Ritual in the "Great Household": Termination Deposits in Classic Maya Royal Residences

Summary

In a certain sense, the Classic Maya royal court can be seen as an expanded, intensified household, a comparative model for which can be found in the "Great Households" of early medieval Europe and elsewhere. Closely linked to governing political structures and notable for their size, complexity, and levels of expenditure and waste, royal courts mimic the patterns of interaction that define the household as an archaeological unit, but on a grander scale. This paper examines ritual at the "Great Household" level, focusing specifically on examples of termination deposits associated with royal residences. Compiling examples from across the Maya area, temporal and regional patterns in these deposits are evaluated, showing their content and character to reflect tensions between regional and local influences, exclusivity and access, and integration and instability experienced by the Classic Maya ruler and his sprawling "family."

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Household Rituals in the Ancient Americas – from Patio Groups to Pueblos

Keywords

Spatial Coverage