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Classic Maya Temples, Politics, and the Voice of the People

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lisa J. Lucero*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, MC-148, 607 S. Mathews Ave., Urbana, IL 61801 (ljlucero@uiuc.edu)

Abstract

Temples provide sanctuary, a home for the gods, a place to worship, a stage for ceremonies, a depository for offerings, and a place to redistribute goods. Finally, temples provide an arena for political competition. The role of Maya temples, however, is not so clear. Inscriptions, when present, detail who built some temples, but not if nonroyals built them, if they were built for specific gods, and why the Maya built so many. The presence of several temples in any given center might indicate that various groups built them and that they served as arenas to compete for status, prestige, and power. If this were the case, then people may have had a choice at which temple to worship and support. To explore the politics of temple construction, I compare temple size, location, construction patterns, and ritual deposits at temples at the secondary center of Yalbac, Central Belize. Preliminary results from temple looters' trenches have exciting implications regarding temple histories in the southern Maya Lowlands during the Late Classic period (ca. A.D. 550-850).

Resumen

Resumen

Los templos proveen un santuario, un hogar a los dioses, un lugar de adoración, un escenario para las ceremonias, un sitio para las ofrendas y la redistribución de bienes, siendo, además, una arena para la competencia política. Sin embargo, el papel de los templos mayas no es tan claro. Las inscripciones, si están presentes, detallan quiénes construyeron algunos de ellos, pero no si lo hiceron dioses específicos y/o personas no pertenecientes a la realeza, y mucho menos porqué construyeron tantos. La presencia de varios templos en cualquier centro quizás indique que varios grupos intervinieron en su construcción y que sirvieran como arenas para competir por status, prestigio, y poder. Si este fuera el caso, entonces la gente habría tenido que escoger cuál templo adorar y apoyar. Al explorar las políticas de construcción de templos, comparo tamaño, localización, patrones de construcción, y depósitos rituales de los templos del centro secundario de Yalbac, Belice central. Los resultados preliminares del estudio de los sectores de vandalismos ofrecen implicaciones interesantes respecto de las historias de los templos en las Tierras Bajas Mayas del sur durante el período Clásico Tardío (ca. d.C. 550-850).

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 2007

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