Commemoration or Termination? Evaluating Early Public Ritual in Yaxuná, Yucatan, Mexico through Ethnography and Ethnohistory

Summary

Through hieroglyphic, historical, and ethnographic documentation, the act of ensouling and cleansing an architectural space is a well documented ritual activity practiced among Mesoamerican cultures. Acts that commemorate space, whether marking renewal or termination, often leave traces. As can be attested archaeologically, the trace evidence commemorative acts are often visible on several surfaces in an architectural sequence, speaking both to the continuity and disjuncture in such practice. Recent investigations in the Central Plaza of Yaxuná, Yucatan, Mexico, have revealed evidence of two traditions marking the same space over the six phases of floor construction roughly ranging from 600 BC to 200 AD. This paper looks at the material evidence of surrounding both isolated and episodic burned patterns on floor surfaces and the layering of sediment in relation to known ethnographic and historical accounts of traditions of commemoration. Coupled with each independent layer are deposits commemorating not only construction but also termination, rendering a complex story blending both ritual and civic practice. The goals of this paper are to comparatively evaluate the evidence of past activities in terms of known ethnographic and historic examples of commemorative architectural traditions and also to better understand ritual public activities of this early period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage