Pub Date : 2024-03-04DOI: 10.1017/s0956536123000275
Mary Kate Kelly, Olivia Navarro-Farr, David A. Freidel, Juan Carlos Pérez Calderón, Griselda Pérez Robles
The Kaan (“Snake”) kings, a powerful political entity in the Classic Maya Lowlands, were housed in the Early Classic period at Dzibanche, and they moved their capital to Calakmul by the year a.d. 642 (Helmke and Awe 2016; Martin 2020:138–139). Their network of alliance and intermarriage radiated southward, and Waka's early eighth-century queen, Lady K'abel, was from the Kaan bloodline and married in to the Wak lineage, exemplifying the close connection between the two political entities. The discovery of Stela 44 in tunneling efforts in M13-1, the city's important ritual center, allows us to trace political ties between the Kaan and Wak kings to significantly earlier than previously known, which seem to begin around the mid-sixth century. This monument provides insight into three converging lines of evidence supporting the profound alliance these elites had built: first, the accession of a Wak king, Wa'oom Uch'ab Ahk, under the supervision of the Kaan king K'ahk’ Ti’ Ch'ich’; second, the father of the new king, Chak Tok Ich'aak, seems to be connected to La Corona, another early Kaan ally; and third, the mother of Wa'oom Uch'ab Ahk, Ix Ikoom, is also connected to La Corona and the broader Kaan hegemony through her title ix sak wahyis.
Kaan（"蛇"）国王是古典玛雅低地一个强大的政治实体，他们在古典早期居住在 Dzibanche，公元 642 年迁都到 Calakmul（Helmke 和 Awe，2016 年；Martin，2020:138-139）。他们的联盟和通婚网络向南辐射，瓦卡八世纪早期的王后卡贝尔夫人就来自卡安血统，并与瓦克血统通婚，这充分体现了两个政治实体之间的密切联系。在该城重要的祭祀中心 M13-1 的隧道挖掘工作中发现了第 44 号石碑，这使我们能够追溯到卡安国王和瓦克国王之间的政治联系，这种联系似乎始于六世纪中叶，比以前所知的要早得多。这座纪念碑为我们提供了三条汇集在一起的证据线索，支持这些精英建立的深厚联盟：第一，在卡昂国王 K'ahk' Ti' Ch'ich' 的监督下，瓦克国王 Wa'oom Uch'ab Ahk 即位；第二，新国王 Chak Tok Ich'aak 的父亲似乎与另一位早期卡昂盟友 La Corona 有关；第三，Wa'om Uch'ab Ahk 的母亲 Ix Ikoom 也通过她的头衔 ix sak wahyis 与 La Corona 和更广泛的卡昂霸权有关。
{"title":"Waka’ Stela 44 and the Early Classic Kaan hegemony","authors":"Mary Kate Kelly, Olivia Navarro-Farr, David A. Freidel, Juan Carlos Pérez Calderón, Griselda Pérez Robles","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000275","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000275","url":null,"abstract":"The Kaan (“Snake”) kings, a powerful political entity in the Classic Maya Lowlands, were housed in the Early Classic period at Dzibanche, and they moved their capital to Calakmul by the year <jats:sc>a.d.</jats:sc> 642 (Helmke and Awe 2016; Martin 2020:138–139). Their network of alliance and intermarriage radiated southward, and Waka's early eighth-century queen, Lady K'abel, was from the Kaan bloodline and married in to the Wak lineage, exemplifying the close connection between the two political entities. The discovery of Stela 44 in tunneling efforts in M13-1, the city's important ritual center, allows us to trace political ties between the Kaan and Wak kings to significantly earlier than previously known, which seem to begin around the mid-sixth century. This monument provides insight into three converging lines of evidence supporting the profound alliance these elites had built: first, the accession of a Wak king, Wa'oom Uch'ab Ahk, under the supervision of the Kaan king K'ahk’ Ti’ Ch'ich’; second, the father of the new king, Chak Tok Ich'aak, seems to be connected to La Corona, another early Kaan ally; and third, the mother of Wa'oom Uch'ab Ahk, Ix Ikoom, is also connected to La Corona and the broader Kaan hegemony through her title <jats:italic>ix sak wahyis</jats:italic>.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140035591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-04DOI: 10.1017/s0956536123000329
Anna S. Cohen
Stylistic shifts in ceramics are often linked with sociopolitical changes, yet adopting new ceramic designs may indicate anything from shared aesthetic appeal to emulation. Focusing on multiple ceramic technologies is critical for understanding ceramic changes as they relate to wider social fluctuations. The relationships between clay and ceramic recipes, and communities of practice, have not been studied at the urban landscape of Angamuco, Michoacán in western Mexico. Petrographic and geochemical analyses of tempers and fabrics indicate that ceramics, including imperial Purépecha (a.d. 1350–1530) vessels, were created from local and regional materials, and that these materials remained relatively stable for over 1,000 years. Ceramic archaeometry in western Mexico has been relatively limited compared to other parts of Mesoamerica, and this study may be compared to future studies in the region.
{"title":"Potting communities and conservatism in the Purépecha empire at Angamuco, Michoacán, Mexico","authors":"Anna S. Cohen","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000329","url":null,"abstract":"Stylistic shifts in ceramics are often linked with sociopolitical changes, yet adopting new ceramic designs may indicate anything from shared aesthetic appeal to emulation. Focusing on multiple ceramic technologies is critical for understanding ceramic changes as they relate to wider social fluctuations. The relationships between clay and ceramic recipes, and communities of practice, have not been studied at the urban landscape of Angamuco, Michoacán in western Mexico. Petrographic and geochemical analyses of tempers and fabrics indicate that ceramics, including imperial Purépecha (<jats:sc>a.d.</jats:sc> 1350–1530) vessels, were created from local and regional materials, and that these materials remained relatively stable for over 1,000 years. Ceramic archaeometry in western Mexico has been relatively limited compared to other parts of Mesoamerica, and this study may be compared to future studies in the region.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140035615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-04DOI: 10.1017/s0956536123000263
Bradford W. Andrews, Angela C. Huster, Michael E. Smith
We describe an analysis of the flaked stone tools recovered from households in the Postclassic central Mexican city of Calixtlahuaca (a.d. 1130–1530). Most artifacts are obsidian and represent the blade-core technology, but biface and bipolar artifacts are also represented. Even though household residents were involved in limited biface and bipolar reduction, it appears that the city did not have any resident blade producers. This finding is at odds with the views of many archaeologists, who tend to associate craft production with the emergence of complex Mesoamerican urban centers. We examine the technologies from temporally distinct Calixtlahuacan household assemblages. We discuss why the quantity and quality artifacts associated with blade production are not consistent with resident blade making in the city. Finally, we examine four models for blade provisioning: (1) whole-blade trade, (2) processed-blade trade, (3) long-distance itinerant craftsmen, and (4) local, hinterland-based craftsmen. Evaluating how the Calixtlahuacans got their flaked stone tools has important implications for the comparative understanding of the organization and scale of economic provisioning systems in Postclassic central Mexico. This analysis supports new inferences about the nature of commercial networks that supplied the Toluca Valley prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century.
{"title":"Lithic tool provisioning in the western Aztec provinces: A view from Calixtlahuaca","authors":"Bradford W. Andrews, Angela C. Huster, Michael E. Smith","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000263","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000263","url":null,"abstract":"We describe an analysis of the flaked stone tools recovered from households in the Postclassic central Mexican city of Calixtlahuaca (<jats:sc>a.d.</jats:sc> 1130–1530). Most artifacts are obsidian and represent the blade-core technology, but biface and bipolar artifacts are also represented. Even though household residents were involved in limited biface and bipolar reduction, it appears that the city did not have any resident blade producers. This finding is at odds with the views of many archaeologists, who tend to associate craft production with the emergence of complex Mesoamerican urban centers. We examine the technologies from temporally distinct Calixtlahuacan household assemblages. We discuss why the quantity and quality artifacts associated with blade production are not consistent with resident blade making in the city. Finally, we examine four models for blade provisioning: (1) whole-blade trade, (2) processed-blade trade, (3) long-distance itinerant craftsmen, and (4) local, hinterland-based craftsmen. Evaluating how the Calixtlahuacans got their flaked stone tools has important implications for the comparative understanding of the organization and scale of economic provisioning systems in Postclassic central Mexico. This analysis supports new inferences about the nature of commercial networks that supplied the Toluca Valley prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140035618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-04DOI: 10.1017/s0956536123000317
David F. Mora-Marín
This article studies the duplication diacritic of Epigraphic Mayan (ISO 639-3 emy) during the Classic period (a.d. 200–900). Cataloged as grapheme 22A, it consists of two dots optionally and rarely affixed to another grapheme to command the reader, in the majority of cases, to read a syllabogram twice in sequence. This article reviews prior literature on the diacritic, elaborates a typology of four distinct but ultimately related functions, and employs a data set compiled by means of the Maya Hieroglyphic Database to determine via statistical tests whether scriptal, linguistic, media, geographic, and temporal factors were influential in its distribution, and more narrowly, its various functions. The results indicate that two lexemes, käkäw ‘cacao’ and k'ahk’ ‘fire,’ account for several of the scriptal and linguistic traits that show significant relationships with 22A, with the former, käkäw, likely serving as a major prototype in the evolution of 22A. It is also pointed out that 22A is absent from the Postclassic (a.d. 900–1521) codices, suggesting that one of the Classic regional subtraditions with lowest frequency of use of 22A may have been a direct ancestor of the subtraditions responsible for the codices.
{"title":"The duplication diacritic: A case study of variation and change in Mayan writing","authors":"David F. Mora-Marín","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000317","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000317","url":null,"abstract":"This article studies the duplication diacritic of Epigraphic Mayan (ISO 639-3 emy) during the Classic period (<jats:sc>a.d.</jats:sc> 200–900). Cataloged as grapheme 22A, it consists of two dots optionally and rarely affixed to another grapheme to command the reader, in the majority of cases, to read a syllabogram twice in sequence. This article reviews prior literature on the diacritic, elaborates a typology of four distinct but ultimately related functions, and employs a data set compiled by means of the Maya Hieroglyphic Database to determine via statistical tests whether scriptal, linguistic, media, geographic, and temporal factors were influential in its distribution, and more narrowly, its various functions. The results indicate that two lexemes, <jats:italic>käkäw</jats:italic> ‘cacao’ and <jats:italic>k'ahk’</jats:italic> ‘fire,’ account for several of the scriptal and linguistic traits that show significant relationships with 22A, with the former, <jats:italic>käkäw</jats:italic>, likely serving as a major prototype in the evolution of 22A. It is also pointed out that 22A is absent from the Postclassic (<jats:sc>a.d.</jats:sc> 900–1521) codices, suggesting that one of the Classic regional subtraditions with lowest frequency of use of 22A may have been a direct ancestor of the subtraditions responsible for the codices.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140035592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sounds produced by humans and their environment are perceived and codified based on people's experiences as members of social groups, resulting in some sounds being used as means of communication. In this article, we present an archaeoacoustic study of diverse types of instruments excavated or collected from Comalcalco and Jonuta, two important pre-Hispanic Maya sites located in the modern state of Tabasco (Mexico). We propose a methodology to analyze organological and acoustic characteristics for each type of instrument, considering their relevant archaeological information, so as to provide some interpretations of how sounds could have been materialized, shared, and used in specific moments of Maya ritual and daily life.
{"title":"Sounds in context: Archaeoacoustical studies of instruments from Comalcalco and Jonuta, pre-Hispanic Maya sites","authors":"Francisca Zalaquett, Miriam Judith Gallegos, Ricardo Armijo, Dulce Espino","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000251","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Sounds produced by humans and their environment are perceived and codified based on people's experiences as members of social groups, resulting in some sounds being used as means of communication. In this article, we present an archaeoacoustic study of diverse types of instruments excavated or collected from Comalcalco and Jonuta, two important pre-Hispanic Maya sites located in the modern state of Tabasco (Mexico). We propose a methodology to analyze organological and acoustic characteristics for each type of instrument, considering their relevant archaeological information, so as to provide some interpretations of how sounds could have been materialized, shared, and used in specific moments of Maya ritual and daily life.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2023-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138945896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-18DOI: 10.1017/s0956536123000214
Eleanor Harrison-Buck
Abstract In this study, I use the type-variety-mode analysis to define the diagnostic ceramic material for the Ik'hubil Ceramic Complex dating to the Terminal Classic (ca. a.d. 780–930/1000). The percentages of shared ceramic content indicate that multiple sites in the mid-to-lower Sibun Valley are members of an Ik'hubil Ceramic Sphere. My preliminary analyses of sites in the lower Belize River valley suggest that the Ik'hubil Sphere may extend across a broader area of north-central Belize during the Terminal Classic, discrete from the Spanish Lookout Sphere in the upper Belize Valley. Northern Yucatec traits are identified in ceramics and architecture in the eastern Sibun and Belize Valleys, along with marked changes in foodways. The presence of trading diasporas and more intimate social relationships, such as intermarriage, may explain this mix of local and hybrid forms of material culture introduced by the ninth century in this part of the eastern Maya Lowlands.
在这项研究中，我使用类型-品种-模式分析来定义可追溯到终端经典(ca. ad . 780-930/1000)的Ik'hubil陶瓷复合体的诊断陶瓷材料。共享陶瓷含量的百分比表明，锡本河谷中下游的多个遗址是一个伊赫比尔陶瓷球的成员。我对伯利兹河谷下游遗址的初步分析表明，Ik'hubil球体可能在终端经典时期延伸到伯利兹中北部更广阔的地区，与伯利兹河谷上游的西班牙瞭望球区分开。在东部锡本和伯利兹山谷的陶瓷和建筑中可以发现北尤卡坦人的特征，同时在饮食方式上也有明显的变化。贸易散居者的存在和更亲密的社会关系，如异族通婚，可能解释了9世纪在玛雅东部低地的这一部分引入的地方和混合形式的物质文化的混合。
{"title":"Establishing the Terminal Classic Ik'hubil Ceramic Sphere in the Eastern Maya Lowlands of Belize","authors":"Eleanor Harrison-Buck","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000214","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this study, I use the type-variety-mode analysis to define the diagnostic ceramic material for the Ik'hubil Ceramic Complex dating to the Terminal Classic (ca. a.d. 780–930/1000). The percentages of shared ceramic content indicate that multiple sites in the mid-to-lower Sibun Valley are members of an Ik'hubil Ceramic Sphere. My preliminary analyses of sites in the lower Belize River valley suggest that the Ik'hubil Sphere may extend across a broader area of north-central Belize during the Terminal Classic, discrete from the Spanish Lookout Sphere in the upper Belize Valley. Northern Yucatec traits are identified in ceramics and architecture in the eastern Sibun and Belize Valleys, along with marked changes in foodways. The presence of trading diasporas and more intimate social relationships, such as intermarriage, may explain this mix of local and hybrid forms of material culture introduced by the ninth century in this part of the eastern Maya Lowlands.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135883745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-18DOI: 10.1017/s0956536123000172
Keith Eppich, Joseph W. Ball
Abstract This article revisits a long-neglected site in Northern Belize, the Classic Maya settlement of El Pozito, located in the Orange Walk District. Investigations led by Mary Neivens and Dennis Puleston explored the site between 1974 and 1976, documenting its architecture and recovering a substantial quantity of artifacts. Afterward, events conspired to bring these investigations to a close, leaving the site in a half-century scholarly limbo. The research here seeks to rectify this. Combining extant field notes with sporadic publications and recently conducted ceramic analysis, the authors reconstructed El Pozito's sequence of construction, occupation, and usage over 20 centuries. This new research revealed a settlement of surprising complexity, combining aspects of urban functionality amid a landscape of rural complexity. This article argues that the best way to understand such complexity is through the conceptual lens of a “town.” Neither a city nor a dispersed rural settlement, El Pozito functioned as a critical node that connected local, agrarian Maya with each other as well as the whole of the Classic Maya world. In this way, the research here seeks to rehabilitate this site, rescue it from its scholarly limbo, and restore its place in understanding the complex pre-Columbian landscapes of Northern Belize.
{"title":"Rehabilitating El Pozito, Northern Belize: a Classic Maya town and its socioeconomic history as reflected in ceramics and architecture","authors":"Keith Eppich, Joseph W. Ball","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000172","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article revisits a long-neglected site in Northern Belize, the Classic Maya settlement of El Pozito, located in the Orange Walk District. Investigations led by Mary Neivens and Dennis Puleston explored the site between 1974 and 1976, documenting its architecture and recovering a substantial quantity of artifacts. Afterward, events conspired to bring these investigations to a close, leaving the site in a half-century scholarly limbo. The research here seeks to rectify this. Combining extant field notes with sporadic publications and recently conducted ceramic analysis, the authors reconstructed El Pozito's sequence of construction, occupation, and usage over 20 centuries. This new research revealed a settlement of surprising complexity, combining aspects of urban functionality amid a landscape of rural complexity. This article argues that the best way to understand such complexity is through the conceptual lens of a “town.” Neither a city nor a dispersed rural settlement, El Pozito functioned as a critical node that connected local, agrarian Maya with each other as well as the whole of the Classic Maya world. In this way, the research here seeks to rehabilitate this site, rescue it from its scholarly limbo, and restore its place in understanding the complex pre-Columbian landscapes of Northern Belize.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135883617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-25DOI: 10.1017/s0956536123000226
Daniel Prusaczyk
Abstract This article presents and analyzes a newly discovered petroglyph from Tetzcotzinco (mun. Texcoco, Mexico) in the form of arranged pecked dots. Based on what is known about Mesoamerican divinatory systems, calendars, and the perception of space, the interpretation takes into account both the encoded numerical values and the layout of the dots. The main argument is that this and similar representations’ function was not limited to simple counting of days or serving as a kind of astronomical marker, in which the arms of the cross indicated, for example, equinoxes, which is by far their most common interpretation in academic literature. Instead, it represented calendrical cycles through the numbers, as suggested by some scholars. Based on this hypothesis, the article explores the possible connection between numbers registered in Tetzcotzinco's “pecked cross” and specific diagrams from indigenous divinatory books. Therefore, the plausible interpretation of the symbolism of this petroglyph is that it either expressed a series of meanings related to the agrarian period(s) and rain god(s) or less-known Mesoamerican calendrical cycles, such as half trecenas or seven- and nine-day periods.
{"title":"From simple row of dots to the rain god calendar: Interpretation of the pecked cross petroglyph from the Late Postclassic Tetzcotzinco","authors":"Daniel Prusaczyk","doi":"10.1017/s0956536123000226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536123000226","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article presents and analyzes a newly discovered petroglyph from Tetzcotzinco (mun. Texcoco, Mexico) in the form of arranged pecked dots. Based on what is known about Mesoamerican divinatory systems, calendars, and the perception of space, the interpretation takes into account both the encoded numerical values and the layout of the dots. The main argument is that this and similar representations’ function was not limited to simple counting of days or serving as a kind of astronomical marker, in which the arms of the cross indicated, for example, equinoxes, which is by far their most common interpretation in academic literature. Instead, it represented calendrical cycles through the numbers, as suggested by some scholars. Based on this hypothesis, the article explores the possible connection between numbers registered in Tetzcotzinco's “pecked cross” and specific diagrams from indigenous divinatory books. Therefore, the plausible interpretation of the symbolism of this petroglyph is that it either expressed a series of meanings related to the agrarian period(s) and rain god(s) or less-known Mesoamerican calendrical cycles, such as half trecenas or seven- and nine-day periods.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135816762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-14DOI: 10.1017/s0956536121000602
Chloé Andrieu, Naya Cadalen
Abstract Although iron-ore mirrors are commonly found in the Maya area, very few workshops are known to date. Cancuen, Guatemala, is one of the few sites to show evidence of iron-ore production during the Late Classic ( a.d. 600–800). This article reviews all the available data on this material in Cancuen in light of the recent excavations, and, by combining spatial and technological analysis, proposes to shed new light on the spatial organization of this production. By comparing the composition and the social context of production in Cancuen with that of Aguateca (Inomata and Eberl 2014), we suggest that there was a division of tasks between sites in which Cancuen's artisans were involved in the first stage of the production of luxury goods, whereas other stages, such as the arrangement of the tesserae on the supports and their repolishing, were more socially invested and made by elite artists at the recipient sites.
虽然在玛雅地区经常发现铁矿镜，但迄今为止已知的作坊很少。危地马拉的坎昆是少数几个在古典晚期(公元600-800年)显示出铁矿石生产证据的地点之一。本文根据最近的挖掘，回顾了坎昆关于这些材料的所有可用数据，并通过结合空间和技术分析，提出了对这一生产的空间组织的新见解。通过比较坎昆与阿Aguateca的生产构成和社会背景(Inomata and Eberl 2014)，我们认为坎昆的工匠参与了奢侈品生产的第一阶段，而其他阶段，如在支架上的镶嵌和再抛光，则更多地由社会投入，并由接收地点的精英艺术家完成。
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Pub Date : 2023-09-14DOI: 10.1017/s0956536121000535
Emiliano Gallaga, Emiliano Melgar, Lynneth Lowe
Abstract Smith and Kidder (1951:44) were among the first to highlight pyrite pre-Hispanic mirrors as “marvels of painstaking craftsmanship.” These mirrors present reflective surfaces consisting of 20–50 pyrite tesserae with beveled edges, perfectly cut, and average 2 mm in thickness. The first known examples of mirrors in Mesoamerica were the “Olmec” type—a concave mirror created from a single hematite piece developed during the Middle Preclassic period. Later, in the Classic period, pyrite mosaic mirrors replaced them. Unfortunately, we do not understand the changes from one type to the other. In this work, we present two pyrite mirrors found at the site of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico, dating around 700–500 b.c. , as possible forerunners of Classic pyrite mirrors. Also, we present traceological analysis of their manufacturing process using experimental archaeology and scanning electron microscopy. Based on these examinations, we identify likely materials and techniques employed in crafting them. We posit that production of these mirrors could have been the result of the development of specialized artisans at distinct workshops, increasing the complexity and labor investment in the lapidary objects as prestige goods.
{"title":"The mirrors from Chiapa de Corzo: an early example for the Classic pyrite mirrors?","authors":"Emiliano Gallaga, Emiliano Melgar, Lynneth Lowe","doi":"10.1017/s0956536121000535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536121000535","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Smith and Kidder (1951:44) were among the first to highlight pyrite pre-Hispanic mirrors as “marvels of painstaking craftsmanship.” These mirrors present reflective surfaces consisting of 20–50 pyrite tesserae with beveled edges, perfectly cut, and average 2 mm in thickness. The first known examples of mirrors in Mesoamerica were the “Olmec” type—a concave mirror created from a single hematite piece developed during the Middle Preclassic period. Later, in the Classic period, pyrite mosaic mirrors replaced them. Unfortunately, we do not understand the changes from one type to the other. In this work, we present two pyrite mirrors found at the site of Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico, dating around 700–500 b.c. , as possible forerunners of Classic pyrite mirrors. Also, we present traceological analysis of their manufacturing process using experimental archaeology and scanning electron microscopy. Based on these examinations, we identify likely materials and techniques employed in crafting them. We posit that production of these mirrors could have been the result of the development of specialized artisans at distinct workshops, increasing the complexity and labor investment in the lapidary objects as prestige goods.","PeriodicalId":46480,"journal":{"name":"Ancient Mesoamerica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134912350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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