The House of the Bacabs, Copán, Honduras

The House of the Bacabs, Copán, Honduras

Author: David L. Webster

Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks

Published: 1989

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 9780884021773

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Dorie Reents-Budet, Curator, Pre-Columbian Art, Duke University Museum of Art, Claude Baudez, William Fash Jr., Berthold Riese, William Sanders, and David Webster contribute to this monograph, and using an integrated art historical and anthropological approach, consider the House of the Bacabs' context as an elite Maya structure, its excavation and restoration, and its iconographic and epigraphic reconstruction and interpretation, to establish models for understanding Classic Maya social and political life.


Book Synopsis The House of the Bacabs, Copán, Honduras by : David L. Webster

Download or read book The House of the Bacabs, Copán, Honduras written by David L. Webster and published by Dumbarton Oaks. This book was released on 1989 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dorie Reents-Budet, Curator, Pre-Columbian Art, Duke University Museum of Art, Claude Baudez, William Fash Jr., Berthold Riese, William Sanders, and David Webster contribute to this monograph, and using an integrated art historical and anthropological approach, consider the House of the Bacabs' context as an elite Maya structure, its excavation and restoration, and its iconographic and epigraphic reconstruction and interpretation, to establish models for understanding Classic Maya social and political life.


The Skyband Group, Copán Honduras

The Skyband Group, Copán Honduras

Author: David Webster

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

Published: 2023-09-12

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 1803274301

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The Skyband Group is an impressive elite site in the urban core of Copán, Honduras, which is dominated by the palatial compounds of Maya sub-royal nobles. Such grandees often bore court titles showing that they were clients and officials of kings, but also competitors for political power, especially just before the dynastic collapse around AD 800.


Book Synopsis The Skyband Group, Copán Honduras by : David Webster

Download or read book The Skyband Group, Copán Honduras written by David Webster and published by Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2023-09-12 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Skyband Group is an impressive elite site in the urban core of Copán, Honduras, which is dominated by the palatial compounds of Maya sub-royal nobles. Such grandees often bore court titles showing that they were clients and officials of kings, but also competitors for political power, especially just before the dynastic collapse around AD 800.


Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World

Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World

Author: Elizabeth A. Newsome

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2010-07-05

Total Pages: 533

ISBN-13: 0292788029

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Assemblies of rectangular stone pillars, or stelae, fill the plazas and courts of ancient Maya cities throughout the lowlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and western Honduras. Mute testimony to state rituals that linked the king's power to rule with the rhythms and renewal of time, the stelae document the ritual acts of rulers who sacrificed, danced, and experienced visionary ecstasy in connection with celebrations marking the end of major calendrical cycles. The kings' portraits are carved in relief on the main surfaces of the stones, deifying them as incarnations of the mythical trees of life. Based on a thorough analysis of the imagery and inscriptions of seven stelae erected in the Great Plaza at Copan, Honduras, by the Classic Period ruler "18-Rabbit-God K," this ambitious study argues that stelae were erected not only to support a ruler's temporal claims to power but more importantly to express the fundamental connection in Maya worldview between rulership and the cosmology inherent in their vision of cyclical time. After an overview of the archaeology and history of Copan and the reign and monuments of "18-Rabbit-God K," Elizabeth Newsome interprets the iconography and inscriptions on the stelae, illustrating the way they fulfilled a coordinated vision of the king's ceremonial role in Copan's period-ending rites. She also links their imagery to key Maya concepts about the origin of the universe, expressed in the cosmologies and mythic lore of ancient and living Maya peoples.


Book Synopsis Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World by : Elizabeth A. Newsome

Download or read book Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World written by Elizabeth A. Newsome and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-07-05 with total page 533 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Assemblies of rectangular stone pillars, or stelae, fill the plazas and courts of ancient Maya cities throughout the lowlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and western Honduras. Mute testimony to state rituals that linked the king's power to rule with the rhythms and renewal of time, the stelae document the ritual acts of rulers who sacrificed, danced, and experienced visionary ecstasy in connection with celebrations marking the end of major calendrical cycles. The kings' portraits are carved in relief on the main surfaces of the stones, deifying them as incarnations of the mythical trees of life. Based on a thorough analysis of the imagery and inscriptions of seven stelae erected in the Great Plaza at Copan, Honduras, by the Classic Period ruler "18-Rabbit-God K," this ambitious study argues that stelae were erected not only to support a ruler's temporal claims to power but more importantly to express the fundamental connection in Maya worldview between rulership and the cosmology inherent in their vision of cyclical time. After an overview of the archaeology and history of Copan and the reign and monuments of "18-Rabbit-God K," Elizabeth Newsome interprets the iconography and inscriptions on the stelae, illustrating the way they fulfilled a coordinated vision of the king's ceremonial role in Copan's period-ending rites. She also links their imagery to key Maya concepts about the origin of the universe, expressed in the cosmologies and mythic lore of ancient and living Maya peoples.


Houses in a Landscape

Houses in a Landscape

Author: Julia A. Hendon

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 2010-04-22

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 0822391724

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In Houses in a Landscape, Julia A. Hendon examines the connections between social identity and social memory using archaeological research on indigenous societies that existed more than one thousand years ago in what is now Honduras. While these societies left behind monumental buildings, the remains of their dead, remnants of their daily life, intricate works of art, and fine examples of craftsmanship such as pottery and stone tools, they left only a small body of written records. Despite this paucity of written information, Hendon contends that an archaeological study of memory in such societies is possible and worthwhile. It is possible because memory is not just a faculty of the individual mind operating in isolation, but a social process embedded in the materiality of human existence. Intimately bound up in the relations people develop with one another and with the world around them through what they do, where and how they do it, and with whom or what, memory leaves material traces. Hendon conducted research on three contemporaneous Native American civilizations that flourished from the seventh century through the eleventh CE: the Maya kingdom of Copan, the hilltop center of Cerro Palenque, and the dispersed settlement of the Cuyumapa valley. She analyzes domestic life in these societies, from cooking to crafting, as well as public and private ritual events including the ballgame. Combining her findings with a rich body of theory from anthropology, history, and geography, she explores how objects—the things people build, make, use, exchange, and discard—help people remember. In so doing, she demonstrates how everyday life becomes part of the social processes of remembering and forgetting, and how “memory communities” assert connections between the past and the present.


Book Synopsis Houses in a Landscape by : Julia A. Hendon

Download or read book Houses in a Landscape written by Julia A. Hendon and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-22 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Houses in a Landscape, Julia A. Hendon examines the connections between social identity and social memory using archaeological research on indigenous societies that existed more than one thousand years ago in what is now Honduras. While these societies left behind monumental buildings, the remains of their dead, remnants of their daily life, intricate works of art, and fine examples of craftsmanship such as pottery and stone tools, they left only a small body of written records. Despite this paucity of written information, Hendon contends that an archaeological study of memory in such societies is possible and worthwhile. It is possible because memory is not just a faculty of the individual mind operating in isolation, but a social process embedded in the materiality of human existence. Intimately bound up in the relations people develop with one another and with the world around them through what they do, where and how they do it, and with whom or what, memory leaves material traces. Hendon conducted research on three contemporaneous Native American civilizations that flourished from the seventh century through the eleventh CE: the Maya kingdom of Copan, the hilltop center of Cerro Palenque, and the dispersed settlement of the Cuyumapa valley. She analyzes domestic life in these societies, from cooking to crafting, as well as public and private ritual events including the ballgame. Combining her findings with a rich body of theory from anthropology, history, and geography, she explores how objects—the things people build, make, use, exchange, and discard—help people remember. In so doing, she demonstrates how everyday life becomes part of the social processes of remembering and forgetting, and how “memory communities” assert connections between the past and the present.


Human Adaptation in Ancient Mesoamerica

Human Adaptation in Ancient Mesoamerica

Author: Nancy Gonlin

Publisher: University Press of Colorado

Published: 2015-12-01

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 1607323923

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This volume explores the dynamics of human adaptation to social, political, ideological, economic, and environmental factors in Mesoamerica and includes a wide array of topics, such as the hydrological engineering behind Teotihuacan’s layout, the complexities of agriculture and sustainability in the Maya lowlands, and the nuanced history of abandonment among different lineages and households in Maya centers. The authors aptly demonstrate how culture is the mechanism that allows people to adapt to a changing world, and they address how ecological factors, particularly land and water, intersect with nonmaterial and material manifestations of cultural complexity. Contributors further illustrate the continuing utility of the cultural ecological perspective in framing research on adaptations of ancient civilizations. This book celebrates the work of Dr. David Webster, an influential Penn State archaeologist and anthropologist of the Maya region, and highlights human adaptation in Mesoamerica through the scientific lenses of anthropological archaeology and cultural ecology. Contributors include Elliot M. Abrams, Christopher J. Duffy, Susan Toby Evans, Kirk D. French, AnnCorinne Freter, Nancy Gonlin, George R. Milner, Zachary Nelson, Deborah L. Nichols, David M. Reed, Don S. Rice, Prudence M. Rice, Rebecca Storey, Kirk Damon Straight, David Webster, Stephen L. Whittington, Randolph J. Widmer, John D. Wingard, and W. Scott Zeleznik.


Book Synopsis Human Adaptation in Ancient Mesoamerica by : Nancy Gonlin

Download or read book Human Adaptation in Ancient Mesoamerica written by Nancy Gonlin and published by University Press of Colorado. This book was released on 2015-12-01 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the dynamics of human adaptation to social, political, ideological, economic, and environmental factors in Mesoamerica and includes a wide array of topics, such as the hydrological engineering behind Teotihuacan’s layout, the complexities of agriculture and sustainability in the Maya lowlands, and the nuanced history of abandonment among different lineages and households in Maya centers. The authors aptly demonstrate how culture is the mechanism that allows people to adapt to a changing world, and they address how ecological factors, particularly land and water, intersect with nonmaterial and material manifestations of cultural complexity. Contributors further illustrate the continuing utility of the cultural ecological perspective in framing research on adaptations of ancient civilizations. This book celebrates the work of Dr. David Webster, an influential Penn State archaeologist and anthropologist of the Maya region, and highlights human adaptation in Mesoamerica through the scientific lenses of anthropological archaeology and cultural ecology. Contributors include Elliot M. Abrams, Christopher J. Duffy, Susan Toby Evans, Kirk D. French, AnnCorinne Freter, Nancy Gonlin, George R. Milner, Zachary Nelson, Deborah L. Nichols, David M. Reed, Don S. Rice, Prudence M. Rice, Rebecca Storey, Kirk Damon Straight, David Webster, Stephen L. Whittington, Randolph J. Widmer, John D. Wingard, and W. Scott Zeleznik.


An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America

An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America

Author: Joyce Kelly

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 9780806128610

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Tikal, Copán, Uaxactún - ancient Maya cities whose names conjure up romance, mystery, and science all at once. Joyce Kelly’s clear descriptions and captivating photographs of these and many other sites will make you want to pack your bags and head for Central America. And when you arrive, this guidebook will not let you down. It covers 38 sites and 25 museums - more than any other guidebook - in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Kelly’s information is accurate and up to date: she has visited every site personally. The descriptions include all the major, well-known sites and many not appearing other guidebooks. Kelly describes each site and museum, from its pyramids and temples to its hieroglyphic stairways and "eccentric flints." She includes many site plans, and her description of each site includes its ancient history as well as its recent archaeological activity. Equally important, Kelly describes exactly how to get there. Clear maps and precise written directions include the distance (in miles and kilometers) and the driving time required for each segment of the trip. If you need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to negotiate rutted dirt roads, Kelly tells you. If you need a guide, she tells you where to find one.


Book Synopsis An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America by : Joyce Kelly

Download or read book An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America written by Joyce Kelly and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tikal, Copán, Uaxactún - ancient Maya cities whose names conjure up romance, mystery, and science all at once. Joyce Kelly’s clear descriptions and captivating photographs of these and many other sites will make you want to pack your bags and head for Central America. And when you arrive, this guidebook will not let you down. It covers 38 sites and 25 museums - more than any other guidebook - in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Kelly’s information is accurate and up to date: she has visited every site personally. The descriptions include all the major, well-known sites and many not appearing other guidebooks. Kelly describes each site and museum, from its pyramids and temples to its hieroglyphic stairways and "eccentric flints." She includes many site plans, and her description of each site includes its ancient history as well as its recent archaeological activity. Equally important, Kelly describes exactly how to get there. Clear maps and precise written directions include the distance (in miles and kilometers) and the driving time required for each segment of the trip. If you need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to negotiate rutted dirt roads, Kelly tells you. If you need a guide, she tells you where to find one.


War Owl Falling

War Owl Falling

Author: Markus Eberl

Publisher: University Press of Florida

Published: 2017-11-21

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 0813052092

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"Offers a unique and important perspective on Classic Maya society through the lens of innovation. Eberl’s work is richly grounded in a multidisciplinary approach that weaves archaeological data with epigraphy, iconography, and comparative social theory."--Andrew K. Scherer, author of Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul "The first sustained account of innovation and creativity among the ancient Maya. A welcome addition."--Scott Hutson, author of The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form Drawing on archaeological findings from the Maya lowlands, War Owl Falling shows how innovation and creativity led to social change in ancient societies. Markus Eberl discusses the ways eighth-century Maya (and Maya commoners in particular) reinvented objects and signs that were associated with nobility, including scepters, ceramic vessels, ballgame equipment, and the symbol of the owl. These inventions, he argues, reflect assertions of independence and a redistribution of power that contributed to the Maya collapse in the Late Classic period. Eberl emphasizes that individual decision-making--the ability to imagine alternate worlds and to act on that vision--plays a large role in changing social structure over time. Pinpointing where and when these Maya inventions emerged, how individuals adopted them and why, War Owl Falling connects technological and social change in a novel way.


Book Synopsis War Owl Falling by : Markus Eberl

Download or read book War Owl Falling written by Markus Eberl and published by University Press of Florida. This book was released on 2017-11-21 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Offers a unique and important perspective on Classic Maya society through the lens of innovation. Eberl’s work is richly grounded in a multidisciplinary approach that weaves archaeological data with epigraphy, iconography, and comparative social theory."--Andrew K. Scherer, author of Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul "The first sustained account of innovation and creativity among the ancient Maya. A welcome addition."--Scott Hutson, author of The Ancient Urban Maya: Neighborhoods, Inequality, and Built Form Drawing on archaeological findings from the Maya lowlands, War Owl Falling shows how innovation and creativity led to social change in ancient societies. Markus Eberl discusses the ways eighth-century Maya (and Maya commoners in particular) reinvented objects and signs that were associated with nobility, including scepters, ceramic vessels, ballgame equipment, and the symbol of the owl. These inventions, he argues, reflect assertions of independence and a redistribution of power that contributed to the Maya collapse in the Late Classic period. Eberl emphasizes that individual decision-making--the ability to imagine alternate worlds and to act on that vision--plays a large role in changing social structure over time. Pinpointing where and when these Maya inventions emerged, how individuals adopted them and why, War Owl Falling connects technological and social change in a novel way.


Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture

Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture

Author: Stephen D. Houston

Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 588

ISBN-13: 9780884022541

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These articles mark a significant stage in the study of Maya architecture and the society that built it. They represent advances in our understandings of the past, point toward avenues for further studies, and note the distance yet to travel in fully appreciating and understanding this ancient American culture and its material remains.


Book Synopsis Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture by : Stephen D. Houston

Download or read book Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture written by Stephen D. Houston and published by Dumbarton Oaks. This book was released on 1998 with total page 588 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These articles mark a significant stage in the study of Maya architecture and the society that built it. They represent advances in our understandings of the past, point toward avenues for further studies, and note the distance yet to travel in fully appreciating and understanding this ancient American culture and its material remains.


Politics of the Maya Court

Politics of the Maya Court

Author: Sarah E. Jackson

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2013-06-24

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 0806189258

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In recent decades, advances in deciphering Maya hieroglyphic writing have given scholars new tools for understanding key aspects of ancient Maya society. This book—the first comprehensive examination of the Maya royal court—exemplifies the importance of these new sources. Authored by anthropologist Sarah E. Jackson and richly illustrated with drawings, photographs, and maps, Politics of the Maya Court uses hieroglyphic and iconographic evidence to explore the composition and social significance of royal courts in the Late Classic period (a.d. 600–900), with a special emphasis on the role of courtly elites. As Jackson explains, the Maya region of southern Mexico and Central America was not a unified empire but a loosely aggregated culture area composed of independent kingdoms. Royal courts had a presence in large, central communities from Chiapas to Yucatan and the highlands of Guatemala and western Honduras. Each major polity was ruled by a k’uhul ajaw, or holy lord, who embodied intertwined aspects of religious and political authority. The hieroglyphic texts that adorned walls, furniture, and portable items in these centers of power provide specific information about the positions, roles, and meanings of the courts. Jackson uses these documents as keys to understanding Classic Maya political hierarchy and, specifically, the institution of the royal court. Within this context, she investigates the lives of the nobility and the participation of elites in court politics. By identifying particular individuals and their life stories, Jackson humanizes Maya society, showing how events resulted from the actions and choices of specific people. Jackson’s innovative portrayal of court membership provides a foundation for scholarship on the nature, functions, and responsibilities of Maya royal courts.


Book Synopsis Politics of the Maya Court by : Sarah E. Jackson

Download or read book Politics of the Maya Court written by Sarah E. Jackson and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-06-24 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent decades, advances in deciphering Maya hieroglyphic writing have given scholars new tools for understanding key aspects of ancient Maya society. This book—the first comprehensive examination of the Maya royal court—exemplifies the importance of these new sources. Authored by anthropologist Sarah E. Jackson and richly illustrated with drawings, photographs, and maps, Politics of the Maya Court uses hieroglyphic and iconographic evidence to explore the composition and social significance of royal courts in the Late Classic period (a.d. 600–900), with a special emphasis on the role of courtly elites. As Jackson explains, the Maya region of southern Mexico and Central America was not a unified empire but a loosely aggregated culture area composed of independent kingdoms. Royal courts had a presence in large, central communities from Chiapas to Yucatan and the highlands of Guatemala and western Honduras. Each major polity was ruled by a k’uhul ajaw, or holy lord, who embodied intertwined aspects of religious and political authority. The hieroglyphic texts that adorned walls, furniture, and portable items in these centers of power provide specific information about the positions, roles, and meanings of the courts. Jackson uses these documents as keys to understanding Classic Maya political hierarchy and, specifically, the institution of the royal court. Within this context, she investigates the lives of the nobility and the participation of elites in court politics. By identifying particular individuals and their life stories, Jackson humanizes Maya society, showing how events resulted from the actions and choices of specific people. Jackson’s innovative portrayal of court membership provides a foundation for scholarship on the nature, functions, and responsibilities of Maya royal courts.


Maya Sculpture of Copán

Maya Sculpture of Copán

Author: Claude F. Baudez

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2015-07

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 080615361X

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Copán, one of the most important Classic Maya sites, is renowned for the artistry of its high-relief stelae and altars and for the wealth of detail on its freestanding and architectural sculpture. In Maya Sculpture of Copán: The Iconography, internationally known Mayanist Claude-François Baudez provides a masterful survey of these elaborate and intriguing carved images. In Part I, Baudez identifies and deciphers the specific motifs on each monument and shows how the elements were combined to produce meaningful iconographic messages. The architectural sculpture expresses the meaning and function of the buildings and complexes, many designed to represent the sky, earth, and underworld and to serve as stages for rituals. Photographs and drawings clarify the intricate forms. Part II relates the iconography to the religion and politics of the city-state. Baudez traces the evolution of the motifs in relation to the history of Copán and the multiple functions of the king—his cosmic role, the continuous reference to his ancestors, and the dynastic cycles. Sacrifice—bloodletting by the king and the sacrifice of captives—is of paramount importance. Growth and rebirth required constant offerings of blood to the earth and to the sun, to ensure its rebirth at dawn after its nocturnal journey through the underworld. The monuments give a coherent picture of Maya cosmology.


Book Synopsis Maya Sculpture of Copán by : Claude F. Baudez

Download or read book Maya Sculpture of Copán written by Claude F. Baudez and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2015-07 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Copán, one of the most important Classic Maya sites, is renowned for the artistry of its high-relief stelae and altars and for the wealth of detail on its freestanding and architectural sculpture. In Maya Sculpture of Copán: The Iconography, internationally known Mayanist Claude-François Baudez provides a masterful survey of these elaborate and intriguing carved images. In Part I, Baudez identifies and deciphers the specific motifs on each monument and shows how the elements were combined to produce meaningful iconographic messages. The architectural sculpture expresses the meaning and function of the buildings and complexes, many designed to represent the sky, earth, and underworld and to serve as stages for rituals. Photographs and drawings clarify the intricate forms. Part II relates the iconography to the religion and politics of the city-state. Baudez traces the evolution of the motifs in relation to the history of Copán and the multiple functions of the king—his cosmic role, the continuous reference to his ancestors, and the dynastic cycles. Sacrifice—bloodletting by the king and the sacrifice of captives—is of paramount importance. Growth and rebirth required constant offerings of blood to the earth and to the sun, to ensure its rebirth at dawn after its nocturnal journey through the underworld. The monuments give a coherent picture of Maya cosmology.