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Leadership at Sayil

A study of political and religious decentralization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Kelli Carmean
Kelli Carmean
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work, Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY 40475-3119, USA
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Abstract

This paper explores the nature of community leadership within the Late–Terminal Classic Maya site of Sayil, Yucatan, Mexico. The distribution of political and religious activities—as represented archaeologically by cylindrical stone monuments (“altars”) and Oxkutzcab Applique censers—is examined. It is argued that such activities are dispersed into the upper ranks of Sayil society, rather than concentrated in the royal, ruling sector. It is further argued that the residential areas in which political and religious activities were concentrated may have been the loci of lineage heads of Sayil, who maintained important leadership roles despite attempts at centralization by the rulers.

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Articles
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Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , Fall 1998, pp. 259 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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