-bearingboneshavelargeareasofdense,compactbone,and,hence,
tend to be better preserved (Brain 1981). Left and right elements were identified
228 BALLINGERandSTOMPER Vol. 20,No.2
and counted. Ballingermatched the bones bysizeor age to determine if theybe
longed to a single individual (Chaplain 1971). Juveniles were identified by the
lack of epiphyseal closure. The analyst ignored most of the fragments because
time was limited. The largest MNI of the elements was then determined as the
MNI for thespecies (Klein and Cruz-Uribe1984).Actualbonecountsweremade
atCopan. Photographsofthebestpreservedcraniaweretakenforlateridentifica
tion. Final identification tospecies level was made in the Zooarchaeology Lab at
Indiana University, whereacomparativecollection ishoused.
Analysis was done under field conditions without the use ofa comparative
collectionor manualscommonly used by faunal analysts. Neithera comparative
collectionnor library resourceswereavailable in1988at the Copanlaboratory to
aid in identification. Ballinger took notes supplemented with photographs and
sketches. The initial identification ofthebonesasfeline resulted from herexami
nationofthe teeth, crania, scapulae, and femora while inHonduras.2
Condition ofthe Bones.-Burialin aclosedcryptresulted in good preservation.Al
thoughthebonesweresubjected tonaturaldecay,theywereprotected fromsome
ofthe taphonomic processes that radicallychange relationshipsbetweenskeletal
elements(Lyman1982).Thus,whilemanyoftheboneswerenotarticulated, they
wereclose tothepositioninwhichtheywereplaced inthecrypt.Thecryptwalls
keptthemfrombeingdispersedafterburial.Theywerealsoprotectedfrom water
andheat,thetwomostpowerfulagentsinbonedissolution (vonEndtandOrtner
1980). The bones were dry and chalky but retained their shapes, so skeletal ele
ments were easily identified. Exfoliation was present on some of the bones but
mostofthem werewell preserved.
Anassessmentofpathological lesionswas madeonthebones thathad mini
malflakingonthem.Thebonesofthesecondlevel,excavatedasaunitandcurated
asaunit,allowed Ballingertodetermine thepositionofthejaguarsofthesecond
level in thecrypt by the association ofskeletal elements. The heads ofsome had
beenlaid overthe rear legs and feet ofothers.
ResultsoftheFaunalAnalysis.-TheMNIofthefelineswasatleast14.Thisnumber
is conservative because the analyst was unable to perform a complete examina
tionofallthefaunal material. Ballingerfound thatmanyofthebonesfound inthe
cryptwerePantheraonca. Differencesinjaguarsand puma lieincranial morphol
ogy. According to Olsen (1968), jaguar crania have a sagittal concavity on the
superior aspect of the cranium that rises to a pronounced lambdoidal crest that
gives a slight s-shaped curve to the jaguar's skull. The posterior crest gives the
jaguarcranium a squared offappearanceand the skull appears longerand more
rectangular. The puma,however, hasan ovalskull lackingthe massive,posterior
cresting.Craniaofjaguarsandpumaaresimilarin theiranterioraspectsandteeth
butdiffer intheposterioraspect. Itis the posteriorfeatures on thecrania thedis
criminate between the species. The more complete crania from the crypt have
distinctivenuchal robusticityand amoreelongatedarchitectureofthejaguar.AI·
though there is not enough cranial material remaining to account for 14jaguars,
an estimated 6animals in the assemblage were Panthera onca. The others are fe
linesbut remain tobe positively identified as jaguar. The remaining bone in the
assemblageisbirdboneand a few intrusive rodentbones.
Winter2000 JOURNALOFETHNOBIOLOGY 229
The bones of the felines are very similar in size, indicating that the animals
weresimilar inageandsex. Theywerealsohealthy animals. Assessmentofindi
cators of general health routinely surveyed by investigators: cortical thickness,
osteoporosis,and thefrequency and severityofperiosteal reactions, lesionsofre
activebonegrowthresultingfromlocalizedandsystemicinfections,demonstrated
that the cats were free from these pathological conditions that commonly mark
thebones and indicateadecline inhealthstatus.
Large cats are prone to bone diseases in captivity. Osteoporosis, thinning of
thebones, isaproblemfor largefelines inzoos.Itresultsfrom inactivity, toolittle
protein, old age, and metabolic disorders (Fowler 1986). Caged felidae are also
highly susceptible to metabolicbone disease that results in a rickets-likebowing
ofthelongbones(Fowler1986).Thecorticesoftheboneswerethickandonlyone
periostealreactionwasfound. Thesingleperiostealreactionwasonthehind foot
of one animal and had fused two metatarsals. Appendicular bones were robust
withprominentmusclemarkings, andhad nosign ofrickets~likebowing.
No cut marks, dismembering marks, or skiIUling marks were found on the
feline bones that were examined. The removal ofpelts results in acharacteristic
patternofskinning marks. SkiIUlingfor pelts often makes cuts ringing the lower
metapodial where the knifehascircled theankleor wrist toloosen theskin. Car
pals,tarsals,and thebonesofthedigitsarethen removedwith thepeltand,thus,
aremissingfrom theassemblage. Ballingerfound noevidencethat thepelts were
removedafterdeath. Furtherwork,however,should includecarefulexamination
ofthebones for skinningand otherbutchering marks.
Inaddition, thevertebraemustbeexamined. Ballingerconcluded thatcrania
mayhavebeendisposed ofseparately for someofthecats. Thepaucity ofcranial
fragments compared totheamountofpost-cranial materialleadsBallingerto the
conclusionthatcraniamayhavebeendisposedofseparately.Furtheranalysismay
reveal cut marks on the first or second cervical vertebrae if the heads were re
moved beforeburial.
Theavianbones in the assemblagewerecollected from twoplaces, thesmall
shaftsadjacenttothecryptandfromthecryptitself.Thebonesofanadultmacaw,
Amsp., were found ineachshaft. Both of themacaw skeletons were missing the
pygostyle, thebone to which the tail fan attaches. Two pygostyles of the correct
sizewererecoveredfrom thecrypt,possiblytheonesmissingfrom thebirdsinthe
shafts.Thepygostyleisafragilebone,however,and mayhavebeendestroyedby
postmortemdiagenesis.Therearesevenotherpygostylesfrom otherunidentified
birdsinthecrypt.Threeoftheseprobablyarethesamespecies.Theotherfourare
two matching sets and may represent two more species. Lack of a comparative
collectionprecludedthecompleteidentificationoftheavianbones.Inall,ninetail
fanswereburiedwiththejaguars.Otherbirdbonesburied in thecryptincludeda
caudalvertebra,afragmentofa tarsometarsus,afragmentofa proximalradius,a
ribfragment, and twophalanges.Alloftheseremain unidentified.Therewereno
signsofrodentgnawing orcutmarks on theavianbones.
Preservation of the macaw bones differed for the two shafts. Burial 1 lacks
cranial bones. Thehead may have been removed at the time ofdeathbut the re
mainsweretoobrokentoproperlycheckforcutmarks.Theremainsofmore than
230 BALLINGERand STOMPEU Vol. 20,No.2
one bird may be present in thesecond shaft. Thebones removed from thesecond
shaft have more fragments of long bone and cranium than Burial 2. Differences
between thetwoshafts'contents,however,mayhavebeenaffected themicroenvi
moments of each shaft. Ballinger identified the macaws by the presence of the
beak in Burial2and acomparisonofthehvobirds. [twasdearthatpost-cranially
they were the same (Hargrave 1970). However, aU of the avian bone should be
reanalyzed with a comparativecollection at hand.
In summary, a MNI of at least fourteen large felidae, some of them Pall/hem
Ollea, were identified from thebones in the crypt. The animals were healthy with
no indicationsoflongterm protein deficiencyor inactivity. Accompanying the fe
lines were the tailfans of nine birds, including two macaws. No evidence of
butcheringor mode ofdeath was found in thisanalysis. Afull study ofthe feline
bones may reveal sex and age differences, less obvious evidence of disease, and
the mode ofdeath of the animals. Similarly, comparison of the avian material to
comparative skeletal collections may reveal the species of the unidentified mate
rial.
DISCUSSION
Natuml Historyalld EcologyoftheJagllar.-Thejaguar(Pufffhem01lea), is the largest
ofthreespeciesofspotted catnativetoCentral America (Burton1987).Classed as
abigcat, thejaguarhasashoulderheightranging from 110-155cm (Burton1987).
Thejaguarprefersa forest habitatbutcan live insavanna environments ifthere is
enough brush cover. They also live in slightly arid areas. Good swimmers and
climbers, jaguarsare primarily nocturnal feeders, sleeping during the middle of
theday (Burton 1987).
Few investigators havestudied thenatural historyofthejaguarinthewild so
most information comes from zoo studies. Many of the details about breeding
patterns come from studies of zoo animals. jaguarsare very easy to raise in cap
tivity. They breed easily and can live on two or three pounds of meal a day,
according to David Ruhter,J former Curatorof LargeAnimals, Houston Zoo (Per
sonal communication via telephone,1994). Less is known about theirbehaviorin
the wild. Large felidae are long-lived animals whose prey is normally abouthalf
theirbodyweight(SunquistandSunquist1989;Gittleman1984;Packer1986).They
usually need largeareas in which to forage and, except for lions, are solitary.
Today, the jaguar hasadapted to morecrowded habitats in CentralAmerica.
In 1983, Rabinowitz and Nottingham (1986) tracked the movements of nine jag
liars in Belize.Theauthors found that the homerangesofthejaguarsoverlapped
but that as long as prey was available, they remained on them, avoiding each
other.Analysisofscatdetermined thatin Belizejaguarsfeed onseventeenspecies
of prey (Rabinowitz and Nottingham 1986). This is consistent with reports from
otherareasto thesouth that jaguarsfeed on diverse prey: capybara, fish, peccary,
and alligator (Ewer 1973). Generally, jaguars feed nocturnally but the female in
the Belize study changed her feeding pattern to the daytime in order to exploit
cattleasprey.Thisstudysuggeststhatthejaguarisflexibleand able toadoptnew
habits as needed tosurvive (Rabinowitzand Nottingham 1986).
Winter2000 JOURNALOFETHNOBIOLOCY 231
Naturalists do not know much about the behavior of the puma in Central
America. Felisconcoloroccupiesawider rangeofhabitatsthan thejaguar, ranging
from mountains to jungles to deserts (Ewer 1973). The puma is slightly smaller
thanthejaguar. Pumadietisomnivorousintropicalclimateswheretheyconsume
several typesofrodents,fish, andothersmall game.The maincomponentoftheir
diet is deer and domesticated farm animals, although they have demonstrated
behavior flexibility in the selection ofprey species.
Thejaguarand thepuma arein almost directcompetition in CentralAmerica
becauseofthesimilarityin size,habits, and diet. Pumaarealsonocturnal feeders
unless forced to feed at other times. They are known to live nearhome ranges of
jaguars(Rabinowitz and Nottingham 1986) in Belize,but in the North American
west, their ranges are largerand donotoverlap.
Theecologyofthejaguarhas important implications for explanationsofhow
theMayaacquired atleastfourteen bigcats forritual use. Rue(1987)statesthatby
theLateClassic, thevalley washeavilydeforested resulting in a lossofhabitatfor
tropicalforestanimals. If,however,enoughbrushyareasstill existed in thevalley,
jaguarscould have survived there, given the presence of adequate prey. In gen*
eraL species that live in savanna or parkland areas have larger populations than
forest livinganimals(Berkoffetal.1984),tllllSdeforestation could lead toa slight
increase in the population ofcats in the valley. Jaguars have demonstrated their
abilitytosurvivecrowdedconditionsand theabilitytochangefeeding schedules.
Itishighlyprobably thatthey survived in a mosaicenvironment ofparkland and
brush.
Ultimately,however,access topreygovernspopulationsize.Adeforested but
stillbrushyareacould havesupported sufficientdeerandotherspeciesofpreyto,
inturn,supportasmalljaguarpopulation.Similarly,a mosaicofbrushandcleared
spaceswillsupporta white*taileddeer(OdocoilclIsvirginimll/s) populationwhereas
closed canopy forest will not (Smith 1975). Deer have small home ranges, often
living near humans and thriving. Historica.lly, deer have been an important pari
ofMaya subsistence(Mandujanoand Rico·-Gray1991)and only recentlyhavede
clined in importance as numbers decreased. Both brocket deer and white~tailed
deer feed in cleared areas of new growth near fields because tender shoots are
present there. There also may be fewer insects in young forest (Mandujano and
Rico-Gray 1991). MandUjano and Rico-Gray (1991) remarked that the decline of
Yucatan'sdeerpopulationwasdirectlyattri.butedtoover~huntingand lossofhabi
tat, a relatively new situation. Population decline was exacerbated by the loss of
native farming methods that provided browse each season after the fields were
burned,cleared, and farmers severely trimmed brushygrowth in and around the
milpas. This growth sprouted anew with the rains. Pohl (1994) proposed that
Copanecos were very likely to have raised deer in and around their homes and
fields in the valley.
Other animals available as prey are Brocket deer (Mazama sp.) and peccary
(TayasslI tayacu). Both would have doneWE,ll in thisopen,brushy habitat. Brocket
deerbrowseonthesamekindsofplantsaswhite-taileddeer: tendertwigs,shoots,
and leaves of a variety of herbaceous plants and fruits. The peccary is omnivo
rous, living in a variety of tropical habitats, including forests and dry savannas
232 BALLINGERand STOMPER Vol. 20, No.2
(Lawlor1979). Smaller prey, such aspaca, agouti, and armadilloare native to the
area and can live inbrushy environments.
TheCopan Valleycould havesupported asmall population ofbigcatseven if
it were partially deforested. Whether itcould have supported a population large
enough toprovideatleast14adultbigcats from local sources isanotherquestion.
TheCopan Valley iscomprised of26squaremilesofterritory.Ofthat, theheavily
populated Copanpocketwould havebeen too urban-likeforjaguarsor pumas to
live there. Game such as deer would have been drawn to the areas surrounding
fields furtheroutratherthan thekitchen gardensclosertothecentral site. Bigcats
would have lived farther outfrom the Main Croup atCopan.
Normally big cats have large home ranges of 15 square miles. If we assume
thatcrowdinghas limited thesizeofthehomerangeahometo5squaremiles, the
Copan Valley would only provide ranges for five jaguars at a time. Avoidance
behavior asdemonstrated in Belizewould not make it possible for moreanimals
tosurviveunlesseven with preypopulationsofveryhighdensity.Thus, the large
number of felines found in the crypt most likely resulted from a combination of
trade, hunting, and hand raising.
THEOFFERTORYCOMPLEX ANDTHE JAGUAR BURIAL
Vax Pasah, the last ruler of Copan, had begun an aggressive new bujJding
programbyraisingTemple11and makingsignificantadditionstothe WestCourt,
whereAltarQ is located includingAltarQ (Fash1991).Thealtarisan illustration
of the succession of the last ruling dynasty of the polity. Along the sides of the
altarthe namessixteen rulersareinscribed beginning with VaxKu'kMo' (Blueor
First Quetzel Macaw) and ending with Vax Pasah. Vax Pasah, by his choice of
iconography for the West Court, indicated its relationship with the underworld,
Xilbalba, and, thus, to hisancestors (Sehelcand FrcideI1990).
Vax Pasah faced serious problemsduringhisreign, includingdeforestation, a
population that wasshrinking, and a diminutionofhispower(Fash1994).Sehele
and Freidel (1990) note that most of his monuments state the cosmic sanction of
hisrule,and hypothesizethat hisreign wasmarked bycrises. Hisimpressivesac~
rifice and building program may have been an attempt to restore Copan to its
previous place in the hierarchyofmajorsites,
Structure lOL-16 was the final product of the remodeling in the West Court.
Thejaguarburial occurred atthistimeasaceremonial cache for thededication of
the last version ofStructurc L10-16. The Copenecos placed AltarQ at the base of
this structure. Vax Pasah buried at least 14 big cats in the crypt associated with
AltarQ.OncethepeopleofCopan placed thefelines inthecrypt, tail fans ofbirds
were placed there, and the crypt was then covered with three capstones. Asmall,
round, carved altar was placed next to it directly between the two shafts, Afinal
plaza floor was then laid, covering the capstones. Jaguars and other spotted cats
had an unknown but important ritual significance atCopan. Pohl (1994) remarks
that while skeletons of spotted cats were often cached in ritual contexts by the
Maya, Copan has more such caches than any othel' site. All of these have so far
been found in elite contexts. Pohl (1994) considers them a measure of the high