User:Lizchapamarie/Maya belt plaques

Maya Belt Plaques'''

Ancient Maya civilization belt plaques were worn by rulers to validate their rulership through referencing major deities and important ancestors. David Mora-Marin (2001) believes that wearing these belts were based on "symbolic (ideology and ritual) and objective (staple and wealth) sources of power." Belt plaques were usually carved from jade, which was a precious stone in Ancient Maya Civilization because of it had to be traded from the Motagua River in Guatemala, making this stone a precious and valuable material. These plaque belts were used during rituals to signify either a specific event or date that was important to the society. They display rulers on their inauguration, important calendar dates and ancestral and deity worship. The Ancient Maya stimulated all senses of the human body, the natural world and the invisible world. The sounds of the plaques hitting together would have made a tinkering sounds, which would have been part of the ritual. On one side of the plaque shows a beautifully decorated ruler with a left facing profile and the other side with a double columned hieroglyphic explaining the significance of the plaque. Maya rulers were seen as divine through ancestry and closest to the gods, therefore, wearing these belts during rituals and death was a way of communicating and celebrating the gods and their ancestors.

There are many known examples of belt plaques in Ancient Maya but only a few that have been deciphered successfully due to various reasons, such as, weathering, broken or nonexistent in some areas because of looting perhaps. But with the help of tombs, stelas and other Maya monuments and structures we know that the wearing of these belts were a common tradition among the lowland Maya elites. Stelas portray a mask-and-belt-celt on the belts of rulers, portraying themselves as the worlds axis and the celts as the four directions.

The most famous known belt plaque is the Leiden or Leyden Plaque, which was discovered in 1864 in Bahia de Graciosa in northern Guatemala. An important artifact in Ancient Maya archaeology because it was one of the only Mayan inscriptions known for a long time and it showed the importance of hieroglyphic text in the society.

=Tikal=

Leyden Plaque
The Leiden Plaque was discovered by Bahia de Graciosa in 1864. It was dated from the Maya Classical period of AD 320 and originated from the site of Tikal in the central lowlands region. This plaque was on of the first resources archaeologists and anthropologists had to be able to decipher the Maya hieroglyphics and their different meanings. This plaque shows a ruler with a jaguar headdress, the maize god, the sun god emerging from a serpents mouth, the Ahau Nen symbol of rulership, deity head on a chains end, cylinder and bead motif, zoomorphic sandals, a captive laying belly down, crossed bands in belts, double headed serpent bar and the God K (lightning deity). All of these symbols represent a celebration of the ruler into rulership and the impersonating these deities. The sun god representing the journey, the maize god representing prosperity and abundance and the lightning deity representing royal, warrior rulers. The sacrifice of the captive was common when performing a inauguration of a new ruler.

On the back of the plaque is a Mesoamerican Long Count calendar sequence of 8 B'aktun, 14 K'atun, 3 Tun, 1 Winal, 12 K'in and 1 Eb(?) Also, hieroglyphs say, "Yaxkin/ he was seated... office/name... Sky/Tikal EG." Because of the date on the plaque, we know ruler Une' Balam, or Baby Jaguar, was ruling Tikal at the time of 8.14.0.0.0. Little is known about this ruler.

Stela 16
Stela 16 found at Tikal in the rulers second twin-pyramid complex was built by Jasaw Chan K'awiil I to celebrate the ending of Katun 9.14.0.0.0. in AD 711, also, at the height of his rule. This stela shows him in full ritual costume with belts that have three Ajaw faces, or faces of a lord. In Ancient Maya, the number three could be directly related to the three hearth stones of creation from the Maya maize god tradition. Linda Schele and others believe that Stela 16 represents Jasaw Chan K'awiil I as a woman and can be associated with the ritualistic bloodletting depicted in the Popol Vuh myth.

Stela 29
This Stela has been a helpful guide into the sequence of rulers in Tikal and shows us the elaborate regalia that each one wore. Scoll Ahau Jaguar or Foliated Jaguar is shows to be wearing belt with a head on it that is crowned with the main symbol of Tikal. This shows the date of AD 292, which could have been the beginning of the robust Tikal polity that was to come. The symbol of Tikal on the stela represents the rite of the royal lineages of Tikal.

Stela 31
Stela 31 was found by Ed Shook in the tomb of Siyaj Chan K'awiil II and was encased in a rubber fill. Siyaj Chan K'awiil II shown wearing a traditional and elaborate headdress. The back hieroglyphs recount the early history of Tikal because royal ancesterial lineage was so important to rituals and rulership. The stela is dated from AD 411, depicts two people, one the father of Siyaj Chan K'awiil II who is placing a royal decorated headdress on him. Representing the permission to rule, or being placed in office. His father, Yax Nuun Ahiin I, and his father Spearthrower Owl are all represented on this Stela, either in hieroglyphic inscriptions or through figures. In the Stela the jade belt plaque worn by K'awiil II labels his grandmothers name and the name of another female relative. This means that a royal lineage is important to his power status, not just one of his father.

Something interesting about this royal lineage is Spearthrower Owl is actually from the Teotihuacan region and introduced this style of dress to his son, Yax Nuun Ahiin. The deities depicted on this stela could have been influenced by this region such as, Chan K'h, the sky god and Kab K'uh, the earth god.

=Dos Pilas= Dos Pilas is located in the southern lowlands region. Stela 9 shows B'alaj Chan K'awiil dated from AD 682 is a beautiful portrait of the ruler wearing an elaborate costume and with a belt protruding behind him, possibly depicting a jaguar-pelt-cushion throne and a "jade mask and belt-celt assemblages."

=Rio Azul= The Plaques at Rio Azul are almost identical to the Leyden Plaque. The first dates 9.0.0.0.0 and shows the sun god emerging in the east in a heavenly aspect and the k'In sun date on the his cheek. Plaque II is associated with 9.0.16.5.0 which indicates an ending period date which was very important to life in Ancient Maya. This plaque really tells a story because it includes so many gods and rituals permeating from the Popol Vuh. According to the Popol Vuh, blood and corn created human beings and human life. <Sharer, Rober J. and Loa P. Traxler (2006) p. 729-730 This could be why HunAhau, the maize god of the Maya Hero Twins and a woman holding a vase of blood that has been sacrificed.

Interestingly, the sun god is wearing a headdress and a long diety mask, a serpent body and the Teotihuacan trapezoidal year. After looking into this I found that this could be from Siyaj K'ahk' could have been ruling at this time during AD 393, who was originally from Tikal where the use of Teotihuacan art began.

=Copan= Stela H shows son of Yax K'uk'MO', Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, wearing jade belts with ancestral heads on them. Yax K'uk'MO' founded Copan in AD 426 but Waxaklajuun didn't become ruler until July 695. This time in Copan was a time of outstanding artistry and building.

=Lake Güija= Located in south central Maya lowlands region, Lake Güija plaque was found by Ernesto Ferreiro Rusconi in 1983 when diving off the Igualtepeque peninsula. Dates from the Classic Period but unsure of its original site. This could be because there was a site where the lake is now or could have been moved there. Some associations have been made with the writings of Garcio de Palacio when he wrote about the "sacrifices and idolotries" possibly on the temples or pyramids that sits on the peninsula. Sacrifices are known to be affiliated with the inauguration of new rulers ho wore these belt plaques.

Partial text on the front of the plaque, right above where it is broken, probably says the name of the ruler shown on the back side because the glyph on the headdress of the front side matches the glyph on the back. Plaque also shows the Shark.Head icon which always presents itself where jade is found which represents elites. Also, there is sign of ancestry because of the glyph shown is always referring to an ancestor.

=Caracol= Located in the southeastern lowlands region, Stela 5 at Caracol shows a jade belt with an ik'signs and marks the end of the 9th K'atun in 613. This stela shows Knot Ajaw conservatively in ceremonial attire. The ik'signs can be linked to the breath of the living soul, the natural world like wind and aroma and the arts, such as, the sound of music. A very deep and ritualistic statement of the time.

=El Mirador=