MONUMENTS AND ACCESS

Each of the five sites is arranged with open plaza areas and relatively more restricted areas labeled acropoleis or palaces (Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). Plazas were the location for public rituals, oriented toward a broad audience. All five sites had multiple public plazas with open access, although the plazas may be defined as separate spaces. Palenque's Cross Group and the Twin Pyramid Groups at Tikal may be exceptions, being plazas to which access was restricted. Their construction indicates public access, although perhaps not as extensive as in the main plazas at both sites.

Map of Copan (adapted by Anthony Graesch from Fash 1991:Figure 8).

Map of Quirigua (adapted by Anthony Graesch from Sharer 1990:Figure 1).

Map of Tikal (adapted by Anthony Graesch from Coe 1967:20).

Map of Yaxchilan (adapted by Anthony Graesch from Graham and von Euw 1977:6–7). Scale in meters.

Map of Palenque (adapted by Anthony Graesch from Schele and Freidel 1990:Figure 6:5).

Structures on the edges of plazas had restricted access. Relatively few could enter these structures, and those who ascended the steps of the structure were demonstrating their ability to interact with the monument. Structure 10L-26 at Copan, Structure 1A-3 at Quirigua, Temples I and II at Tikal, the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque, and Structure 20 at Yaxchilan all face public plaza areas. The plaza is a setting for public ritual, but it is also a place for an audience to witness those few who were allowed to enter the structures above. The audience in the plaza below acknowledged the higher status of those ascending the steps. The interiors of structures were the context for relatively private ritual, while the exteriors of structures were stages on which rituals were performed for the audience in the plaza below.

An acropolis is composed of groups of structures on raised platforms that served as locations for more restricted, private ritual. Platforms and some structures create physical barriers between the surrounding plazas and the acropolis itself. Entrance to an acropolis may be relatively simple such as climbing the steps on the north side of Quirigua's Acropolis, or complex such as at Tikal's labyrinthine Central Acropolis. Even a staircase restricted access to the acropolis to a few who, by entering the acropolis, demonstrated their higher status. Once in the acropolis, further divisions mimicked those on the main plazas, as some people would be restricted to plazas or courtyards in the acropolis while others were allowed to enter the structures. At Copan, Structures 10L-16 and 10L-22 and other structures were relatively more restricted than the East and West Courts below. Within an acropolis, society was further subdivided as some acted out their higher social status and ability to enter structures, interacting with the monuments and the ruler more closely. Monumental art, which was created by the ruler, depicts the ruler as the top of the hierarchy and as allowed unrestricted access to everything.

CREATING ROYAL POWER

In addition to physical access to monuments, variations in the monuments themselves created different contexts and communicated information about power and society. A modified dominant ideology theory suggests that each class or group in society may be unified by its own ideology (Abercrombie and Turner 1982; Abercrombie et al. 1982). The dominant or ruling ideology may not be accepted by other groups in society. While not all aspects of this model fit the Classic Maya, the ruling ideology of the Maya was not directed in the same way at each group in society. At all of the sites, images differed according to their context. Public monuments defined the ruler's power, and architectural sculpture created a supernatural setting for ritual (Andrews 1975:12–13; Schele and Freidel 1990). Sculpture located at lower elevations in relatively more public areas emphasized the image of the ruler. Other imagery or people might be included, but the ruler's image dominates the scene by size or position. As the one who commissioned the monuments, the ruler could use them to communicate his/her view of society. In the ruler's view, the ruler was the dominant living member of society, whose image was placed on stelae in plazas to communicate this identity to all of Maya society. In the central area of each site is a large public plaza with a gallery of ruler portraits (Figure 6). Plazas were used in a variety of ways: as the setting for public ritual, for processions, and for markets and other daily activities (Andrews 1975:10–13, 37), so the images of the ruler in plazas were visible to the largest, broadest audience. People interacted with the portraits daily, walking past them, and continually acknowledging the ruler's position.

Tikal, Great Plaza showing the gallery of ruler portraits on rows of stelae.

An exception is Palenque, where ruler portraits are placed on the piers of structures above the plaza rather than on stelae (Figure 7). The portraits are similar in placement to those at other sites because they are located below the supernatural architectural sculpture, which is on the facades and roof combs. The portraits differ from those at other sites in that, although they are visible to a general audience, the audience is not allowed to interact directly with them. Only those allowed to ascend the steps of the structures were able to interact with the ruler. This placement appears to distinguish the rulers from the general audience at Palenque more than at other sites.

Palenque Palace, House A, Column B. The ruler portraits at Palenque are placed on building piers, such as this one, rather than on stelae.

Although the ruler's image is dominant, other motifs on the stelae conveyed sources of the ruler's power. Ideological power came from the ability to commune with the supernatural, so public monuments showed the ruler with deities and ancestors to create a unique relationship (for complete discussions of ancient Maya connections to ancestors through art and architecture, see McAnany 1995, 1998). At Copan, Quirigua, and Tikal, stelae portray the ruler in ritual costume, with cosmological figures around (Figures 8–9). Even with cosmological imagery, the ruler's image dominates the scene. At Palenque and Yaxchilan, the images are more dynamic, showing the ruler performing rituals (Figures 7, 10). Stelae at Yaxchilan have deity masks below and ancestor cartouches and deities above, showing the ruler in the middle world of the tripartite Maya universe. At Palenque, the ruler portraits are conflated with architectural imagery, showing the ruler performing rituals on the piers, with supernatural imagery above, suggesting that the rituals were performed within a mythological context.

Copan Stela A, east side, showing the ruler in costume holding a serpent bar.

Quirigua Stela E, south side, showing the ruler in costume holding a shield.

Yaxchilan Stela 20 showing the ruler in military costume standing over a captive. Drawing by Carolyn E. Tate.

Images were altered to adapt to current sociopolitical situations. K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yoaat of Quirigua (also known as Butz' Tiliw or Cauac Sky) included warrior imagery and ritual imagery on his stelae (Figure 9). He achieved his status through the military defeat of Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil of Copan (also known as 18 Rabbit), so he continually re-created his military power on an almost equal level with his ideological power. Tikal and Yaxchilan also erected portraits of rulers in military costume during times of conflict (Figure 10). Yaxchilan devoted much of the imagery facing the river, facing visitors entering the site, to the ruler's military achievements.

Unlike monuments in plazas, on architecture the supernatural imagery dominates. The exteriors of structures were designed to be visible from the plaza below, setting a stage for ritual. When participants ascended the steps of a structure, they entered a space where they were physically dominated by cosmic imagery as they metaphorically entered the supernatural world (Andrews 1975:10–13; Schele and Miller 1986:66). One moved from the terrestrial world of the plaza with images of the ruler to the supernatural world with cosmological imagery. The images of deities or supernatural motifs such as water bands and sky bands separated the participants in the plaza from those in the structure above by placing them in different worlds. Stephen Houston (1998) describes cosmological associations of architectural features in detail. Moving up a stairway carved with dynastic histories, such as Copan's Structure 10L-26, the Hieroglyphic Stairway, moves one farther back along the ancestral line of rulers, into the dynastic past as well as the supernatural realm (Houston 1998:356–357).

On some structures, the ruler was depicted with the supernatural imagery; at Yaxchilan, Palenque, Tikal, and perhaps parts of the Acropolis at Copan, figures were shown seated on thrones on the roof combs (Figure 11). The thrones and costumes indicate that the rulers were human rather than deities. The ruler was shown within a cosmic setting, demonstrating ideological power through communion with the supernatural. Palenque's structures are slightly different, depicting the ruler on piers rather than on stelae, but as at all sites, ruler portraits were dominant below while mythological imagery was dominant above. The structure conflated the public images of rulers with the supernatural imagery but still kept them separate.

Palenque Temple of the Sun, roof comb. Drawing by Merle Greene Robertson (after Griffin 1978:Figure 19).

Structure 33 at Yaxchilan is the dominant structure above the Main Plaza, but it is also the least visible. Because the structure is set back from the staircase that leads to it, only the roof comb and upper facade are visible from the plaza and from the river. The visible portion shows the ruler seated on a throne, surrounded by mythological imagery (Tate 1992:131). Although the rituals conducted within the structure were not visible, the structure itself was a constant reminder of the ruler's place within the supernatural and unique ideological power.

The interiors of structures above the plazas were the setting for private rituals where the ruler interacted with deities and ancestors, creating power through ritual. Inside structures, imagery continued to emphasize the ruler's place within the supernatural, creating a context for ritual. Relatively few elite entered structures, and they did so when participating in private ritual. The imagery created a supernatural context and conveyed specific messages to the elite audience. The elite had power, and their powerful position may have been threatening to the ruler, so the ruler was distinguished from others through action, costume, and the surrounding monuments. Inside structures, the ruler was portrayed participating in ritual, communing with the supernatural, performing acts that the other members of the elite could not. At Copan, the inner doorway of Structure 10L-22 is a representation of the cosmos (Fash 1991:Figure 77; Schele and Miller 1986:302). When the ruler stood in the doorway, he was shown as the center of the universe, a blatant message to those entering the structure of his central position not only in ritual, but also for the preservation of the cosmos. These images demonstrated the distinct ideological power of the ruler from other ritual participants. By standing within and among such monuments, the elite audience acknowledged and accepted the ruler's position.

Ritual acts were depicted differently in public and private spaces, with private scenes including more details of the actions and objects involved. Palenque's exterior building piers had various simple scenes, while the interiors of structures in the Cross Group had more elaborate images with more detailed depictions of ritual implements and sacred objects. Yaxchilan stelae depicted relatively simple, graphic portraits of the ruler with blood dripping from his hands, while the more private lintels presented the bloodletting ritual itself, not just the result. On the lintels in Structures 21 and 23, the ruler and others were shown in the process of auto-sacrifice with ritual implements such as bloodletters, associated bowls, paper, and Vision Serpents (Figure 12; see also Graham and von Euw 1977:39, 41, 43, 53, 55–56). The act of letting blood and these ritual objects were shown in these private contexts, while they were never shown in the public contexts. It may have been inappropriate for ritual implements or the ritual process to be displayed outside the ritual context.

Yaxchilan Lintel 17 showing the ruler's wife and the ruler performing a bloodletting ritual (from Graham and von Euw 1977:Figure 43; reprinted with permission).

Other rituals are depicted in structures that may have been the settings for the rituals. Tikal Temple III, Lintel 2, shows the ruler performing a ceremony with two other individuals in which all three hold staves and tri-bladed knives (Figure 13; Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 72). The ruler is clearly the dominant figure, wearing an elaborate jaguar costume. The Cross Group of Palenque shows K'inich Kan B'alam II (also known as Chan Bahlum II) in various ritual acts associated with his heir designation, accession, and the dedication of the temples, all crucial events (Schele and Freidel 1990:Figures 6:11–6:13). The Cross Group panels demonstrated to others entering the structures that Kan B'alam II was named as the successor of Pakal (also known as Pacal); that he became ruler; and that he alone could dedicate structures to the gods and commune with them. The objects held by Kan B'alam II were held only by rulers and create an intimate connection to the gods. At Yaxchilan, the ruler was depicted in bloodletting rituals, such as those described earlier, in solstice celebrations and in numerous other ceremonies of which the details are unknown.

Tikal Temple III, Lintel 2, showing the ruler in a jaguar costume flanked by two other participants (from Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 72; reprinted with permission).

DEFINING SOCIAL ROLES

Rulers also defined the social roles of others in Maya society through the images on monuments. The ruler chose to show other participants in particular contexts. Such images provide information about some social interaction, such as which members of society participated in various rituals. Since these images were commissioned by the ruler, they depict what the ruler wanted to convey. The monuments show individuals whose prestige and support was important to the ruler. Monuments depict activities that were significant in creating social and power distinctions between groups. The strategy of each ruler, the participants and activities depicted, provide information about the unique circumstances in the sociopolitical environment. Examining the participants and activities depicted and comparing them to their context and audience reveals more about social roles and interaction than mere names and dates; the monuments reveal who participated in what activities and how they were important to the social and power structure.

DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER

As each site declined, there was an increase in the imagery produced by and depicting individuals other than the ruler. At Copan, sculpture in the elite residential area Las Sepulturas became more abundant and more elaborate. At Tikal, sculpture found in other groups also increased. Tikal Temple III, Lintel 2. included non-rulers participating in ritual. At Palenque, the Tablet of the Slaves commemorated the war exploits of a sahal, a noble under the authority of the ruler (Fash 1991:136; Schele and Freidel 1990:469). At Yaxchilan, the Southeast Group monuments increased and may have depicted figures who were not of the ruling family. These images represented both attempts by the ruler to maintain power and the loss of control over the production of monuments. As populations increased, more people were competing for the same amount of power. Nobles competed for positions of prestige. Rulers, wanting to maintain the support of the nobles, attempted to divide power and create new positions. Nobles of high status who supported the ruler were depicted on monuments or allowed to erect their own. Nobles who participated in rituals on monuments were seen as higher in status, being physically and symbolically elevated above others. Another means of gaining support was to allow nobles to erect their own monuments. The rulers may actually have had little choice in the matter. Preventing the use of monuments may have led to open conflict with the nobles—exactly what the ruler wanted to avoid. Allowing the production of monuments by other groups was the only choice.

RESUMEN

El arte monumental maya precolombino está examinado como una parte activa de su contexto social usando un acercamiento que combina métodos y teorías de la antropología, la historia del arte y la lingüística. El arte en la sociedad maya fue diseñado para representar la jerarquía física, social y ritual. Más bien que imágenes estáticas, el arte era parte de la interacción cotidiana, influyendo la manera en que la gente transitaba por sus sitios y la manera en que los grupos interactuaban. El acceso a ciertas áreas y, por lo tanto el arte que esas áreas contenían, estaba restringido. Cuando se paraban encima de las plataformas, las élites mostraban físicamente la jerarquía social. Rango social y posición física estaban relacionados a los papeles rituales. Los motivos iconográficos y jeroglíficos en los monumentos creaban distinciones en contextos para distintas ocasiones, permitiendo al gobernante comunicar varias formas de poder apropiadas a cada contexto y a cada público. Las esculturas públicas que eran accesibles a los grupos grandes de gente, enfatizaban al gobernante como un soberano poderoso. Las esculturas arquitectónicas creaban un contexto metafórico sobrenatural en el cual se realizaban los rituales, mostrando el poder ideológico único del gobernante a los demás participantes. Durante tiempos de crisis militar, el gobernante usaba atuendo de guerrero, armas y cautivos para ostentar su poder militar. En situaciones cuando se necesitaba apoyo adicional, se representaba al gobernante participando en rituales con otros nobles, estos como aliados poderosos. Las representaciones de actividades de la gente común mostraban sus relaciones a los gobernantes y sus papeles en la sociedad. Por medio de una consideración del arte como fenómeno activo y una examinación de cómo fue cambiando en varios contextos sociales, se puede identificar el papel del arte en la definición de las relaciones sociales y de poder.