Maya E Groups
Maya E Groups
Calendars, Astronomy, and Urbanism in the Early Lowlands
As complex societies emerged in the Maya lowlands during the first millen¬nium BCE, so did stable communities focused around public squares and the worship of a divine ruler tied to a Maize God cult. “E Groups,” central to many of these settle¬ments, are architectural complexes: typically, a long platform supporting three struc¬tures and facing a western pyramid across a formal plaza. Aligned with the movements of the sun, E Groups have long been interpreted as giant calendrical devices crucial to the rise of Maya civilization. This volume presents new archaeological data to reveal that E Groups were constructed earlier than previously thought. In fact, they are the earliest identifiable architectural plan at many Maya settlements. More than just astronomical observatories or calendars, E Groups were a key ele¬ment of community organization, urbanism, and identity in the heart of the Maya lowlands. They served as gathering places for emerging communities and centers of ritual; they were the very first civic-religious public architecture in the Maya lowlands. Investigating a wide variety of E Group sites—including some of the most famous like the Mundo Perdido in Tikal and the hitherto little known complex at Chan, as well as others in Ceibal, El Palmar, Cival, Calakmul, Caracol, Xunantunich, Yaxnohcah, Yaxuná, and San Bartolo—this volume pieces together the development of social and political complexity in ancient Maya civilization. Contributors: James Aimers | Anthony F. Aveni | Jamie J. Awe | Boris Beltran | M. Kathryn Brown | Arlen F. Chase | Diane Z. Chase | Anne S. Dowd | James Doyle | Francisco Estrada-Belli | David A. Freidel | Julie A. Hoggarth | Takeshi Inomata | Patricia A. Mcanany | Susan Milbrath | Jerry Murdock | Kathryn Reese-Taylor | Prudence M. Rice | Cynthia Robin | Franco D. Rossi | Jeremy A. Sabloff | William A. Saturno | Travis W. Stanton A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase
The breadth, detail, and perspectives provided in this volume make it a must for students of complex society and especially Maya scholars.’—Latin American Antiquity ‘An extremely valuable volume that encapsulates the scholarship to date and advances it further for the future. . . . This will be a foundational reference for the next several decades.’—Current Anthropology
Leading archaeologists present the most recent evidence on a complex of architecture, iconography, and artifacts closely linked to the rise of the divine kingships of the an¬cient Maya. An important volume for anyone interested in the rise of ancient states.’ —Arthur Demarest, author of Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization ‘E Groups have proven to be older, more complex, and more variable than we might have anticipated even a generation ago. New data presented and interpreted here will inform the next generation of researchers and enthrall Maya enthusiasts everywhere.’ —Debra S. Walker, editor of Perspectives on the Ancient Maya of Chetumal Bay
David A. Freidel is professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis. Arlen F. Chase is professor of anthropology at Pomona College, Claremont. Anne S. Dowd, an archaeologist with a federal agency, is coeditor of Cosmology, Calendars, and Horizon-Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica. Jerry Murdock is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Santa Fe Institute and the Aspen Institute.
List of Figures ix List of Tables xv Preface: On the Path of the Sun xvii Acknowledgments xxiii Abbreviations xxv Part I. E Groups: Historical Perspectives 1. The Distribution and Significance of E Groups: A Historical Background and Introduction 3 Arlen F. Chase, Anne S. Dowd, and David A. Freidel 2. E Groups and the Rise of Complexity in the Southeastern Maya Lowlands 31 Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase Part II. The Astronomy and Cosmology of E Groups 3. E Groups: Astronomy, Alignments, and Maya Cosmology 75 Anthony F. Aveni and Anne S. Dowd 4. The Legacy of Preclassic Calendars and Solar Observation in Mesoamerica’s Magic Latitude 95 Susan Milbrath 5. The E Group as Timescape: Early E Groups, Figurines, and the Sacred Almanac 135 Prudence M. Rice 6. E Groups, Cosmology, and the Origins of Maya Rulership 177 David A. Freidel Part III. The Archaeology of E Groups 7. The Isthmian Origins of the E Group and Its Adoption in the Maya Lowlands 215 Takeshi Inomata 8. A Tale of Two E Groups: El Palmar and Tikal, Peten, Guatemala 253 James A. Doyle 9. The History, Function, and Meaning of Preclassic E Groups in the Cival Region 293 Francisco Estrada-Belli 10. Time to Rule: Celestial Observation and Appropriation among the Early Maya 328 William A. Saturno, Boris Beltr.n, and Franco D. Rossi 11. Ordinary People and East–West Symbolism 361 Cynthia Robin 12. E Groups and Ancestors: The Sunrise of Complexity at Xunantunich, Belize 386 M. Kathryn Brown 13. Of Apples and Oranges: The Case of E Groups and Eastern Triadic Architectural Assemblages in the Belize River Valley 412 Jaime J. Awe, Julie A. Hoggarth, and James J. Aimers 14. The Founding of Yaxuna: Place and Trade in Preclassic Yucatan 450 Travis W. Stanton 15. Founding Landscapes in the Central Karstic Uplands 480 Kathryn Reese-Taylor Part IV. Conclusion 16. More Than Smoke and Mirrors: Maya Temple Precincts and the Emergence of Religious Institutions in Mesoamerica 517 Anne S. Dowd 17. Epilogue: E Groups and Their Significance to the Ancient Maya 578 Diane Z. Chase, Patricia A. McAnany, and Jeremy A. Sabloff List of Contributors 583 Freidel
