Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-22dnz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T03:32:46.128Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Incensario Complex of Palenque, Chiapas*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Robert L.  and
Barbara C. Rands
Robert L.
Affiliation:
University of Mississippi, University, Miss.
Barbara C. Rands
Affiliation:
University of Mississippi, University, Miss.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The three major forms of Palenque incensarios, the great majority of which appear to be locally made, are pedestal'based vessels, ladles, and elaborately decorated, hollow, flanged cylinders. The first two forms were clearly used for burning incense, but the elaborate cylinders show no definite evidence of burning. They may have served as stands or supports for incense burners, and in any case, are certainly related to the incensario tradition in Mesoamerica. At Palenque, this tradition seems to be oriented toward the hierarchical aspects of Maya civilization. The decoration on the flanged cylinders shows close resemblances to the symbolism and the manner of portrayal in Maya monumental art. While the Palenque incensarios are fundamentally similar to those in other parts of Mesoamerica, they are quite distinctive in both shape and decoration. The main correspondences are with Late Classic incense burners in southern Tabasco and the Alta Verapaz.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , October 1959 , pp. 225 - 236
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1959

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Expanded version of a paper read at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology at Norman, Oklahoma, in May, 1958.

References

Berlin, Heinrich 1956 Late Pottery Horizons of Tabasco, Mexico. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 606, Contributions to American Anthropology and History, No. 59. Washington.Google Scholar
Blom, Frans and Farge, Oliver La 1926–27 Tribes and Temples, 2 vols. Tulane University, Middle American Research Series, Publication No. 1. New Orleans.Google Scholar
Boggs, S. H. 1949 Tlaloc Incensarios in the Baratta Collection, El Salvador. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 94. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Borhegyi, S. F. 1950 Rim-head Vessels and Cone-shaped Effigy Prongs of the Pre-Classic Period at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 97. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Borhegyi, S. F. 1951a A Study of Three-pronged Incense Burners from Guatemala and Adjacent Areas. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 101. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Borhegyi, S. F. 1951b “Loop-nose” Incense Burners in the Guatemala National Museum. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 103. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Borhegyi, S. F. 1951c Further Notes on Three-pronged Incense Burners and Rimhead Vessels in Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 105. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Borhegyi, S. F. 1956 The Development of Folk and Complex Cultures in the Southern Maya Area. American Antiquity, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 343–356. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Borhegyi, S. F. 1958 Aqualung Archeology. Natural History, Vol. 67, No. 3, pp. 120–5. New York.Google Scholar
Borhegyi, S. F. 1959 The Composite or “Assemble-it-yourself” Censer: A New Lowland Maya Variety of the Three-Pronged Incense Burner. American Antiquity, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 51–8. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Butler, Mary 1935 Piedras Negras Pottery. University Museum, Viedras Negras Preliminary Papers, No. 4. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Coe, W. R. and Broman, V. L. 1958 Excavations in the Stela 23 Group. Museum Monographs, Tikal Reports. No. 2, pp. 23–60. University Museum, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Cook de Leonard, Carmen 1954 Dos extraordinarias vasijas del Museo de Villa Hermosa (Tabasco). Yan, No. 3, pp. 83–104. Mexico.Google Scholar
Dieseldorff, E. P. 1926 Kunst und Religion der Mayavölker, Vol. 1. Julius Springer, Berlin.Google Scholar
Drucker, Philip 1943 Ceramic Sequences at Tres Zapotes, Veracruz, Mexico. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 140. Washington.Google Scholar
Fernández, Miguel Angel 1943 New Discoveries in the Temple of the Sun in Palenque. Dyn, Vol. 1, No. 4-5, pp. 55–8. Mexico.Google Scholar
Gann, Thomas 1934 Changes in the Maya Censer, from the Earliest to the Latest Times. Verhandlungen des XXIV. Internationalen Amerikanisten-Kongresses [Hamburg, 1930], pp. 51–4. Hamburg.Google Scholar
Kelemen, Pál 1943 Medieval American Art, 2 vols. Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
Kidder, A. V. 1954 Miscellaneous Archaeological Specimens from Mesoamerica. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 117. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Kidder, A. V., Jennings, J. D. and Shook, E. M. 1946 Excavations at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 561. Washington.Google Scholar
Kidder, Alfred II, and Chinchilla, Carlos Samayoa 1959 Art of the Ancient Maya. Thomas Y. Crowell, New York.Google Scholar
Longyear, J. M. III 1952 Copan Ceramics, A Study of Southeastern Maya Pottery. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 597. Washington.Google Scholar
Lothrop, S. K. 1933 Atitlan, An Archaeological Study of Ancient Remains on the Borders of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 444. Washington.Google Scholar
Maudslay, A. P. 1889-1902 Archaeology. Biologia Centrali'Americana, 5 vols. London.Google Scholar
Proskouriakoff, Tatiana 1946 An Album of Maya Architecture. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 558. Washington.Google Scholar
Proskouriakoff, Tatiana 1950 A Study of Classic Maya Sculpture. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 593. Washington.Google Scholar
Rands, R. L. and Rands, B. C. 1957 The Ceramic Position of Palenque, Chiapas. American Antiquity, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 140–50. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Ruz Lhuillier, Alberto 1952 Exploraciones en Palenque: 1950. Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Vol. 5, No. 33, pp. 25–45. Mexico.Google Scholar
Ruz Lhuillier, Alberto 1958a Exploraciones arqueológicas en Palenque: 1953. Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Vol. 10, No. 39, pp. 69–116. Mexico.Google Scholar
Ruz Lhuillier, Alberto 1958b Exploraciones arqueológicas en Palenque: 1954. Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antroftología e Historia, Vol. 10, No. 39, pp. 117–84. Mexico.Google Scholar
Sáenz, C. A. 1956 Exploraciones en la Pirámide de la Cruz Foliada y en los Templos XVIII y XXI. Informes del Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e His’ toria, No. 5. Mexico.Google Scholar
Seler, Eduard 1902–23 Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur amerikanischen Sprach-und Alterthumskunde, 5 vols. Berlin.Google Scholar
Seler, Eduard 1904 Antiquities of Guatemala. Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 28, pp. 75–121. Washington.Google Scholar
Shook, E. M. 1954 Three Temples and their Associated Structures at Mayapan. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Current Reports, No. 14. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Shook, E. M. 1958 The Temple of the Red Stela. Expedition, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 26–33. Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Smith, A. L., and Kidder, A. V. 1943 Explorations in the Motagua Valley, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 546, Contributions to American Anthropology and History, No. 41. Washington.Google Scholar
Smith, R. E. 1944 Archaeological Specimens from Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Notes on Middle American Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 37. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Smith, R. E. 1955 Ceramic Sequence at Uaxactun, Guatemala, 2 vols. Tulane University, Middle American Research Institute, Publication No. 20. New Orleans.Google Scholar
Spinden, H. J. 1913 A Study of Maya Art: Its Subject Matter and Historical Development. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, Vol. 6. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. E. S. 1931 Archaeological Investigations in the Southern Cayo District, British Honduras. Field Museum of Natural History, Publication 301, Anthropological Series, Vol. 17, No. 3. Chicago.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. E. S. 1950 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: Introduction. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 589. Washington.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. E. S. 1957 Deities Portrayed on Censers at Mayapan. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Current Reports, No. 40. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Thompson, R. H. (editor) 1956 An Archaeological Approach to the Study of Cultural Stability. In “Seminars in Archaeology: 1955,” edited by Wauchope, Robert, pp. 31–57. Memoirs of the Society for American Archaeology, No. 11. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Wauchope, Robert 1948 Excavations at Zacualpa, Guatemala. Tulane University, Middle American Research Institute, Publication No. 14. New Orleans.Google Scholar
Woodbury, R. B., and Trik, A. S. 1953 The Ruins of Zaculeu, Guatemala, 2 vols. United Fruit Company, New York.Google Scholar