David stuart maya glyphs12/16/2023 ![]() ![]() But it also activated generations of actors who came into play as they became conscious of, reacted, and adapted to those changes. Certainly punctuated here and there by radical crises and ruptures, the temporal " transition " from the Classic to the Postclassic periods must be studied as a long and thick, or complex sequence that linked up different processes in different regions with a different time sequence (Demarest et al. As apotheosized ancestors, they took their place in the pliable local pantheon which further reinforced the unique identity of each site.Īs work continues on the archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence relating to the end of the Classic period in the Maya Lowlands (traditionally dated AD 950), it appears that this " end " lasted too long-from 760 to 950-1050-to qualify as a brutal collapse. This study also examines concepts of divine kingship and deification, and argues that rulers were “functionally divine” while living and were elevated to “ontologically divine” status upon becoming apotheosized ancestors after death. The underlying theoretical approach relies on concepts of mimesis and alterity, duality, and complementary opposition, all of which are creative acts which serve to establish a sense of Self in contrast to the Other, both human and divine. The identity of each polity was inseparably connected with that of its ruler, and variations on the rulership theme served to reinforce their unique identity in the larger landscape vis-à-vis other polities. Contrary to that assumption, this study employs epigraphic, iconographic, archaeological, ethnohistoric and ethnographic data to demonstrate there was significant local and regional variation in the way kingship was expressed through artistic programs, calendrics, ritual activity, accoutrements of power, sacred warfare, the taking of theophoric throne names and titulary, and the composition and adaptation of local pantheons. My presentation will examine these themes through several case studies, looking at local variations and expressions of current history as a long-term construct.Ĭlassic period Maya rulers are often reduced to “ideal types” and are discussed in terms that would suggest they were a homogenous group of individuals cut from the same cloth. Both senses of the deep past served as templates, reflections and exemplars for Late Classic royal ritual and ceremony, giving contemporaneous history much of its structure and meaning. ![]() Another category operates within a more proximate historical timeframe, citing the actions of early rulers and dynastic founders who lived near the so-called “Proto-Classic” and Early Classic. One involves extremely distant eras reaching back many thousands of years, if not far earlier, to the foundations of cosmology and the ritual actions of deities. Although the boundaries between “myth” and “history” are at times difficult to perceive in ancient Mesoamerica, we can discern two broad categories of deep past in the ancient Maya sources. More often then not the actions and accomplishments of Classic-era rulers were framed as repetitions and reflections of events that came before, whether in mythological or historical time. It should be noted that it doesn’t cover everything, and that some of the information here and there might be slightly out of date.The distant past was essential to the presentation of Classic Maya history in both inscriptions and iconography. Here I’m posting a pdf of the 2005 sourcebook that accompanied my part of that year’s presentation, hoping it might be a useful resource. The Dedicatory Formula held great meaning in the artistic and economic life of Maya courts during the Early and Late Classic periods, marking personal connections for important prestige objects and gifts. More extended versions add other details, such something about its decorative mode (painted or carved) and function (“for cacao,” for example). At its core is a possessed noun for the thing itself (i.e., “her cup”) and the owner’s personal name. As we came to understand during the 1980s, the Dedicatory Formula is basically a glorified name-tag for important objects and artworks. This is also sometimes known as the “Primary Standard Sequence” (PSS), following Michael Coe’s original identification. At the 2005 Maya Meetings at the University of Texas at Austin I presented a short analysis and overview of the “Dedicatory Formula,” the standardized glyphic text found on countless Maya ceramics and other (mainly) portable objects. ![]()
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