In Search of Middle Preclassic Lowland Maya Ideologies

Abstract

Little is known about Middle Preclassic/Formative lowland Maya belief systems or ideologies, compared to later periods, but with increasing research at Middle Preclassic sites and recognition of their nascent complexity, this topic merits investigation. Belief systems are investigated through perspectives on materialization (of ideological concepts); on order, legitimacy, and wealth; and on cooperation drawn from collective/corporate action theory and costly signaling (selectionist) theory. Early lowland belief systems are partially outgrowths of Archaic period hunter-gatherer, “tribal” lifeways, and some concepts about cosmology and supernatural forces may be pan-Mesoamerican and pan-New World (e.g., quadripartition; animacy of objects). The best-known early Mesoamerican belief system is that of the Early and Middle Formative Gulf Coast Olmecs and related peoples (especially in Oaxaca) beginning around 1700 BC or so. Middle Preclassic lowland Maya ideologies (considered primarily in terms of power relations) are examined and compared with those of the Olmecs in four material domains: site plans, landscapes, and architecture; sculpture; portable material culture; and iconography. Comparisons reveal significant differences between Maya and Olmec, visible in Olmec materializations of leaders’ power: massive sculptures and exotic goods (costly signaling). Early Maya ideology and concepts of order (including cooperation) and legitimacy (including corporate political strategies) were rooted in beliefs and myths about the creation of the world and its creatures (including humans), about cosmic renewal (especially solar movements), and about time.