Understanding Classic Maya Hegemonic Networks Through Textual-Material Synergies: The Case of the "Snake" Kingdom
Part of: Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)
Over the past two decades it has become increasingly clear that the ancient Maya political landscape was permeated by asymmetrical power relations. The hegemonic networks these created fluctuated through time, but the steady presence of a few especially dominant polities shows that they were a persistent feature with very real socio-political effects. Yet much about these regional systems remains unexplained. Their developmental history, systems of maintenance, coercive mechanisms, degree of cultural assimilation, and impact on their respective patron and client economies are all issues in play. In this symposium we propose to combine archaeological and epigraphic approaches in order to unravel deeper layers of what are in some cases entrenched, at others ephemeral, connections. Focusing on the impact of the Kaanul "Snake" kingdom seated at Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico, scholars will collaborate to synergize textual and material data from different polities to help define and delineate the nature of the most pervasive and successful hegemonic network of the Late Classic Maya.
Other Keywords
Maya •
Epigraphy •
Politics •
Political Organization •
Rulers •
Classic Maya •
Statecraft •
conjunctive approach •
Dzibanche •
Royal women
Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica •
Central America
Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-9 of 9)
- Documents (9)
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Archaeological and Epigraphic Indices of the Political Domination: A View from the Northwestern Periphery of the Kaanu’l Hegemonic State (2016)
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The past decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of Classic Maya geopolitics, particularly in reconstructing asymmetrical interpolity relationships dominated by expansionist states. Employing variable political strategies, including both direct and indirect rulership, the Kaanu’l Dynasty dominated a large network of kingdoms across the Maya Lowlands. This paper examines the impacts of the expansion and dissolution of the Kaanu’l state in western Campeche, within the northwestern...
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Archaeology, Epigraphy and the Development of Long-term Alliance at La Corona, Guatemala (2016)
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The integrated program of epigraphic and archaeological research at La Corona, Guatemala aims to document, analyze and understand the development of this highly unusual Maya center during of the Classic period. Known as Saknikte’ in ancient texts, La Corona served as the locus of a small court with its own dynastic history and exhibiting close and long-lasting familial and political ties with the far larger Kaanul or “Snake” kingdom centered at Dzibanche and Calakmul. Architectural excavations...
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At the Heart of the Serpent: Archaeology, Epigraphy, and Iconography at Calakmul, Campeche, Mexico (2016)
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The metropolis of Calakmul has a pre-eminent place in Classic Maya history that is best understood from a multi-disciplinary perspective, combining the study of its extensive archaeological remains with that of its monuments, both in terms of inscriptions and imagery. This paper focuses on a hundred-year span, from the seventh and eighth centuries CE, which covers the reign of three of its best-known rulers. Representing the highpoint of the Snake kingdom’s “international” influence, this small...
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The Dynamics of an Ancient Hegemony: How the Classic Snake Kingdom Rewrites the Story of lowland Maya Political Organization (2016)
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The political organization of the Classic Maya has been a hotly contested topic for many years. Since the 1930s, interpretations have fluctuated between visions of large-scale centralized states and small-scale decentralized polities. However, the recognition of a particular body of data in the inscriptions - statements of royal subordination and allegiance - is giving rise to a new consensus that obviates this this well-worn dichotomy. This introductory paper will set the scene for this...
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Nested Hegemonies in the Holmul Region (2016)
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The recent finds at Holmul has opened a narrow window on the hitherto largely unknown dynastic history of this medium-sized kingdom in eastern Peten and on the complexities of Late Classic lowland Maya hegemonic relations. We now have a royal tomb, a palace, and a funerary temple with dedicatory texts that can all be attributed with a certain degree of confidence to a single Late Classic ruler with ties to Naranjo and Kaanul (Snake Kingdom). This set of contextual information allows us to...
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Queens and Statecraft: Royal Women as Agents of Kaanul at El Perú-Waka’ (2016)
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Recent research has shed tremendous light on the impact of two generations of royal women of Kaanul on the classic Maya city of El Peru-Waka’. Lady Ikoom and Lady K’abel facilitated royal bonds through marriages to Waka’ rulers, and reigned there during the Early Late and Mid-Late Classic periods, respectively. In this paper, we address the wide ranging sources of evidence from Waka’ that speak to these linkages, including monuments with preserved texts, and royal burials from three of the...
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The Rulers of the Kanu’l Dynasty from the Perspective of Dzibanche, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (2016)
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This paper discusses data on the presence of the Kanu'l dynasty in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico, particularly at the major site of Dzibanché. The hieroglyphic inscriptions give us explicit testimony on three important Kanu'l characters during the Early Classic: Yuhkno'm Ch'e'n I, Sky Witness, and Yahx ? Yopaat. In addition, we will talk about the presence of another Kanu'l character from Late Classic, associated with the Pom Plaza from Dzibanche, together with an explanation of the associated...
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The "Snake" Kingdom from the Vantage of Western Belize (2016)
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Recent years have seen the evidence from Western Belizean sites—especially Buenavista, Cahal Pech, Caracol, Cuychen, and Xunantunich—beginning to contribute substantially to scholarly understandings of the hegemonic networks underlying Classic Maya politics. Particularly illuminating are a series of seventh-century monuments commissioned by Caracol's king K'an II, which chronicle his polity's shifting fortunes as a client kingdom. While his own father was placed on the throne of Caracol by Wak...
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The Social Function of the Title "K’uhul Chatahn Winik" (2016)
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Dozens of Maya ceramics from the Late Classic period feature the epithet "k’uhul chatahn winik", ‘divine person of Chatahn’. Most of these are codex-style vessels of unknown provenance, but some specimens have been recovered during archaeological explorations at Calakmul, Nakbe, and Tintal. Moreover, the same title appears in monumental inscriptions, most prominently at Calakmul, where there are at least four examples. Despite a recent increase in research on this specific title, the different...