Antonia E. Foias
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044224
- eISBN:
- 9780813046488
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044224.003.0005
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
Shifting focus to the middle scale of political analysis, this chapter explores the nature of the internal political administration of Maya polities, and the institutions that support it (the ...
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Shifting focus to the middle scale of political analysis, this chapter explores the nature of the internal political administration of Maya polities, and the institutions that support it (the tribute-tax and the palace economy). Because many scholars consider Classic administration bureaucratic, this chapter endeavors to compare Classic Maya officialdom with early-modern to modern bureaucracies in order to show that these are different institutions. Classic Maya administrations are reconstructed through decipherments of subsidiary political titles in Maya texts and through depictions of these officials in Maya art. Then, the tribute, tax, and palace economy are described to show how variations in these impact political power.Less
Shifting focus to the middle scale of political analysis, this chapter explores the nature of the internal political administration of Maya polities, and the institutions that support it (the tribute-tax and the palace economy). Because many scholars consider Classic administration bureaucratic, this chapter endeavors to compare Classic Maya officialdom with early-modern to modern bureaucracies in order to show that these are different institutions. Classic Maya administrations are reconstructed through decipherments of subsidiary political titles in Maya texts and through depictions of these officials in Maya art. Then, the tribute, tax, and palace economy are described to show how variations in these impact political power.
Heather Mckillop
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813025117
- eISBN:
- 9780813039497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813025117.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
Salt is basic to daily human existence, however, in the southern Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, salt was scarce. The prevailing theory suggests that salt was imported from the northern part ...
More
Salt is basic to daily human existence, however, in the southern Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, salt was scarce. The prevailing theory suggests that salt was imported from the northern part of the Yucatan wherein several theorists alleged that the limited capability to transport bulk and huge amounts of good contributed to a scarcity of salt in the southern lowlands of Maya and Belize. However, recent fieldwork has showed a closer salt source than those in the northern Yucatan, casting a question on the viability of salt importation from the northern Yucatan to the southern Maya lowlands during the Late Classic civilization. This chapter discusses salt production in the Belize area which reduced or replaced the long-distance salt importation in the northern Yucatan and which made the lowland Maya politically and economically autonomous from the reigns of the inland Maya cities. With the discovery of the salt-production equipment and the Punta Ycacos salt works, this chapter aims to reevaluate the Late Classic Maya civilization, economy, and environment. While looking at salt production and the salt trade in the southern Maya lowlands, the chapter seeks to probe into the role of the environment in affecting cultural change. The following questions are sought to be answered in this chapter. These are: What was the response of the Late Classic Maya to the rising seas? Were communities abandoned with the rise of the threat of sea-level rise? What were the preventive measures taken by the Maya civilization to address sea-level rise? Did anthropogenic soil buildup from centuries of human garbage keep some communities above sea level?Less
Salt is basic to daily human existence, however, in the southern Maya lowlands of Guatemala and Belize, salt was scarce. The prevailing theory suggests that salt was imported from the northern part of the Yucatan wherein several theorists alleged that the limited capability to transport bulk and huge amounts of good contributed to a scarcity of salt in the southern lowlands of Maya and Belize. However, recent fieldwork has showed a closer salt source than those in the northern Yucatan, casting a question on the viability of salt importation from the northern Yucatan to the southern Maya lowlands during the Late Classic civilization. This chapter discusses salt production in the Belize area which reduced or replaced the long-distance salt importation in the northern Yucatan and which made the lowland Maya politically and economically autonomous from the reigns of the inland Maya cities. With the discovery of the salt-production equipment and the Punta Ycacos salt works, this chapter aims to reevaluate the Late Classic Maya civilization, economy, and environment. While looking at salt production and the salt trade in the southern Maya lowlands, the chapter seeks to probe into the role of the environment in affecting cultural change. The following questions are sought to be answered in this chapter. These are: What was the response of the Late Classic Maya to the rising seas? Were communities abandoned with the rise of the threat of sea-level rise? What were the preventive measures taken by the Maya civilization to address sea-level rise? Did anthropogenic soil buildup from centuries of human garbage keep some communities above sea level?
Heather McKillop
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813025117
- eISBN:
- 9780813039497
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813025117.001.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This book reports the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of Late Classic Maya salt works on the coast of Belize, transforming our knowledge of the Maya salt trade and craft specialization ...
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This book reports the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of Late Classic Maya salt works on the coast of Belize, transforming our knowledge of the Maya salt trade and craft specialization while providing new insights on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene as well. Salt, basic to human existence, was scarce in the tropical rainforests of Belize and Guatemala, where the Classic Maya civilization thrived between A.D. 300 and 900. The prevailing interpretation has been that salt was imported from the north coast of the Yucatan. However, the underwater discovery and excavation of salt works in Punta Ycacos Lagoon demonstrate that the Maya produced salt by boiling brine in pots over fires at specialized workshops on the Belizean coast. The Punta Ycacos salt works are clear evidence that craft specialization took place in a nondomestic setting and that production occurred away from the economic and political power of the urban Maya rulers, thus providing new clues to the Maya economy and sea trade. The book presents new data on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene that extend geologists' and geographers' sea-level curves from earlier eras. Likewise, it enters the environmental-versus-cultural debate over the Classic Maya collapse by evaluating the factors that led to the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt works at the end of the Classic Period, synonymous with the abandonment of inland Maya cities.Less
This book reports the discovery, excavation, and interpretation of Late Classic Maya salt works on the coast of Belize, transforming our knowledge of the Maya salt trade and craft specialization while providing new insights on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene as well. Salt, basic to human existence, was scarce in the tropical rainforests of Belize and Guatemala, where the Classic Maya civilization thrived between A.D. 300 and 900. The prevailing interpretation has been that salt was imported from the north coast of the Yucatan. However, the underwater discovery and excavation of salt works in Punta Ycacos Lagoon demonstrate that the Maya produced salt by boiling brine in pots over fires at specialized workshops on the Belizean coast. The Punta Ycacos salt works are clear evidence that craft specialization took place in a nondomestic setting and that production occurred away from the economic and political power of the urban Maya rulers, thus providing new clues to the Maya economy and sea trade. The book presents new data on sea-level rise in the Late Holocene that extend geologists' and geographers' sea-level curves from earlier eras. Likewise, it enters the environmental-versus-cultural debate over the Classic Maya collapse by evaluating the factors that led to the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt works at the end of the Classic Period, synonymous with the abandonment of inland Maya cities.
Antonia E. Foias
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044224
- eISBN:
- 9780813046488
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044224.003.0006
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter focuses on the microscale of political analysis by considering how individuals, households, factions, power blocs, and communities participate in the politics of the Classic period. The ...
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This chapter focuses on the microscale of political analysis by considering how individuals, households, factions, power blocs, and communities participate in the politics of the Classic period. The topics examined are: the foundations of political power, the role of authority and legitimacy, claims to power, discourses of power, the existence and role of councils, the political power of commoners, and the rituals of politics depicted in Maya art in public stone monuments, in portable polychrome vessels, and in small figurines.Less
This chapter focuses on the microscale of political analysis by considering how individuals, households, factions, power blocs, and communities participate in the politics of the Classic period. The topics examined are: the foundations of political power, the role of authority and legitimacy, claims to power, discourses of power, the existence and role of councils, the political power of commoners, and the rituals of politics depicted in Maya art in public stone monuments, in portable polychrome vessels, and in small figurines.
Antonia E. Foias
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044224
- eISBN:
- 9780813046488
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044224.003.0004
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter presents the different sources of data used by Maya archaeologists to reconstruct ancient politics at the macroscale or polity and inter-polity level: settlement patterns, epigraphy, and ...
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This chapter presents the different sources of data used by Maya archaeologists to reconstruct ancient politics at the macroscale or polity and inter-polity level: settlement patterns, epigraphy, and ethnohistory. These bodies of knowledge show that Maya polities were highly variable; therefore, general concepts of centralization versus decentralization are not very useful in understanding the sources of this variability. Case studies from projects in the Upper Grijalva Basin; Chiapas, Mexico; at Xunantunich, Belize; and Motul de San José, Guatemala highlight the similarities and differences between these bodies of knowledge, and the sources of some of the variability in Classic Maya politics.Less
This chapter presents the different sources of data used by Maya archaeologists to reconstruct ancient politics at the macroscale or polity and inter-polity level: settlement patterns, epigraphy, and ethnohistory. These bodies of knowledge show that Maya polities were highly variable; therefore, general concepts of centralization versus decentralization are not very useful in understanding the sources of this variability. Case studies from projects in the Upper Grijalva Basin; Chiapas, Mexico; at Xunantunich, Belize; and Motul de San José, Guatemala highlight the similarities and differences between these bodies of knowledge, and the sources of some of the variability in Classic Maya politics.
Rhonda Taube and Karl Taube
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813033303
- eISBN:
- 9780813039350
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813033303.003.0009
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
While the notion of aesthetics in European philosophy accounts for a branch of metaphysics that encompasses the laws of refined visual taste, these are comparable to Maya notions of visually pleasing ...
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While the notion of aesthetics in European philosophy accounts for a branch of metaphysics that encompasses the laws of refined visual taste, these are comparable to Maya notions of visually pleasing things as seen in the Classic period. The Maya concept of aesthetics gives fundamental attention to how their figurines are interpreted. Utilizing a visual paradigm in small-scale art works is appropriate for examining Maya notions of representation since this would entail diverse associated ideas and meanings. While sight is recognized as a tangible phenomenon among the Pre-Classic Maya, the Maya “gaze” is still perceived to be a concrete experience. The ruler's being in Classic Maya is an expression of a physical ideal, flawless beauty, youthfulness, elegant gestures, control, and nobility.Less
While the notion of aesthetics in European philosophy accounts for a branch of metaphysics that encompasses the laws of refined visual taste, these are comparable to Maya notions of visually pleasing things as seen in the Classic period. The Maya concept of aesthetics gives fundamental attention to how their figurines are interpreted. Utilizing a visual paradigm in small-scale art works is appropriate for examining Maya notions of representation since this would entail diverse associated ideas and meanings. While sight is recognized as a tangible phenomenon among the Pre-Classic Maya, the Maya “gaze” is still perceived to be a concrete experience. The ruler's being in Classic Maya is an expression of a physical ideal, flawless beauty, youthfulness, elegant gestures, control, and nobility.
Takeshi Inomata
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520254435
- eISBN:
- 9780520941519
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520254435.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, World Medieval History
Archaeologists and students working at the Classic Maya site of Aguateca in the rain forest of Guatemala unearthed objects that Classic Maya courtiers made and used, perhaps left behind because an ...
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Archaeologists and students working at the Classic Maya site of Aguateca in the rain forest of Guatemala unearthed objects that Classic Maya courtiers made and used, perhaps left behind because an enemy attack had brought Aguateca to a sudden and violent end. Among the numerous artifacts discovered during the excavations were beautiful figurines of noble women, some of them holding a child. Excavators also unearthed bone needles, spindle whorls, and grinding stones, which may have been used by women for textile production and food preparation. They provide tantalizing traces of women's life at court. This chapter examines the visibility of Classic Maya court women as a window to their power and role in the court. First, it provides an overview of Classic Maya royal courts, then looks at the depiction of court women in documents and images. It also considers women in court architecture and space, focusing on three cases: elite residential structures at Aguateca, the palace in Complex A-V at Uaxactun, and the center of Yaxchilan.Less
Archaeologists and students working at the Classic Maya site of Aguateca in the rain forest of Guatemala unearthed objects that Classic Maya courtiers made and used, perhaps left behind because an enemy attack had brought Aguateca to a sudden and violent end. Among the numerous artifacts discovered during the excavations were beautiful figurines of noble women, some of them holding a child. Excavators also unearthed bone needles, spindle whorls, and grinding stones, which may have been used by women for textile production and food preparation. They provide tantalizing traces of women's life at court. This chapter examines the visibility of Classic Maya court women as a window to their power and role in the court. First, it provides an overview of Classic Maya royal courts, then looks at the depiction of court women in documents and images. It also considers women in court architecture and space, focusing on three cases: elite residential structures at Aguateca, the palace in Complex A-V at Uaxactun, and the center of Yaxchilan.
David Stuart
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813029535
- eISBN:
- 9780813039503
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813029535.003.0009
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
The importance of cacao in Classic Maya was often overlooked before the decipherment of glyphic texts seen on ceramics in 1980. The discovery of the meaning of the texts led to the conclusion that ...
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The importance of cacao in Classic Maya was often overlooked before the decipherment of glyphic texts seen on ceramics in 1980. The discovery of the meaning of the texts led to the conclusion that during the Classic Maya period, chocolate was a key element of courtly life and had a profound role in the political economics and in feasting, rituals, and events. The various products of cacao also permeated the Maya religious iconographies and cacao was an indispensable part of their religion. This chapter offers a comparative work on what the purpose and use of the cacao beverages in the Maya elite society was. The chapter focuses on the decipherment of the inscribed tags on drinking vessels that often contained descriptions on the varieties of cacao or recipes and their intended use. Several of the hieroglyphic labels found on the chocolate drinking vessels refer to chocolate drinks in combination with other substances and flavorings to highlight and enhance the flavor of cacao. While cacao was seen as a politically and socially important drink, it was also a drink of pleasure in Mayan culture.Less
The importance of cacao in Classic Maya was often overlooked before the decipherment of glyphic texts seen on ceramics in 1980. The discovery of the meaning of the texts led to the conclusion that during the Classic Maya period, chocolate was a key element of courtly life and had a profound role in the political economics and in feasting, rituals, and events. The various products of cacao also permeated the Maya religious iconographies and cacao was an indispensable part of their religion. This chapter offers a comparative work on what the purpose and use of the cacao beverages in the Maya elite society was. The chapter focuses on the decipherment of the inscribed tags on drinking vessels that often contained descriptions on the varieties of cacao or recipes and their intended use. Several of the hieroglyphic labels found on the chocolate drinking vessels refer to chocolate drinks in combination with other substances and flavorings to highlight and enhance the flavor of cacao. While cacao was seen as a politically and socially important drink, it was also a drink of pleasure in Mayan culture.
Heather Mckillop
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813025117
- eISBN:
- 9780813039497
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813025117.003.0005
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter examines the impact of the rise of the sea-level on the civilization especially on the salt production and salt works of Punta Ycacos during the Late Classic Maya period. The discovery ...
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This chapter examines the impact of the rise of the sea-level on the civilization especially on the salt production and salt works of Punta Ycacos during the Late Classic Maya period. The discovery and excavation of ten inundated sites that date back to the Classic period in the Port Honduras region suggest and document the Holocene sea-level rise. The production of salt in Punta Ycacos occurred in relation to the surge of settlement in the Port Honduras region and in the inland region of southern Belize during the Late Classic Maya period. However, the collapse of the southern Maya civilization and the abandonment of inland cities in southern Belize and Pasion led to the decline of demand for Punta Ycacos salt. The rising seas which submerged the salt workshops led to the abandonment of Punta Ycacos salt production sites. The sea level played an important role in the Mayan civilization as the level of the sea determined the availability of resources and habitable land for the ancient coastal areas of the Mayan civilization. Although the rise of sea-level cannot be pinpointed as the sole rationale behind the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt shops as the extinction of the coastal towns of Port Honduras and the Punta Ycacos salt shops were the result of the complex interplay between cultural and environmental factors, the sea-level at some point did obviate the use of the Punta Ycacos shops during the Postclassic period.Less
This chapter examines the impact of the rise of the sea-level on the civilization especially on the salt production and salt works of Punta Ycacos during the Late Classic Maya period. The discovery and excavation of ten inundated sites that date back to the Classic period in the Port Honduras region suggest and document the Holocene sea-level rise. The production of salt in Punta Ycacos occurred in relation to the surge of settlement in the Port Honduras region and in the inland region of southern Belize during the Late Classic Maya period. However, the collapse of the southern Maya civilization and the abandonment of inland cities in southern Belize and Pasion led to the decline of demand for Punta Ycacos salt. The rising seas which submerged the salt workshops led to the abandonment of Punta Ycacos salt production sites. The sea level played an important role in the Mayan civilization as the level of the sea determined the availability of resources and habitable land for the ancient coastal areas of the Mayan civilization. Although the rise of sea-level cannot be pinpointed as the sole rationale behind the abandonment of the Punta Ycacos salt shops as the extinction of the coastal towns of Port Honduras and the Punta Ycacos salt shops were the result of the complex interplay between cultural and environmental factors, the sea-level at some point did obviate the use of the Punta Ycacos shops during the Postclassic period.
Antonia E. Foias and Kitty F. Emery
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813041902
- eISBN:
- 9780813043425
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813041902.003.0001
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology
This chapter by Antonia E. Foias and Kitty F. Emery introduces the theoretical debates within which the archaeological and ecological research of the Motul de San José Project was conducted between ...
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This chapter by Antonia E. Foias and Kitty F. Emery introduces the theoretical debates within which the archaeological and ecological research of the Motul de San José Project was conducted between 1998 and 2003. The project engages the major debates on the dynamics of political structure within the Maya civilization during the Classic period and locates the research at the intersection between economics and politics. Shifting attention away from the general concepts of centralization and decentralization, the Motul de San José Project dwells on the internal relationships between political inferiors and superiors, between primary and subsidiary centers, and on the nature of economic control by the elite in this small polity of the Central Petén Lakes of northern Guatemala.Less
This chapter by Antonia E. Foias and Kitty F. Emery introduces the theoretical debates within which the archaeological and ecological research of the Motul de San José Project was conducted between 1998 and 2003. The project engages the major debates on the dynamics of political structure within the Maya civilization during the Classic period and locates the research at the intersection between economics and politics. Shifting attention away from the general concepts of centralization and decentralization, the Motul de San José Project dwells on the internal relationships between political inferiors and superiors, between primary and subsidiary centers, and on the nature of economic control by the elite in this small polity of the Central Petén Lakes of northern Guatemala.
