The Essence of Maya Volume 1 in the Discover the Maya World series. This work was first published in August 2011 by CACCIANI, S.A. de C.V. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Cover drawing by Jovan Rabel Guzmán Gómez, showing K inich Ahkal Mo Nahb III, Lintel of Temple XIX (detail), Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.
Fundación Cultural Armella Spitalier contacto@fundacionarmella.org www.fundacionarmella.org Photo: Luis Alberto Martos López. Base of the stairway of the Ossuary at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico, 2006.
C ontents 1. The Essence of Maya...6 Formal Characteristics Functional Characteristics 2. Geographic Setting...25 Southern Highlands Central Maya Area Northern Lowlands Pacific Coast 3.The Path to Power Historical and Cultural Development of the Maya Area...36 Origins Middle Preclassic Consolidation of Maya Identity Late Preclassic The Rise of the Great Cities Early Classic Dawn of a Great Civilization Late Classic Splendor and Decline of the Maya Early Postclassic Cultural Renewal and Formation of New Centers of Power Late Postclassic New Political Division and Arrival of the Spanish 4. Social, Economic, and Political Structure of the Maya... 59 Economic Bases The Lord and His People Sociopolitical Structure Photo: Esteban Mirón Marván. Columns adjacent to the Temple of the Warriors at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico, 2008. Segmentary and Unitary States 5. Conquest and Colony in the Yucatán...71 Conclusion...75 Glossary...78 Notes and Bibliography...83 Editorial Board...85 Credits...86
The day shall also come when we will return to power. Then the earth will flourish, and the tribe of the Yucatán Maya will revive with dignity. 1
The Essence of Maya For their great achievements and advances in the fields of both science and art, the Maya are considered the most original and sophisticated ancient culture of the American continents. Already in the sixteenth century, the Spaniards marveled at the complexity of this civilization and the splendor of its architecture. For example, in his Relación de las cosas de Yucatán (Account of the Things of the Yucatán), the priest Fray Diego de Landa highlights the grandiosity of the monuments of Izamal, Chichén Itzá, Mayapán, and T hó, the ancient city of Puuc that was painstakingly destroyed to proudly found Mérida, the very heart of Spanish dominion in the northern Maya lands. Despite these early impressions, not until the nineteenth century would explorers and travelers acquaint the modern world with the spectacular Maya cities that lay hidden in the jungles of southwest Mexico and Central America. These same sites offer valuable evidence today of a unique culture, one that underwent astonishing development which would only be possible within the framework of social, political, and economic organization. Photo: Patricia Carrillo Medrano. Partial view of El Castillo, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 2006. CONTENTS 6
Frederick Catherwood. Detail of the stairs and one of the plumed serpents descending from El Castillo, Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico, 1843 (lithograph). As more and more travelers visited the region and gave reports of the spectacular Maya sites, myths about this culture began to spread, inspired by the travelers amazement at these enigmatic cities. It was only natural to wonder who had built and lived in them, a question that gave rise to myriad hypotheses on their true origin. Thus, for example, for the explorer Augustus Le Plongeon (1825-1908), the only possible explanation for how such a culture could have developed in America was that it was the work of immigrants from Atlantis, an idea taken up again by his wife, Alice Dixon Le Plongeon (1851 1910), for the plot of her work Queen Móo s Talisman. CONTENTS The Essence of Maya 7
Photo: Luis Alberto Martos López. Panorama of the inner precinct at Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 2006. After the Second World War new myths fired the imagination, idealizing Maya culture. Scholars tried to find in the Maya an exemplary society a unique civilization in which aggression and warfare had no place; a people that lived in harmony throughout its history and came to realize grand achievements under the beneficent, peaceful, and wise leadership of its kings and priests. It was only logical, following the bleak horrors of the war, to long for the existence of a peaceful society devoted to agriculture, commerce, the observation of the heavens, and the development of the arts and sciences. As research advanced, however, the myth collapsed. Notwithstanding their accomplishments, we know today that warfare among the Maya was as common as their mathematic calculations or agricultural techniques. Based on this research, and shedding all myths and hypotheses, we shall attempt to identify the essence of Maya. What elements define this peculiar culture that forms part of the Mesoamerican mosaic? There is no simple answer, given that this was a civilization that developed great knowledge in science and the arts. But exhaustive analysis of archaeological, historical, and epigraphic findings brings us closer to understanding Maya essence. Its defining characteristics fall into two general categories: formal and functional. On the seacoast there are some caverns, on the coast of Polé [Xcaret] and Ascension Bay, that hurl water up among the hollows within the crags and rise more than two spears high. Fray Diego de Landa Frederick Catherwood. Zoomorphic altar stela, Copán, Honduras, 1841 (lithograph). CONTENTS The Essence of Maya 8
Frederick Catherwood. El Castillo, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 1843 (lithograph).
INAH 1323-684 FCAS Collection Polychrome codex-style drinking vessel with a concave base, convex bottom, outward-curving walls, and slender rim. It is classified as a codex because of the paintings alluding to a deity, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures, and glyphic inscriptions. This piece is illustrated with three richly attired figures framed by geometric elements. The one shown in the photograph holds a scepter in his left hand a distinctive attribute of rulers or priests.
Formal Characteristics Some of the formal characteristics that define Maya essence are the following: 1. The development of an artistic style characterized by certain conventions of perspective, mainly flat or bidimensional, with a particular subject matter and iconography expressed in its architecture, sculpture, painting, ceramics, and stonework. The sculptural monuments consist of stelae, lintels, panels, tablets, and freestanding sculptures. In reliefs and paintings, the human figure is generally represented with the face shown in profile and the body frontally, emphasizing physical features and attire. The subject matter usually relates to the dynastic history of the Lords, their conquests, marriages, alliances, and rituals. There are also allusions to deities and their symbology; in ceramics there are scenes of daily life, as well as myths and legends. Photo: Esteban Mirón Marván. Stela N, Copán, Honduras, 2008. 2. A logosyllabic writing system expressed in stone reliefs or modeled in stucco, mural painting, painted books, ceramics, woodcarving, and sgraffito in various materials such as jade, shell, and bone. Maya writing combines logograms (glyphs that express words, actions, or titles) with phonetic characters corresponding to syllables. For that reason the office of the scribe, or Aj Dzib, was specialized and required study. Photo: Patricia Carrillo Medrano. Stucco mask, Edzná, Campeche, Mexico, 2006. Photo: Patricia Carrillo Medrano. Stucco glyphs with remnants of blue and red paint. This beautiful text, written in A.D. 708, conveyed a mythological scene. Palacio de Toniná, Chiapas, Mexico, 2006. CONTENTS 11