Ajawlil Naah: Epigraphic, Iconographic, & Ethnohistoric Approaches to Classic Maya Regal Palaces

2016 Annual Mee=ng of the American Anthropological Associa=on, November 16-20, Minneapolis, MN Session: ‘Discovering Ancient Poli=cal Evidence: A Pragma=c Look at Classic Maya Regal Palaces as Poli=cal Ins=tu=ons’

A jawlil Naah

Epigraphic, Iconographic, & Ethnohistoric Approaches to Classic Maya Regal Palaces

Marc Zender, Assistant Professor, Dept of Anthropology, Tulane University

Palace 1. The official residence of a sovereign, arch- bishop, bishop, or other exalted person.

2. (Informal.) A large, splendid house.

Etymology: Middle English, from Old French paleis, itself from La=n pala-um—i.e., the Pala=ne hill, loca=on of the emperor's palace.



— Oxford English Dic-onary, 2nd ed., 1989 Dic=onary defini=ons of the term "palace" highlight the need for qualifiers to dis=nguish the official residences of rulers from those of priests, governors, or other non-royal elites.

Mesoamerican languages all refer to the official residences of rulers in a similar way, combining the term for the "lord" with either "house" or a loca=ve suffix. This suggests that "regal palace" is a responsible term of art for such dwellings.

Colonial Yucatec

(Calepino motul ms., ff. 5r & 119v, John Carter Brown Library)

Colonial Tsotsil

(Laughlin 1988, I: 152 & 265)

ajvalel na palacio real na ojov casa real

Classical Nahuatl (Kareunen 1992: 217 & 237)

CMDZ 5v

tecuhtli (tēkw-tli) caballero o principal tecpan (*tēkw-pan) casa o palacio real

Palace of the Acolhua Tlahtoani Nezahualcoyotl at Tetzcocoh (Mapa Quinatzin, folio 2a)

Aztec sources provide detailed plans of regal palaces, including the names of visi=ng nobles and their ci=es of origin.

Palace of the Culhua-Mexica Tlahtoani Motecuhzoma II (Codex Mendoza, folio 69r)

Occasionally, as here, we even learn of the specialized func=on of certain houses and rooms in the regal palace.

Cuexcomate, Morelos (Smith 1997)

Aztec archaeology likewise provides several examples of palaces at several scales, as with the palace of a rural pilli at Cuexcomate.

Palace of a Rural Pilli at Cuexcomate (ca. AD 1400) (Smith 1997)

540 m2

Note the mul=ple structures which, combined, make up this modest palace. Those who shared a single pa=o were known as cemithual-n, and had a corporate iden=ty.

1

Sources also detail the rela=onships of palace residents, as here with the Tecuhtli Moltecatl of Molotlan, Yautepec, from a census compiled in 1530 (Berdan 1984)

2

3

4

5

6

The Exemplary Palace of God D (Unprovenanced vase from Motul de San José region)

The Maya sources are very different, presen=ng unique challenges to interpreta=on. The most detailed depic=ons of palaces belong to the gods. We find many of their details present in depic=ons of actual palaces, however, sugges=ng that they served as models for them.

wealth

King of the Gods

food drink Orator

Scribe

Accountant

foreign king

local king

local heir

foreign heir

Piedras Negras Panel 3 (photographs by Jorge Pérez de Lara)

a-na-bi

‘sajal’

head ‘sajal’

prophet

‘sajal’

priest

priest

Tribute brought to a king and queen (Unprovenanced vase, K4996)

piles of tribute

Lakam

Lakam

Lakam

(On the) day 1 Cimi 4 Pax, the tribute of the three lakams was piled before Tayel Chan K'inich, Divine Lord of Motul de San José. (Lacadena 2008:25)

Naah Ha'nal K'inich, the Lakam, holds court (Denver Art Museum, K2914; arer Lacadena 2008:27-28)

fans

3 cargos of beans

tex=les

Vassal delivers cap=ves to his overlord (Kimbell Panel, Fort Worth, Texas)

Lord receives visitors bringing cap=ves and tribute (Photo by Jus=n Kerr, K767)

Lord is dressed and shaded by aeendants (Unprovenanced Vase in Kislak Collec=on, K6341)

Motul de San Jose ruler entertained by musicians and jesters (Na=onal Gallery of Art, Canberra, Australia)

The King's Guards

NGA Canberra

K767

K3412

The Maler Palace, Tikal (photograph by Marc Zender)

guard posts?

guard post?

Cahal Pech Palace (photograph by Marc Zender)

narrow door with single-file access

narrow stairs with blind corners fully visible from above

wide balcony with full view of plaza

The Palace of Palenque (photograph by Marc Zender)

Construc=on Sequence of the Palace (Merle Greene Robertson)

5 6

4

3 1 2

Plan of the Palace of Palenque (Merle Greene Robertson)

Palenque

Palace Tablet (Photo by Jorge Pérez de Lara)

o-chi-K'AHK'

K'AL-la-HUUN-NAAH

u-K'ABA'

3-K'IN-ni-ja-a-ta

yo-OTOOT-;

?-la

3-YOP-HUUN

ye-ETE'-je

K'UH-BAAK-la-AJAW

K'INICH-K'AN-JOY-CHITAM

ochi k'ahk' k'alhuunnaah uk'aba' ux k'in ja'at yotoot ... ux yop huun yete'ej k'inich k'an joy chitam k'uhul baakeel ajaw Fire entered the Crown-Holding-House named ‘Three Solar ...’, the dwelling of ... Ux Yop Huun, which was made by K'inich K'an Joy Chitam, Divine Baakel Lord.

Palenque, Tablet of the 96 Glyphs

(Photo by Jorge Pérez de Lara)

SAK-nu-ku-NAAH, Sak Nu[h]k Naah, "White Skin House"

Palenque, House E Throne Reconstruc=on (Merle Greene Robertson)

painted text

stucco scene

Oval Palace Tablet

Del Río throne

A Priest (Ajk'uhuun) on the Del Río Throne Supports



(Drawings by Ricardo Almendaríz and Merle Greene Robertson)

priest Ricardo Almendaríz, 1822

Merle Greene Robertson, 1979

A Priest (Ajk'uhuun) who owned a chamber (k'aal) in the Regal Palace (Palenque Tableritos, Museo de las Americas, Madrid)

May Tuun ʔa Naah

king

priest

May Tuun ʔa Naah Sak Nuhk Naah K'al Huun Naah

The Palenque Palace was a composite of several different structures of different func=ons.