The Identity of the Central Deity on the Aztec Calendar Stone
Author(s): Cecelia F. Klein
Source: The Art Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Mar., 1976), pp. 1-12
Published by: College Art Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3049459
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The Identity of the Central Deity on the Aztec Calendar
Stone*
Cecelia F. Klein
Of the extant artistic monuments created by the Aztecs of
Pre-Columbian Mexico, the Aztec Calendar Stone is undoubtedly the most important (Fig. I). The thirteen-and-ahalf foot circular polychromed basalt relief has been used to
illustrate Postclassic Mexican cosmological concepts and the
nature of their manifestation in Postclassic visual art more
identified as Xiuhcoatls, or Fire Serpents, mythological
creatures who symbolize the twenty-four-hour course of the
sun through the daytime sky and the earth at night. An
inner ring contains all twenty day-signs of the Aztec calendar.4 In the center of the reliefs there appear the frontal,
or enface, face and hands of what is certainly a deity; these
are enframed by the six-lobed Postclassic graphic symbol
often than any other single image of the period.1 Discovered
for the word Ollin, which means "earth," "movement," or
in 1790 lying face down in the Plaza Mayor of Mexico City
"earthquake." The Ollin sign is accompanied by four small
(formerly the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan), and seen today
that convert it into the date naui ollin, 4 Ollin, or
in the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City, circles
the
"4 Earthquake." In each of the four angles of the Ollin sign
Calendar Stone has, further, come to symbolize for the
there is an image that similarly refers to a specific date in the
Mexican people the beauty and complexity of their PreAztec calendar.
Columbian heritage. Given its dual role as a national symIn connection with this imagery Seler and Beyer point
bol and a key to scholarly understanding of Postclassic art
out that the Aztecs believed that the universe had passed
and cosmology, it is critically important that the iconothrough four cyclical epochs, each of which had had its
graphy of the Calendar Stone be fully comprehended.
own sun. Each of these epochs or "suns" had been violently
The fundamental meaning of the Aztec Calendar Stone
destroyed at the end of a fifty-two-year cycle, or Aztec
has been understood for some time. Scholars have typically
"century." The Aztecs themselves, on the eve of the Spanish
accepted the interpretations offered by Eduard Seler and
Hermann Beyer who are in essential agreement on the
Conquest in the early sixteenth century, were living in the
fifth and last epoch or "sun" and believed that it too would
matter.2 According to them, the Calendar Stone functioned
be destroyed, thereby obliterating both man and his unias a graphic symbol of the Postclassic concept of cyclical
verse for all time. This present sun, whose name was naui
time and space.3 This theory is based on the form of the
ollin, 4 Ollin, was expected to be destroyed by earthquakes
carving itself, which depicts a giant disk with pointed proagain at the end of an unspecified Aztec "century" of fiftyjections that in standard Postclassic iconography invariably
two years.5 Since the date 4 Ollin appears on the Calendar
represents the sun. The rim of the stone takes the form of
Stone relief, and since the four dates located in the four
two serpents meeting at tails and heads; they are typically
* This article is a version of a paper presented to the Columbia device
Uni- used to compute time. Curiously, neither dissents from the traditional identification of the central figure challenged in this article.
versity Seminar on Primitive and Pre-Columbian Art, 15 February
1974. It is based on a portion of my doctoral dissertation. I am partic4 The Aztecs used two calendars that functioned independently but
ularly grateful to the Department of Art History and Archaeology,
that ended on the same day every fifty-two years. The first, the xihuitl,
Columbia University for a 1968 Departmental Summer Travel Grant,
was an agricultural calendar based on the 365-day rotation of the earth
which permitted me to pursue my dissertation research in Mexico,
and the sun. It was divided into eighteen months of twenty days
around
to my dissertation adviser, Professor Douglas Fraser, for his direction,
each with an additional five days (nemontemi) at the end. The second, the
advice, and support.
tonalpohualli, was a divinatory calendar based on the meshing of an
series of twenty day-signs with a series of the numerals one
N.B.: A bibliography of frequently cited sources will be found atinvariable
the
thirteen; each combination of day-sign and numeral could
end of this article. All manuscripts and codices mentioned in the textthrough
can
occur only once in 260 days. The 26o-day cycle was divided into twenty
also be found in the bibliography.
periods, or "weeks," of thirteen days each. A larger cycle of fifty-two
1 Pre-Columbian Mexican history is traditionally divided into three
major temporal periods: the Preclassic (or Formative), the Classic,years,
and known as the xiuhmolpilli, always ended on a day that simultan-
concluded both a 365-day and a 26o-day cycle. The xiuhmolpilli
the Postclassic. The latter roughly covers the years between A.D. eously
9oo
was itself divided into quarters and was of the greatest cosmic and ritual
and 152I, the year of the Spanish Conquest. At the time of the Consignificance.
quest, most of central Mexico was under the control of the Aztecs,
a
5 Owing to the nature of the Aztec calendar, the solar year, and thus the
Nahuatl-speaking people who rose to power in the i 4th century during
fifty-two year cycle, could never have ended on the day 4 Ollin. It is
what is known as the Late Postclassic period. The Aztec Calendar Stone
therefore not clear how the Aztecs related their fear of the day 4 Ollin to
was carved by these people to sit atop their major ceremonial plaza where
the end of their fifty-two year "century." The date 4 Ollin would have
it presumably served in some way in the performance of Aztec rituals.
The exact orientation and function of the monument have never been
occurred at least once every solar year, however, and events of that day
ascertained.
may have been interpreted as prophesies or determinants of the fate of
2 E. Seler, Disertacidnes, trans. D. de Le6n, Mexico City, M.M.S.S.the
delsun at the end of the current fifty-two year cycle. The association of
the day Ollin with the end of a fifty-two year cycle may also derive from
Museo Nacional, 1903, vr, If, and Gesammelte Abhandlungen, II, 796-99;
Beyer. See also Caso, 1958, 33, for a more recent presentation of the
the earlier use in many parts of Mesoamerica of an Ehecatl-Mazatlsame interpretation.
Malinalli-Ollin set of yearbearers. Such a system survived until the Con-
quest in parts of Oaxaca and Guerrero. If the names of the years, and
3 Recent dissenting points of view are put forth by Aviles-Solares hence
and the yearbearers themselves, were derived from the last day of the
R. Noriega, 221-242. While the two authors disagree in their identificayear, as Caso suggests, then the last day of the fifty-two year cycle would
tion of the various astronomical cycles and symbols represented, both
have always fallen on a day Ollin (see Caso, I967, 128).
conclude that the Aztec Calendar Stone was an astronomical calculating
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2 THE ART BULLETIN
x Aztec Calendar Stone. Mexico City, Museo Nacional de Antropologia (p
angles of the Ollin sign are the exact
the apparently
destruction
of thedates
sun was of
therefore
expected to take place
of the four previous "suns," Seleratand
conclude
night,Beyer
at which safely
time it was
believed to be dead and
hidden in the of
underworld
the navel of
the female earth
that the monument is a graphic symbol
the atAztec
concept
of the five mythological solar epochs
and the
end of the
goddess Tlaltecuhtli
who systematically
"devoured" it each
world.6
day at sunset. Only proper ritual and sacrifice could insure
We know, however, that fear of the cataclysmic destruction of the fifth and final sun, naui ollin, led the Aztecs to hold
that the sun would be "reborn" in the east in the morning
to pursue its important travels across the sky.
The navel of the earth, moreover, was located at the
center of the universe. The Aztecs divided both space and
time into segments corresponding to the five world direcparticular constellation and star at the center of the night tions and arranged them in a cyclic sequence that ran east,
north, west, south, and center. The east and north were
sky guaranteed that the sun would rise as usual at the
elaborate vigils and rituals at the end of every fifty-two-year
cycle, proceedings designed to stave off the disaster. These
vigils took place around midnight when the appearance of a
eastern horizon at dawn and that life would continue for at
associated with sunrise and noon, and thus the sky by day;
the west, south, and center were associated with sunset and
least another fifty-two years. The anticipated destruction
6 The dates of destruction and hence the names of the five mythological
Earthquake" or "4 Movement." For a translation of, and commentary
on, the relevant passages in the Leyenda de los soles, see M. Leon-Portilla,
Aztecother
Thought and Culture, trans. J. E. Davies, Norman, 1963, 37f. See also
Leyenda de los soles and the Historia de los mexicanos por sus pinturas;
suns cited on the Aztec Calendar Stone are those mentioned in the
H. on
Nicholson,
"Religion in Pre-Hispanic Central Mexico," Handbook of
accounts give different names and/or sequences. Those seen
the
Middle
American Indians, ed. R. Wauchope, x, 1971, 398-99.
Calendar Stone are: (I) 4 Ocelotl, "4 Tiger"; (2) 4 Ehecatl, "4
Wind";
(3) 4 Quiauhtl, "4 Rain"; (4) 4 Atl, "4 Water"; and (5) 4 Ollin, "4
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THE AZTEC CALENDAR STONE 3
jewel-tipped nose plug, circular dangling earrings,
midnight, the night sky, the earth, and death.hair,
The asouth
large
teeth
in an open mouth, and a long protruding tongue,
and center in particular were associated with the precise
which
takes
moment of midnight and the underworld; it was at this time the standard graphic form of the flint knife
used bycame
Aztec priests to remove the hearts of their sacriand in these regions that all Postclassic cosmic cycles
ficial victims. The deity wore a red fillet decorated with two
to an end.7 Accordingly, since each of the five mythological
jade rings
separated by an abstract jewelled ornament at its
solar epochs referred to on the Aztec Calendar Stone
were
center.
The
similarly assigned to a particular direction in the traditional facial painting was divided into two horizontal
the lower half of which was red, the upper half of
sequence, the fifth and final sun, naui ollin, fell to zones,
the center.
was a lighter red or pink.8 Two contiguous red bands,
It is clear, therefore, that, in referring to the which
anticipated
destruction of the fifth sun at the end of the entire Aztec
which may have read as either a single or double band,
spatio-temporal cycle, the Aztec Calendar Stone specifi-surrounded the outer edges of the eyes. The hands, which
cally alludes to midnight, the earth, death, and the center ofare still clearly clawed and which clutch human hearts, take
the world.
the profile form of devouring monster heads. The absence
In view of these additional implications, the identity of of a body suggests that the god is viewed from above, his
the deity represented enface at the very center of the Calen- head upturned and hands upraised, thus hiding from view
dar Stone relief becomes increasingly problematic. Scholars the body beneath them.
In the Postclassic codices, the sun god Tonatiuh also
have traditionally identified this deity as Tonatiuh, an Aztec
wears circular dangling earrings, a jewel-tipped nose bar,
sun god, an identification that on first analysis would seem
appropriate within the context of the solar disk and references to the five mythological solar epochs. Tonatiuh, how-
and a blond wig; his fillet is decorated with jade rings (Fig.
Tonatiuh was a god of the day sky, not of the night sky and
both in the form of a full-length figure and as a disembodied
3). In the literature of the period, moreover, Tonatiuh was
ever, like all Aztec deities, had specific functions and con- associated with the eagle, a bird sometimes depicted in the
notations, and these functions and connotations are in fact codices in conjunction with Tonatiuh in the act of grasping
incompatible with the cosmological context of the stone. human hearts with its claws. The god frequently appears -
the earth, and he was invariably associated with the world head - in company with the solar disk; occasionally his
direction of the east in the Postclassic calendar and codices.
head, unlike that of any other deity, is set directly in the
Since death and destruction, like the earth and darkness,center of that disk. At times his eyes are framed on three
were associated with the world directions of west, south, and
sides by a single red band (Fig. 4).
center in Postclassic cosmology, Tonatiuh's affiliation with Tonatiuh never, however, appears with the monsterthe east dissociates him from these concepts as well. Tofaced hands seen on the deity of the Aztec Calendar Stone,
identify the central deity of the Aztec Calendar Stone asnor does he ever appear with a protruding tongue of any
Tonatiuh is therefore to locate a god of the east, and thus ofkind. His fillet is typically yellow rather than red and is
the beginning of cosmic cycles, of daylight, of the sky and typically decorated with at least three jade rings on each
life itself, within a context of cosmic destruction and com- side and a central ornament that takes the form of the head
pletion at midnight at the dark center of the earth. In short,of a bird. As a rule his eyes are not banded; when they are,
to accept this identification is to cast the consistency of thea contiguous double band is never used. The god does
Postclassic mind into disrepute.
appear frequently in the Aubin Tonalimatl' in his role of
The deity represented at the center of the Aztec Calendarfourth of the thirteen Postclassic Mexican Lords of the
Stone is not, however, Tonatiuh. It is not a deity of light orDay, as a disembodied head set in the center of the
solar disk and wearing not only a double (sometimes
the day sky of the east, nor is it a god of life and the begin-
triple) eye-band, but a pink and red bi-zoned face paintin
ning of cosmic cycles as opposed to one of death and cyclic
completion. Evidence for this is both linguistic and literary as well (Fig. 5). Since the Aubin Tonalitmatl image w
one of the major bases for Beyer's original identification of
as well as visual. According to Miguel Covarrubias's reconstruction drawing of the badly damaged and faded face and the Calendar Stone deity as Tonatiuh, however, it is in
structive that the identical markings appear in the sam
hands at the center of the monument (Fig. 2), the deity
represented there within the solar disk originally had yellowcodex on the faces of the night sun gods Xochipilli and
poral affiliations,
as a result, it occasionally appears to have been more
7 For a complete discussion and defense of this position, see Klein.
I
closely associated with the actual beginning of a cosmic cycle than with
presented a brief summary of the argument at the conference on "Death
an ending. Such occurrences are rare, however; in the vast majority of
and the Afterlife in Pre-Columbian America" held by the Dumbarton
the center is clearly associated with the end of a cycle and
Oaks Center for Pre-Columbian Studies on 27 October 1973, in ainstances,
paper
titled "Postclassic Mexican Death Imagery as a Sign of Cyclic hence
Com- with darkness, earth, and death. So strong was this association
that the central world direction often appears to have been conceptually
pletion," published in the proceedings, 1975.
The central world direction differed from the other four world direcfused with the south and in many instances simply to have been left out
ofof
a sequence in favor of it.
tions in performing a transitional function. Since the Aztecs conceived
space, as well as time, in terms of recurring cycles, the end of one8seCovarrubias does not give his reasons for reconstructing the coloration
quence automatically predicted, and even inaugurated, the beginning
of the Calendar Stone figure as he does, but his reconstruction is conof the next. The central world direction, therefore, although typically
firmed by that of Robert F. Sieck who actually examined the pigments
associated with the end of a sequence, could also signify the beginningremaining
of
on the stone (see Noriega, opp. 64). Beyer, 2o, reconstructs
a new one. For this reason it was often referred to as the "up and down"
the deity's face as solid red, but admits to doing so "because Tonatiuh
direction, a term based on the belief that the center of the universe
was painted this way in the codices of the central region" (author's
extended vertically from the bottom of the earth to the top of the sky,
translation).
thereby permitting easy access from one region to the other. In its tem-
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4 THE ART BULLETIN
located
the south or center of the world, at the navel
Piltzintecuhtli (Fig. 14).9 Both double eye-bands
and in
a bi-
the female
earth monster herself where it was associated in
colored face painting are in fact occasionally found
elsewhere
thethe
calendar
with the hour of midnight.13 Since the sun,
on both Xochipilli and Piltzintecuhtli, while, with
single
like all
exception of the Mixteca-Pueblan Codex Borgia,
55celestial
(Fig. bodies, was believed to die and descend to
the land
the dead each time it disappeared at the western
4), where Tonatiuh's face is painted in two shades
ofofred,
horizon,
it follows that a solar deity bearing the form and
the day sun god's face is elsewhere either solid red
or solid
attributes
of the female earth monster would represent the
yellow. In other words, only single eye-bands,
not double
dead sun at night housed within her. We know, in fact, that
eye-bands, or a bi-zoned face painting, are characteristic
of Tonatiuh.
the Aztecs believed that Tonatiuh, at the moment at
which the sun disappears at the western horizon, was conTonatiuh, moreover, never appears in the rare frontal,
verted into another deity, a solar god of earth, death, and
or en face, two-dimensional form adopted by the Calendar
darkness, who passed through the underworld each night.
Stone deity. Even in the seemingly comparable Aubin
Tonalimatl images the sun god is seen in profile view.This deity, who represented the dead sun at night in the
body of the female earth monster, was variously known as
Frontality, in fact, is always reserved in Postclassic twoXochipilli, "Prince of Flowers," Piltzintecuhtli, "Lord of
dimensional imagery for those deities who are related to the
Princes," Yoaltonatiuh, "Night Sun," Tlalchitonatiuh or
female earth goddess Tlaltecuhtli who herself invariably
Ollintonatiuh, "Earth Sun," and Yohualtecuhtli, the "Lord
appears two-dimensionally in en face form and who connotes earth, darkness, agricultural fertility, death, and theof the Night."
world directions of west, south, and center (Fig. 6).10 Xochipilli, the "Prince of Flowers," was a southern
deity who was incorporated into the Aztec pantheon in the
Tlaltecuhtli is characterized visually by her dorsal "discourse of military conquest (Fig. 9). He was the patron of
played" posture in which both arms and legs are bent and
music, dance, songs, and games and was affiliated with
outspread in the traditional pose assumed by native Mexican
sexual pleasure, lust, fertility, and the sun. In an Aztec
women during childbirth.11 Her head is typically upturned,
as is better seen in a three-dimensional Aztec statue which
hymn addressed to him, the god refers to himself as "I, the
represents her or her "sister" aspect Coatlicue (Fig. 7).maize";
Her he is linked here, as elsewhere, with the maize god
Seler titles Xochipilli the "Lord of the South"
monstrous face bears round, ringed, or banded eyes,Cinteotl.14
an
and designates him as chief representative of that world
open mouth with sharp teeth, and a protruding tongue that
direction.15 Together with the moon goddess Xochiquetzel
often takes the form of a sacrificial flint knife. Her joints
and extremities take the profile form of monstrous faces
he ruled the mythical land of Xochitlicacin, the "Land of
Flowers,"
which was located in the south. Since the land of
that frequently clutch human hearts. When she appears
in
two-dimensional form as Coatlicue, her frontal face, the
with
dead and the hour of midnight were associated with the
south as well as with the center of the world, it follows that
its differentiated lower portion, its exposed teeth, its flint-
Xochipilli
was a god of earth, darkness, and death. In the
knife tongue and its circular dangling earrings bears
a
Aztec hymn addressed to him, Xochipilli is indeed desstriking resemblance to that of the deity of the Aztec Calcribed as one who singsyoaltica, "in the night."16
endar Stone (Fig. 8).
In most literary accounts Xochipilli was the husband or
Since only deities who shared Tlaltecuhtli's connotations
lover
of earth, death, darkness, and cyclic completion could adopt of the moon and vegetation goddess Xochiquetzal,
but he is replaced in this role by one Piltzintecuhtli in the
her frontal form and unique insignia, and since this form
Historia
and many of these insignia appear in the Calendar Stone de los mexicanos por sus pinturas and in an Aztec hymn
addressed to Xochiquetzal.17 In the codices, as in the comdeity, but never on Tonatiuh, there can be little doubt that
mentaries
and legends, Xochipilli in turn occasionally subthe former refers, not to Tonatiuh, but to a solar deity of the
stitutes
for
Piltzintecuhtli and frequently appears with that
earth, night, fertility, death, and the western, southern,
god's
insignia.
According to the Histoire du Mechique, Piltand/or central world directions. This assumption is supportzintecuhtli
was
Xochipilli's father.18
ed by the fact that throughout Postclassic Mexico, round,
Xochipilli
was
intimately related to and even interringed, and banded eyes, long tongues, flint knives, and
human hearts - all encountered on the Calendar Stone
changeable with Piltzintecuhtli because Piltzintecuhtli was
also
image - symbolize death.12 It is further supported
bya solar
the deity. Piltzintecuhtli is often described as "the
fact that the Aztec land of the dead, Mictlkn, was originally
young sun god" and wears - like Xochipilli - a number of
ringed or banded eye in Postclassic Mexico was symbolically synony-
9 Beyer, 15.
10 For a full defense of the thesis that frontality was reserved for deities
associated with earth, death, darkness, and cyclic completion in two-
dimensional Postclassic art, see my doctoral dissertation.
11 Seler, 1900-o01, 10o3
12 Thompson, 1960, 45, 173; E. Seler, "Explanation of the Wall Paintings of Mitla," in Central American Antiquities, Calendar Systems, and History,
ed. C. P. Bowditch, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin, xxvIII, 1904 323.
The round, ringed, or banded eye was apparently roughly analogous to the
closed eye, which also symbolized death. The closed eye is, however,
relatively rare in Postclassic Mexican imagery and does not even appear
on the major death deities Mictlantecuhtli and Micticacihuatl, whose
eyes are round and/or ringed, but always open. For evidence that the
mous with closed eyes in Postclassic Maya art, see Klein, 206-217.
13 Thompson, 1934, 222-25. Thompson argues here that the reported
assignment of Mictlkn to the north at the time of the Conquest represented either a very late development or a mistake on the part of the
chroniclers themselves.
14 Sahagdin, III, 213-
15 Seler, I902-03, 139; see also Seler, I960-61, 11, 1097.
16 Sahagfin, mII, 213.
17 Seler, I960-6I, II, I03518 Ibid., Iv, 6o. See also Thompson, 1934, 223.
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THE AZTEC CALENDAR STONE 5
2 The central deity of the Aztec Calendar 3 Tonatiuh, detail of Codex Borgia, fol.
Stone, drawing by Miguel Covarrubias Seler, 1963, rI, 23)
(from Caso, 1958, 32)
4 Tonatiuh, detail of Codex Borgia, fol. 55 5 Tonatiuh, detail of Aubin Tonald
(from Seler, 1963, mI, 55) fol. 9 (from Seler, 900-0o , facsim
6 Tlaltecuhtli, relief on underside of an 7 "Coatlicue del Metro." Mexico 8 "Coatlicue," relief on underside of an Aztec
Aztec stone cuauhxicalli. Berlin, Museum ffir City, Museo Nacional de stone statue. Mexico City, Museo Nacional de
Vblkerkunde (photo: Museum) Antropologia (photo: Museum) Antropologia (photo: Museum)
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6 THE ART BULLETIN
west,
or center of the world. Its Mexican day-sign
solar insignia (Fig. Io). Although he appears
as south,
rattlecounterpart
always symbolized the south and, sigbearer of the east in Codices Borgia 5 I1, and Vaticanus
B 2 Xochitl
1,
and faces the flint-knife god Iztli in that section nificantly,
of the Codex
the hour of midnight as well.
F6jervary-Mayer world direction chart (page I)
which
Xochipilli-Piltzintecuhtli
appears twice, moreover, in
corresponds to the east, Piltzintecuhtli is normally
affiliated
Codices
Vaticanus B 96, and Borgia 53, in the full-length
with the west. He appears in the F6jervary-Mayer
world form of the female earth monster so closely
frontal displayed
direction chart in his capacity as third of the nine
Lords
of night sun (Figs. 12, 13). Here the god assumes
related
to the
the Night in which he was actually regent of
third
thethe
disguise
of a deer, an act that surely refers to the MexiMexican day-sign Calli (House), which Seler describes
as Piltzintecuhtli turned into a deer on the day
can legend that
the "dark house of the earth, the west."19 Piltzintecuhtli
7 Xochitl (7 Flower), the day of the annual festival held in
was reported to have fathered the maize god Cinteotl
honorin
ofthe
his beloved, the moon goddess Xochiquetzal.
mythical land of Tamoanchan which also was located
in the
Maya myths
frequently tell how the young sun god dons a
west.20 According to an Aztec hymn addressed to
the
moonin order to woo the moon.26 Again, since only
deer
disguise
goddess Xochiquetzal, Piltzintecuhtli descended
into sun
the- never the day sun - was on intimate terms
the night
underworld in pursuit of her, his beloved; here
he moon,
was these en face images of Xochipilli-Piltzintewith the
believed to have intercourse with the moon.21 Since the
cuhtli in deer disguise can only refer to the sun at night.
moon was believed to be hostile to the day sun, or TonaXochipilli-Piltzintecuhtli, a god of the night sun in the
tiuh, Piltzintecuhtli can only have represented theunderworld,
sun at
therefore shares with the central deity of the
night.22 The Mayan counterpart of the third day-signAztec
Calli Calendar Stone the ability to be represented in two
dimensions in the frontal form characteristic of the female
(House) ruled by Piltzintecuhtli was in fact Akbal, "Night,"
earth
monster Tlaltecuhtli. He further shares with the
which among the Maya was ruled by the Jaguar God
who
represented the sun at night. The Aztec hymn sungCalendar
every Stone deity the bi-zoned face painting: in the Au
eight years at the festival celebrating the completion Tonalamatl
of the
his face is painted in two shades of red, a
Venus-solar cycle clearly identifies the young sun godelsewhere
with
it is often painted red on the bottom and yello
night:
on the top (Fig. 14). Xochipilli-Piltzintecuhtli appe
See if Piltzintecuhtli resteth in the house of darkness,
moreover, in Codex Borgia 14, 16, 28, and 57, as elsewhere
the house of night.
with double red bands surrounding the outer edges of
O Piltzintli, Piltzintli, with yellow feathers are thou
pasted over. On the ball court thou placest thyself, in the
house of the night.23
There can be little doubt, therefore, that XochipilliPiltzintecuhtli was a solar deity who specifically represented
the dead sun at night at the navel of the female earth monster. He is associated, accordingly, with the phenomenon of
frontality in two-dimensional art, which signifies a relation to
eyes (Fig. 9). The eye-bands reappear in Codex Borgia
on the disembodied face of an earth monster with upraise
arms who has attributes of Xochipilli-Piltzintecuhtli (
15). Xochipilli often appears in the codices wearing a r
rather than yellow fillet decorated with only one or t
jade rings on each side. During the Aztec Xochilhuitl,
"Flower Feast," held in honor of Xochipilli, that g
impersonator carried an impaled human heart. Th
that goddess. Both Piltzintecuhtli and his Mayan counterpart, the Jaguar God, were associated with the number
rather remarkable correspondences between the young
god of night and the deity of the Aztec Calendar Sto
seven, and in Maya hieroglyphic writing the number seven
certainly support the contention that the latter represent
was actually interchangeable with a conventionalized
the night sun and further suggest that it may in fact rep
frontal face.24 The Jaguar God often appears two-dimen- sent, at least in part, the god Xochipilli-Piltzintecuht
sionally in frontal form. Xochipilli himself ruled the twen-
tieth and final Mexican day-sign Xochitl (Flower) whose
himself.
Human hearts, however, like long tongues and claw
hands and feet, were also characteristic of the Tzitzimime
Mayan counterpart was the Ahau glyph which also took the
form of a frontal face (Fig. I I). J. Eric S. Thompson identi-
the stellar souls of dead warriors who descended to the
fies the latter as the face of the sun and concludes that it is
center of the earth at midnight during certain critica
"almost certainly" that of the young sun god.25 Moreover,periods in the Aztec calendar. At the end of the fifth an
since the Ahau glyph is always inverted when it appears infinal "sun," when the world was to be destroyed by earth
the Maya glyphs for east and sunrise, it would seem that its
quakes on the day 4 Ollin at the end of a fifty-two-yea
normal position refers to the sun in the underworld in thecycle, the Tzitzimime were expected to descend; at thi
19 Seler, 1901, 67.
20 Seler, I96-6I,11, , 035.
moon, who is repeatedly identified as his wife or consort. See J. E.!
Thompson, "The Moon Goddess in Middle America," Carnegie Institu
40.
D.C., 1939, 150.
tion of Washington, Contributions to American Archaeology, v, Washington
21 See J. Soustelle, La pensde cosmologique des anciens Mexicains, Paris, 1940,
23 sky
Sahagfin, III, 212.
22 There are a number of myths that reveal that the sun in the day
24J.
E. S. Thompson, A Catalogue of Maya Hieroglyphs, Norman, 196
was hostile to the moon; according to one, the sun's first act was to defend his mother, the earth, by cutting off the head of his sister, the 224.
moon,
and putting his remaining siblings, the stars, to flight. According
to
25 Thompson,
1960, 88.
Caso, 1958, 13, the sun was believed to reenact this victory every morn-
26 J. E. S. Thompson, Maya History and Religion, Norman, 1970, 364,
ing upon rising. In contrast, many Mexican and Maya legends make it
369-70.
clear that the dead sun in the underworld at night was in love with
the
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\E~?rS~
~nr~-
i law
0
00~
c
CD
--i. t
~rii
j --~lii; iii. i 1
_~_;_:1 ii__----::iiii- ---
...
::,:,
i;
-
: ;. -:: -- :: :-111- --'~~~ji~s~:11:1~~1- ::-: --::i- I:: i:-i - .: I-~
:: _~-:::i-i:~::i--::-::::: - :- -'
:
~:::::e:::::I:_: :
:
.:.
i-:
io Piltzintecuhtli, detail of Codex
i Maya Ahau glyphs, drawing (from Thompson, I960, fig. Io, Nos.
Borgia, fol. 14 (from Seler, 1963, ii, 14)
9 Xochipil i, detail of Codex Borgia,
fol. I6 (from Seler, 1963, ni, I6)
12 Xochipilli in deer
drawing, detail of Co
3773 (B), fol. 96 (from
: iiiiiiigiiiiii.'j:::: .: _::::: : : ::::i-:::.:-: ~.::Si::~:~~:-8:-:~:- :.:::: i:,::_:: :_:~j i
:: :::: ': a~~:~~~~l:i~-ii iiii--iii~liillc-~i~~i-i:
.-:-:~-::::: i?- ?:-, i:i:_-:- d:i:;-:-__-:?--i:_ii_~_i:ilj:i i
::::::: :::::i:::::::: :i::: ::::
.-.:: ~~:ii~ii~'il-`iiiiiiiciiieii:i:
.:- iii-i~as~sr~a :: .. :PbZaL:::~-I -?I
:i::::::::::::-
:i: : - :-:-- :: dif8~8~li- ~:~p~L~TB4a :inrlCg-i~ij~
n, fig. i16)
::::::"
13 Xochipilli in deer
r"*-:
: :: :
of Codex Borgia, fol. 5
1963, III, 53)
-:::::::::i-:::g
:
:
ur~?~~~:;lass~se~wss~8:-:-:
:
::-:_:-
-?I-
:
14 Xochipilli, de
Tonalamatl, fol.
1900-oI, facsimi
i-i
! @ --!!;:iiiiii~ll+! ,/iiii iiiiiI+ Ii~rii ,?~ ~ -ii~-: 1~:i-~,:iiii
-:_:::.::::-:
I::: -:-:
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14
:r-::::-:,-:::
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..".::.. :::::::::-:_:-:-i::_::::i-:::_::,?,-
::i-
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::::iv8;~,~
--':?
:
I:-'::::--?-~ai~:i
li.i--i::iii-i-i:
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.
:
:
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:::::j:::::
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r-
15
Earth
(from
Crocodile
Seler,
1963,
i6
with
mII,
17 "
"Yohualtecuhtli,"
de
attributes
of
fol.
39)
Borg
40 (from Seler, 1963,
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8 THE ART BULLETIN
Therewould
are relatively
few visual images of deities in Posttime, it was believed, the sun itself upon dying
be
classic art that have been identified as Yohualtecuhtli, but
converted into a Tzitzimime. The commentator of Codex
Telleriano-Remensis lists a certain "Yoalaotecotli" among it is significant that those that have been so identified share
the ranks of these stellar demons and Thompson equates a number of features with the Aztec Calendar Stone deity.
him with the god Yohualtecuhtli, "Lord of the Night," Seler identifies as "Yohualtecuhtli, the solar god of the
whom Seler identifies as the night sun in the underworld.27
underworld" a large full-length figure on page 40 of Codex
Sahagi6n reports that incense was not only offered four times Borgia whose body is frontal and displayed (Fig. I6).34 The
god's profile head is upturned in the manner characteristic
a day to the day sun Tonatiuh, but five times each night as
well to the sun god iovaltecutli, or "Lord of the Night.""28 of the female earth monster and his eye is surrounded by a
Sahag6in further identifies as Yohualtecuhtli the star known single red band on three sides. A giant sun disk forms the
deity's torso; smaller sun disks, which take the form of anto us as Castor, which formed part of a constellation called
Mamalhuaztli, the "Fire Drill Sticks." Although Sahag'in thropomorphic profile monster heads, adorn his joints and
extremities. A comparable deity on page 43 of the same
the midnight sky that signaled the beginning of another codex boasts the snout of a crocodile and a protruding
tongue (Fig. 17). On page 35 of Codex Borgia, two fullfifty-two-year cycle, he notes that Mamalhuaztli was close
to the Pleiades.29 The two constellations were in fact closely length figures, again wearing single red eye-bands and
reports that it was the sight of the Pleiades at the zenith of
associated with each other at the moment of the drilling of
crocodile costumes, are specifically identified by Krickeberg
New Fire; so close, apparently, was this relationship that as the dead sun who nightly passes through the underAlfonso Caso contends that it was the appearance of the star
Yohualtecuhtli in the center of the midnight sky at the end
world.35 The body of one is again frontal and displayed (Fig.
I8). Seler understandably identifies the Borgia 35 figures
with Cipactli, the earth crocodile of the east, but simulreprieve from the cosmic cataclysm that the Aztecs be- taneously concludes that they, like the Borgia 43 figure,
lieved awaited them.30
represent lunar deities.36 Since the moon was always affilof every fifty-two-year solar cycle that signaled a temporary
A god known as Yohualtecuhtli who represented the suniated with the female earth monster and the west, south, or
at night and the Tzitzimime was therefore apparently center of the world - never with Cipactli or the east - the
associated with the end of the fifty-two-year cycle. Sahagu'n, appearance here of crocodilian features must refer, like the
moreover, further links Yohualtecuhtli directly to the date 4frontal displayed form and anthropomorphic joints, not to
Ollin. In the course of his discussion of the Aztecs' worship Cipactli, but to Tlaltecuhtli and her association with dark-
of the sun, Sahagu6n passes from a discussion of Tonatiuh ness, death, and the earth.37 Although Seler does not
to the night sun Yohualtecuhtli and reports that: "It was directly identify the Borgia 35 and 43 deities as Yohualsaid:/'The Lord of the Night, he of the sharp nose, hathtecuhtli, he does conclude that Yohualtecuhtli may have
unfolded, and we know not how his office will end.'/And represented the moon in the underworld as well as the night
his feast day came upon the day of the day-count calledsun.
naui ollin, every two hundred and three days."31
According to Beyer, the Ollin sign was itself a symbol of
Confirmation of the identification of the Azt
Stone deity as Yohualtecuhtli comes from th
the constellation Mamalhuaztli, the "Fire Drill Sticks."32 Sahagiin. In speaking of the feast held on the d
In Codex Borbonicus I6, the date 4 Ollin is replaced by the Sahaguin reports: "And there was the image of
"earth sun" deity Tlalchitonatiuh as co-patron of the sun] at a pyramid temple called Quauxica
sixteenth Aztec week. The dead sun at night at the center erected his image, his image was designed as
of the earth therefore shared his name and associations
mask of a man [but] with [the sun's] rays strea
with the very stellar being who controlled the destiny of the His sun ornament was round, circled with f
Aztec nation.33
rounded with red spoonbill [feathers].''38
dark heavens. The stars were traditionally regarded as the "souls" of the
dead in the underworld at the center of the earth and all nocturnal
28 Sahaguin, Im, 202.
celestial bodies were affiliated with the earth, the underworld, and the
29 Ibid., 60.
western, southern, and central world directions. See Krickeberg, 130,
Klein,
33-34- he does
30 Caso, 1958, 20. See also Krickeberg, 178-79. Caso,and
for
reasons
not cite, identifies the star Yohualtecuhtli with Aldebaran
than
34 Seler, 1963,rather
II, 42.
Castor and states that it was observed in conjunction with either the
35 W. Krickeberg, "Das mittelamerikanische Ballspiel und Seine RelPleiades or Aries. E. Seler, in "The Venus Period in the Borgian Codex
igiose Symbolik,"
Paideuma,
Group," in Central American Antiquities, Calendar Systems,
and History,
ed.III, 1948, 141, 16427 Thompson, 1934, 228-29; Seler, 1963, 11, 28.
?36
Seler, 1963,Washington,
II, 28.
C. P. Bowditch, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin,
xxviim,
D.C., 1904, 356-57, also repudiates Sahagln's identification
of Mamal37 Although Tlaltecuhtli
was reportedly a toad, she was the female
huaztli with Gemini and concludes that it may have been
part of
ofthe
Aries.
counterpart
earth crocodile Cipactli and as such was closely rel-
ated to
andSahagin's
occasionally part
even confused with him. While the directional
31 Sahaguin, In, 202. This statement includes an error
on
and 4
temporal
of the two were in direct opposition, both
since, owing to the nature of the tonalpohualli, the day
Ollin associations
could recur
deities represented the earth. In two-dimensional Postclassic imagery,
only once every 260 days.
Tlaltecuhtli's frontal face often appears to be formed of two profile heads
32 Beyer, 34-
33 That a star in the center of the midnight sky should share the name
and connotations of the dead sun simultaneously located at the center of
the earth is understandable in view of the Postclassic belief that the
underworld and its inhabitants nightly pass into, or are reflected in, the
of Cipactli conjoined at the back or front. Tlaltecuhtli thus typically
shares with Cipactli a missing lower jaw, sharp pointed teeth, a curled
nose and curled eyebrow, and a flint knife projecting from the nose.
38 Sahagain, I1, 203-
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THE AZTEC CALENDAR STONE 9
:-.i-ai::_:::: :: -:-r:~~:~i:::: ~iiiiiii:_ii ~i_~:-:~
~liiiiiii;:'::-L:- :::
~k:--:e:::::::
:_:::~ :..
_:::-:-: ::--:~~-::- -iiji~~::iii:_iii~iiiiijii:i~iiis:ii~~i
~:----~:
Y~:"
: : .-. ::~:i:i:~:-_::~,,::
::-:-:i::-:i::~:i
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I~
- ..::
:c-:~: ::: :i:::
:::_::: .
- I: ::: :-:ii ::- :-:?::: : - ::::-- i
i~ii
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a:.
ii-:ii8-iiiiiiiiii ii:
i i i:
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:
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i-:--:--
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.:
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-
: E:~IZi~zs .
--':
ra:i
- ;II - I -_
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:r::::
:I-:--::::::
iA~~i: f ::::~: ::::1~-:: ,::(-::iil:::::-::_ Y*,tlk 8-lih
TD
ai--
~~
L~H~
i- xp
rr
~ ~-~ii i: -i-iiii~:9~i~9~?~;i~~ii li-~i i_: i~iii: -~:; ii~'i :::::-: :-
s_:
s
r 1Bs~srs~P~s~iar~'~%s~i~ll~[LBr`~;lB~g~~ i~:_~;~~
--i~
I~
915-~-
_i :::~:
-:* ~-111111~:-~:il!-11:-.II
k?::::
: i
r
p:~
1 9 The Night Sun,
drawing by native Aztec
informants
of (from Seler,
18 The Night Sun(?), detail of Codex
Borgia,
fol.
35
Sahag6in (from Sahag in, III, pl. 6o)
1963, III, 35)
In the matching illustration provided by Sahagi6n's
native artists, the deity is depicted as a frontal face set in the
ea
-'~IMIYR\
I~~Z~
-
center of a large circular sun disk (Fig. 19). Although the
Aztec Calendar Stone lacks the red spoonbill feathers men-
iiiiiii~l~
tioned by Sahaguin, Sahag6in's illustration for obvious
reasons has been frequently compared with that monument.
Scholars have further assumed that Sahag6in was specifically referring here to the day sun god Tonatiuh and have
thus cited the accompanying illustration as proof that the
3
"4PL~
Calendar Stone figure also represents that deity. Analysis of
Sahagi6n's text reveals, however, that the passage referring
to the frontal image of a solar deity immediately follows that
5/
discussing the Lord of the Night Yohualtecuhtli and his
feast day naui ollin. The description of the solar image and
the matching illustration therefore clearly refer to the sun
in its nocturnal aspect.
20o The date "4 Ollin"
with single round eye,
drawing (from Beyer,
fig. 69)
21 X6lotl, Huastec
stone relief from
Tepetzintla, Veracruz.
Mexico City, Museo
Nacional de
Antropologia (photo:
Museum)
In a number of Postclassic images, moreover, the Ollin
sign, often in the context of the date 4 Ollin, is depicted
with a single round half-closed eye at its center (Fig. 20).
According to Seler, this eye symbolized the Tzitzimime, the
setting sun, and the night.39 The unique substitution in the
Aztec Calendar Stone of a frontal face for the traditional
eye within the Ollin symbol strongly suggests that the deity
represented on the stone also represented the Tzitzimime,
the setting sun, and the night. Throughout Mesoamerica
the frontal face was and is conceptually equated with the
eye; the Zinacantan Tzotzil word for "face" (sat), for
example, is the same as that for "eyes," while the Zapotec
lao, loo means "face," "eyes," and "frontside."40
39 Seler, I96o-6I, II, 723-24; Seler, I900-OI, Io8.
40 The Yucatec Maya word for "face" (ich) similarly means both "eye"
and "front." Sahaguin's catalogue of his Aztec informants' descriptions
of the parts of the human body includes the following: "Face; that is to
say, eye..." (Sahaguin, II, 112).
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IO THE ART BULLETIN
ckii
22 The "Morning Star" deity and
Af iiiiiiiii- i s i i ii i~iiii~:~
accompanying glyphs from
Mausoleum III, Chichen Itzi,
drawing (from Seler, I 960-61, v,
figs. 241-43)
Two solar deities inclu
their names - one is Y
second is his close rela
of the Night." The ap
attributes of Tonatiuh combined with attributes of the
female earth monster and the nocturnal sun gods Xochipilli
iii~i~iiii~iai~ii irii~?? iiiiii~?l r~.......~i : ::-i:_ -iiiiiiiii~ii~i!iii~i-i i.iiii
:iii~iii :-ii~i::i-.: ::-:i:: ?;-::::?~-: - :_:::"/:::iii iiif i:ilii fii iii:.%M::: :::: ::~:-::-:-: - :;-:::
::.~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ '"::': i::::::\?:i: i-liiiiiiiiii!!li-it~i~i
and Piltzintecuhtli in a solar context commonly reserved
for the symbol for "night" therefore leaves little doubt that
the deity represented there was a solar god of the night.
Yohualtecuhtli, however, represented not only the dead
night sun in the underworld, but the "dead" planet Venus
as well. Among the Mexicans, as among the Maya, the
584-day Venus cycle was divided into four phases, each of
which corresponded to a specific world direction. The first
I"
.............
A -L-:
iri ....... .
M,:-
phase was that of the Morning Star which appears at dawn
in the east, the second was that of superior conjunction
which was associated with the north, the third was that of
the Evening Star which appears at dusk in the west, and the
fourth was that of its disappearance in inferior conjunction
in the south (or center) of the world. As was the case with
all stars and planets, including the sun, Venus was believed
to be "born" in the east as the Morning Star and, as the
god X61otl, the Evening Star, to "die" upon its descent to
and disappearance at the western horizon. Upon entering
the body of the female earth monster Tlaltecuhtli, Venus,
like the sun, assumed that goddess's associations and insignia. Accordingly, the Evening Star of the west and the
planet in inferior conjunction in the south or center of the
world appear occasionally in Postclassic two-dimensional
imagery in the frontal form of Tlaltecuhtli, with displayed
mx..........
i............................
limbs, upturned head, clawed hands and feet, round,
ringed, or banded eyes, large teeth, and a protruding
tongue (Fig. 21). Moreover, since the Venus cycle, like the
23 Tlailoc with attributes
solar of
cycles, Xochipilli,
began at dawn in the eastdetail
and concludedof
at or C
fol. 28 (from Seler, 1963, III, 28)
around midnight in the south or center of the world, these
en face images of the
western and deities,
southern phases of the
Of the various Postclassic
solar
on
must similarly refer to the conclusion
of a cycle. The
tecuhtli is listed as a cycle
Tzitzimime.
Furtherm
frontal so-called eye
"Morning Star"
seen oncente
Mausoleum
concludes that the round
atreliefs
the
III at Chichen
Itzi, which
actually represent
Evening
symbol functioned as
a sign
for
the the
Nahu
in inferior conjunction
in the souththe
or centersubs
of the
"night," youalli, it isStar
probable
that
world, are in fact accompanied
by the date
of the completiona
face on the Aztec Calendar
Stone
served
of a "Great
Venus Cycle"
consisting case,
of 260 revolutions
of
linguistic function. If
this
is the
then
that planet
(Fig. 22).41 appeared in th
"night" may well even
have
conjunction in the south or center of the world at the end of a Venus
41 See Seler, I960-6i, I, 693-94, for an analysis of the Chich'n ItzA
cycle, see Klein, 89-91.
reliefs. For a defense of the thesis that these reliefs, like all enface Postclassic two-dimensional images of Venus, refer to the planet in inferior
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THE AZTEC CALENDAR STONE II
Evening
Star in inferior conjunction
in the south or center
The Great Venus Cycle, however,
simultaneously
ended
of the world.
It would seem likely that
the Aztecs, wh
on the same day as a cycle of eight
fifty-two-year
solar
envisioned
cataclysmic
destruction of on
the universe at t
"centuries." The 584-day Venus
cycle a also
terminated
end of aevery
fifty-two-year
solar
cycle, expected
the same day as a 365-day solar cycle
eight
years
and that destructio
to occur atof
the every
simultaneous
completion
of a Venus cycle as
further coincided with the completion
other
fiftywell. rituals carried out at the
two-year cycle; in other words, the
number
of related not
Postclassic
images
end of every other fifty-two-year A
cycle
marked
only
the confirm the
possibility
that the
frontal
facecompleat the center of the Azt
completion of the major Aztec solar
cycle
but
the
Calendar
Stone
refers
to the
god Yohualtecuhtli
at the en
tion of a Io4-year Venus cycle as
well.
At
this
time,
as at
a Venus simultaneously
as well as a solar cycle. Incomthe center of page
any time in which the sun and of
Venus
pleted a cycle, the two celestial
were
to in the guise of
of bodies
Codex Borgia,
the rainbelieved
god T1iloc appears
Xochipilli-Piltzintecuhtli,
the night
as representati
engage in mortal nocturnal combat
and ultimately
to sun,
fuse
the fifth
and last of the
Venus-solar
periods (Fig. 23). He
in the dark bowels of the female of
earth
monster.
The
hymn
wears the redfestival
and yellow zoned
face at
painting
and the doubl
sung during the Aztec Atamalqualiztli
held
the
red eye-bands
characteristic
that
god and
conclusion of the eight-year Venus-solar
cycle
tells of
of
such
a similar to t
of the
Calendar
According to Sele
nocturnal contest between the insignia
young
sun
godStone
of deity.
night,
Piltzintecuhtli, and X6lotl, the Tl1loc
god asof
the here
planet
Venus
as of the world
Xochipilli
represents
the center
and the fusion
of Venus with the
sun.46 an
The Maya equiv
the Evening Star. This hymn opens,
significantly,
with
address to "the lord of the night."42
of the
Mayaname
names
lent ofOne
Xochipilli's
calendrical
I Xochitl (I Flower
hun ahpu, the name of the Maya god of t
for Venus was ah piz a'kab, "Lordwas
ofI Ahau,
the or
Night."
dead planet
Venus
in the underworld.
In pursuing his own interpretation
of the
Aztec
Calendar All of the Codex
Borgia
figures with frontal
bodies and red ey
Stone as a device for astronomical
calculations,
Jose displayed
Avilesbands
are,
moreover,
located
within
that
section of th
Solares proposes that the date 4 Ollin, when it is pierced
codex
that deals withit
theon
travels
of Venus
by an arrow-like device such as
penetrates
the
Cal- through th
underworld.
This eight-year
includes the largeVenus,
figure on page 40 of th
endar Stone, refers to the conclusion
of the
manuscript
specifically
as Yohua
solar cycle.43 Seler demonstrates
that which
the Seler
Ollin
sign identifies
was
tecuhtli period
(Fig. 16). This
figure
actually wears
associated with the fifth and final
(as
opposed
to the conch
of thefifth
Venus god
Quetzalc6atl
phase) of the planet Venus as wellshell
as earrings
with the
and
final and the pap
leg points
bows frequently
worn
the Evening in
Star deity X6lotl
sun; in Codex Borgia 25, as Seler
out,
itby
appears
In Codex Borbonicus
16, X6lotl appears As
opposite the eart
this context as a symbol of the central
world direction.44
deity day-signs,
Tlalchitonatiuh, as
co-patron of the sixteent
the seventeenth of the twenty sun
Aztec
moreover,
week
of the Aztec Star,
calendar, who
with double-banded
eyes,
Ollin was ruled by X6lotl, the
Evening
was
flint-knifemind
tongue, and
clawed hands
feet.
actually associated in the Postclassic
with
theand
dead
sun as it sank beneath the western horizon. The commenThe deity depicted at the center of the Aztec Calenda
Stone
tator of Codex Vaticanus B states that the date 4 Ollin
was can, therefore, no longer be identified as the sun god
Tonatiuh
who represented the day sky and the east. Neithe
merely another name for X6lotl and the commentator
of
the of
literary nor the graphic evidence supports this view
Codex Vaticanus A designates the day 4 Ollin as the day
Even Durain's report that the human sacrifice performed in
the disappearance into the Red Sea of Quetzalc6atl, a
historical personage later associated with Venus who was honor of the sun on the day 4 Ollin was theoretically carri
believed to have died and to have been later reborn in the
out at midday when the sun was at the center of the day sky
rather
eastern sky as the Morning Star.45 In Codices Borgia
and than at midnight, does not negate the thesis.47 Sinc
both
Vaticanus B, the date 4 Ollin co-ruled the sixteenth week
of the zenith and the nadir were regarded as part of the
unifying central world direction, the two were often concep
the calendar with X6lotl. Both the end of the fifty-two-year
tually synonymous and, at times, even interchangeable.4
solar cycle and the critical date 4 Ollin were therefore
associated with the planet Venus in its final phase In
as the
the version of the destruction of the second cosmogonic
42 Sahaguin, 1II, 212-13. Seler, I960-6I 11, 10, I59, translates thisbegin
as "he,
with heliacal rising on the day 13 Kan, rather than on the day I
Ahau, and on an erroneous assignment of the Acatl years to the north
the Lord of Midnight" (English translation mine). The passage equates
rather
than to the east.
this night lord with the word xochitl ("Flower") in two instances,
thus
The five Venus periods were five consecutive Venus cycles of 594 days
providing further evidence that the god Xochipilli (Flower Prince),
which equalled exactly eight solar years. When the five Venus
ruler of the day-sign Xochitl (Flower), was at least an aspect or each
element
of the deity known as the Lord of the Night:
periods had recurred thirteen times, the final day coincided with both the
The flower of my heart lieth burst open,
end of the tonalpohualli and the fifty-two year cycle. This could happen
the lord of the night.
only once every I04 solar years.
She hath come, she hath come, our
45 See Caso, 1967, 197, for a list of the various associations of the date 4
mother, the goddess Tlazolteotl.
Ollin mentioned in the codices and chronicles.
Cinteotl is born at Tamoanchan,
46 Seler, 1963, I, 265the flowery place, on the day
Ce xochitl.
47 D. Durin, The Aztecs: The History of the Indies of New Spain, trans.
Heyden and F. Horcasitas, Norman, 1964, 122.
43 Aviles-Solares, 36-37; 41-49.
44 Seler, I963, I, 264. Seler also proposes here that the date 4 Ollin48
inThis probably explains why Seler, 1963,1, I66, associates Xochipilli, th
of the South," with high noon, and may account, at least in
Codex Borgia 28 represents the date of the disappearance of Venus"Lord
as
part, for the apparent confusion at the time of the Conquest of nort
Morning Star into superior conjunction in the north. His arguments rest,
and south in regard to the location of the land of the dead (see note 13).
however, on the faulty assumption that the Dresden Codex Venus tables
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12 THE ART BULLETIN
sun, 4-Ocelotl, "4 Tiger," presented in the Anales de
of Frequently
Cited
Cuauhtitlan, the moment of deathBibliography
and darkness
is actually
Sources
reported to have occurred at noon rather than at midnight:
Then it happened
that the sky was crushed,
the sun did not follow its course.
When the sun arrived at midday,
immediately it was night
and when it became dark,
Aviles-Solares, J., I957, Descifraci6n de la piedra del calendario, Mexico City.
Beyer, H., 1921, El llamada "calendario azteca": Descripcidn e interpretacidn
del cuauhxicalli de la "Casa de la Aguilas," Mexico City.
Caso, A., 1958, The Aztecs: People of the Sun, trans. L. Dunham, Norman
(first published 1954)-
- , 1967, Los calendariosprehispdnicos, Mexico City.
Duc de Loubat, ed., I900, Codice Vaticano 3738 (A) (Rios), Rome.
tigers ate the people ... 49
Hamy, E. T., ed., 1899, Codex Borbonico: Manuscrit mexicain de la BibliothIque du Palais Bourbon, Paris.
Clearly, the spatial contiguity of zenith and nadir implied a
temporal contiguity between noon and midnight as well.
, ed., I899, Codex Telleriano-Remensis: Manuscrit mexicain,
BibliothIque Nationale, Paris.
We know, in fact, that all beings temporarily located at the de Jonghe, M. E. ed., 1905, "Histoire du Mechique: Manuscrit francais
center of the sky were believed capable of descending
directly to earth and to the crossroads at its center; among
these were the stellar Tzitzimime alluded to on the Aztec
in6dit du XVIe siecle," Journal de la Socited Amiricanistes, n.s. 2, 1-41.
Klein, C. F., 1972, "Frontality in Two-Dimensional Postclassic Mexican
Art," Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, New York; to be published as
The Face of the Earth: Frontality in Two-Dimensional Mesoamerican Art,
New of
York, Garland Publishing (in press).
Calendar Stone. That the same belief applied to the hour
Krickeberg, W., 1964, Las antiguas culturas mexicanas, 2nd ed., Mexico
noon and the sky by day is attested to by a contemporary
City.
Aztec story recorded by Madsen that tells of a manNoriega,
whoR., 1959, "Sabiduria matemitica, astron6mica y cronol6gica,"
hitched a ride with the sun at dawn; at noon the sunEsplendor
said de Mexico antiquo, ed., C. C. de Leonard, Mexico City.
Phillips, T., trans., 1883, "Historia de los mexicanos por sus pinturas,"
to the man, "Here is where I leave you," and the man
fell
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, xxi, 616-65 I.
down into his own home below.50
de Sahagfin, B., 1950-1971, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things
The Aztec Calendar Stone image must therefore be re- of New Spain, trans. A. J. O. Anderson and C. E. Dibble, 13 vols.,
Santa Fe.
garded as a representation of the darkened sun and planet
Seler, E., 900o-oi, The Tonaldmatl of the Aubin Collection:
Venus at the center of the earth at the moment of cyclicPicture Manuscript in the Paris National Library, Berlin.
destruction and completion in which they fused to create the
An Old Mexic
- , 1901, Codex Fejervary Mayer: An Old Mexican Picture Manuscript
in the Liverpool Free Public Museum, Paris.
hybrid deity Yohualtecuhtli, the great Aztec "Lord of the
, I902-03, Codex Vaticanus 3773 (B), 2 vols., London.
Night." Since Yohualtecuhtli was a god of the earth, dark, 1960-61, Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Amerikanischen
ness, death, and the south and center of the world, his Alterhumskund, 5 vols., Graz, (repr. of 1902-03 ed., Berlin).
Sprach und
- , 1963, Comentarios al Codice Borgia, 3 vols., Mexico City (Ist e
appearance here in a context of the end of the world at the
1904).
center of the earth in the middle of the night is far moreThompson, J. E. S., 1934, "Sky Bearers, Colors and Directions in Maya
logical than would be that of Tonatiuh. More under- and Mexican Religion," Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication
436, Washington, D.C.
standable, too, are the appearance of traits of the female
earth monster and the rare utilization of the frontal form
that always indicates cyclic completion in Postclassic
Mexico. Recognition of the Aztec Calendar Stone deity
as Yohualtecuhtli thus avoids the logical and cosmological
discrepancies involved in its identification as Tonatiuh
2nd ed., Norman.
1Wi960, Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: An Introduction,
Velasquez, P. F., ed., I945, "Leyenda de los Soles," in Codice Chimalpopoco (Anales de Cuauhtitldny Leyenda de los Soles), Mexico City.
reveals a new level of beauty and profundity in the famous
carving.
Oakland University
49 M. Leon-Portilla, Pre-Columbian Literatures of Mexico, trans. G. Lobanov and M. Leon-Portilla, Norman, 1969, 36.
50 W. Madsen, The Virgin's Children: Life in an Aztec Village Today,
Austin, i960, 128.
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All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
8
Knowledge and Belief in Artistic Production by
Classic Maya Elites
Takeshi Inomata
University of Arizona
ABSTRACT
Many of the beautiful pieces of Classic Maya art were produced by elite craftspeople. The study of this production
system requires attention to the knowledge and beliefs underlying such activities. The production of art objects
necessitated esoteric knowledge of the calendar, history, and religion, which was closely tied to the power and prestige
of the elite. Elite artists, however, did not engage in production activities only for political gain. Their involvement in
demanding physical work under potentially unpleasant conditions implies a commitment to—or at least conformity
with—the cultural values associated with artistic production.
Keywords: Maya, craft production, art, power, knowledge
I
n this chapter, I examine the roles of knowledge and belief in craft production conducted by elites in Classic Maya
society. Production activities are inherently intertwined with
the social relations of producers and people who surround
them. Social contexts of production, in addition to its material settings, condition what objects are created and how they
are produced and exchanged. Production activities, in turn,
shape the identities of their producers and owners and form
and transform relations among them (Costin and Wright
1998; Hendon 1996; Inomata 2001). To examine the social aspect of production, researchers need to pay attention
not only to techniques and materials but also to the abstract
dimensions of knowledge and belief associated with these
activities.
The issues of knowledge and belief figure prominently
in the socially embedded practice of production, particularly
when we examine the role of elites. In many societies in
the Near East and Europe, craft specialists were generally
recruited from outside the ruling elite. This understanding
has influenced various theories of craft specialization since
Childe (Brumfiel and Earle 1987; Childe 1958; see Wailes
1996). Elites have been typically viewed as sponsors and
beneficiaries of craft production rather than as producers.
In Classic Maya society, however, many art objects of the
highest quality were created by elites themselves.
A relevant problem is our notion of elite. Social scientists prefer a specific definition of elite focused on the issue
of power. The elite can be defined as a minority made up of
powerful people who, through their control of social institutions, bring about effects of broad significance for society at
large (Chase and Chase 1992; Giddens 1974; Inomata and
Triadan 2003b; Marcus 1983:10–13; Mills 1956:3–15). Yet,
many of us still retain a popular notion of elite that they are
those who have freed themselves from the burden of hard or
unpleasant physical labor by taking advantage of the work
of others. In particular, this view provided a starting point
for Marxist theory, which has been closely associated with
the anthropological study of elite. To reevaluate this stereotypical view of elites, we need to examine their agency. Are
they all economic and political players who try to maximize gain with minimal effort? Obviously the problem is far
more complex. We have to avoid a simplistic view of agency
ARCHEOLOGICAL PAPERS OF THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, Vol. 17, Issue 1, pp. 129–141, ISSN 1551-823X,
C 2007 by the American Anthropological Association. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission
online ISSN 1551-8248.
to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’s Rights and Permissions website, http://www.
ucpressjournals.com/reprintInfo.asp. DOI: 10.1525/ap3a.2007.17.1.129.
130
Takeshi Inomata
that overemphasizes its intentionality on the basis of rational
reasoning. Agents are socially embedded, and their actions
cannot always be explained in terms of economic practicality
(Dobres and Robb 2000:4). Moreover, our notion of rationality, which is often considered culturally neutral, may be
in fact rooted in the cultural logic of certain Western contexts (Cowgill 2000:55; also see Clark, Chapter 2; Hruby,
Chapter 5).
I do not mean to deny that comparable notions of rationality operate in diverse cultural contexts. Nor do I wish to
be satisfied with resorting to a closed system of meaning for
each society or group as the only basis of explanation. We
need to pay attention to both cross-cultural similarities and
historical particularities. The study of these issues compels
us to confront complex interplays among economic and political strategies, beliefs in cultural values, and a certain level
of idiosyncrasy in human actions (Inomata 2001; Inomata
and Houston 2001).
Elite Artists in Classic Maya Society
Epigraphic and iconographic evidence suggests that in
Classic Maya society (A.D. 250–900) many highly artistic
objects were produced by elite craftspeople. Some painted
ceramics and carved stone monuments bear signatures of
artists who were at once skilled artisans and learned scribes
(Coe 1977). Some of these craft producers appear to have
enjoyed high status and worked as high officials responsible
for administrative and diplomatic duties of the royal court
(Coe and Kerr 1997; Reents-Budet 1994).
My excavations at the rapidly abandoned center of
Aguateca, Guatemala, have provided unique archaeological data on the work of elite artists. Aguateca is located in
the southwestern part of the Maya Lowlands. Excavations as
part of the Petexbatun Regional Archaeological Project from
1990 to 1993 and subsequent investigations by the Aguateca
Archaeological Project from 1996 to 1999 have documented
an extensive system of defensive walls and clear evidence
of an enemy attack. The central part of Aguateca was set
on fire, probably by the attackers, around A.D. 810, leaving
numerous artifacts in their places of use or storage in burned
buildings (Demarest et al. 1997; Inomata 1997, 2003; Inomata and Stiver 1998; Inomata et al. 2002).
All the excavated elite residences, Structures M7-35,
M8-4, M8-8, and M8-10, contained evidence of scribal and
artistic work. The high status of the residents of these buildings is well documented by the abundance of such precious
objects as jade ornaments and shell necklaces. The occupants of Structures M8-4 and M8-10 were allowed to use
the emblem glyph of the Aguateca dynasty, which was gen-
erally reserved for members of the royal lineage. Tools related to scribal and artistic production include eight stone
mortars and two pestles for pigment preparation found in
Structure M8-4 and three halved shell ink pots, six stone
mortars, and two pestles unearthed in Structure M8-10 (Inomata 2001:Figure 6). Also found in Structure M8-10 were
numerous carved shells and bones, as well as stone tools
possibly used for shell and bone work. A significant portion
of these scribal implements was uncovered in the central
rooms of the two buildings. I have argued that the central
rooms were used mainly for receiving visitors and holding
political gatherings by the household heads, who were probably males (Inomata and Stiver 1998; Inomata et al. 2002).
These household heads also appear to have conducted scribal
and artistic work in the central rooms.
In Structure M8-8 excavators unearthed 16 polished
axes in two concentrations (Inomata 2001:Figure 5). Usewear analysis by Aoyama (2000) has shown that they were
used for carving stone. It is probable that a resident of this
building was a carver of stone monuments. The distribution
of axes probably reflects their locations of storage rather than
use, and carving probably took place in the Main Plaza. Studies of unfinished monuments, such as Altar M of Aguateca
(Inomata et al. 2004), Hieroglyphic Stairway 2 of Dos Pilas
(Houston 1993:83), and Altar L of Copan (Fash 2001:177),
suggest that carving was done in most cases after blank monuments were set in intended locations. Structure M7-34 contained a mortar and a pestle pair, three polished stone axes,
and other types of stone tools, although the nature of craft
work that took place in this building remains unclear.
These excavation results corroborate the notion that a
significant portion of the Maya elite engaged in artistic activities. The amount of debitage of shell and bone work found
in a midden associated with Structure M8-10 was small, indicating that the production output of these craftspeople was
relatively limited. As suggested by epigraphic and iconographic data, elite scribes and artists were probably court officials occupied simultaneously with polity administration,
diplomacy, and rituals. Their effort and time were not devoted solely to artistic production.
Whereas many of the artists who painted codices and
carved stelae were males, the primary art products made by
elite females were textiles (Hendon 1997; Joyce 1993). All
of the aforementioned elite residences at Aguateca contained
tools for textile production, that is, spindle whorls or bone
needles. Interestingly, there were relatively clear spatial divisions between the distributions of textile production tools
and those of painting and carving implements (Inomata and
Stiver 1998; Inomata et al. 2002). This patterning points to a
division of labor in artistic production between males and females and to a certain level of distinction between male and
Artistic Production by Classic Maya Elites
female spaces. Spindle whorls and bone needles were often
found in rooms with numerous storage vessels and grinding
stones, which accords with the hypothesis that food production, along with textile production, was primarily female
work.
Archaeological data from Aguateca, along with epigraphic and iconographic evidence from other sites, show
that Classic Maya elite artists produced a wide range of
objects. Items made by scribe-artists, who were generally
males, include stone monuments commemorating dynastic history, headdresses and ornaments used in royal ceremonies, and ceramics and other objects that were exchanged
as tributes and gifts. Textiles woven by elite females also
played important roles in political economy. Products of elite
artists, however, may not have been limited to such political
currencies, and certain objects, including ceramic vessels,
carved bones, and shell ornaments, may have been kept by
them for personal use.
Knowledge, Production, and Power
Artistic production by Classic Maya elites is not totally unique. Historical accounts tell us that Aztec and Mixtec elites were responsible for the production of certain art
objects (Brumfiel 1998). Elite engagements in art production appear to have been common throughout pre-Hispanic
Mesoamerica. Outside of Mesoamerica, Ames (1995) has
shown that in Northwest Coast societies certain types of
artisans were recruited from elite groups. The direct participation of high-status individuals in craft production is also
found in Hawaii and other Polynesian islands (Lass 1998).
Even in historic China and Japan with highly centralized governments and urban centers, comparable practices
existed. Like the Classic Maya, East Asians viewed calligraphy as a central element of dynastic art. At the height
of courtly culture during the Heian period (A.D. 794–1192)
of Japan, many of the renowned calligraphers were high
court officials who actively engaged in administrative duties and power struggles. Accomplishments in calligraphy,
along with poetry and music, commanded high esteem at
the imperial court, and tablets and shields with the writing
of noble calligraphers decorated palaces and temples. Even
some emperors were known for such artistic achievements
(Otsu 2001).
It is misleading to view artistic production by elites in
various societies simply as a pastime of the privileged. Such
activities were deeply political acts, which cannot be separated from the issue of power. Helms (1993) has argued that
political leaders are in a sense skilled craftspeople who make
cities, temples, and roads, and in many traditional societies
131
connections between administrative and artistic acts are often more than figurative. Bourdieu (1984) has shown that
even in modern societies the ability to encode and decode
art serves as cultural capital, which is closely tied to political
power, prestige, and social status. Artistic creation thus can
help to enhance the prestige of the producers over their political rivals and to distinguish the elite from the rest of the
society. In this regard, the organization of artistic production
by Classic Maya elites exhibits certain parallels with social
relations surrounding craft production in other societies.
It is probable that high-status artisans in various societies tend to produce ideologically charged objects that
legitimize elites’ claim to power. Elite craft specialists on
the Northwest Coast, for example, worked on a range of
prestige goods, including wood sculptures that were closely
associated with spiritual power (Ames 1995:175). In Hawaii,
high-ranking women made feather garments that were worn
only by the chiefly class and were believed to provide sacred
protection in battle (Lass 1998:20–21). In consideration of
these data, Costin (2001:335) has suggested that the elite
monopoly of the knowledge and skills necessary to produce
objects expressing elite power makes logical sense. Although
this explanation applies to various societies to a certain degree, I suggest that this view privileging material objects in
the process of political legitimation and the cross-cultural
notion of political utility is somewhat restrictive. Cultural
capital in Bourdieu’s sense, which may bolster the power
and prestige of craft producers, refers to the knowledge controlled by the producers and its recognition by others, not
to their material products. We need to focus not only on the
political utility of material objects but also on the political implications of knowledge behind their production. We
should explore the complex relation of knowledge, production, and power shaped in specific historical contexts and
material settings.
Cross-culturally, admiration of the esoteric knowledge
craft producers gain through special training appears to underlie the inherent connection of skilled crafting with elite
power (Helms 1993). Yet, more specific configurations of associations between political power and the knowledge necessary for craft production often defy the notion of crossculturally applicable logic. In historic Japan, for example,
highly politically charged objects, such as swords, metal ornaments, and textiles, were produced by non-elite artisans
(Fukunaga 1973). Production of these objects required specialized knowledge gained only through long apprenticeship.
Conversely, calligraphic art pieces made by Heian court officials were not always intended for specific political use.
As Bourdieu (1984) has argued about tastes for art in modern societies, the political or economic utility of certain
prized knowledge—be it the ability to appreciate abstract
132
paintings or a talent in composing Japanese poems—is not
immediately clear. Its connection to elite power is subtle and
complex.
We should also note that the knowledge necessary for
craft production is not limited to the familiarity with materials and techniques but may include a mastery of history and
religion that needs to be reflected in products and the command of ritual protocols followed during production. This
all-encompassing nature of knowledge associated with craft
production is well illustrated in ethnographies of metalwork
in Africa. In many African societies, the creation of beautiful
arts or sacred objects from ores by blacksmiths is viewed as a
magical act that involves esoteric knowledge and the manipulating of supernatural forces (Balandier 1968:110; Herbert
1984:32–42, 1993). The learning necessary for this transformation is not confined to the domain of material but pertains also to politics and religion. Among the Mande of West
Africa, for example, blacksmiths who hold unique knowledge often act as healers, sorcerers, rainmakers, and political mediators. The knowledge of blacksmiths, therefore, can
be both beneficial and dangerous to others, and its relation
to power is riddled with ambiguity and ambivalence, which
resist clear-cut logical explanations (McNaughton 1993:11).
In Classic Maya society, the work of Maya elite artists
required not only the technical mastery of artistic skills but
also the esoteric knowledge of myth, history, writing, the calendar, and astronomy (Inomata 2001; Reents-Budet 1998).
Such knowledge represented a core value of Maya elite culture. The respect that elite artists commanded was underscored by the common recognition that artists went through
a long period of training to gain such knowledge. The connection between knowledge and production is well expressed
in many Maya paintings on codices and ceramics that depict
deities painting codices, carving masks, and weaving textiles (Figure 8.1). Artistic production was in a sense an act
of gods. It is probable that skilled artists were viewed as embodiments of the wisdom and creative power of gods (Freidel
et al. 1993:142, 217, 433; Reents-Budet 1998; see Kris and
Kurz 1979 for cross-cultural discussion).
It should be noted that a certain portion of the mythical and religious knowledge of elite artists was most likely
shared with the rest of society (Hruby 2001, this volume).
Elite mastery of art would not have awed those who did
not share the same aesthetic standard or those who did not
understand the cultural and historical significance of the art
objects. Elite power was based not on the completely distinct
knowledge systems between the elite and non-elite but on
the shared system in which elites claimed disproportionate
credit for its advancement and maintenance. We therefore
cannot understand the political power of Maya elite artists
without addressing their esoteric knowledge, its recognition
Takeshi Inomata
Figure 8.1. A deity carving a mask (Madrid Codex: 99d).
by others, and its precarious balance with the knowledge of
non-elites.
In the Pursuit of Cultural and Aesthetic Ideals
The foregoing argument by no means indicates that accomplished artists always gained the highest political power.
The relation between artistic production and political power
is never so straightforward. Nor does it mean that artists cunningly used their artistic skills only for political purposes.
According to Lass (1998), all Hawaiian craft specialists were
motivated by the belief that their occupations were divinely
ascribed. It is probable that many artisans across the world,
including Maya elite artists, held similar beliefs. To understand the complex relations of production and power, we
need to examine the beliefs associated with craft production. The beliefs that we should address include the notions
of value or duty held by craft producers about their work
and occupation, which may be perceived as a supernaturally
mandated vocation, a career chosen by their own will, or the
fruit of long and hard training. We should also examine producers’ beliefs concerning the cultural and aesthetic values
of their products, which may give the producers senses of
pride and satisfaction. Such beliefs possessed by craftspeople may overlap, crosscut, or contradict the perceptions of
their work and products held by other members of society.
This concern takes the discussion of value in a slightly different direction from that considered in Clark’s chapter in
this volume.
Artistic Production by Classic Maya Elites
The archaeological analysis of beliefs associated with
production is even more difficult than that of knowledge.
Whereas certain aspects of artisans’ knowledge may be materialized in their products in forms tangible to archaeologists, their beliefs concerning cultural values are not directly approachable. What we seek to understand, then, is
not subjective beliefs or thoughts of individual craft producers. Some artists may have been devoted to the aesthetic and
moral values of their work, while others may have superficially complied with social norms. Such details elude our
understanding. It is, however, possible to examine when the
beliefs internally held by certain members of a society have
external effects with political and economic consequences
(see Wuthnow 1987). It is the analysis of this social process
on which we should focus our effort.
In this regard, it is suggestive to examine not only the
types of objects produced but also the bodily practice of craft
producers. In any society, certain types of work are associated with specific social status and prestige. This relationship
is shaped by the system of cultural and economic values and
the material conditions in each society, but there is a certain degree of universality. As seen in the modern Western
distinction between white-collar and blue-collar, prestigious
occupations are often associated with the notions of intellectual work in clean offices, whereas work of lower classes
may involve hard physical labor in less-than-pleasant settings. One of the most elaborate hierarchies associated with
types of labor is found in the Indian caste system, in which
professions are ranked along the axis of purity and impurity from Brahmans responsible for religious duties to “untouchables” who conduct skin-tanning, sweeping, and other
“dirty” work (Dumont 1970). In Heian period Japan, artistic
production by aristocrats, mainly in the form of calligraphy,
was conducted in comfortable settings of imperial palaces
and noble residences. The hardships of metal, ceramic, and
other workshops were left for lower-status artisans. It is probably not only in modern or Western societies that we find the
notions of intellect, purity, sacredness, cleanness, and pleasantness associated with prestigious occupations and those of
tough physical labor, impurity, and dirtiness connected with
lower-ranked professions.
Still, elites in various societies conduct demanding
physical activities. When elites engage in “dirty” or “tough”
work, significant cultural meaning appears to underlie it.
Their engagement in activities involving dust, heat, and hard
labor in potentially unpleasant settings may point to factors
beyond political rationales, namely, a culturally configured
system of aesthetic and moral values associated with artistic production. I acknowledge that these observations are
not completely objective. Notions of sacredness, of purity,
and even of comfort are culturally shaped, and an inquiry
133
into these concepts cannot be detached from our own cultural perceptions as to what constitutes desirable work and
what motivates people’s activities. Researchers need to refine their interpretations across cultural boundaries by confronting their own culturally derived assumptions.
An intriguing example is elite engagement in sports and
hunting in historic Europe, the ancient Near East, and other
societies. Fun and excitement associated with these activities
partially explain elite participation. In this sense, such games
and competitions are often luxuries afforded only to the privileged. Moreover, sports and hunting are expressions of the
physical prowess of the ruling class, closely tied to their
military roles. The ball game that the Classic Maya elites
played enthusiastically was a reenactment of their achievements in battles and the deeds of mythical cultural heroes
(Coe 1989; Inomata and Triadan 2003a; Schele and Miller
1986). Cross-culturally, elite engagement in the strenuous
physical labor of craft production is less common but not
unknown. In the kingdom of the Kongo, the first king is said
to have been the blacksmith king who provided his people
with arms and tools, and chroniclers documented that the art
of the blacksmith was practiced by the nobility (Balandier
1968:35–41). Direct involvement by chiefs in carving and
metalwork is also known from other central African societies
(Alpers 1975:21). Such association of African elites with the
production of metal objects is clearly related to their belief
in the magical power of smelting.
Let us examine the work of elite artists in Classic Maya
society more closely in this regard. Was the work of elite
Maya artists limited to writing, painting, and carving, or
did they also mold clay, fire ceramics, and grind stone ornaments? The production processes of ceramic vessels and
hard-stone ornaments may be indicative. Glyphic texts show
that some of the highest-quality polychrome vessels were
painted by elite artists (Reents-Budet 1994; Stuart 1989).
Our understanding of Maya potters, who shaped and fired
those vessels, however, is severely limited mainly because
of the scarcity of archaeological information on pottery production loci. Reents-Budet (1994:218–222) addresses the
question of painter-pottery relationships mainly through the
analysis of painted vessels and concludes that in many cases
potters and painters were not the same individuals. She argues that multiple individuals were involved in the production of Codex style vases, with highly narrative scenes rendered on white backgrounds, because many of the vessels
were poorly formed in contrast to their exquisite paintings.
In addition, the glyphic texts on ceramic vessels refer primarily to writing and painting rather than to the entire process
of vessel production, although MacLeod (in Reents-Budet
1994:133) argues that some texts contain glyphs meaning
“his/her craft.” The emphasis on writing and painting in
134
glyphic texts may imply a division of labor between potters
and painters, with higher prestige held by the latter.
We should, however, remember that many of the master
ceramic artists of historic and modern East Asia have been
directly involved in the entire process of pottery production
from the acquisition of clay to the firing of pots. In particular,
some of them have considered the firing process, on which
all the effects of painting depend, too important to delegate
to unskilled apprentices (Uchijima 1958). Although the relatively standardized production of Codex style vessels in a
large number may have benefited from a division of labor, we
still need to consider the possibility that master elite artists
in Maya society participated at various stages in the production of some pictorial pots of more individualized styles.
Even when multiple individuals were responsible for different stages of ceramic production, Maya ceramic painters
must have maintained close interests in the entire manufacturing process. Reents-Budet (1994:218–222) suggests
that potters and painters worked side-by-side in the same
workshops because the production of high-quality vessels
required close coordination and supervision. She goes on to
argue that master painters began their careers as apprentices
learning clay preparation, vessel forming, and firing.
An important data set from a locus of painted pottery
production comes from Buenavista, Belize. The excavation
of the palace group at this site by Ball (1993; Reents-Budet
et al. 2000) has unearthed numerous whole and broken vessels, which appear to have been discarded near the location
of production. In addition, recent excavations at Motul de
San José by Foias (1999) have revealed a concentration of
large fragments of high-quality polychrome vessels. Patterns
of damage on these pieces suggest to Foias that they were
wasters or rejects from pottery firing. Because they were
found in construction fills, they do not point directly to a
firing location. Yet, it seems unlikely that they were transported over a long distance, and ceramic firing that produced
noxious fumes may have indeed taken place within or near
the elite core of this center. Although these archaeological
data do not tell us whether elite artists formed and fired polychrome vessels, it is at least clear that elites closely oversaw
various stages of ceramic production.
The production of ground hard-stone ornaments is physically demanding. Maya artisans cut jade and other stone
through a labor-intensive process with the aids of abrasives and relatively simple tools. Certain stages of their
production were most likely carried out by non-elite artisans. At Cancuen, Guatemala, Kovacevich et al. (2001)
have identified jade and pyrite workshops, consisting of simple buildings and containing relatively poor burials. Those
who worked there appear to have been non-elites. The pyrite
workshops contained unworked nodules, polished pieces,
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and mirror bases. Artisans were probably manufacturing mosaic mirrors by cutting and polishing pyrite nodules. In the
jade workshops excavators found a large jade nodule, blanks,
and debitage, along with various types of tools. Kovacevich
and her colleagues point out that artisans were probably manufacturing polished jade beads and blanks for ornaments, and
the final production process for ornaments with elaborate
motifs took place elsewhere.
Excavations at Aguateca have provided evidence of
hard-stone grinding in an elite residential area. The work of
the elite artist who lived in Structure M8-4, discussed earlier, was not limited to the painting of codices. In and around
the south room, excavators unearthed more than three hundred pieces of worked pyrite (Zamora 2002) (Figure 8.2).
Many of these were mosaic pieces of mirrors with sharp
beveled edges and polished surfaces. Some of them were
still attached to mirror backs made of sandstone. The artist,
who may have been helped by assistants, appears to have
been recycling these irregular polygonal objects to create
rectangular ornaments (Figure 8.3). The manufacturers first
made incisions along the long edges of the rectangle and then
snapped it along the incisions. After the rough edges were
ground, the same procedure was applied to the short edges
of the rectangle. Finally, the manufacturers polished along
all the edges and produced rectangular pieces with rounded
edges and corners in a consistent size. When original mosaic
pieces were not large enough, they used two adjacent pieces
to make one rectangle. These rectangular ornaments were
probably to be embedded in a larger composite object.
The distribution of recycled pyrite pieces does not necessarily correspond with the pyrite grinding area. Excavators did not find any debitage of pyrite-working in the south
room of Structure M8-4. In addition, soil chemical analysis
by Terry (Terry et al. 2004) showed relatively low iron levels
in this area. A higher soil iron level was found in an unexcavated open patio area southeast of the structure, which
may have been the location where workers cut pyrite and
deposited its dust and debitage. Pyrite pieces in process of
working appear to have been brought back to the south room
of Structure M8-4 after the day’s work.
The work of the artist of Structure M8-4 also involved
other types of material. Excavators found 15 reused ceramic
sherds measuring 12 to 23 centimeters in diameter on the
southern side of this building, an area possibly covered by
an eave, and in the northern annex (Figure 8.4). Burned clay
was caked on the exterior surface of some of these artifacts.
A chunk of clay was found on the southern side, also pointing
to ceramic work in this area.
Found in the south room next to the recycled pyrite
pieces was an alabaster ornament representing the Jester
God, which was a symbol of rulership (Figure 8.5). This
Artistic Production by Classic Maya Elites
135
Figure 8.2. The distribution of pyrite pieces and the Jester God headband in the south room of Structure M8-4.
object, along with square alabaster plaques, was probably
attached to a cloth or leather strip and used as a royal diadem. Aguateca Stela 6 depicts an almost identical Jester
God ornament worn by the last ruler, Tahn Te’ K’inich. The
artist who lived in Structure M8-4 may have been making
or refurbishing a headdress and accompanying ceremonial
gear for this ruler, using rectangular pyrite pieces and other
ornaments.
A critical matter that differentiated the work of the elite
artist of Structure M8-4 at Aguateca from that of the nonelite artisans of the pyrite workshops at Cancuen was a specific kind of knowledge—esoteric knowledge of royal ritual
protocols, religious symbolism, and dynastic history, necessary for the elaboration of royal ceremonial gear. Other aspects of their work shared similarities. They both worked on
the same material, and their products were meant to be used
by the elite. Their work and products were most likely endowed with specific cultural values and beliefs. Epigraphic
and iconographic data show that for the Classic Maya, pyrite
mirrors, like those produced in the Cancuen workshops,
were objects charged with mythical power. The production
of pyrite mirrors by Cancuen workers required knowledge
of the material they worked and a mastery of manufacturing
skills to no lesser degree than the recycling of finished pieces
done by the Aguateca elite artist.
The artist of Structure M8-4 at Aguateca, and possibly his assistants, saved a substantial amount of work by
recycling mirror pieces rather than using natural nodules of
pyrite—a luxury only possible for elite operations. Still, cutting and polishing pyrite, with a hardness of 6 to 6.5 on Mohs’
scale, was not easy work. As in the case of ceramic production, archaeological data do not give us clear evidence as
to whether elite artists endured the physical labor and stone
dust of pyrite grinding or whether they delegated this work
to apprentices and assistants. Nonetheless, the lack of spatial segregation between the storage of recycled pyrite pieces
136
Figure 8.3. Pyrite pieces in various stages of recycling found in
Structure M8-4: (a) mirror mosaic pieces before recycling; (b)
pieces after being cut and snapped along the long edges of a rectangle; (c) pieces after snapped edges were ground; (d) pieces after
one or two short edges of a rectangle were snapped and ground; (e)
final products in the form of a rectangular ornament with rounded
edges and corners (note that the lower example consists of two
pieces) (photograph by Takeshi Inomata).
and the symbolically charged ornament of a Jester God image forces us to consider the former possibility seriously.
In sum, there appears to have been a general tendency
in Classic Maya societies that elites focused on writing,
painting, and carving related mainly to aspects of their esoteric knowledge, while non-elite artisans conducted more
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physically demanding work, such as hard-stone grinding.
Still, elite artists maintained close interest in production
processes other than writing and painting and directly supervised the work of their assistants and apprentices. Elites,
artists and non-artists alike, also tolerated ceramic firing and
stone grinding being conducted in the proximity of their
residences. Many elite artists were probably trained in the
forming and firing of ceramic vessels and the grinding of
hard-stone ornaments as apprentices in the early stages of
their careers. Some of them may have continued to conduct
such seemingly “tough, dirty” work even after they achieved
the statuses of master artists and of high court officials. This
observation defies a popular image of elites as privileged
individuals who were freed from hard physical labor.
Although tying artistic creation to elite power was an
important political rationale, it does not fully explain the
motivation and reasoning of elite artists who engaged in a
wide range of craft work. Beliefs in the cultural and aesthetic values attached to such work and products are critical
elements. Depictions of deities producing art objects were
not only means of political legitimization of elite power but
also expressions of their beliefs and cultural values. Some
elite artists may have actively subscribed to such beliefs,
devoting themselves to the pursuit of cultural and aesthetic
ideals beyond political calculations. Others may have been
passively bound by commonly held beliefs, unable to deviate
from social expectations.
Figure 8.4. Reworked ceramic sherds found in and around Structure M8-4. They probably served for craft work involving the use of clay
(photograph by Takeshi Inomata).
Artistic Production by Classic Maya Elites
137
Figure 8.5. The Jester God diadem found in the south room of Structure M8-4 (photograph by Takeshi Inomata).
Conclusions
Craft production by Classic Maya elites was at once a
highly political act closely tied to power and an expression of
elites ascribing to cultural and aesthetic values. The esoteric
knowledge of writing, calendrics, astronomy, history, and
myths necessary for the production of high art helped to enhance the prestige of elite artists and to distinguish the elite
group as a whole from the rest of the society. Their artistic
creations, however, did not derive simply from shrewd political calculations. Elites, as well as non-elites, were bound
by their aesthetic and moral values.
It becomes clear through these observations that craft
production was not simply economic activity regulated by
the principles of rationalization and profit-maximization,
concepts that are critiqued further in Hruby’s contribution
in this volume (Chapter 5). The work of craftspeople was
embedded in the matrix of social relations and in cultural
meanings shaped in specific historical contexts. Craft production by elites was often an ideologically loaded political
act, closely related to their power and prestige. This, however,
does not mean that elites always pursued maximum power
and wealth with the least effort. They were also caught in a
social system and by cultural beliefs, which they lived and
constructed. Production activities by elites may have been
expressions of their commitment to this system—or at least
of their conformity to it.
To understand why people produce specific things in
specific manners, researchers need to address the issues of
knowledge and belief underlying craft work. The study of
these abstract elements through archaeology is not an easy
task because such inquiries are not separate from the researchers’ own cultural background. Our own cultural logic,
including the notion of rationality rooted in the Western tradition of thought, remains inherent to our interpretive process. It is necessary to look back critically on the set of
assumptions directing our reasoning and interpretation. We
still have a long way to go in the study of past knowledge
and belief, but it should be p...
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