Maya exam 3

Archaeological Evidence

Burials, caches, altars, and shrines reveal Maya religious practices through artifacts and offerings.

Artistic Representations

Elite cylinder vessels and murals show deities, rituals, and religious acts.

Hieroglyphic Inscriptions

Glyphs describe rituals like conjuring and impersonating gods.

Codices

Books made of tree bark with glyphs and images used by priests; four survive today.

Dresden Codex

Contains astronomical and divination information, held in Dresden, Germany.

Paris Codex

Surviving Maya book held in Paris, France, focused on deities and rituals.

Madrid Codex

Maya codex in Madrid, Spain, describing agricultural and ritual practices.

Grolier Codex (Maya Codex of Mexico)

Oldest surviving Maya codex, found in Mexico, focuses on deities and cycles.

Diego de Landa

Spanish official who destroyed most Maya codices during colonization.

Cha’a Chaak Ceremony

Modern Yucatec Maya rain ritual honoring the rain god Chaak before the rainy season.

Sacred Covenant

Reciprocal relationship between humans and deities where offerings sustain the world order.

Offerings

Items like incense or sacrifices given to deities to maintain cosmic balance.

Yaxchilan

Maya city with lintels depicting elite bloodletting rituals, such as Lady Xoc’s tongue sacrifice.

Vision Serpent

Supernatural snake used in visions during rituals to contact ancestors or deities.

Animism

Belief that all things, including stones, are animate and possess souls.

Maya Cosmic Realms

Three realms: upperworld (13 layers), middle world (earth), and underworld (Xibalba, 9 layers).

Xibalba

The Maya underworld, realm of death and supernatural beings.

World Tree

Symbol connecting the underworld, earth, and upperworld; often a Ceiba tree.

Ceiba Tree

Sacred tree believed to stand at the center of the universe.

Cross Symbol

Represents the interconnectedness of the Maya cosmos and realms.

Maya Deities

Complex pantheon where gods can merge or take multiple forms.

K’inich Ajaw

The sun god, identified by a single tooth, spiral eyes, and day glyphs on his body.

Chaak

The rain and storm god with a long curling snout and reptilian features; brings rain.

K’awiil

The lightning god with a smoking forehead tube and serpent leg; symbolizes royal power.

Maize God

Young, beautiful deity symbolizing life, fertility, and corn abundance.

Moon Goddess

Young woman often shown with a rabbit and crescent moon, symbol of femininity and cycles.

Maya Rituals

Offerings, royal ceremonies, and bloodletting used to honor deities and sustain cosmic order.

Late Classic Period

600–925 CE, peak of Maya civilization with powerful cities and divine kingship.

Overkingship

Political hierarchy where certain rulers held authority over lesser kings.

Tikal

Major southern lowland city defeated by Calakmul in 562 but later revived by Jasaw Chan K’awiil I.

Calakmul

Rival city of Tikal, dominant after 562 until defeated in 695 CE.

562 CE

Calakmul alliance defeats Tikal, causing a 100-year hiatus in monument building.

682 CE

Jasaw Chan K’awiil I ascends the Tikal throne and restores its power.

695 CE

Jasaw Chan K’awiil I defeats Calakmul, reestablishing Tikal’s dominance.

Chiik Nahb Complex

Calakmul mural site showing non-elite market scenes from 620–700 CE.

Calakmul Murals

Depictions of merchants and everyday life, unique for showing commoners.

Copan

Major polity allied with Tikal; ruled by Waxaklajuun U’baah K’awiil in the Late Classic.

Quirigua

Smaller polity under Copan until 738 CE when it overthrew its overlord.

Calakmul Alliance

Supported Quirigua against Copan to weaken Tikal’s network.

Bonampak

Site famous for murals depicting battles, captives, and courtly life (late 790s CE).

Bonampak Room 1

Depicts musicians and elite court life.

Bonampak Room 2–3

Show warfare, torture, and sacrifice, revising ideas of a peaceful Maya.

Charisma

Max Weber’s “gift of grace,” special quality granting leaders supernatural power.

Max Weber

Sociologist who defined charisma as unstable and dependent on success and followers.

Nat Turner

1831 enslaved preacher who led a rebellion in Virginia, an example of charismatic authority.

Shaman-Kings

Maya rulers believed to cross realms and communicate with deities and ancestors.

Punishment (Foucault)

Ruler’s revenge through physical torture or execution.

Discipline (Foucault)

Creation of obedient citizens through self-regulation and surveillance.

Michel Foucault

Philosopher who analyzed systems of punishment and social control.

Panopticon

Prison design with central watchtower encouraging self-policing behavior.

Jeremy Bentham

Designer of the Panopticon; his remains are displayed at University College London.

Political Rituals

Reinforced power through symbolic acts like coronations and offerings.

K’awiil Scepter

Symbol of royal authority held by Maya rulers during rituals.

Double-Headed Serpent Bar

Ceremonial staff representing divine authority and connection to gods.

Epistemology

Study of how we know what we know; includes perception and memory issues.

Pareidolia

Seeing meaningful patterns in vague images.

Empiricism

Francis Bacon’s idea that knowledge must come from observable evidence.

Francis Bacon

Philosopher who emphasized scientific observation and evidence.

David Hume

Criticized empiricism by arguing observers perceive things differently.

Thomas Kuhn

Proposed that science advances through paradigm shifts, not linear progress.

Paradigms

Frameworks that shape scientific research and interpretation.

Why Interpretations Change

Due to new evidence, technology, paradigms, current events, and researcher diversity.

Jasaw Chan K’awiil I

King of Tikal who revitalized its power and defeated Calakmul in 695 CE.

Waxaklajuun Ub’aah K’awiil

13th king of Copan, executed by Quirigua in 738 CE.

K’ak’ Tiliw Chan Yopaat

King of Quirigua who rebelled against Copan with Calakmul’s help.

Palenque

Southern lowland polity known for hieroglyphic inscriptions and mythic ancestry.

Pakal

Great king of Palenque buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions, ruled during the Late Classic.

Temple of the Inscriptions

Mortuary shrine of Pakal with detailed glyphs and jade artifacts.

Palenque Watchtower

Four-story structure possibly used for astronomy or defense.

Cobá

Northern lowland city with large population, pyramid, and vast road system.

Cobá Roads

Raised limestone causeways (sacbeob) connecting sites, up to 100 km long.

Cobá Stelae

Show rulers with serpent bars, possibly a female leader; inscriptions eroded.

Cacao

Elite beverage made from cacao beans, consumed during rituals and court events.

Lewis Henry Morgan

Proposed unilineal evolution from savagery to civilization.

Unilineal Evolution

Outdated idea that societies evolve along one linear path toward civilization.

Gordon Childe

Defined Neolithic, Urban, and Industrial Revolutions as major societal shifts.

Neolithic Revolution

Transition from hunting-gathering to farming.

Urban Revolution

Development of cities and complex social hierarchies.

Industrial Revolution

Shift to mechanized production and large-scale manufacturing.

Thomas Hobbes

Argued civilization requires strong central authority to control selfish humans.

The Leviathan (1651)

Hobbes’ book advocating for powerful rulers to maintain order.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Believed civilization corrupts humanity and causes inequality.

A Discourse on Inequality (1755)

Rousseau’s critique of civilization as serving elites.

Elman Service (1962)

Proposed stages of social complexity: Band, Tribe, Chiefdom, State.

Social Complexity

Framework analyzing how societies change without moral judgment.

Civilization

Term carrying ethnocentric bias and often linked with inequality.

Terminal Classic Period

800–925 CE, era of transformation and collapse in the southern lowlands.

Southern Lowlands

Region with cities like Tikal, Calakmul, Copan, and Palenque facing depopulation.

Northern Lowlands

Region including Coba, Uxmal, and Chichen Itza rising after southern collapse.

Divine Kingship Decline

Reduced royal power and fewer mortuary shrines or inscriptions.

Possible Collapse Causes

Environmental change, warfare, overpopulation, drought, disease, disillusionment.

Xibalba (Underworld)

Maya concept central to beliefs about death and renewal during collapse narratives.

Puuc Region

Northern area with elaborate mosaic architecture, especially at Uxmal.

Uxmal

Puuc-style site with ornate architecture and limited divine kingship.

Chichen Itza

Major northern city blending Puuc and central Mexican influences.

El Castillo

Pyramid at Chichen Itza topped with a stone temple and feathered serpent imagery.

Feathered Serpent

Deity from central Mexico appearing in Chichen Itza architecture.

Court of the Thousand Columns

Large structure at Chichen Itza representing military and civic power.

Ballcourt

Monumental structure at Chichen Itza used for ritual ballgames.

Collapse Summary

Southern lowlands declined due to combined stresses; northern sites rose then fell.