Before the State
What three animals did Belize's earliest villagers eat the most?
Freshwater turtle
Deer
Dog
What do emblem glyphs tell us about the relationship between Maya polities?
Regional hierarchies between sites (relationships and alliances); we can see where these glyphs are distributed
What writing systems preceded the system created by the Maya?
Zapotec and Isthmian
What chiefdom had to collapse before El Mirador rose to power?
Nakbe
What does the skeleton of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' tell us about him?
He was a foreigner (from Tikal), middle-aged, elite, and a warrior (healed parry fracture)
What is the difference between minimal and maximal chiefdoms?
Minimal (simple): 2-levels, less monumental
Maximal: 3-level, monumental sites
What are the two examples of Maya first generation states?
Calakmul and Tikal
What is the function of a cache?
To animate, consecrate, and/or dedicate a building
How did the relationship between Copan and Quirigua change over time?
First, Copan installed ruler at Quirigua (AD 426)
Later, Quirigua killed Copan king and gains independence, leading to 18-year-gap in monument construction at Copán (AD 738)
From where did the inhabitants of Seibal likely originate?
They were likely sea traders from the gulf coast area (since rivers connected the Gulf of Mexico to the Pasión region, where Seibal is located, and the material culture recovered at Seibal is similar to that of Gulf peoples)
What does the huge investment at El Mirador tell us about maximal chiefdoms?
New strategies for organizing labor; competition
Explosion of monumental architecture (El Tigre) required lots of labor and people being pulled in (from Nakbe?)
What does Altar Q at Copán tell us about the function of stelae in Maya states?
Carvings on stelae are often used to demonstrate a ruler's legitimacy, connecting later rulers to the founder/1st ruler
What are three objects used in Maya rituals?
Eccentric flints
Obsidian blades
Stingray spines
Copal incense
Beakers/vessels
Who did the Copan dynastic founder marry and why?
The highest ranking local women as a strategy to extend and consolidate his power
Why did the Copán founder commission a flurry of monuments and texts?
He was a foreign usurper so this was one way to legitimize himself
What distinguishes the Formative Maya from the Archaic period?
Formative Maya had pottery and lived in villages
What are the two examples of Maya second generation states?
Dos Pilas and Copán
What do the titles "ah kin mai", "ah kin", "chilan", etc., tell us about Maya priesthood?
It was organized into a religious hierarchy
When did Tikal get the upper hand over Calakmul?
AD 695
Tikal became more important when El Mirador declined with Calakmul
Tikal dynasty ended around AD 870
An individual originally from Tikal was the first ruler of this second-generation state.
Dos Pilas (sent by his father from Tikal to Dos Pilas when he was 4 years old because he would not have become ruler of Tikal, since his older brother was next in line for the throne)
How can archaeologists tell that Maya chiefdoms were very competitive?
Masks ripped off platforms
Evidence of temple burning
Defensible site locations
Palisades and ditches
How did the relationship between Tikal and Calakmul differ from that of Monte Alban and Teotihuacan?
Calakmul and Tikal were constantly at war and struggling to gain the upper hand
How do cenotes play a role in Maya religion?
What was the Yucatan Peninsula like in AD 1500?
Around the time of Spanish arrival, the Yucatan Peninsula was divided into 16 provinces (cuchcabalob)
What is unusual (non-Maya) about the depictions of rulers at Seibal?
Rulers depicted with more weaponry (as warriors), having mustaches, wearing unusual ear ornaments, and with faces that do not resemble the idealized Maya ruler