A Good Footing: The Importance of Plaza Design in the Northern Maya Lowlands

Summary

Ancient Maya architecture tends to follow predictable patterns. Many structures have a single, clear façade, for instance, conceptualized as a literal face. Northern sites, with their toothy-jawed monster buildings, express this idea with particular directness. Stairways and sculptural adjuncts, like altars and stelae, are integral elements that contribute to the idea of facing, both literally and metaphorically, and, as such, are critical to the visual identity of many Maya sites. With a few notable exceptions, scholarly attention often focuses on isolating and analyzing associated texts and patronage as they relate to dynastic agendas, historical chronologies, or infrastructure supporting elaborate ceremonies. The present work acknowledges the importance, and interrelated nature, of Northern Lowland plaza features like stairs, altars, and three-dimensional sculpture. In doing so, we begin to explore how discrete formatting choices, combined with object selection and placement, impact viewers’ spatial experiences. Ultimately our work strongly supports the reading of Maya architecture as a performative framework. While Maya sites have long been understood as loci for ritual and other kinds of activity, the unusual aspects of specifically Northern constructs further demonstrate how such selection privileges certain behaviors in particular locations, coordinated with the functionality of those spaces.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22123