According to Classic Period Maya calendrics, the date 13.0.0.0.0 – 4 Ajaw – 8 K’umk’u is of special significance. Describe each portion of this date:
13.0.0.0.0 = long count date
this calendar began on our date 11 or 13 Aug 3114 BC
4 Ajaw = ritual or sacred calendar; based on a period of 260 days
8 K’umk’u = solar calendar; based on a period of 365 days
Long count date, arbitrary date signifying the start date for the long count
In terms of Maya calendrics, what will happen on December 21, 2012?
The long count will reset.
Significant construction occurs at Teotihuacan before AD 250, these include:
Temple of the sun (largest hierophany in the world)
Temple of the moon
Temple of the feathered serpent (1st to use t/t)
Street of the dead
Canalization of the Rio San Juan
What system of counting do the Maya use?
Vegisimal (base 20)
What do the cities of Caracol, Naranjo and Dos Pilas have in common?
Originally, all were allies under the control of Tikal
Kalakmul took over these sites and made them subservient
These sites then attacked Tikal
What is the difference between a logographic and a phonetic sign?
Logographic: one sign = one word, one concept
Phonetic: one sign = one consonant & one vowel combination
What is meant by the “Classic Period Maya Collapse”?
Massive population decline in S. Lowlands (80% clear out)
No more monuments w/ long count date
End of dynastic rulership/kingship
What is meant by the environmental degradation model?
Copan by Bill Fash
Population exceeds carrying capacity (result: starvation & malnutrition)
Deforestation and erosion of the landscape (OR need wood to make fires --> deforestation)
Increased surface albedo
OR Lack of fallow period (result: decreased yield & microclimate)
What is meant by the endemic warfare model?
Dos Pilas by Arthur Demarest
Kalakmul collapses creating a power vacuum (result: inter-site competition)
Emigration from the South (result: competition over land)
Construction of defensive structures & abandonment of farming (result: starvation & malnutrition)
What is the “historical hypothesis?”
The idea that glyphs record the actions of rulers, political history
Who is responsible for the discovery of the "historical hypothesis?"
Tatiana Proskouriakoff
What is the structure of a Maya hieroglyphic sentence?
sacred date – solar date – verb – object – subject
Who discovered the Maya sentence structure?
Tatiana Proskouriakoff
Where is Teotihuacan?
Valley of Mexico, Central Mexico, under modern-day Mexico City
What geological resource is specific to the Teotihuacan region?
Pachuca Obsidian
What architectural style is diagnostic of Teotihuacan?
Talud-tablero
(slanted part = talud, flat part = tablero)
What happens at the cities of Palenque, Copan and Tikal when the Teotihuacanos arrive?
Regime change (kings die, new leaders appointed from teotihuacan)
When do these events occur & who are the characters involved?
Tikal: 378 AD, Spear-thrower owl, fire is born
Copan: 426 AD, Yax Kuk Mo
Palenque: 431 AD
How does the interaction between the Teotihuacanos and the folks from Kaminaljuyu differ from that between the Teotihuacanos and the peoples of the Southern Maya Lowlands?
KJ: trade & parity
Southern Lowlands: regime change
What languages were spoken during the Classic Period?
Cholan, Yukatek
When is the "Classic Period?"
250 – 900 AD
What is an Emblem Glyph?
Glyph denoting the title of the ruler of a polity/state
What is a codex?
Book made of amate paper
records agricultural and cosmological/celestial phenomenon
26. According to Demarest, what archaeological evidence indicates elite involvement in quotidian exchange?
No evidence. Elites don’t have control over the lower level economy
Who was the archaeologist in charge of the Copan Project?
William Fash
Who was the archaeologist in charge of the Dos Pilas Project?
Demarest
What three major calendar systems are employed by the Classic Period Maya?
Sacred, solar, long count
31. What evidence to we have regarding the relationship between Tikal and Calakmul during the Classic Period?
No text between 562 – 692 AD
Emblem glyphs left behind at the conquering sites
32. Some monuments suggest that the ballgame was a metaphor for __________________________. Other monuments suggest that the ballgame was ____________________________________________
movement of the cosmos
sacrifice of captives
33. Who was the archaeologist responsible for excavating the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque?
Alberto Ruz
Who is buried in the Temple of the Inscriptions? And, from whom did he inherit the throne?
Pakal
His mother
Who or what is k’awiil?
Glyph signifying ancestral dynasty symbolized by an axe in the forehead.
It states: this person has royal power, royal ancestry
What defensive features did Maya cities employ?
Killing alleys
Moats
Actual defensive walls / palisades
Double wall creates a kill zone
True or False: Maya hieroglyphic texts record the economic transactions of Classic Period Maya merchants.
False
Where is the stucco-covered pyramid with images of quotidian activities located?
Kalakmul
The longest Maya hieroglyphic text is located at the city of _________ and is identified with the name __________________.
