Although cosmic tree symbolism among pre-Columbian societies of Mesoamerica traces from the Preclassic period, the underlying meaning of the motif and its symbolic permutations are poorly understood. Attempts to identify the plant in a botanical context on ceramic vessels, stucco reliefs, and stone stelae of lowland Maya attribution usually favor determinations as a kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) or maize plant (Zea mays). A botanical assessment of the morphic and ecological characteristics of these motifs suggests, however, a white-flowered water lily of lowland swamps, Nymphaea ampla. Archeological remains at San Bartolo of the Petén indicate that these iconographic practices were established and codified to a certain extent by the first century b.c. The frequent identification of various gods and dynastic rulers as personifications of a water lily world tree underscores the crucial symbolic and ritualistic roles this plant once played in the practice of religion and kingship among Mayan civilizations.

Traditionally, cups have been the primary artifact through which beverage consumption has been inferred or defined, regardless of the numerous other artifacts that may be involved in beverage production, preparation, and service. Conversely, not all cup-shaped artifacts were intended to be used as drinking vessels, nor were all of them necessarily intended to contain a liquid. For the Maya Classic period (a.d. 250–900) decorated cylinder vessels in particular, this paper shows that the residues of their former contents do not agree with epigraphers’ interpretations of what have been taken as self-referential statements about their contents and uses. This disparity between expectations and data indicates that we have misunderstood both the vessels and the text, and perhaps that we have failed to recognize one or more classes of vessels. The research presented here suggests that we need to rethink the generally accepted interpretation that all cylinders were drinking vessels and that those that are currently referred to as “chocolate” vessels were never used for the consumption of liquid cacao beverage. These results provide a new context for interpreting the use, function, and purpose of these vessels. Methods drawn from both the natural and social sciences are used to relate archaeological materials, residues of their ancient contents, their hieroglyphic texts, ceramic imagery(/iconography), and past behavior. This diversity of methods accentuates that combining data from all these sources constrains the interpretations of each, and shows that our initial expectations about vessels with hieroglyphic tags have been overly specific. Determining the functions and uses of these vessels is not as simple as we have been supposing, but distinctions that prove to be relevant give us access to more complex systems of cultural practice.

This paper analyzes the roles and attributes of the Maya goddess Ix Hun Ahau, the female manifestation of Hun Ahau that appears in the Ritual of the Bacabs. This Colonial Yucatec text is our earliest surviving source for how Maya cosmology provided a framework for healing practices. Although the extant manuscript dates to the late eighteenth century, it is the culmination of centuries of interethnic interaction, including innovations emerging from the intellectual exchange that characterized Mesoamerica during the Late Postclassic period (ca. A.D. 1200–1500). The accoutrements and activities ascribed to this goddess in the incantations identify her as a Maya parallel to Tlazolteotl-Ixcuina, the Nahua goddess of weaving, sexuality, pollution, and its purification. Pollution concepts and purification practices that are otherwise peripheral in the Ritual of the Bacabs are specifically related to Ix Hun Ahau, suggesting that early intellectual exchange between Mesoamerican peoples extended to medical cosmologies as well.

Los sonidos producidos por los seres humanos, así como los de su medio, son percibidos y codificados por las personas dependiendo de sus experiencias como parte de un grupo cultural; por esta razón, es esencial incorporarlos como un medio de comunicación entre los grupos sociales. En este trabajo presentamos el estudio arqueoacústico de dos flautas triples mayas. La primera proviene de las excavaciones en el sitio arqueológico de Jaina, y la segunda de un entierro en Copan, Honduras (Nakamura 2004). Ambas emiten una gran variedad sonora, la cual puede dar indicios de esta comunicación, tipo de manufactura y preferencias sonoras para el caso de los mayas prehispánicos. Este estudio es totalmente nuevo para el área maya y tiene una gran relevancia para incluir los sonidos como parte sustancial de la comunicación maya.

The discovery at Joya de Cerén of the remains of a prehistoric village has presented archaeologists with an unprecedented view of pre-Columbian southern Mesoamerican earthen architecture. Twelve of the 17 known structures at the site have been partially or completely excavated to date. They include domestic dwellings, storehouses, and kitchens, as well as public and ritual buildings. These structures shared many architectural characteristics, yet each was unique. This paper draws upon the Cerén literature and personal field experience in order to present, in words and drawings, a comparison of form and function for these remarkably well-preserved structures, and suggests directions for further inquiry at Cerén.

The Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field (MGVF) hosts >1,400 monogenetic structures younger than 5 Ma. Here we focus on the Malpaís de Zacapu Late Holocene cluster located in the western part of the Zacapu lacustrine basin, situated in the heart of native Purepecha province. The Malpaís de Zacapu comprises four distinct eruptions: the Infiernillo lava flow emitted at ~1450 b.c.; Malpaís Las Víboras, a purely effusive eruption at ~1000 b.c.; the Capaxtiro compound lava flow at ~150 b.c.; and the most recent eruption, the Malpaís Prieto lava flow at ~a.d. 900. Although these lava flows are not inhabited today, they were densely populated in pre-Hispanic times (before a.d. 1521), especially during the Milpillas phase (a.d. 1200–1450). Volcanological studies (geochemical studies and detailed mapping using high-resolution DEM from LiDAR) allowed us to characterize these eruptions in terms of their magma source (rock chemical composition, mineral assemblage), age (radiocarbon and paleomagnetic dating), magnitude and dynamics (volume, morphology of the deposits), as well as lava flow emplacement duration. The findings allow us to infer the potential impact that these eruptions had on the pre-Hispanic settlement history of the area.

The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico, is an outstanding example of Classic Maya architecture erected in the seventh century as the funerary building for ruler K'inich Janab Pakal. For decades, scholars have speculated on its construction sequence and the potential existence of hidden rooms on either side of Pakal's mortuary chamber. This article aims to advance understanding of the Temple's architectural context in light of new 3D data. After reviewing the application of drone-based photogrammetry and terrestrial Light Detection and Ranging in the Maya area, we argue that these techniques are capable of enhancing the architectural analysis of the Temple of the Inscriptions and showing that this structure was part of a larger architectural project, encompassing the adjacent Temple XIII, and the connecting stepped building platform. Our findings demonstrate that the basal platforms for the Temple of the Inscriptions and Temple XIII were erected contemporaneously and that the design of their mortuary chambers follows a tripartite layout we identified in Palenque's elite funerary architecture and associated mortuary practices. We conclude that these three buildings were part of a mausoleum architectural project, the construction of which was initiated by Pakal to reshape Palenque's site-core and enshrine the ruling family's power and ancestors.

The Classic period lowland Maya used iron-ore mosaic mirrors and deposited mirrors in the burials of rulers and other people. Depictions of mirrors suggest that they were used for scrying, as were mirrors in Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish arrival. Maya mirror users of this kind were conjurors, who used a variety of other divining and conjuring instruments and materials, including plates and shallow bowls. Three rulers at El Peru-Waka', now called Waka' by researchers at the site, an ancient city in northwestern Peten, Guatemala, were buried with mirrors and associated divining and conjuring materials. Following a brief introduction to the city and its temples, we describe the arrangement of mirrors and associated materials in three royal tombs. We suggest that the mirrors in these tombs were used in conjuring supernatural beings into existence, particularly Akan, a death god and wahy spirit who was a patron of the Waka' realm. We propose that the rulers and mirror conjurors of Waka' were oracles and that Waka' was known for prophecy. References to Sihyaj K'ahk' in text and iconography at Waka', and his association with oracular paraphernalia such as mirrors, lead us to propose a prophetic aspect of the visit of Sihyaj K'ahk' to the site eight days prior to his famous arrival at Tikal in a.d. 378. We suggest that the three rulers we discuss were mirror oracles sustained by the prestige of the prophecy of Sihyaj K'ahk'.

Archaeologists have estimated the human energy costs of various undertakings. Confusion has arisen about the notion of energy “profits”–what must be included in their calculation and what we can learn from such calculations. When it comes to assessing the contribution to sociopolitical hierarchy building of energy profits derived from long-distance transport of food staples, it is the energy expended (both in transport and acquisition of the food staples) that matters. The source of the food that produces the human energy so expended is immaterial. What may be learned from such calculations is whether attempts to understand certain behaviors in terms of economic “rationality” succeed or not.

This article reports on the discovery of an unusual type of secondary burial found at two Middle Formative sites in the Mascota valley of Jalisco, West Mexico. We examine these burials within a Middle and Late Formative period context as well as a broader temporal context of funerary customs and mortuary programs involving secondary-type burials. Tightly wrapped, elaborately processed bundled burials were recovered at the cemeteries of El Embocadero II and Los Tanques. We report on the human remains from both sites and examine burial context and biological identity to seek explanations. The individuals selected for this burial treatment are not associated with any markers of high status. These burials may represent a different ethnic, familial, community or ancestral identity, and we consider the broader secondary burial phenomenon as the possible expression of a ritual of seasonal interment associated with the use of a mortuary hut to curate and process the bodies.

Research presented here demonstrates that an unusual almanac in the Madrid Codex (pages 12–18) integrates observations of the Venus cycle with eclipse events in the context of the agricultural year. Imagery in the 260-day almanac represents eclipse glyphs associated with Tzolkin dates that coordinate with eclipses visible in Yucatan during the fifteenth century, indicating the almanac dates to the Late Postclassic. The almanac also depicts seasonal events in the context of a repeating pattern of paired solar eclipses associated with observations of Venus as the evening star. Quetzalcoatl-Kukulcan's counterpart in the Madrid almanac is the Chicchan serpent, who plays the role of Venus in a sequence showing a fertile aspect of the planet linked with the 260-day agricultural cycle and the Pleiades. Clearly, Venus positions and eclipse events were closely watched in relation to the planting cycle, reflecting a form of “agro-astronomy” that we are only now beginning to understand.

Excavations of the Mazapan phase at the Atetelco complex at Teotihuacan by Ruben Cabrera and colleagues produced a small human copper figurine. Studies of Mesoamerican metallurgy have indicated that metallurgy was introduced to western Mexico around a.d. 700 from Colombia, and Ecuador. This particular figurine is a remarkable find. The dates (a.d. 800–900) precede those of copper artifacts in the central Highlands. The manufacturing method (an open-backed casting) is rare in Mesoamerica but common in Colombia and Panama. Open-backed cast figurines that do appear in Mesoamerica come from the Cenote of Sacrifice, are made from copper-gold alloys, and were imported from lower Central America or Colombia. The Atetelco figurine is made from a copper-arsenic alloy. Copper-arsenic alloy objects are common in western Mexico (after a.d. 1150) and Ecuador and northern Peru (after about a.d. 300). The major question concerning the Atetelco figurine is whether it was fashioned in Ecuador or Colombia and imported, or whether it was produced in western Mexico. Our study of artifact chemistry, fabrication methods, and provenience indicate that the weight of the evidence points to western Mexico. We suggest that this fabrication technique (lost-wax castings of open-backed human figurines), while introduced from Colombia and lower Central America, never became a major component of the Mesoamerican metallurgical tradition.

In the past decade, a number of prominent scholars have attempted to use astronomical data to place the images on page 27 of the Codex Borgia in “real-time.” This method has yielded some interesting results, but all of these authors have assumed that the Codex Borgia was produced in accordance with the Aztec calendar. Given the probable origin of the Codex Borgia in the area bordering the Mixtec and eastern Nahua cultural areas, this assumption needs to be tested. This article compares weather-related images that have associated dates on Borgia 27–28 with tree-ring data and estimated maize yields from the Puebla area. Our research for this paper seems to confirm the use of the Aztec calendar in the Codex Borgia. By analyzing depictions of weather phenomenon relating to maize production, we also offer a fresh analysis of this well-known document, specifically arguing that a major drought is shown in a 1 Rabbit year, whereas the year 1 Flint is linked with a period of dryness following heavy rains, a condition sometimes linked with locust swarms like those on Borgia 27.

The Mapa de Otumba, a sixteenth-century document (1550–1575) currently archived in the Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia of the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico, represents a small portion of the pre-Conquest altepetl of Otompan and its Early Colonial-period administrative successors, the parroquia and corregimiento of Otumba. The exact circumstances under which the map was executed, its original purpose, and any associated textual documents are unknown. The paper on which the map is executed (amate) and the style in which it was drawn clearly show pre-Conquest paper and the hand of a tlacuilo (scribe) influenced by post-Conquest style, script, and changes in sociopolitical and religious organization. Analysis of the elements of the document reveal its temporal and spatial setting; it also throws light on the changes in indigenous sociopolitical and religious organization during the first half-century of the Early Colonial period.

An ongoing debate about Early Formative cultural elaboration in Mesoamerica is based largely on claims about where innovations originated and when different regions influenced each other. One view is that Gulf lowland populations called “Olmec” by archaeologists made a number of key innovations and that their influence on contemporary societies stimulated the rise of Mesoamerican civilization. Another view is that multiple regions participated equally and all made innovations that became the legacy of later Mesoamerican societies. Additional empirical work will help resolve some of the issues raised by this debate, as Cheetham and Blomster (2010) have recently suggested in this journal. Explicit theory can also help move the discussion forward.

The Canek manuscript is written in a distinctive linguistic style, probably a local variant of Spanish influenced by Yucatec Maya and archaic forms of Spanish. It also reflects a curiously ambivalent perspective on the Itza king Canek, at once aligning him with the pagan Indians and suggesting an affinity with Saint Francis. Like many other colonial texts, the four extant folia of this manuscript show a blending of verbal genres. This paper presents a discourse analysis of the manuscript, demonstrating that it is organized according to a systematic rhetorical structure based on syntactic foregrounding, poetic parallelism and thematic development. Placed in the context of other colonial documents, this one displays the cultural and linguistic ambivalence of its author.

In the past 20 years, what were once considered specialized auxiliary subdisciplines or analytical approaches such as bioarchaeology, paleozoology, subterranean archaeology, and material culture studies have become central to all research due to refinements of their analytic tools. Meanwhile, building on earlier progress in epigraphy, work on the Classic period truly has become historical archaeology. These advances provide a much greater understanding of ancient Maya ecology, economy, and politics and insights into the details, not just trends, in culture history. Realization of this potential, however, is imperiled by problems in research design and interpretation. Project structures rarely allows for complete and independent application of these enhanced fields, while the traditional elements of ceramic classification and chronology have not kept pace. The erratic sample of both Maya lowland and highland regions needs to addressed, rather than glossed over by extrapolations or assumptions about interaction and expansionism. Institutional structures and financial limitations have led to many superficial studies masked by quasi-theoretical terminologies. Constructive solutions, most exemplified in some current projects, include the obligation to try to apply all available techniques and approaches. To make that feasible, larger projects should be fragmented into multi-institutional collaborations. Greater emphasis must be given to classifications and excavations that generate ceramic microchronologies. Above all, we must investigate the extensive unstudied or understudied regions. Finally, most challenging is the need to collectively confront academic structures that encourage rapid, incomplete studies and discourage more substantial publications and long term multi-institutional research.