Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya: Volume 2: Data and Case Studies

431 Pages·2001·45.508 MB·English

by  Takeshi Inomata, Stephen D. Houston

Royal Courts of
the Ancient Maya,
Volume Two:
Data and Case Studies
EDITED BY
Takeshi Inomata
University of Arizona
AND
Stephen D. Houston
Brigham Young University
~estview
P. I I I
A l\1ember of the Perseus Books Group
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Copyright© 2001 by Westview Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group
Published in 2001 in the United States of America by Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue,
Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877, and in the United Kingdom by Westview Press, 12 Hid's
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Royal courts of the ancient Maya/ edited by Takes hi Inomata and Stephen D. Houston.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents: v. 2. Data and case studies
ISBN 0-8133-3880-8 (pbk)
1. Mayas-Kings and rulers. 2. Maya architecture. 3. Mayas-Antiquities.
4. Inscriptions, Mayan. 5. Royal houses-Mexico. 6. Royal houses-Central America.
7. Mexico-Antiquities. 8. Central America-Antiquities. I. Inomata, Takeshi, Ph. D.
II. Houston, Stephen D.
F1435.3.K55 R69 2000
972.81 '016-dc21
00-063306
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Stan
dard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials 239.48-1984.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
To the memory of
Floyd Lounsbury

Contents
List of Tables and Illustrations ix
Preface xix
1 The Architecture of Early Kingship: Comparative
Perspectives on the Origins of the Maya Royal Court,
John E. Clark and Richard D. Hansen 1
2 The Royal Court of Early Classic Copan, Loa P. Traxler 46
3 Thrones and Throne Structures in the Central Acropolis of
Tikal as an Expression of the Royal Court, Peter D. Harrison 74
4 The Royal Court of Caracol, Belize: Its Palaces and People,
Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase 102
5 Palaces and Thrones Tied to the Destiny of the Royal Courts
in the Maya Lowlands, Juml A11tonio Valdes 138
6 The Buenavista-Cahal Pech Royal Court: Multi-Palace
Court Mobility and Usage in a Petty Lowland Maya Kingdom,
Joseph W. Ball and Jennifer T. Taschek 165
7 Life at Court: The View from Bonampak, Mary Miller 201
8 Triadic Temples, Central Plazas and Dynastic Palaces:
A Diachronic Analysis of the Royal Court Complex,
Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico, William J. Folan, Joel D. Gwm,
Maria del Rosario Dominguez Carrasco 223
vii
l'iii Ctmtc11ts
9 Post-Classic and Terminal Classic Courts of the Northern Maya
Lowlands, William M. Riltgle and George f. Bey III 266
10 Post-Classic Maya Courts of the Guatemalan Highlands:
Archaeological and Ethnohistorical Approaches,
Geoffrey E. Braswell 308
11 The People of the Patio: Ethnohistorical Evidence of
Yucatec Maya Royal Courts, Matthew Restall 335
List of Contributors 391
Index 395
Tables and Illustrations
Tables
5.1 Dimensions of Palace H-Sub 2 of Uaxactun (in meters)
5.2 Dimensions of Palace H-Sub 5 of Uaxactun (in meters)
8.1 Chronological Sequence of Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico
11.1 Courtly Meetings in Conquest Times: Some Examples of Maya
Summits, circa 1530-1600
11.2 Yucatan's Ruling Dynasties at the Time of the Spanish Conquest,
circa 1520-1570
11.3 The Officers of the Court: Political Offices in Yucatan,
circa 1400-1800
11.4 Some Examples of Maya Courtly Retinues, circa 1440-1700
11.5 The Yaxakumche Branch of the Xiu Lineage
11.6 Maya Origin Myth References in the Ethnohistorical Sources
Figures
1.1 Map of Middle Pre-Classic centers showing the locations of sites
mentioned in the text (circles) and those built on the MFC
pattern (squares).
1.2 Site plan of early La Venta, Tabasco, Mexico (adapted from
Gonzalez Lauck 1996:Figure 1).
1.3 Site plan of early Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico.
1.4 Site plan of Mirador, Chiapas.
1.5 Site plan of La Libertad, Chiapas.
1.6 Site plan of early Nakbe, Peten, Guatemala.
1.7 Group 18 at Nakbe, a possible royal compound (redrawn from
Martinez and Hansen 1993:Figure 8).
1.8 Early E-Group at Tikal (redrawn from Fialko 1988: Figure 3).
1.9 Plaza Eat Uaxactun during the Pre-Classic (redrawn from Rosal et
al. 1993:Figure 34).
1.10 Site plan of the ceremonial center of Protoclassic Chiapa de Corzo.
ix
x Tables a11d Il/ustratio11s
1.11 Plan of the Mound 5, A.D. 100 palace at Chiapa de Corzo (redrawn
from Lowe 1962:Figure 46).
1.12 Reconstruction of the Mound 5 palace at Chiapa de Corzo (by Ayax
Moreno).
1.13 Pottery assemblage from Cache 17-1, Mound 17, Chiapa de Corzo,
which has the same vessel forms and proportions as those from
Mound 5, chamber B (from Lowe 1962:Figure 34).
2.1 Motmot Marker (drawing by Barbara Fash).
2.2 Detail from carved peccary skull found in Tomb 1 (drawing by
Barbara Fash).
2.3 Plan of Main Group at the site of Copan, Honduras (based on Fash
1991:Figure 1).
2.4 ECAP preliminary plan of Yune Platform and early structures of
the royal compound (Traxler).
2.5 ECAP preliminary plan of Witik Platform and structures of the
royal compound during the reign of Ruler 2 (Traxler).
2.6 ECAP preliminary plan of royal compound late in the reign of
· Ruler 2 showing initial masonry palace structures that replaced
adobe predecessors (Traxler).
2.7 ECAP preliminary plan of royal compound with masonry palace
groups (Traxler).
3.1 Map of Central Tikal. The Central Acropolis is located at the center
of the city, adjacent to Temples I and II.
3.2 Detail of the ceremonial center of the city with the religious
temples to the north and the more secular palaces of the Central
Acropolis in close proximity to the south.
3.3 Painted scene on a burial vessel from Tikal showing presentation of
a jaguar skin (Kerr, File No. 2697). Note also the livery of the
tribute-givers and the fringed cover of the throne (courtesy of
Kerr Associates).
3.4 This simple reception scene from Burial116 (Hasaw Chan K'awil)
illustrates a throne type that has not been found at Tikal, unless
the decoration is assumed painted (from Tikal Report No. 25,
Part A, Culbert, Figure 69A; courtesy of the University of
Pennsylvania Museum).
3.5 Drawing of a segment of the Carved Lintel2 of Temple III showing
Nu Bak Chak II in front of his portable throne. Details from the
right end of the throne are clear (after Tikal Report No. 33, Part
A, Jones and Satterthwaite, Figure 72; courtesy of the University
of Pennsylvania Museum).
3.6 Artist's conception of a reconstruction of the portable throne
shown on three lintels at Tikal (drawn by T.W. Rutledge; scale
figure based on Lintel 2 of Temple III).