Digging the Scene: More on the El Perú-Waka’ Burial 39 Figurines

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Mesoamerican Figurines in Context. New Insights on Tridimensional Representations from Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The ancient Maya resurrection ritual depicted by the 23 ceramic figurines methodically arranged by mourners at the feet of the deceased ruler interred in El Perú-Waka’ Burial 39 continues to be a source of intriguing information about the Classic Maya. More recently, extensive examination of the results of Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) demonstrates that the manufacture of the scene speaks directly to what we know from hieroglyphic inscriptions about the complex political situation playing out in the southern Maya lowlands during the mid-7th century CE. These data are especially relevant because of the scene’s archaeological context. This paper summarizes the contextual detail that permits a varied and multifaceted analysis of the scene, it’s layout and meaning, and it’s greater relevance to Maya geopolitics.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Mesoamerican Figurines in Context. New Insights on Tridimensional Representations from Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24514