Maya Palaces and Elite Residences

by Christie, Jessica Joyce

• ISBN13: 9780292712447
• ISBN10: 0292712448
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr

Summary

"This volume will become a standard reference in the literature of Maya studies and, more broadly, Mesoamerican archaeology. . . . Collectively, the articles touch on a wide range of epistemological, theoretical, and historical issues that have been recently raised concerning Maya palaces."--David Freidel, Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology, Southern Methodist UniversityMaya "palaces" have intrigued students of this ancient Mesoamerican culture since the early twentieth century, when scholars first applied the term "palace" to multi-room, gallery-like buildings set on low platforms in the centers of Maya cities. Who lived in these palaces? What types of ceremonial and residential activities took place there? How do the physical forms and spatial arrangement of the buildings embody Maya concepts of social organization and cosmology?This book brings together state-of-the-art data and analysis regarding the occupants, ritual and residential uses, and social and cosmological meanings of Maya palaces and elite residences. A multidisciplinary team of senior researchers reports on sites in Belize (Blue Creek), Western Honduras (Copan), the Peten (Tikal, Dos Pilas, Aguateca), and the Yucatan (Uxmal, Chichen-Itza, Dzibilchaltun, Yaxuna). Archaeologist contributors discuss the form of palace buildings and associated artifacts, their location within the city, and how some palaces related to landscape features. Their approach is complemented by art historical analyses of architectural sculpture, epigraphy, and ethnography. Jessica Joyce Christie concludes the volume by identifying patterns and commonalties that apply not only to the cited examples, but also to Maya architecture in general.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Elite Residences at Blue Creek, Belize

At Court in Copan: Palace Groups of the Early Classic

A Multipurpose Structure in the Late Classic Palace at Copan

Palaces of the Royal Court at Tikal

The Political Acquisition of Sacred Geography: The Murcielagos Complex at Dos Pilas

Where Did Elites Live? Identifying Elite Residences at Aguateca, Guatemala

Access Patterns in Maya Royal Precincts

Evidence for the Functions and Meanings of Some Northern Maya Palaces

The Function of a Maya Palace at Yaxuna: A Contextual Approach

Palace and Society in the Northern Maya Lowlands

The Tripartite Layout of Rooms in Maya Elite Residences: Symbolic Centering, Ritual Mediating, and Historical Governing

Conclusions

Notes on Contributors

Index

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