Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T15:44:23.213Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

THE SACRED MOUNTAIN IN SOCIAL CONTEXT. SYMBOLISM AND HISTORY IN MAYA ARCHITECTURE: TEMPLE 22 AT COPAN, HONDURAS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 December 2011

Jennifer von Schwerin
Jennifer von Schwerin*
Affiliation:
Department of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131
*
E-mail: correspondence to: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Did Mesoamerican temples really symbolize sacred mountains? If so, what accounts for their varying forms across space and time? Through a socio-historical and iconographic approach, it is now becoming possible to explain the social and historical factors for why design in ancient Maya temples varied. Using these methods, this paper reconstructs and reinterprets one famous “sacred mountain” in the Maya region: Temple 22, at Copan, Honduras, dedicated by king Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil in a.d. 715. Since 1998, the author has led a project to conserve, document, analyze, and hypothetically reconstruct thousands of sculptures from the building's collapsed façades. In design and symbolism, the building probably represented not just a mountain, but the Maya universe. In its more specific historical context, Temple 22 was designed as royal rhetoric to affirm order at a disorderly moment, and used both traditional and innovative forms to assert Copan's leading role on the boundary of the Maya world.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , Fall 2011 , pp. 271 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abrams, Elliot M. 1994 How the Maya Built their World: Energetics and Ancient Architecture. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Agurcia Fasquelle, Ricardo 1996 Rosalila, el corazón de la Acrópolis: El templo del rey-sol. Yaxkin 14:5–18.Google Scholar
Agurcia Fasquelle, Ricardo, and Fash, Barbara W. 2005 The Evolution of Structure 10L-16, Heart of the Copan Acropolis. In Copan: The History of an Ancient Maya Kingdom, edited by Andrews, E. Wyllys and Fash, William, pp. 201–238. School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Ahlfeldt, Jennifer 2004a Reconstruyendo los Mosaicos Tallados en el Templo 22, Copán, Honduras. In A Symposium of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History in Honor of George Hasemann 1999, pp. 45–59. Honduran Department of Anthropology and History, Tegucigalpa.Google Scholar
Ahlfeldt, Jennifer 2004b On Reconstructing and Performing Maya Architecture: Structure 22, Copan, Honduras (AD 715). Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
AndrewsV, E. Wyllys V, E. Wyllys, and Fash, Barbara W. 1992 Continuity and Change in a Royal Maya Residential Complex at Copan. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:63–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andrews V, E. Wyllys, and Fash, William L. 2005 Copan: The History of an Ancient Maya Kingdom. School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Andrews, George F. 1975 Maya Cities: Placemaking and Urbanization. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Aoyama, Kazuo 1999 Ancient Maya State, Urbanism, Exchange, and Craft Specialization: Chipped Stone from the Copan Valley and the La Entrada Region, Honduras. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Appadurai, Arjun (editor) 1986 The Social Life of Things: Commodities in Cultural Perspective. Cambridge University Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashmore, Wendy 1987 Research at Quiriguá, Guatemala: The Site-Periphery Program. In The Periphery of the Southeastern Classic Maya Realm, edited by Pahl, Gary W., pp. 215–227. Latin American Studies Series, Vol. 61. University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Ashmore, Wendy. 1991 Site-planning Principles and Concepts of Directionality among the Ancient Maya. Latin American Antiquity 2:199–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ashmore, Wendy. 2007 Settlement Archaeology at Quiriguá, Guatemala. Quiriguá Reports, Vol. 4. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aveni, Anthony 1977 Concepts of Positional Astronomy Employed in Ancient Mesoamerican Architectures. In Native American Astronomy, edited by Aveni, Anthony, pp. 3–20. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Bassie-Sweet, Karen 1991 From the Mouth of the Dark Cave: Commemorative Sculpture of the Late Classic Maya. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Bassie-Sweet, Karen 1996 At the Edge of the World: Caves and Late Classic Maya World View. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Bassie-Sweet, Karen 2002 Corn Deities and the Male/Female Principle. In Ancient Maya Gender Identity and Relations, edited by Gustafson, Lowell F. and Trevelyan, Amelia F., pp. 169–190. Bergin and Garvey, Westport, CT.Google Scholar
Baudez, Claude F. 1989 The House of the Bacabs: An Iconographic Analysis. In The House of the Bacabs, edited by Webster, David, pp. 73–81. Studies in Precolumbian Art and Archaeology, No. 29. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Baudez, Claude F. 2004 Los Cautivos Mayas y su Destino. In Los Cautivos de Dzibanché, edited by Nalda, Enrique, pp. 57–78. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Beaudry, Marilyn Patricia 1983 Production and Distribution of Painted Late Classic Maya Ceramics in the Southeastern Periphery (Central America). Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Beaudry, Marilyn P., Henderson, John S., and Joyce, Rosemary A. 1993 Approaches to the Analysis of Pre-Columbian Honduran Ceramics. In Pottery of Prehistoric Honduras, edited by Henderson, John S. and Beaudry-Corbett, Marilyn, pp. 3–6. Monograph No. 35. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA Institute of Archaeology Press, Los Angeles.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, Ellen Elizabeth 2007 Early Classic Ritual Deposits within the Copan Acropolis: The Material Foundations of Political Power at a Classic Period Maya Center. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Benson, Elizabeth 1985 Architecture as Metaphor. In Fifth Palenque Round Table, 1983, edited by Fields, Virginia M., pp. 183–188. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Bernal-Garcia, Maria Elena 1994 Tzatza: Olmec Mountains and the Ruler's Ritual Speech. In Seventh Palenque Round Table, 1989, edited by Fields, Virginia M., pp. 113–124. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Bill, Cassandra R. 1997 Patterns of Variation and Change in Dynastic Period Ceramics and Ceramic Production at Copan, Honduras. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Tulane University. University Microfilms, Ann ArborGoogle Scholar
Brady, James 1988 The Sexual Connotation of Caves in Mesoamerican Ideology. Mexicon 10:51–55.Google Scholar
Brady, James 1996 Retorno a las Cavernas de Copan: Otra Evaluación Preliminar. Yaxkin XV:99–118.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Wendy, Ashmore 1999 Mountains, Caves, Water: Ideational Landscapes of the Ancient Maya. In Archaeologies of Landscape: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Ashmore, Wendy and Knapp, A. Bernard, pp. 124–148. Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Prufer, Keith M. (editors) 2005 The Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Veni, George 1992 Man-Made and Pseudo Karst Caves: The Implications of Subsurface Features within Maya Centers. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal 7:149–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Broda, Johanna, Carrasco, Davíd, and Moctezuma, Eduardo Matos 1987 The Great Temple of Tenochtitlan: Center and Periphery in the Aztec World. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Canuto, Marcello A., and Bell, Ellen E. 2008 The Ties that Bind: Administrative Strategies in the El Paraíso Valley, Department of Copan, Honduras. Mexicon 30:10–20.Google Scholar
Carlson, John B. 1981 A Geomantic Model for the Interpretation of Mesoamerican Sites: An Essay in Cross-Cultural Comparison. In Mesoamerican Sites and World Views: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks, October 16th and 17th, 1976, edited by Benson, Elizabeth P., pp. 143–203. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Christie, Jessica Joyce (editor) 2003 Maya Palaces and Elite Residences: An Interdisciplinary Approach. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Christie, Jessica Joyce, and Sarro, Patricia Joan (editors) 2006 Palaces and Power in the Americas: From Peru to the Northwest Coast. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Clark, Timothy J. 1973 The Absolute Bourgeois: Artists and Politics in France, 1848–1851. New York Graphic Society, Greenwich, Connecticut.Google Scholar
Closs, Michael P., Aveni, Anthony F., and Crowley, Bruce 1984 The Planet Venus and Temple 22 at Copan. Indiana 9:221–247.Google Scholar
Coe, Michael 2003 The Maya. 7th edition. Ancient Peoples and Places. Thames and Hudson, New York.Google Scholar
Coggins, Clemency Chase 1987 On the Historical Significance of Decorated Ceramics at Copan and Quirigua and Related Classic Maya Sites. In The Southeast Classic Maya Zone: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 6th and 7th October, 1984, edited by Boone, Elizabeth H. and Willey, Gordon R., pp. 95–123. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Culbert, T. Patrick 1991 Classic Maya Political History: Hieroglyphs and Archaeological Evidence. School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series. Cambridge University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur 1988 Political Evolution in the Maya Borderlands: The Salvadoran Frontier. In The Southeast Classic Maya Zone: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 6th and 7th October, 1984, edited by Boone, Elizabeth H. and Wiley, Gordon R., pp. 335–394. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur 1992 Ideology in Ancient Maya Cultural Evolution. In Ideology and Pre-Columbian Civilizations, edited by Demarest, Arthur E. and Conrad, Geoffrey W., pp. 136–157. School of American Research Advanced Research Series. School of American Research, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur 2006 Sacred and Profane Mountains of the Pasión: Contrasting Architectural Paths to Power. In Palaces and Power in the Americas: From Peru to the Northwest Coast, edited by Christie, Jessica Joyce and Sarro, Patricia Joan, pp. 117–140. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, Susan Toby, and Pillsbury, Joanne 2004 Palaces of the Ancient New World: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 10th and 11th October 1998. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W. 1992 Late Classic Architectural Sculpture Themes in Copan. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:89–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fash, Barbara W. 1997a La Scultura del Mondo Classico Maya. In I Maya di Copán: l'Atene del Centroamérica, edited by Orefici, Guiseppe, pp. 79–98. Skira Editore, Milan.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W. 1997b Sculpting the Maya Universe: A New View on Copan. Symbols (Spring):18–21.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W. 2004 Early Classic Sculptural Development at Copan. In Understanding Early Classic Copan, edited by Bell, Ellen E., Canuto, Marcello, and Sharer, Robert, pp. 249–264. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W. 2005 Iconographic Evidence for Water Management and Social Organization at Copan. In Copan: The History of an Ancient Maya Kingdom, edited by Andrews, E. Wyllys and Fash, William L., pp. 103–138. School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series. School of American Research, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W. 2011 The Copan Sculpture Museum: Ancient Maya Artistry in Stucco and Stone. Peabody Museum Press, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W., and Fash, William L. 1994 Copan Temple 20 and the House of the Bats. In Seventh Palenque Round Table, edited by Robertson, Merle Green, pp. 61–68. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W., and Fash, William L. 1996 Building a World-View: Visual Communication in Classic Maya Architecture. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 29/30:127–147.Google Scholar
Fash, Barbara W., Fash, William L., Lane, Sheree, Larios, Rudy, Schele, Linda, Stomper, Jeffrey, and Stuart, David 1992 Investigations of a Classic Maya Council House at Copan, Honduras. Journal of Field Archaeology 19:419–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fash, William L. 1983 Maya State Formation: A Case Study and Its Implications. Ph.D. dissertation. Department of Anthropology, Harvard University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. 1989 Final Report 1989 PACC Field Season. Submitted to the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. Manuscript on file at the Regional Center for Archaeological Investigations (CRIA) at Copan, Honduras.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. 1991a Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya. New Aspects of Antiquity. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. 1991b Lineage Patrons and Ancestor Worship among the Classic Maya Nobility: The Case of Copan Structure 9N-82. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986, edited by Fields, Virginia M., pp. 68–80. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. 1998 Dynastic Architectural Programs: Intention and Design in Classic Maya Buildings at Copan and Other Sites. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 7th and 8th October 1994, edited by Houston, Stephen D., pp. 271–298. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. 2001 Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya. Revised edition. New Aspects of Antiquity. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Fash, William L. 2004 Toward a Social History of the Copan Valley. In Copan: The History of an Ancient Maya Kingdom, edited by Andrews V, E. Wyllys and Fash, William L., pp.73–102. School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series. School of American Research Press, Sante Fe.Google Scholar
Fash, William L., Andrews V, E. Wyllys, and Manahan, T. Kam 2004 Political Decentralization, Dynastic Collapse, and the Early Postclassic in the Urban Center of Copán, Honduras. In The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation, edited by Demarest, Arthur A., Rice, Prudence M., and Rice, Don S., pp. 260–287. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Fash, William L., and Stuart, David 1991 Dynastic History and Cultural Evolution at Copan, Honduras. In Classic Maya Political History: Hieroglyphic and Archaeological Evidence, edited by Culbert, Patrick, pp. 147–179. School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Fernández Christlieb, Federico, and Julián, Angel (editors) 2006 Territorialidad y paisaje en el altepetl del siglo XVI. Sección de obras de historia. Fondo de Cultura Económica and the Instituto de Geografía de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Fields, Virginia M. 1989 Origins of Divine Kingship among the Lowland Classic Maya. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Fields, Virginia M. 1991 Iconographic Heritage of the Maya Jester God. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986, edited by Fields, Virginia M., pp. 167–174. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Fitle, Rebecca 2006 Maya Symbolic Architecture as Metaphor: Copan's Ballcourts. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Art and Art History, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Freidel, David A. 1990 Jester God: The Beginning and End of a Maya Royal Symbol. In Vision and Revision in Maya Studies, edited by Clancy, Flora S. and Harrison, Peter D., pp. 67–78. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Freidel, David, Schele, Linda, and Parker, Joy 1993 Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path. William Morrow and Co., New York.Google Scholar
Gendrop, Paul 1974 A Guide to Architecture in Ancient Mexico. Minutiae Mexicana, Mexico.Google Scholar
Gendrop, Paul 1983 Los estilos Rio Bec, Chenes y Puuc en la arquitectura Maya. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Gendrop, Paul 1985 Nuevas consideraciones sobre el tema de las portadas zoomorfas y de los mascarones asociados. Cuadernos de Arquitectura Mesoamericana 6:27–46.Google Scholar
Gerstle, Andrea Irene 1988 Maya-Lenca Ethnic Relations in Late Classic Period Copan, Honduras. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Girard, Rafael 1969 Die Ewigen Mayas: Zivilisation und Geschichte. Rhein-Verlag, Zürich.Google Scholar
González de la Mata, Rocío, and Andrews, Anthony P. 1998 Navigation and Trade on the Eastern Coast of the Yucatan Península. In Maya, edited by Schmidt, Peter, de la Garza, Mercedes, and Nalda, Enrique, pp. 450–467. Rizzoli International Publications, New York.Google Scholar
Gordon, George B. 1894–1895 Report of the Honduras Expedition of 1894–95. Manuscript on file at the Peabody Museum Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai (editor) 2001 Maya: Divine Kings of the Rainforest. Koenemann, Cologne.Google Scholar
Hanks, William F. 1990 Referential Practice: Language and Lived Space among the Maya. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Harrison, Peter D. 1998 Lords of Tikal: Rulers of an Ancient Maya City. New Aspects of Antiquity. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Hatt, Michael, and Klonk, Charlotte 2006 Art History: A Critical Introduction to its Methods. Manchester University Press, Manchester.Google Scholar
Heyden, Doris 1981 Caves, Gods, and Myths: World-View and Planning in Teotihuacan. In Mesoamerican Sites and World Views: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks, October 16th and 17th, 1976, edited by Benson, Elizabeth P., pp.1–40. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Hirth, Kenneth G. 1988 Beyond the Maya Frontier: Cultural Interaction and Syncretism along the Central Honduran Corridor. In The Southeast Classic Maya Zone: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 6th and 7th October 1984. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Hohmann, Hasso, and Vogrin, Annegrete 1982 Die Architektur von Copan (Honduras): Vermessung-Plandarstellung-Untersuchung der baulichen Elemente und des raumlichen Konzepts. Akademische Druck und Verlaganstalt, Graz.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 1998 Classic Maya Depictions of the Built Environment. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1994, edited by Houston, Stephen D., pp. 333–372. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D., and Stuart, David 1998 The Ancient Maya Self: Personhood and Portraiture in the Classic Period. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 33:73–101.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi, and Houston, Stephen 2001 Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya: Vol. 1. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Johnson, Kevin J., and Gonlin, Nancy 1998 What Do Houses Mean? Approaches to the Analysis of Classic Maya Commoner Residences. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 7th and 8th October 1994, edited by Houston, Stephen D., pp. 141–186. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Joyce, Rosemary A. 1993 Construction of the Mesoamerican Frontier and the Mayaoid Image of Honduran Polychromes. In Reinterpreting the Prehistory of Central America, edited by Graham, Mark Miller, pp. 51–101. University Press of Colorado, Niwot.Google Scholar
Koontz, Rex, Reese-Taylor, Kathryn, and Headrick, Annabeth (editors) 2001 Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Kowalski, Jeff Karl 1987 House of the Governor: A Maya Palace of Uxmal, Yucatan, Mexico. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Krempel, Guido, and Davletshin, Albert 2011 Two Maya Polychrome Drinking Vessels for Cacao in the Chocolate Museum Cologne, Germany. Mexicon 33(2):26–32.Google Scholar
Kubler, George 1962a The Art and Architecture of Ancient Americas: The Mexican, Maya, and Andean Peoples. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Kubler, George 1962b The Shape of Time: Remarks on the History of Things. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Kubler, George 1969 Studies in Classic Maya Iconography. Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 18. Archon Books, Hamden, CT.Google Scholar
Larios Villalta, Rudy, Fash, William L., and Stuart, David 1994 Architectural Stratigraphy and Epigraphic Dating of Copan Structure 10L-22: An Exercise in the Conjunctive Approach. In Seventh Palenque Round Table, 1989, edited by Fields, Virginia M., pp. 69–77. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Le Fort, Genevieve, Gardiol, Raphael, Matteo, Sebastian, and Helmke, Christophe 2009 The Maya and their Sacred Narratives: Text and Context in Maya Mythologies. Acta Mesoamericana 20. Markt Schwaben, Verlag Anton Saurwein.Google Scholar
Leventhal, Richard, Demarest, Arthur, and Willey, Gordon R. 1987 The Cultural and Social Components of Copan. In Polities and Partitions, edited by Trinkaus, K. M., pp. 179–205. Anthropological Research Papers. Arizona State University, Tempe.Google Scholar
Longyear, John M. 1952 Copan Ceramics: A Study of Southeastern Maya Pottery. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 597, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Looper, Matthew 2003 Lightning Warrior: Maya Art and Kingship at Quirigua. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Lucero, Lisa J. 2004 Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Lucero, Lisa J. 2007 Classic Maya Temples, Politics, and the Voice of the People. Latin American Antiquity 18:407–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maca, Allan L. 2002 Spatio-Temporal Boundaries in Classic Maya Settlement Systems; Copan Urban Foothills and the Excavations at Group 9J-5. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Maca, Allan L. 2006 Body, Boundaries, and “Lived” Urban Space: A Research Model for the Eighth-century City at Copan, Honduras. In Space and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology, edited by Robertson, Elizabeth C., Seibert, Jeffrey D., Fernandez, Deepika C., and Zender, Mark U., pp. 143–156. University of Calgary Press, Calgary.Google Scholar
McAnany, Patricia A. 1993 The Economics of Social Power and Wealth among Eighth-Century Maya Households. In Lowland Maya Civilization in the Eight Century A.D.: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1989, edited by Sabloff, Jeremy A. and Henderson, John S., pp. 65–90. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Manahan, T. Kam 2004 The Way Things Fall Apart: Social Organization and the Classic Maya Collapse of Copan. Ancient Mesoamerica 15:107–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marconi, Clemente 2007 Temple Decoration and Cultural Identity in the Archaic Greek World: The Metopes of Selinus. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 1973 Territorial Organization of the Lowland Classic Maya. Science 180:911–916.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marcus, Joyce 1976 Emblem and State in the Classic Maya Lowlands: An Epigraphic Approach to Territorial Organization. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Marcus, Joyce 1993 Ancient Maya Political Organization. In Lowland Maya Civilization in the Eighth Century A.D.: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1989, edited by Sabloff, Jeremy A. and Henderson, John S., pp. 111–184. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Martin, Simon, and Grube, Nikolai 2000 Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Mathews, Jennifer P., and Garber, James F. 2004 Models of Cosmic Order: Physical Expression of Sacred Space among the Ancient Maya. Ancient Mesoamerica 15:49–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maudslay, Alfred P. 1889–1902 Biologia Centrali Americana: Archaeology. Vol. 1. R.H. Porter and Dulau, London.Google Scholar
McNeil, Cameron L., Hurst, W. Jeffrey, and Sharer, Robert J. 2006 The Use and Representation of Cacao during the Classic Period at Copan, Honduras. In Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao, edited by McNeil, Cameron L., pp. 224–252. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
McNeil, Cameron L., Burney, David A., and Burney, Lida P. 2010 Evidence Disputing Deforestation as the Cause for the Collapse of the Ancient Maya Polity of Copan, Honduras. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107(3):1017–1022.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Millbrath, Susan 1999 Star Gods of the Maya: Astronomy in Art, Folklore, and Calendars. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Miller, Arthur G. 1986 Maya Rulers of Time: A Study of Architectural Sculpture of Tikal, Guatemala. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary E. 1986 Copan, Honduras: Conference with a Perished City. In City-States of the Maya: Art and Architecture, edited by Benson, Elizabeth P., pp. 72–108. Rocky Mountain Institute for Pre-Columbian Studies, Denver.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary E. 1988 Meaning and Function of the Main Acropolis, Copan. In The Southeast Classic Maya Zone: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 6th and 7th October 1984., edited by Boone, Elizabeth H. and Willey, Gordon R., pp. 149–194. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary E. 1993 On the Eve of the Collapse: Maya art of the Eighth Century. In Lowland Maya Civilization in the Eighth Century A.D.: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1989, edited by Sabloff, Jeremy and Henderson, John S., pp. 355–413. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary E. 1999 Maya Art and Architecture. World in Art. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary Ellen, and Taube, Karl 1993 The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Morales, Alfonso 1997 The Construction Sequence of Structure 10L-22 at Copan, Honduras. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
Morley, Silvanus G. 1920 The Inscriptions at Copan. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 219, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Morris, Craig 2004 Enclosures of Power: The Multiple Spaces of Inca Administrative Palaces. In Palaces of the Ancient New World. A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 10th and 11th October 1998, edited by Evans, Susan Toby and Pillsbury, Joanne, pp. 299–324. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Morris, Earl H., Charlot, Jean, and Morris, Anne A. 1931 Temple of the Warriors at Chichen Itzá, Yucatan. 2 vols. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 406,Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Murray, Stephen 1989 Beauvais Cathedral: Architecture of Transcendence. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Nakamura, Seiichi, Aoyama, Kazuo, and Uratsuji, Eiji (editors) 1991 Investigaciones arqueológicas en la region de La Entrada, 1. Servicio de Voluntarios Japoneses para la Cooperación con el Extranjero, San Pedro Sula.Google Scholar
Newsome, Elizabeth A. 1991 Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World: Vision Quest and Creation in the Stelae Cycle of 18-Rabbit-God K, Copán, Honduras. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Newsome, Elizabeth A. 2001 The Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World: The Serial Stela Cycle of “18-Rabbit-God-K”, King of Copan. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Noguez, Xavier 2001 “Altepetl.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures: The Civilizations of Mexico and Central America, Vol. 1, edited by Carrasco, Davíd, pp. 12–13. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Pasztory, Esther 1992 The Natural World as Civic Metaphor at Teotihuacan. In The Ancient Americas: Art from Sacred Landscapes, edited by Townsend, Richard, pp. 135–146. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Patterson, Thomas C., and Gailey, Christine W. (editors) 1987 Power Relations and State Formation. American Anthropological Association, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Plank, Shannon E. 2003 Monumental Maya Dwellings in the Hieroglyphic and Archaeological Records: A Cognitive-Anthropological Approach to Classic Maya Architecture. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Archaeology, Boston University. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.Google Scholar
Pollock, Harry 1965 Architecture of the Maya Lowlands. In Archaeology of Southern Mesoamerica, Part 1, edited by Willey, Gordon R., pp. 378–440. Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 2, Robert Wauchope, general editor. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Prager, Christian Manfred 2002 Die Inschriften von Pusilha: Epigraphische Analyse und Rekonstruktion der Geschichte einer klassischen Maya-Stätte. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Bonn, Bonn.Google Scholar
Proskouriakoff, Tatiana 1950 A Study of Classic Maya Sculpture. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 593, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Proskouriakoff, Tatiana 2002 An Album of Maya Architecture. Dover Publications, New York. Originally published 1946, Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 558, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Rice, Don S. 1993 Eighth-century Physical Geography, Environment, and Natural Resources in the Maya Lowlands. In Lowland Maya Civilizations in the Eighth Century A.D.: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1989, edited by Sabloff, Jeremy A. and Henderson, John S., pp. 11–64. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Reilly, F. Kent III 1999 Mountains of Creation and Underworld Portals. In Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, edited by Kowalski, Jeff K., pp. 14–39. Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Remondino, Fabio, Gruen, Armin, von Schwerin, Jennifer, Eisenbeiss, Henri, Rizzi, Alessandro, Girardi, S., Sauerbier, Martin, and Richards-Rissetto, Heather 2009 Multi-sensor 3D Documentation of the Maya Site of Copan. In Proceedings of the 22nd CIPA Symposium, 11–15 October, 2009, Kyoto, Japan, edited by Takase, Yukata. Electronic document, http://cipa.icomos.org/text%20files/KYOTO/131-1.pdf.Google Scholar
Robicsek, Francis 1972 Copan: Home of the Mayan Gods. Museum of the American Indian, New York.Google Scholar
Robicsek, Francis, and Hales, Donald M. 1983 Maya Book of the Dead: Ceramic Codex. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Sabloff, Jeremy A., and Henderson, John S. (editors) 1993 Lowland Maya Civilization in the Eight Century A.D.: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1989. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Sanders, William T. 1989 Household, lineage, and state at eighth-century Copán, Honduras. In The House of the Bacabs Copán, Honduras, edited by Webster, David, pp. 89–105. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology, No. 29. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Saturno, William A., Taube, Karl A, Stuart, David, and Hurst, Heather 2005 The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala. Part 1: The North Wall. Ancient America series, Vol. 7. Center for Ancient American Studies, Barnardsville, NC.Google Scholar
Schávelzon, Daniel 1980 Temples, Caves, or Monsters? Notes on Zoomorphic Facades in Pre-Hispanic Architecture. In Tercera Mesa Redonda de Palenque, 1978, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene and Jeffers, Donnan C., pp. 151–162. Pre-Columbian Art Research Center, Monterrey, CA.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda 1976 Accession Iconography of Chan-Bahlum in the Group of the Cross at Palenque. In The Art, Iconography, and Dynastic History of Palenque, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene, pp. 9–34. Pre-Columbian Art Research, Pebble Beach, CA.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda 1987 Report on the Construction of the Corner Masks of Structure 22 during the 1987 Field Season. Copan Mosaics Project and the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia, Honduras.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda 1998 The Iconography of Maya Architectural Facades during the Late Classic Period. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 7th and 8th October 1994, edited by Houston, Stephen D., pp. 479–518. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda, and Freidel, David 1990 A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of Ancient Maya. William Morrow and Co., New York.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda, and Kappelman, Julia Guernsey 2001 What the Heck's Coatepec? The Formative Roots of Enduring Mythology. In Landscape and Power in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by Koontz, Rex, Reese-Taylor, Kathryn, and Headrick, Annabeth, pp. 29–53. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda, and Mathews, Peter 1998 The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs. Scribner, New York.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda, and Miller, Mary Ellen 1986 The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. George Braziller, New York.Google Scholar
Schortman, Edward M., and Nakamura, Seiichi 1991 A Crisis of Identity: Late Classic Maya Competition and Interaction on the Southeast Maya Periphery. Latin American Antiquity 2:311–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schortman, Edward M., Urban, Patricia A., and Ausec, Marne 2001 Politics with Style: Identity Formation in Prehispanic Southeastern Mesoamerica. American Anthropologist 103:312–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharer, Robert J. 2003 Tikal and the Copan Dynastic Founding. In Tikal: Dynasties, Foreigners, and Affairs of State. Advancing Maya Archaeology, edited by Sabloff, Jeremy A., pp. 319–353. School of American Research Advanced Seminar Series. School of American Research Press, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Sharer, Robert J., Fash, William L., Sedat, David W., Traxler, Loa P., and Williamson, Richard 1999 Continuities and Contrast in Early Classic Architecture of Central Copan. In Mesoamerican Architecture as a Cultural Symbol, edited by Kowalski, Jeff Karl, pp. 220–249. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Sharer, Robert J., Traxler, Loa P., and Miller, Julia C. 1992 Evolution of Classic Period Architecture in the East Acropolis Copan: A Progress Report. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:145–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spinden, Herbert 1913 A Study of Maya Art: Its Subject Matter and Historical Development. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 6. Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Sprajc, Ivan 1987 Venus and Temple 22 at Copan: Revisited. Journal of the Center for Archaeoastronomy 10:88–98.Google Scholar
Staller, John E. 2005 Pre-Columbian Landscapes of Creation and Origin. Springer, New York.Google Scholar
Stone, Andrea 1995 Images from the Underworld: Naj Tunich and the Tradition of Maya Cave Painting. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1986 Step Inscription of Structure 22 at Copan. Copan Notes 18. Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia, Tegucigalpa.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1987 Ten Phonetic Syllables. Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing, Vol. 14. Center for Maya Research, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1988 Blood Symbolism in Maya Iconography. In Maya Iconography, edited by Benson, Elizabeth P. and Griffin, Gillett G., pp. 175–221. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1989 Comments on the Temple 22 Inscription. Copan Notes 63. Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia, Tegucigalpa.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1992 Hieroglyphs and Archaeology at Copan. Ancient Mesoamerica 3:169–184.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuart, David 1997 The Hills are Alive: Sacred Mountain in the Maya Cosmos. Symbols (Spring):13–17.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 2004 La Concha Decorada de la Tumba del Templo del Búho, Dzibanché. In Los Cautivos de Dzibanché, edited by Nalda, Enrique, pp. 133–140. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 2005 The Inscriptions from Temple XIX at Palenque: A Commentary. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 2007 “Reading the Water Serpent as Witz'” Maya Decipherment: A Weblog on the Ancient Maya Script. Electronic document, http://decipherment.wordpress.com/2007/4/13/reading-the-water-serpent-as-witz, online comments posted April 13, 2007.Google Scholar
Stuart, David, and Stuart, George 2008 Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya. New Aspects of Antiquity. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Tate, Carolyn 1992 Yaxchilan: The Design of a Maya Ceremonial City. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl A. 1985 The Classic Maya Maize God: A Reappraisal. In Fifth Palenque Round Table, 1983, edited by Fields, Virginia M., pp. 171–181. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl A. 1986 Teotihuacán Cave of Origin: The Iconography and Architecture of Emergence Mythology in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 12:51–82.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl A. 1994 The Jade Hearth: Centrality, Rulership and the Classic Maya Temple. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October, 1994, edited by Houston, Stephen D., pp. 427–478. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl A. 2002 Maws of Heaven and Hell: The Symbolism of the Centipede and Serpent in Classic Maya Religion. In Antropología de la eternidad: La muerte en la cultura Maya, edited by Ruiz, Andrés Ciudad, Sosa, Mario Humberto Ruz, and de León, M. Josefa Iglesias Ponce, pp. 405–442. Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas, No. 7. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl A. 2004 Flower Mountain: Concepts of Life, Beauty and Paradise among the Classic Maya. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 45:69–98.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl, Stuart, David, Saturno, William, and Hurst, Heather 2010 The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala, Part 2: The West Wall. Ancient America 10. Center for Maya Research, Barnardsville, NC.Google Scholar
Taylor, Dicey 1978 The Cauac Monster. In Tercera Mesa Redonda de Palenque, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene and Jeffers, Donnan Call, pp. 79–89. Pre-Columbian Art Research Center, Palenque.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. Eric S. 1960 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: An Introduction. Reprinted. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Townsend, Richard F. (editor) 1992 The Ancient Americas: Art from Sacred Landscapes. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.Google Scholar
Trik, Aubrey S. 1939 Temple XXII at Copan. Contributions to American Anthropology and History, Vol. 5, No. 27. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication No. 509, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Viel, Renee 1993 Evolución de la cerámica de Copan, Honduras. Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia, Tegucigalpa.Google Scholar
Vogt, Evon Z. 1960 Ancient Maya Concepts in Contemporary Zinacantan Religion. 6th International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Paris 2:497–502Google Scholar
Vogt, Evon Z. 1969 Zinacantan: A Maya Community in the Highlands of Chiapas. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vogt, Evon Z. 1976 Tortillas for the Gods: A Symbolic Analysis of Zinacanteco Rituals. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Vogt, Evon Z. 1981 Some Aspects of the Sacred Geography of Highland Chiapas. In Mesoamerican Sites and World Views: A Conference at Dumbarton Oaks, October 16th and 17th, 1976, edited by Benson, Elizabeth P., pp. 119–142. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Vogt, Evon Z., and Stuart, David 2005 Some Notes on Ritual Caves among the Ancient and Modern Maya. In In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, edited by Brady, James E. and Prufer, Keith M., pp. 155–185. University of Texas Press, Austin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
von Schwerin, Jennifer 2010 The Problem of the “Copan Style” and Political Identity: The Architectural Sculpture of El Paraíso, Honduras in a Regional Context. Mexicon 32(3):56–66.Google Scholar
von Schwerin, Jennifer 2011 Space-Time and Maya Temple Design: The Dynamics of an Architectural Cosmogram. In Morphomata: Kulturelle Figurationen: Genese, Dynamik und Medialität, edited by Boschung, Dietrich and Blamberger, Günter, pp. 261–286. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Münich.Google Scholar
von Schwerin, Jennifer, Richards-Rissetto, Heather, Remondino, Fabio, Agugiaro, Giorgio, Forte, Maurizio, and Maqueda, Raul 2011 The MayaArch3D Project: Digital Technologies for Research in Maya Archaeology. Final Performance Report and White Paper for NEH Digital Humanities Level II Start-Up Grant. Electronic document, http://securegrants.neh.gov/PublicQuery/main.aspx?f=1&gn=HD-50975-10.Google Scholar
von Schwerin, Jennifer, Richards-Rissetto, Heather, Remondino, Fabio, Sauerbier, Martin, Eisenbeiss, Henri, Forte, Maurizio, and Gruen, Armin 2010 Final Report to the NEH on the Digital Humanities Level I Start-Up Grant: Digital Documentation and Reconstruction of an Ancient Maya Temple and Prototype of Internet GIS Database of Maya Architecture. National Endowment for the Humanities. Electronic document, http://neh.gov/ODH/Default.aspx?tabid=111&id=106.Google Scholar
Webster, David (editor) 1989 The House of the Bacabs, Copan, Honduras. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology, No. 29. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Webster, David L., and Freter, AnnCorinne 1990 The Demography of Late Classic Copan. In Precolumbian Population History in the Maya Lowlands, edited by Culbert, T. Patrick and Rice, Don S., pp. 37–61. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Webster, David, Freter, AnnCorinne, and Gonlin, Nancy 2000 Copan: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Maya Kingdom. Case Studies in Archaeology. Harcourt College Publishers, Fort Worth.Google Scholar
Williams-Beck, Lorraine A. 1987 La iconografía de la portada zoomorfa en la arquitectura del área Yucatán central: Dzibilnocac, Hochob y Tabasqueño, Campeche, México. In Memorias del Primer Coloquio Internacional de Mayistas: 5-10 de agosto de 1985, edited by Garza, Mercedes de la, pp. 559–596. Centro Estudios Mayas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico.Google Scholar