Ritual activity at the Grazia Complex, Yaxnohcah

Summary

Yaxnohcah is located in southern Campeche, Mexico and had an important occupation from the Middle Preclassic to the Late Classic period (c. 600 b.c.e.-800 c.e.). The focus of this paper is the Grazia complex, one of the ten major civic-ceremonial groups.

Grazia consists of two monumental platforms featuring a triadic group and a ball court. The complex is located about 2 km southwest of the center of the site. Excavations began in 2016, revealing the presence of several constructive phases, including early platforms built with massive stone blocks, as well as the remains of ritual activities. A hearth and a ritual deposit with a triadic layout—a cache vessel surrounded by three stones—might be related to the principle of centrality and creation mythology.

In this paper, I discuss the importance of the findings at the Grazia complex in a broader perspective, comparing the new data on ritual activity with other contemporary practices throughout the Maya area. Public rituals seem to be related to the process of social integration and the institutionalization of power in the Preclassic period, in an area which played a crucial role in the consolidation of the Maya political landscape.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• The Dynamics of the Preclassic in the Heart of the Maya Lowlands

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16563