Night and darkness implicitly feature in studies of ancient Mesoamerica—particularly those focused on caves, ceremonies, astronomy, and even households and agriculture. The contributors to the volume Night and darkness in ancient Mesoamerica, however, draw explicit attention to these topics in ways that are insightful and contribute to a fuller understanding of the life experiences of humans, animals and deities. Unlike a previous and related volume (Gonlin & Nowell Reference Gonlin and Nowell2018), the geographic area addressed in this book spans central Mexico in the north to El Salvador and Honduras in the south, with particular focus on Classic Maya and Aztec cultural contexts. Authors draw on complementary and overlapping lines of evidence, including artefacts, architecture, art, historical documents and codices, as well as ethnographic, botanical, acoustic and geological studies. Because of the geographic and chronological intersections across chapters, the volume holds together nicely.
The linguistic and cultural tendency to emphasise daytime and light can be observed in the terms used to describe ordinary occurrences, or ‘daily life’. The authors of the volume probe regular and extraordinary experiences of night and darkness, requiring distinct terminology to facilitate their discussion. In the introductory chapter, editors Reed and Gonlin offer the terms ‘nightways’, ‘nightscapes’ and ‘darkscapes’—the first two of which are used across the chapters in the volume (for ‘darkscapes’, see also Dowd & Hensey Reference Dowd and Hensey2016). By nightways, the authors refer to “the interconnected ideas, values, formalized behaviors, and material objects that are organized and reenacted through the performance of social roles and tasks related to experiences of the night” (p. 7). While this term is useful, and the chapter may become a standard reference as a result, the true strength of the volume lies in its comprehensive approach to experiences of darkness, whether or not at night. In addition to the introductory and review chapters (the latter a succinct and helpful summary by Julia Hendon), the volume consists of 11 substantive contributions. Contributors consider nocturnal experiences and activities, but also address volcanic night, the darkness of the temazcal (sweat bath), caves and symbols of darkness, and the wearing of a blindfold.
One theme that emerges early in the volume is the association of several animal and plant species with darkness. The introduction presents iconographic, ethnographic and archaeological evidence for the powers of bats, jaguars, dogs and deer at night. Reed and colleagues (Chapter 1) address food and feasting, finding reason to return to these animals, as well as various plant-based beverages. Venicia Slotten (Chapter 2) provides an overview of plants associated with nightways. Through consideration of archaeobotanical and ethnobotanical datasets, Slotten presents plants that bloom, smell strongly, or ‘sleep’ at night, as well as plant medicines taken at night or used to induce sleep. In a comprehensive approach, Slotten also addresses species preferred for fuel and torches, as well as those plants on which people slept and which surrounded them protectively as they did so.
The next chapters consider unusual daytime darkness and possibilities for light at night. Rachel Egan (Chapter 3) explores volcanic eruptions that could have produced a kind of unnatural, ash-induced and unpredictable night. As indicated in a table of regional eruptions (Table 3.1), these occurrences were rare. They must have caused disruption and anxiety, but limited documentation leads the author to make a comparison to the reception of more commonly recorded eclipses. Gonlin and Dixon-Hundredmark (Chapter 4), as well as Randolph Widmer (Chapter 5), consider illumination at night. Chapter 4 addresses the role and significance of moonlight, hearths, torches, possible candles, incense burners, mirrors, and even fireflies and the reflectivity of white roads and limestone walls. This overview sets the stage for Widmer's observations about the (lack of) fuel accessibility at Teotihuacan, and implications for state control of resources, nocturnal ceremonies and the use of other senses at night.
The darkness of the temazcal, like that of the blindfold, allows for healing related to associations with the womb and creation. Sheets and Thomason (Chapter 6) present the sweat bath at Cerén and the acoustics of its domed space. Jan Marie Olson (Chapter 7) elaborates on the symbolism of the temazcal, its prohibition during the colonial period, and associated concepts of gender. The features are used for purification rituals and have often been found near ball courts. Blindfolding similarly allows for a return to the healing darkness of creation, from which penitence can be sought for wrongdoings, such as adultery (Cecelia Klein; Chapter 11). On the other hand, Jeremy Coltman (Chapter 8) tracks more sinister associations of primordial darkness, focusing on crossbones and disembodied eyeballs, and considering these symbols in relation to caves, mountains, forests and sacrificial stone altars.
Two chapters address renewal events in the context of households. Jeanne Lopiparo (Chapter 9) expands the lines of evidence considered in the volume to include figurines and mortuary contexts, connecting to volume themes of underworld animals and feasting. Kirby Farah (Chapter 10) addresses the New Fire Ceremony of the Aztecs and its possible precursors at Xaltocan. These ceremonies occurred at night and involved extinguishing all light before igniting the flame again to re-start the 52-year ritual cycle. Farah's discussion considers the implications of the practice for solidarity across ethnic groups and the extent to which such ceremonies were public or more restricted affairs.
The ecological and environmental diversity within Mesoamerica could have received greater attention in this edited collection; properties of the night can be particularly inviting for activities of all kinds in the hotter lowlands during dry and summer months, for example. Future research inspired by this volume will continue to address changing conceptions of ceremonial practices, symbolism and the connotations of darkness, as seen in the chapters by Farah, Coltman, and Olson. Latin American scholars will have much to offer to this ongoing conversation about darkness across ancient Mexico and Central America. Overall, this volume opens important areas of inquiry that relate illumination and darkness to questions of power and inequality, personal and communal experience, biological rhythms and healing practices.
