A Bath for 8,000 Gods: Atij and Similar Expressions on Classic Maya Monuments

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Heat, Steam, and Health: The Archaeology of the Mesoamerican Pib Naah (Sweat Baths)" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Maya hieroglyphs are an invaluable source of data about the Classic period religion. However, when it comes to sweat baths, only a small subset of archaeologically investigated structures contains inscriptions. Therefore, any attempt to study this particular aspect of Maya ritual life should consider a broader corpus of texts that no longer have a clear archaeological connection to sweat baths. This presentation considers the spatial and chronological distribution of references to “bathing” and related expressions such as “strengthening” in Classic Maya inscriptions. The author’s goal is to test the assumption that these references evoke rituals taking place in sweat baths, both “real” and “symbolic.” If true, these references may be used to identify the discourse linked to sweat baths. The investigation also explores the range of imagery possibly evoking sweat bath rituals, including the less studied corpus of graffiti.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Heat, Steam, and Health: The Archaeology of the Mesoamerican Pib Naah (Sweat Baths)   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36951.0