Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul (Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies) by Andrew K. Scherer

Author:Andrew K. Scherer [Scherer, Andrew K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: 2015-11-14T23:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 3.57. A water lily jaguar serves a cache vessel with a human arm and eyeball to a Death God (K1380 © Justin Kerr).

FIGURE 3.58. Detail of figure missing the distal end of the second digit on his left hand from the stone panel of the Palenque Temple XIX pier (photograph by author).

The finger and tooth caches at El Zotz demonstrate evidence for heat exposure. It may be that these fragments of the human body were placed atop or inserted within balls of copal or some other substance (note the organic remains that surround the tooth in fig. 3.55). In this fashion these corporal offerings were sustenance for the Sun God (recall his taste for human hearts) and other supernatural beings as part of Classic period mortuary rites. Numerous polychrome vessels depict scenes of flared cache vessels filled with human body parts presented to supernaturals (fig. 3.57). Recalling the connection between seeds and bones, a possible contemporary parallel is the frequent inclusion of squash seed paste as layers within the sacred maize breads that are fired in the pib and offered as k’ex in contemporary Yucatec ritual.209

To my knowledge Maya iconography contains no realistic depictions of auto-dismemberment. Certainly other acts of self-inflicted pain, such as bloodletting, are shown. Yet the absence of auto-dismemberment imagery may suggest that precious royal bodies, the focus of Classic period Maya art, were exempt from the practice. But there are a few examples of noble lords missing body parts. A kneeling figure carved on one of the piers of Palenque Temple XIX is missing the ends of the fingers on his right hand (fig. 3.58). Another figure (perhaps the same person) is shown on the Temple XIX platform, missing the ends of digits two through five of his right hand.

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