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Sociopolitical Implications of a New Emblem Glyph and Place Name in Classic Maya Inscriptions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Joel W. Palka
Joel W. Palka*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60607
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Abstract

A new emblem glyph and place name, which depicts tied hair, is identified in Classic Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions from the upper Usumacinta River region of Chiapas and Guatemala. Emblem glyphs are used as titles of rulers, whereas place names indicate a person"s place of origin or where events took place. An interesting discovery from glyphic texts with this "Tied-Hair" glyph is that rulers at the large sites of Bonampak and Lacanhá, Chiapas, originated from the Tied-Hair site. Maya sites with emblem glyphs are often viewed as being politically independent polities ruled by a local patrilineage. Evidence discussed here suggests that Maya centers could have been ruled by noble males from other sites and that some polities were made up of several centers. This complex sociopolitical organization may have been created through dynastic alliances, through inheritance, or by military conquest. Classic Maya political integration then may have been similar to that of the Aztec, Mixtec, and Maya of Postclassic Mesoamerica.

Un nuevo glifo emblema y nombre de lugar fueron identificados en los textos jeroglíficos de varios sitios mayas clásicos cerca del Río Usumacinta en Chiapas y Guatemala. Los glifos emblemas mayas son títulos de los gobernantes y los nombres de lugar indican el sitio de origen de los nobles y muestran donde ocurrieron ceremonias, guerras, y visitas. Los nuevos jeroglíficos presentados aquí, los cuales representan "pelo amarrado" similares a los glifos emblemas de Tikal y Dos Pilas en Guatemala, parecen nombrar un sitio arqueológico desconocido cerca de Bonampak, Lacanhá y El Pato/El Chorro debido a que los glifos aparecen en las inscripciones de estos sitios. Las inscripciones con los glifos del llamado sitio Pelo Amarrado son interesantes ya que indican que algunos gobernantes de Bonampak y Lacanhá provinieron de este sitio. Usualmente los sitios mayas que tienen sus propias glifos emblemas son vistos como centros con autonomía política regidos por un linaje real local. A diferencia de esta perspectiva, la evidencia presentada aquí sugiere que algunas entidades políticas mayas incluyeron nobles de varios sitios y que algunos centros mayas no fueron independientes sino integrados a otros centros por medio de alianzas dinásticas o conquistas militares. Entonces, la organización sociopolítica de los mayas clásicos puede ser semejante a la de los aztecas, mixtecas, y mayas del periodo Postclásico de Mesoamérica.

Type
Articles
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , September 1996 , pp. 211 - 227
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1996

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