Cups for the King: Ajnumsaaj Chan K’inich of Naranjo and the Emergence of Regional Styles of Classic Maya Elite Serving Vessels

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Rollout Keepers: Papers on Maya Ceramic Texts, Scenes, and Styles in Honor of Justin and Barbara Kerr" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Distinct regional styles are a hallmark of Lowland Maya elite polychrome ceramic vessels during the Late Classic period (550–820 CE). However, our understanding of the phenomenon has not advanced beyond its mechanics - the presence of attached craft workshops at the courts of ancient Maya rulers. This paper attempts to fill the gap by considering one of the earliest styles associated with the royal court of Ajnumsaaj Chan K’inich of Naranjo. The presentation combines the analysis of the more technical properties of the style (vessel forms and decoration modes) with a survey of themes, texts, and paleography. It takes advantage of recent excavations at Naranjo and sites in its vicinity including Holmul that provided the first corpus of provenanced whole and partial vessels attributed to Ajnumsaaj Chan K’inich’s artists. Finally, the paper considers the historical circumstances of the emergence of the Naranjo style of polychrome vessels. These multiple lines of inquiry offer insights into the reasons behind the rise of regional styles of Classic Maya elite pottery.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Rollout Keepers: Papers on Maya Ceramic Texts, Scenes, and Styles in Honor of Justin and Barbara Kerr   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39045.0