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5313334628

RIO AZUL
AN ANCIENT MAYA CITY

Richard E. W. Adams

rl ' \
Modeled stucco glyphs on Rio Azul Str. A ·2 roof comb. The upper right·hrmd glyph
has been identified by David Stuart as the R io Azul emblem glyph. (See Figtm I ' I
3-19for a drawing of the hieroglyphic text.) (Photo by R. E. W Adams)
\j \~-) .,\\,} I t_., VI \

University of Oklahoma Press Norman

Also by Richard E. W. Adams

The Ceramics ofAltar de Sacriftcios (Cambridge, 1971)

Prehistoric Mesoamerica (Boston, 1977) To the memories of
( ed.) The Origim of Maya Civilization (Albuquerque, 1977)
Prehisto1·ic Mesoamerica, rev. ed. (Norman, 1991 )
John L. Gatling
A11cient Civilizatious ofthe New World (Boulder, 1997) Carolina Foncea de Ponciano
Enrique Ordonez
Barbara Robichaux
Patricia Solis
Carl Stapleton

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Adams, Richard E. W., 1931-

Rio Azul : an ancient Maya city I Richard E. W. Adams.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8061-3076-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Rio Azul Site (Guatemala) 2. Mayas-Antiquitics. 3. Mayas-
Warfare. 4. Excavations (Archacology-Guatemala-Pctcn (Dept.)
5. Pcten (Guatemala)- Antiquities. I. Title.
Fl435.l.R56A33 1999
972.81'2-DC21 98 -45078
CIP

The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability
of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources, Inc. oo

Copyright © 1999 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman,

Publishing Division of the University. AJI rights reserved. Manufactured in
the U.S.A.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
 CONTENTS

IX
List of Illustrations
Preface xiii
XVII
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction 3
Chapter 2. Time and Its Measurements 21
Chapter 3. The Archaeological Record, l: The Data 26
Chapter 4. The Archaeological Record, 2:
Primary Implications l 08
Chapter 5. The Culture History ofRfo Azul 132
Chapter 6. The Rfo Azul Region in Larger Perspective 149
Appendix 1. Outline of Culture History at Rio Azul and
Kina! 185
Appendix 2. Settlement Patterns in the Three Rivers Region 190
Appendix 3. Rio Azul Ceramic Sequence Summary 208
Appendix 4. Nonccramic Artifacts 214
References 221
Index 235
20
RiO AZUL

sant as the rest ~f humanity. Realpolitik, intrigue, deception, and

warfure were all mtegral parts of Maya history. Politics commerce CHAPTER2
d . ) )
gree , avan ce, competence, incompetence, and all the other admir-
~ble and lat~'lentablc traits seen in world history come through to us TIME AND ITS MEASUREMENTS
111 our stud1es of the Maya, making them less mysterious and more
interesting. Careful research :md analysis is uncovering, not an inde-
cip~cra?le .enigma fi·om a jungle advenntre story, but an extra-
ordmanly nch early civilization that continues to enlighten us today.

THREE ELEMENTS ARB CONSTANTLY JUGGLED by the archaeologist,

time, space, and content. Of these perhaps time is the most crucial.
Without excavation and chronometric techniques, it would often be
difficult to know the order of events at a site and the length of time
required for them to happen. The traditional process of sorting out
time in archaeology begins with the establishment of a relative time
scale. This can be done by stratigraphic excavation, which is based on
the principle that the oldest matetial is the deepest and the most
recent is on top. Ceramics in particular, but other artifacts as well,
change through time, and these changes can be documented during
excavation of stratified material and applied to unstratified material-
debris in a room, for example. This produces a relative sequence,
which is then dated by chronometric techniques, radiocarbon dating
being the best known and one of the most widely used. Obsidian
hydration dating is increasingly used as well. For any reader who
wishes to understand the infinite complexities of these and other
physical dating methods, there are a number of excellent introduc-
tions to archaeology that include this information (e.g., Renfrew and
Balm 1991).
The Classic Maya left us another chronometric tool, an indigenous
calendar with hundreds of dates recorded on stone, in stucco, painted
on tomb walls, and elsewhere and in other media. When absolute
dates derived from this calendar and other methods arc all applied to
the relative sequence the total extension of the site chronology begins
to appear. For example, radiocarbon dates were obtained on Tomb 19
at the Rfo Azul site, and thus the pottery in the tomb was also fixed in
time. The resultant site sequence was compared to others established
at other sites, especially those nearby. Minute compmi sons can con-
finn a new sequence or point out differences and possible errors.
 22 RIO AZ.UL T IME AND ITS MEASUREMENTS 23

Rfo Azul is fortunately surrounded by several regions that have west, north, and cast of Rio Azul, but tl1c differences between them
been or arc now being intensively investigated and for which the arc significant, determined perhaps by commercial and political factors.
sequences arc well established. The North Belize zone ro the cast has G. R. Willey has said that archaeology can be viewed as a great
been the focus of intense archaeological work since about 1975 sampling game, and it is true that our conclusions are only as reliable
(Hammond 199 1). The Rfo Bee region to the north was investi- as the sample. Thus we tried to obtain the widest possible distri-
gated b}• ~cvera l projects from 1969 to 1974 (Adams 198 1). To the bution of excavated samples rrom throughout tl1e site, and we were
west and northw~t lie the sites ofNakbe, El Mirador, and Calakmul, helped in a perverse way by the looters' excavations. We sampled
all recently or curre ntly under investigation (Hansen 1990; Matheny nearly all of the 125 trenches and tunnels dug by the vandals.
1980; Folan ct al. 1995). Finally, and most imponant for our pro Because these diggings penetrated nearly every major and medium
ject, is the dedicated work of several groups of scientists at Tikal and sized structure in the city, we could determine how often a building
Uaxactun to tl1e southwest (Coc 1982; Kidder 1950). Meticulous had been renovated and the periods to which construction phases
work and extraordinary efforts have established detailed ceramic belonged. This salvage of data was aided by a program of test pits
sequences to which we can refer and compare the Rfo Azul materials distributed over the site in order to sample zones otherwise unex-
(R. E. Smith 1955; Culbert 1965; Ball 1977; Kosakowsky 1987; amined. Unfortunately, we could not complete the program, but we
Valdez l 988). certainly have a better grasp of the history of regional urban develop-
Appendix 1 summarizes the evidence for time spans, and the cui ment than otherwise would have been the case. The major gap in
rural markers that we worked out for the various pctiods at Rfo Azul. excavation control is in the large complex named Group E in the
Some of the major culture historical events arc also noted. Dating by northern quarter of the city. This was scheduled for digging in 1987
the Maya calendar has been a major aid in sorting out the sequence but the work was scratched due to the shortened season . We have a
at Rio Azul. T he correlation of the Maya and ChtiMian chronologies very good idea of which structures were built during each pctiod ,
used here is one proposed by Martinez, commonly cal led the GMT thanks to the sampling of various sorts and especially tl1e develop-
correlation after its authors, Goodman, Martinez, and Thompson ment of a ceramic chronology. This sampling of ceramics (content}
(Morley, Brainerd, Sharer 1983). A good example of the way we with their temporal implications (time), from tl1roughout the city
dealt wit h the problems of cultural chronology at Rfo Azul is the (space), is an example of how the three clements mentioned at tlte
manner in which we dated the largest building complex at the site, beginning of this chapter came together in our o perations. The
A3. There arc four· tombs (1, 2, 7, 12) assigned to the fifth century effects of small samples on theory are briefly discussed in the next
A.D. by Maya dates painted on their walls. Two stone monuments, chapter.
Stelae l and 3, arc assignable to the late fourth century A.D., both by Generally, our relative :md absolute time scales comply with tl1osc
explicit dates as well as by styles. Stela 2 canies a date of A.D. 661. c~tablished previously in the Maya Lowlands, with the following
The only other stela at Rfo Azul is tl1e aberrant and Terminal Classic differences. Human populations seem to have been slow to settle and
monument, Stela 4, which is itself only dated by stratigraphy and exploit the Rfo Azul zone, appearing no sooner than 900 B.C.
style. Stucco glyphs on temple structure A-2 arc Early C lassic in style compared to centuries and even thousands of years earlier in otlter
(Adams and Gatling 1964; Stuart 1986). By physical association with regions. Thereafter tl1e regional ceramic development seems to
these monuments, temple complex A-3 is entirely Early Classic as follow general sequences elsewhere until the last fifty years or so of
confirmed by the pottery and stratigraphy. the Late Preclassic. Indeed, nearly all of the Maya Lowlands had
Ceramics arc plentiful, diverse, and ncarl}' always associated with enjoyed a ceramic uniformi ty since about 600 B.C. The wares tl1at
other remains. The pottery of Rio Azul is almost entirely within the dominated the Prcclassic were lustrous monochromes, principally
stylistic canons and traditions of the Tikal and Uaxactun sequences. reds, blacks, and creams, in order of popularity. Recent work has
These overlap and have some links to the sequences from sites to the revealed tl1at this old monochrome pottery persisted later among the
24 IUO AZUL fJME AND ITS MEASUREMHN'I'S 25

lower social classes than among the elite groups. The aristocrats, on rate within the city than out in the countryside or, conceivably, at the
the other hand, had adopted polychrome pottery-with an extra nearby sister cities of Xult un and I .a 1Ionradez.
ordinary multiplicity of designs and forms-partly in order to enhance The Late Classic 2 period can be divided into rwo segments,
their statlls. These two traditions, which were formerly thought to be technically called facets. The first f."\cct is one in which d1ere is litde
mutually exclusive in time, arc now known to overlap for perhaps 50 outside influence, while the second shows strong northern Maya
or 100 years (the Proroclassic period). ceramic presence. Late Classic 3 was d1e period of military disaster,
The Early Classic is traditionally divided into three phases, based on partial recovery, and the final collapse. It is an action -packed, rela-
work at Uaxactun, where the first sequence was established. However, tively brief period, lasting about fifty years at Rfo Azul. The collapse
doubts about the validity of this division (Adams 1971 : 158) have was strung out a bit more at sites such as Tikal, perhaps because they
been confirmed by work at Rfo Azul, which indicates that there arc had greater buffers against the multiple disasters of the period.
probably only two phases in the Early Classic at that site. Further, Chronological differences among sites may reflect important events
reanalysis of the Uaxactun material indicates that it also fits better in culture history. Classic period subdivisions tend to be ofd1is variety.
into a two-phase scheme. This revision is more than a technicaliry; At other times, subdivisions arc simply technical conveniences con-
the major watershed in the Early Classic in the southern lowlands is trived to divide periods d1at would otherwise be excessively long. The
the earliest evidence of Teotihuacan influence around A.D. 378 at division into Middle and Late Prcclassic is this kind of distinction.
Tikal. The two Early Classic ceramic phases seem to coincide com- Thus, ald1ough standard chronological divisions often reflect evolu-
fortably with the pre-Teotihuacan and Teotihuacan phases. tionary trends and historical events, they arc best regarded as arbitrary
The division bet ween Early and Late Classic, The Hiatus, occurs at temporal markers again!lt which we can measure whatever culntre
Rfo Azul, but appears to extend to about 130 years instead of the 60 change we find.
years suggested by the Uaxactun work. I believe this reflects a
genuine difference between the sites rather than being a function of
incomplete data on the part of earlier investigators. As a secondary
city, Rfo Azul probably suffered more from the political and military
upset of The Hiatus and was slower to recover. The capital city of
T ikal also experienced a long political disruption, but no apparent
physical destruction or population loss. We can conclude that The
I Iiatus at R.fo AzuJ extends to about A.D. 650, and covers part of the
petiod traditionally allotted to Late Classic l.
The I ,."\te C lassic 1 period is weak at Rfo Azul, and there is some
doubt that it represents a real period of major activity at the urban
center. No buildings were constructed, nor have any major events
been identified with most of d1e period. Indeed, wid1in the city the
first signs of real recovery fi·om The Hiatus may be as bte as A.D.
660, nearly d1c beginning of d1e Late Classic 2 period. On the other
hand, we do have good evidence for agriculntral activity and rural
residence construction in the nearby countryside. This demonstrates
d1e difference between the larger-scale regional sequence for several
cities :md that of only one site. Clearly, things happened at a slower
 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, I 27

CHAPTER3 writing furnish an insider's perspective o n Maya culture, and a

limited one. Also, in contrast to the neutral and inclusive studies of
commwuties and landscape, script was developed as an elite class tool
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 of propaganda, and the information to be derived from its decipher-
The Data ment may even be suspect. The Maya aristocrats were not the first
nor the last to skew the written record to their own benefit.

Settlcrnent Patterns (Fig. 3-1; P late 1; Appen dix 2)

Commtmities
CHAlYfERS 3 AND 4 PRESENT THE archaeological data from Rio Azul The Rio Azul zone can be defined on tl1e basis of two factors. One
in a digested form. The chapters arc supplemented by appendices is the distribution of arable soi ls easily cultivated by early forms of
where more detail can be found. I have arranged the material by agriculture, particularly slash -and burn. These lands are largely con-
topic in both chapters and in the appendices. Initially, the non- fined to the zone cast and sout h of the river. Land suitable for
professional m ay find it somewhat confusing to be swept back into shifting cultivation is located west of the river, but it is 7 km distant
the past and then forward thro ugh a review o f, say, architecture, only and separated fi·om t11e cast bank by formidab le periodic swamps.
to repeat the process with ceramics. However, this is probably the Only in the L:tte Classic were these difficult wetlands utilized for
clearest way of presentation and one rapidly becomes accustomed to special forms of food production. There is no direct evidence tl1at
the d iscussion of each category from its Early Prcclassic appearance these distant f:1.rm lands were used by Rfo Azul even during tl1e
onward. highest populatio n maxima of the Late Classic. However, it is pos-
These ch apters arc preparation for the anthropological interpre sible that commodities could have been shipped via the upper
rations in chapter 5 and the final synthesis in chapter 6. In the latter, reaches of the Rfo Azul tluough satellite sites at BA-14 and BA-29
the trends and continuitic..~ of the Rio Azul record arc compared with {Fig. 3-l).
tl1e general Mara lowlands sequence. The reader should be able to The other factor that defines the Rio Azul settlement zone is the
~nd sufficient detail in chapters 3 and 4 about matters of special inherent limitatio n of pre-Columbian transportation systems-by
rntcrcst, tomb paintings for example, and be able to judge the validity canoe on water or by porter overland. In both cases, the Maya may
oftl1e interpretations on rhese matters in chapters 5 and 6. Some first have made improvements. The Rio Azul , for example, shows signs of
order interpretation is included in chapters 3 and 4, but is labeled as having been dammed, deepened, and perhaps kept clean in ancient
such. f inally, a great deal of information is placed in rhe appendices or times. These improvements were probably in place by the Late
referenced in the bibliography. Preclassic (ca. 250 B.C.). T he river reportedly is navigable in the rainy
The topical organization used here moves from the economic and season, but presents difficulties in the tl1ree or four dry mo ntl1s of
social infrastructure to the intellectual and religious superstructure. the year when it sh rinks into lo ng lagoons. Even this problem might
Thus, settlement patterns arc reviewed early in the chapter and have been overcome by portages, damming, and organizational
hieroglyphic writing later. The idea is that information o n the phy- means, such as relay system s for travelers. In any case, vario us studies
sical arr:mgement of human populations will have broader implica- conclude that one moves across the landscape in the Maya lowlands
tions for other aspects of cu lture than will information o n, say, art or at an average rate o f about 37 km per day, by citl1er water or land
writing, which were so tied to elite class concerns tl1at they reflect a {Adams 1978), and, assuming a half day's walk as about tl1e maxi·
very narrow view of Maya culture. Additionally, settlement pattern mum that an average person will travel away from home, the figure
studies take an outsider's more objective perspective, whereas art and of 19 km is reached. This is !>upported by the fact that many of the
 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 29

cities of the Rio Azul region are about 20 km apan- ruo Azul and
L.'l Honradez, fo•· example (Fig. 3- 1). Calculating with these figures
and swinging an arc that centers Rio Awl in the zone east of the
river, one reaches a theoretical zone of easy access of 1134 sq km.
- z-
Given that about 40 pcrcent of the surface in this part of the
lowlands is one form of swamp or another, we arc left with 60
percent of the area, or 680 sq km, suitable for residence, with much
of the swamp zone used for cultivation. This is the theoretically
defined heartland and support zone for Rio Azul. The survey work
of Hubert Robichaux (1995) and others in the Regional Project
tcnds to confirm this conclusion.
Within this region the project found community types that ran the
gamut from the simplest of farmsteads to the midsized cities men-
tioned above. Within and outside of the urban zones, we distin-
guished four classes of residence for Late Classic 2, the period of
greatest complexity. All but the least significam houses (Class 4) were
... found in Early Classic. Cia~ 1 structures, major palaces, were only
.§ • ..
~~ :":: ·" found in cities. Cl:tss 2, comprises minor palaces with their auxiliary
buildings, which were found in both the countryside and the cities.
.. Class 3 structures were usually substantial farmhouses built on stone
platforms and with auxiliary buildings. Cia~ 4 houses were qualita-
tively distinct from Class 3 houses by their impovetishment, in
i
ill ·· ... .. · ·
0
architectural features and in artifacts, and their location in the least
desirable zones. The status of the inhabitants was literally reflected by
their housing elevation and, to a lesser degree, by space available.
0 Class l palaces were elevated on major platforms, Class 2 palaces

!
.,E
,~
ec
j
•
were lower and smaller. Class 3 and 4 housing was elevated more by
placement in the terrain than by their ;u·tiflcial elevation on plat-
0
forms. All of these perishable structures were placed on platforms,
:r
j
Wlth the least presugious and most lmcomfortablc tones being tl1e
0 lowest. Today, elevation gives relief from the heat through more
breeze, as well as putting the residence above at least some of the
voracious insects.
As the history of communities in the Rio Azul Region shows,
density and multiple functions generally increase as the size of com-
munities increases. The first communities were small f.u-ming villages,
soon supplemented by larger villages, which also contained religious
structures and probably acted as regional markets. These develop-
ments took place Ill the Middle Preclassic (900-250 B.C. in the Rio
30 R.fO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 31

appears to have had the number of functions typical of an urban

center, however.
The first true city in the region was the site of Rfo Azul itself,
esr.'lblished in the Early Classic 2 period (ca. A.D. 390; Fig. 3-3).
Studies have compared Rio Azul with other contemporary cities in
several ways, by size, by public and monumental hieroglyphic texts,
and by estimated population. Their results will be discussed more
thoroughly in another section. Suffice it to say that during the Early
Classic 2- 3 periods (ca. A.D. 390- 550) La Milpa was about 40 km to
the east and La Honradez about 20 km to the south of Rio Azul
(Fig. 3- l ). During the Late Classic settlement patterns proliferated,
and many more cities, both large and small , were in existence by A.D.
750 (sec Fig. l - 2 and Appendix 1). Population had also surged, and
rural population was at an all time high . After A.D. 900, communities
of all sizes \vere abandoned, population declined disastrously, and
most of the region was abandoned, except along the tivers.
Population history
In the above-defined zone of 680 sq km, general u·ends of
population rise and fall are apparent. Middle Preclassic (900-250
B.C .) populations at Rfo Azul were sparse, with units perhaps as small
as nuclear and extended families. Hamlets and villages from the
period are unknown. The modern analogy would be the pioneer
Kekchi families Jiving isolated or in groups of two or three in the
southern Peten until about twenty years ago. A guess of tmits of
several dozen families, at most, is the best we can do for the early
petiod from 900 to 500 B.C. Robichaux's detailed examination of
transects 40 km to the east show the same lack of early population
( 1995). Population growth during the pctiod is implied by the
number of people needed to build the earliest temple (ca. A.D. 500),
but again the figure can only be loosely estimated; perhaps six
Fig. 3-2. !.ate Preclassic centers along the Rio Azul. (Map by R. E. W hundred able bodied males were req uired, which extrapolates to a
Adams) total population of less than two thousand along the river.
Late Preclassic population estimates for the zone along the east
Azul region), taking the form of nodes of higher density population bank of the river are somewhat insecure, given that we did not
and larger structures within a line of communities on the cast side of survey the en6rc strip. The length of the Late Preclassic is five
the Rfo Azul itself (Fig. 3- 2). By the beginning of the Classic, two hundred years or twenty generations, allowing twenty-five years per
very large regional centers existed, one around Rio Azul Str. G-103 generation. Calculations arc summarized in Appendix 2, Table 4. A
and the other about 8 km distant at Arroyo Negro. Neither center maximum of about 17,500 people lived in the region's riverine zones
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"l.~.;.:. --l:u.!::::-~~~' '- ;,:..
4

_,.....- ...... •··

/ / .. ~~

.~·:.#/ : .;--2·--=-
.-~-,~/ ~ \'
/ / ' ..~:
-0:'' ... .-::---
t~ ~- _:~~!:::.:~ =-:~0 '' •· ~ -~ [v __;-:-.._ ~ ....J\' \ .,.., . ... ·; ~
.. ....
·rr
i~~- ... • -....._., ~ ••• -..-;;..~ ~~;:~~__)!
.,_
-... . . '-- ... ·~ ..... fi.
.
r<\'\- -~li)_-'"" -
~~-
,~.!~~ .~· "'~'"" -;.- ...

,--:.~~ ;_.· -,~' :;:,.

y .......

..
I

·~/ '~•
..::-,~
. :r
...\1\.
~

·-p>!j..
~E'_ &i.fl}g.
,~.:~-L.~............
:fl~ . ~
)·,r I. "
1 \ \ I ;(-_ :-..._ .- " :. . .o~ ~ ·

~- .. . '-/

.•~ .·,.;: 'r't-

~'c.; \
\

\
'' •"
'\ .. l:-.,,

' L_-.- '

9l .J -,r-.,
'/ ' ' \~"-'-~·,,. '
-~
', ' •;=·· ...
·· ,... :~j" ·,·-.,.,_., ..{):: ~
..
')..."

)~,11_~ -.,...
I \ / _./ '
.....................,..: --~· ....-:.-::·..~..
/ ) ,("
I lI -· // . . -· '" 1•..
..:-.4'\:.• ·~ ·-;.. //
i ..-·. /\ ' - /

., 0 .,.... ' ...

_,/'

i ~~- ~.~\~·{). )
I /
·?J_
/ ' (\ l-
O.···
<.' . ....... •J.'j'
: @ .. .-_
·~· - .-- ~~~~jf.~ . .. ' --~- ....._.;:~.......,., I'" .• ...,..
-··_6'!~~:-
/
1jj~~~~.t/f
t 't:.' ~ .
·--r;..:S/~i';1
i•
·:, . -·-ID'=-' !
7J'SJ,( . :fJJifl' ~
{:~#~~1~·:~?.· .- o.. -'tl~
d~ .J i.,·-.-
..
: . ·-~- -·~y:ir )
. .. _ ...- / ~ . ~~;f~:. -}S
,. ~··;. ~ ~~.,, ... , ·. ~
' . (~~,.
• 61 ;'.(,·: . ••
.. ,...
•

.:1--•-..~. : -\~~ ·-~"- ,._. .

: ,. .. - "-.- ' ( . ~,,~!! """ ·<') ·-·
j__;~
'
~·. : . 1'!:· --
!._t;_
I\,, , -- : '- •"1:;
]~~~~ 1: -->
·----·-~ -- -~·--'---------
~ ~!

Upper right portion of Fig. 3-3. Middle right portion. ofFig. 3-3.
 ....
'
:• • I

~~ .
• : .. : 't't
'fi:.;
l •• ,.: '' :'' ,
l :. :. ~ /
/ ..

:0
:.
~: :_;, :.
~
:·

.-
' :1
~
:C"·
~b

·~
:.0

...
:.~· :9 .... '·\ '•
b

-
I

!
i
..
I
I

.
'
'
j
i
:
I

:'
..
J

'

J
 36 Rfo AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 37
--=-;
/ .'
, .,
.1'1'
~-
I "'
.. strongly only in Late Classic 2 times. At tl1is point regional pop~-
lation exceeded 400,000, which drove the development of sophts·
/' ·cated forms of wetland gardening. The latter were found at BA-20,
\./
~-

~etwecn Ixcanrio and Kina! (Culbert, Levi, and Cruz 1989; Fig.
'i~:.. / .. J ~~~~~~
..~: I rt-,--~-·=-: 3-4), and are indicated by radar survey in tl1c Bajo de Azucar
(Adams, Brown, and Culbert 1981 ) as well as swamps to the east.
We estimate that as many as 200,000 people lived in the countryside,
supporting a total urban population of more than 25,000. (7 '.5~ 0 in
r Rio Azul and 4,500 in Kinal) witl1 another 198,000 m mtense
interaction with the urban centers. To the east, around La Milpa and
Dos Hombres, Robichaux's studies indicate rural densities of more
than 177 people per sq km. Urban zone densities rose to about 820
·.:;'-' per sq km. The period of maximum population was short, perhaps as
little as sixty years, Jess than tl1ree generations, and ended abruptly
with the military intrusion from the north about A.D. 840 . O ur data
at the end of tl1e sequence become vague and indicate perhaps a
population level of only 12 percent of tl1e preceding period-48,000
at aroLmd A.D. 1000. By A.D. 1200 the zone was nearly completely
depopulated except for transient hunters and visitors to sacred
buildings, such as Rio Azul temple complex A-3.
Data derived from the population history include an indicator of
ecological stress-firewood consumption. Demitri Shimkin long ago
Lower portion of Fig. 3- 3. suggested this as a critical ecological factor (1973). Based on sn1dies
of our camp firewood consumption during the Rio Azul Project and
from observed consumption in contemporary Maya households,
in the Late Preclassic. The Early Classic urban population ofRio Azul
about a third of a cubic meter per person per week seems to be an
is estimated as a little below 5,000 on tl1e basis of water reservoir and
average rate. With an early population of about 17,500, tllis works
covered space studies (On·ego 1987; Karbula 1989; Appendix 2,
out to approximately 303,000 cubic meters, or about 6,900 tons,
Table 3, Chart 2). This figure nearly matches that independently
annually. This figure does not include any firewood consumption for
estimated from small structure survey work (4,965 people). Early
the purpose of producing slaked lime, a necessary ingredient in the
Classic rural population seems to have dropped drastically, especially immense amounts of mortar used to build major structures.
as it was soon consolidated into Rio Azul. As Peter DLmham notes Anotl1er measure of ecological stress is of the number of trees and
(personal communication 1997), the creation of tl1e first cities by materials required for construction of standard fami ly housing (Fig.
concentration of population into tl1e new communities parallels tl1e 3- 5). Today's bush houses arc built of poles for the walls and guano
patterns from otl1er early civilizations. palm (Acoelorrhaphe wrightit) thatch for the roots. R. Matheny
Out studies show that a drastic reduction of urban population (1983) estimates tl1e use of an average of about fifty small trees per
occurred at The Hiatus-how drastic we don't yet know. Rural house. Seventeen thousand five hundred people living in 3,500
population appears to have been nearly nonexistent in this period. households (5 persons each), each having only one house, would use
,After the 130 years of regional hiatus, population growth surged some 175,000 small trees for construction. WiVl C.aJ\e, ~ 11o,use J;1sts • • \
r • I. l I .
l "" I I . 1 I, "-\ I 1 ..• •! 'I
• • • 1 : I I . I \1..!\\J;~i;\
38 RiO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 39

Figure 3-4. Draiued field

0
zom, BA-20, the northem
0 0
mbttrb of Rio Azul. (Map by
T P Culber" L. Levi, rmd L.
Cruz)

Fig. 3-5. R.estoratio1J drawing of ancient thatched-roofed, pole-walled houses

at Colha, Belize, based on archaeological data. The house group was the
residence of a grottp of.flint knappers; hmce the activity shown. (Drawing
courtesy ofJ D. Eaton)

exhausted by 1991. The substitute materials used in ancient times

can only be guessed at, but probably included grass or cohune palm
0
( Orbignya cohune) leaves.
Major Landscape Modification
0 Depression
locolions olono
trolls
Major leveling activities first appeared in the Late Preclassic. Large
0 Dojo areas on the Rio Azul ridge and in the BA-20 zone were flattened by
121 Uplond cutting down into bedrock and using the debris to extend the leveled
zones (Orrego 1987). At some point in the Late Preclassic these
zones were paved with plaster floors underlain with grouting of small
pebbles and grit.
Some slight evidence of river modification has been reported by
Black and Suhler (1986:167-68), who located possible remnants of
dams. Sinkholes (solution cavities) occur in the limestone bed of the
river, and the function of the dams appears to have been to block off
about twenty-five years and thus the estimated 175,000 small trees the drainage of the river into these underground cavities. The river
would be needed twenty times dming a period as long as the Late may have changed its course in ancient times, making it somewhat
Preclassic (five hundred years). The use of stone for parts of the walls closer to the site than it is now, but mainly it appears to be in its
in Late Preclassic housing at BA-20 is probably a response to scarcity prehistoric location. If there are dams, their dating is unknown.
of trees by that time. Thatching palm is even more rapidly exhausted, Swamp drainage on small and large scales also occurred in the Rio
as proven by the experience in our own archaeological camp from Azul region; according to radar surveys (Adams, Brown, and Culbert
1984-1991. Supplying several large thatched structures that had to 1981, 1993), the Bajo de Azucar southwest of Rio Azul (Fig. 3-l) is
be repaired each year, the easily accessible guano palm was nearly edged and perhaps filled with ancient drainage canals. These have
40 Rio AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 41

...._,:
not yet been ground confirmed, but a critique of the radar interpre-
tation published by Pope and Dahlin (1989) has been answered
(Adams, Culbert, Brown, Harrison, and Levi 1990). The contro-
·.·
~

'.·
.

- .1· ~..
..

. ...:- ·:
..
.
.

: ~ ...
·

versy can only be completely resolved by further field work. The

raised field system of the Bajo de Az(tear is estimated to be Late .. ·~

Classic, assuming that the larger drained/raised field systems would

be of the same date as the smaller drained fields in the BA-20 site.
Further, a line of seven Late Classic 2, Class 2 palaces were found
along the edge of the Rfo Azul flood plain (Houk 1992).
Smaller systems of wetland cultivation have been located, mapped,
and excavated in tl1e drainage canals running tl1rough tl1e BA-20
~ ~ ·:. . . ~~ ....
zone (Black and Suhler 1986; Black 1987; Culbert, Levi, and Cruz ~ -·-·· --·· .:-::::::.:--.• --~-~-·---· .___ ·:;:..;.._,_=-=
·-=-="-=-~~~·±~,_.;:...;,-
1989; Fig. 3-4). The ceramic dating on tl1ese zones is firmly Late
Classic 2 (Table 1). These low, wet, and clay-filled soils were modi- '""'""'~~ '.OJ
~~· ~
'<'< •
....... . ~~ ~~
~.,..... ..•
fied by immense amounts of labor. The major features are drainage ,1."1 ....
.,: .• r. •.-.

canals and large pits dug into the underlying caliche and filled wim "'"
humus. We found at least one check darn, which would have func- Fig. 3-6. Middle Preclnssic desigm iucised iu plaster 01~ Rio Azttt Str. G-103
tioned to slow water flow. The impression that most observers have mb 2; en. SOO B.C. (Drnwiug by F. Valdez> Jr.)
is that some specialty crop was grown in these wetland gardens by
utilizing these and other techniques and features. It is possible tl1at
the crop was cacao, which requires a moist, shady environment, but sequence. The designs incised in the stucco covering arc even more
tl1ere are otl1er possibilities (Culbert, Levi, and Cruz 1989:210-11). so (Fig. 3-6). At this point we can only say that the building faces
There is also the possibility tl1at a large quantity of the soil on the south and probably consists of a single-room temple atop a terraced
east side of the Rio Azul was hauled in from elsewhere. Localities that platform, with a total height of about six to eight meters above the
are completely free of vegetation can be foLmd on tl1e western edge of ground.
the river and its flood plain. Such zones of tl1in or no vegetation are Late P.reclassic
very unusual in the Petcn, and perhaps it is fi·om these zones that soil
was carried in to enhance the poor soils of the eastern edge. Buildings from this period initially consisted of large platforms
In sum, altl1ough leveling activities were carried out in Late Pre- made of blocks of compacted lime powder, limestone rubble, and
classic, the major modification took place during tl1c Early Classic. powdered caliche. Smaller platforms supporting perishable houses of
Rural and food production modification apparently took place only wood and thatch were built atop the larger platforms. A series of
in the Late Classic, presumedly in conjunction with the Late Classic inset stairways cut into a hillside was built at BA-20, locality 210
2 population peak. (Hendon 1989). Later in tl1c period, more formal stone structures
were built on plastered platfonns. Two of tl1ese structures at BA-20,
Architecture locality 206 had keyhole plans, and in one of them the floor was
painted red (H endon 1989:Fig. 7). A residential structure from the
Middle Preclassic period had a less common quadrilateral plan, which included a
The early temple Gl03 sub 2, witl1 detailed designs incised in its separate kitchen. T he very formal Late Preclassic structure, G-103
stucco covering, is a surptisingly sophisticated feature of tl1e Rfo Azul sub 1 (Valdez 1993), is a good example of tl1e kind of architecture
42 RiO AZUL 43

that dominated the city dming the Classic petiod. Cut stone blocks
f.:'lced a rubble core and were held together with mortar. Heavy coats
of red-painted plaster covered the stone, providing weatherproofing
and smoothing the lines of the building. From its plan, the structure
appears to have combined the functions of elite residence and ritual
center. No stucco was found on the building. The very Early Classic
structure at BA-20, locality 205 is better preserved, and shows the
typical plan of a two-room building with a roof comb, which is very
typical of Classic temples. Modeled stucco decoration on the roof
comb was enhanced with polychrome paints. All of these features
were brought to full development soon after in structures such as the
five temples in A-3 Complex.
Early Classic
Palace structmes are defined as single or multistory buildings that
contain residential rooms and administrative, storage, protocol, and N ....._
other functional zones. These buildings do not appear in the Rio Azul
region until the Early Classic. The structures are oriented inward
upon enclosed spaces, patios, or plazas. C-42 Complex was an early
palace at Rio Azul that appears to have been built in Early Classic 2
(Eaton and Fanior 1989). The courtyard around which it was con- meters

structed covers about 15,000 square meters in area. A still earlier Fig. 3-7. Plan of Temple Complex A -3; A.D. 5001 Early Classic. (Plan by
(Early Classic l) example is the set of rooms built around B-48 Patio Miguel Orrego Corz.o)
in B-56 Complex (Ellis 1991 ). However, because this building is
bmied beneath two meters of debris, we did not get a good look at it .
Generally, palace buildings become more complex and larger through Complex temples are entirely within the Tikal style of temple
the Classic, beginning with the Early Classic. architecture.
In contrast, temple architecture remains essentially the same In addition to the two forms mentioned above, there are a number
throughout the Classic. It is the most conservative of architectural of functionally differentiated types of buildings at Rio Azul. Each
forms except for the increase in size, which seems to relate directly palace complex seems to have one or more attached platforms, which
to the importance of the person being memorialized. The huge A- are both lower and out of the way of the main traffic patterns. These
3 Complex consists of five temples on a very large platform with appear to have been servants' quarters and/or kitchen areas, as in A-
three major levels (Figs. 3-7, 3-8, 3- 9). The calculated mass of A- 54 Complex (Ponciano and Foncea de Ponciano 1988) or the B-56
3 Complex is over 200,000 cubic meters. Based on the work of Complex (Ellis 1991; Fig. 3-10). Even country estates outside the
Miguel Orrego, it appears to have been built in a fairly brisk series center appear to have these features, as in Group I (Valdez 1990) or
of construction projects beginning perhaps as early as A.D. 385 and at BA-33 (Garcia 1990).
reaching its final form by A.D. 500. The central temple, Str. A-3, is Still another category of buildings is what we term control or
one of the tallest structures in the lowlands, anticipating in form defensive structures. These are linear buildings that usually close off a
and size the very large Tikal temples of the Late Classic. A-3 complex, as do the western structures of B-5 Complex or the linear
 THE ARCHAEO LOGICAL RECORD, l 45

B- 50

B- 48
a-47

B-46

Fig. 3-8. Cross section of Temple Cmnplex A -3; Early Classic, ca. A.D. 500.
(Drawing by Miguel Orrego Corzo)

-=~----a-~

0 50
meters
N
Fig. 3-10. Plan of B-56 Complex, a good example of Class I I housing (small
palaces) at Rio Azul and fitrther east. (Plan by W Bruce Ellis)

buildings on the eastern side of the city. Some or all of these linear
buildings were pass-through structures with narrow rooms where
guards, porters, or other control personnel might be located. Other
Fig. 3- 9. Restoration drawiug of A -3 Complex. (Drawi11g by W Bruce Ellis, structures appear to have been simple parapets, such as those just east
based ou work of Karla Kletke Greer and Miguel Orrego Corzo) ofStr. C-1.
 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ~CORD, 1 47
46 ~fO AZUL
I I

Specialized and miscellaneous structures include the well-known

(Late Classic) ball-court form (Su·s. C2/C3), a pair of bridge abut-
ments, and possible canoe docking zones north of E group and west
of B-11 Complex. Raised causeways leading to the city arc notably
absent. This is probably because the tiver was the major route of
access
. from outside. In this aspect, Rfo Azul differs from Nakbe El )

M trador, and El Gi.iiro to the west, all of which were linked by Pre-
classic causeways.
When Rfo Azul assumed its final form during the Early Classic, all
the features needed by a preindustrial city in the tropical lowlands
were present, including two reservoirs. The East Reservoir was
located cast of C-7 Complex and has a capacity of about 5,550,000
gallons. The North Reservoir is located between C-47 and C-67
Complexes and has a capacity of about 6,450,000 gallons. On·ego
calculates that the total is sufficient for about 5,000 persons in an
average dry season of 120 days. (1987:50). This conforms to the
independently estimated population of 5,000- 7,500 people. The
paved expanses of the zones between C-47 Complex and B-7 Com- Set·vice qua rters
plex were inclined toward the reservoirs, and breaks in tl1e linear
structures and parapets allowed water to drain into tl1em. This area
constitutes a water catchment area of about 72,000 sq meters. Fig. 3-11. Plan of A -11 Palace Complex; ca. A.D. 750, Late Classic. (Plm~ by
Late Classic 2 ]. D. Eaton a1ld ]. S. Farrior)

After the disasters of The Hiatus and the abandonment, the refur-
bishment of Rio Azul was the main architectural activity. In tl1c worst
sented by C-63 group, which consists of four stone-walled and
cases, old structures were filled in and even belted with rough
vaulted buildings arranged around a square. The nine rooms had an
masonry to form solid substructures on which new buildings were
average of 13 sq meters of usable space. This complex was at a lower
constl"tlcted. Some palace buildings were consu·ucted on top of
elevation than the adjacent C-42 palace complex and probably
filled-in buildings, as in the case of A-ll Complex, which is elevated
housed high-status retainers attached to tl1c elite household. At BA-
and has a paved courtyard of about 300 sq meters (Fig. 3-11 ; Eaton
20, there are many single-family houses made of stone and perishable
1987a). In other cases, it appears that the Maya were able to stabilize
materials (Black and Suhler 1986). Adobe chinking and plaster prob-
and repair walls, vaults, and interiors with mortar and plaster. The
ably filled in between the scarce poles used for walls and, again, we
one major funerary temple known to have been built was that of Str.
assume that grass or other palm-leaf substitutes were used for the
B-11/13, which stands immediately behind Stela 2. The Stela dates
roofs. These houses were mainly built on refurbished Preclassic and
about A.D. 661, and it is probable that Su·. B-11/13 was built by A.D.
Early Classic platforms, which were finished with new plaster floors.
665. It also appears probable tl1at the rebuilding and repair of palaces
Household water cisterns were built in at least some cases. Houses
was completed by that time.
were typically built in clusters atnnged loosely around small paved
Small -scale housing from the period has also been excavated. The
courtyards of 100 to 150 sq meters in size.
most elaborate form of small-scale residential architecture is repre-
 RfO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, l
49
48

Terminal Classic (Late Classic 3) Palace structures do not appear as separate buildings until the Ear~y
Classic, when they undergo further interesting changes. Preclass!C
The military raid of about A.D. 840 destroyed the city once again,
lI'te residences ) ofwhich G-103 sub l may be the best
cR}o
example from
Azul, appear to have combined both litual an d rest'denuaI fu nc-
0

bringing it briefly under the control of an intrusive northern Maya

group. Simple, rectangular-plan structures from this petiod were tions. The recently excavated H Group palace at Uaxactun (J. A.
uncovered in the mapping of Rio Azul. These include Strs. F-2 and Valdes 1988) is also a very good example of this type of structure
F-3, which arc single-course stone building foundations with the carried into tl1e Early Classic.
upper walls made of perishable materials. They arc apparently asso- In the Early Classic, the palaces at Rfo Azul were somewhat
ciated with nearby Stela 4, stylistically of north lowland detivation, rough-and-ready, with almost crude masonry and small ro~m~ of
and clearly a product of the Terminal Classic military intrusion. irregular plan. They also Jacked tl1e masonry ~enches charactensoc of
Similar structures of about the same date were found in the west later elite residential rooms (Eaton and Famor 1989:172 ). In Late
plaza at Becan (Potter 1977). A more substantial building from this Classic 2, palaces became much more regular in plan, had larger
time is represented by ritual platform B-63 (Adams 1984 field numbers of more spacious rooms, and were furnished with built-in
notes), which consists of a two-terrace platform with four balus- amenities including benches for sleeping and sitting (Eaton l987a;
u-adcd stairways. A tenoned serpent head was found at the base of ~dams t974). Service rooms and servants' quarters were included in
one of the stairs, and probably was originally attached to the top of the complexes and appear to have followed a uniform plan (Eaton
one of the balustrades. This form of architecture, which only 1987a, Eaton and Farrior 1989). Functional differen~ation is clear in
appeared briefly at Rfo Azul, is much more common, larger in size, palaces, as seen in tl1e A-ll Complex, where tl1ere rs a temple (A-
and later in time at northern sites such as Chichen Itza. 13), an elite residence (A-14), an office-protocol muc~ure (~- 11 ),
Reoccupation of Rio Azul by the southern Maya led to a renewal and a service/servants building (A-12) (See Fig. 3- ll). Fmally, tt may
of the city, but in the most limited possible form. Buildings were be observed that the appearance of a clearly distinct elite residence
nearly all filled in solidly and used as platforms for perishable sttuc- structural type in the Early Classic probably signals tl1e emergence of
tures. The impression is that structures were spare, basic, and reduced an hereditary leadership class. The continuation of functional differ-
in function. The plans of this last and most ephemeral construction entiation tlu·ough tl1e Classic may well reflect changes and subdivi-
have not been recovered. Because the platforms used were of the sions of elite status and function in that petiod.
same dimensions as the maximum measurementS of the Late Classic
structures, it is assumed that the Terminal Classic buildings had about Burials (Tomb locations shown in Fig. 3-12).
the same floor space. However, no information on spatial subdivision Dealing with tl1e deceased members of a social group always
or functional differentiation was found. presents problems of physical disposal, titually recognized departure,
personal and social loss, inheritance, and mcmorialization. The Maya
Trends
dealt \vith these problems in highly patterned ways, beginning in the
As noted above, once it was developed in the Late Preclassic, the Middle Preclassic. The following is not a complete and exhaustive
torm of the funerary temple was the most conservative of the Maya description of the tombs and otl1er bmials of Rfo Azul. !?or that data
su-uctures. It varied only in size, location, and elaboration of decora- the reader must turn to tl1ree articles by G. D. Hall (1984, 1986,
tion; all the essential elementS had been present from the beginning 1987) and his unpublished doctoral thesis (1988). A summary article
and lasted until the collapse. This appears to be characteristic of on tl1e painted tombs has been published (Adams and Robichaux
structures dedicated to religious-ritual matters, whatever the civili- 1992), several otl1er burials are described by Eaton (1989 ), and
zation. The obvious comparative examples are those of the ancient Tomb 25 is treated by Erick Ponciano (1989). The most complete
Middle Eastern temples, Chinese temples, and Christian churches. study of the human skeletal remains is by Frank Saul and Julie Saul
Figure 3-12. Schematic plan of Rio Azul, showing the location ofmajor tombs in the city. (Plan by R. E. W Adams)
52 RfO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 53

(1989), although it lacks some burials found in 1987 because the

collections were unavailable. The skeletons from Tombs 19 and 23
are the subjects of intensive studies by D. Steele (1986, 1990).
Middle Preclassic
Although no direct evidence exists from the Rio Azul zone for
Middle Preclassic bmial patterns, the regional centers of Cuello and
Colha, 75 and 90 km to the cast, have provided superb information
on Middle Preclassic burials (Hammond 1991). In both cases, there
were apparently cemeteries, located under paved floors in front of
houses, and perhaps primitive shrines of the community. Pottery,
presumably containing food, and otl1er personal items, such as
jewclqr, were included in the inhumations. No clear status distinc-
tions are apparent. vVe assume that tl1e pioneer farmers of the Rfo
Azul region did the best they could to follow such pattems and may
have confined tl1emsclves to simple inhumations under and in fi·ont Fig. 3-13. Locatio~~ ofTombs 1, 19, aud 23tmder Temple Str. C-1 and its two
of the house of tl1e deceased. No burials were found in association side platforms. (Pitm by G. D. Hall)
with the early temple, Gl03 sub 2.
forms. The entire range of burial types known from Rio Azul came
Late Preclassic
into existence suddenly and de novo at the beginning of the Early
In the Late Preclassic, there is direct although limited information Classic. I will argue that these types reflect the social status in life of
from our region in the form of a burial from BA-20, locality 210 the principal human being bmied. .
(Hendon 1989:125). It contains a body, probably that of an adoles- The most elaborate burial category at Rio Azul, Type 1, IS that of
cent, and tl1rce pottery vessels. The person was laid in a flexed posi- a principal tomb accompanied by other tombs. Our only example is
tion on one of the steps of the Preclassic stairs at this locality. This the group of tombs numbered l, 19, and 23, all of which are und~r
burial may represent the earliest occurrence of dedicatory burial in or to the sides ofStr. C-1 (Figs. 3- 12, 3-13; Plates 2, 3, 4, 6). Stratl-
the Rio Azul zone. Such burials typically coincided with tl1e begin- graphic evidence indicates that the principal burial (Tomb 1) was
ning of a construction project and probably represent human made first, and the funerary temple (Su. C-1) was built over it. Bmial
sacrificial victims. This practice appears to originate during t11e Late of the two occupants of the accompanying Tombs 19 and 23 came
Preclassic and continues until tl1e end of the Classic. later, strongly suggesting that tl1e two individuals died later tl1an tl1e
occupant of Tomb 1. The individuals in Tombs 19 and 23 appear tO
Early Classic
have been of high status. Their tombs were dug into the bedrock
As in life, so in death and bmial tl1e ancient Maya made clear next to Su·. C-1, and platforms supporting perishable temples were
distinctions among tl1eir members-tl1rough tl1e ritual accorded built over them. Dates of all these tombs are late fifth century A.D.
them, the placement, size, and decoration of burial sites, and the based on Maya calendtic as well as radiocarbon dates (Hall, 1987).
number and quality of items that accompanied them. As in other Tombs 19 and 23 were filled "~tl1 pottery, carved jade items,
cultures, the status of tl1e survivors was a factor in the disposal of carved wooden bowls, stucco-covered gourds, incised and carved
their dead. Thus, archaeologists habitually create classifications of shell pendants, obsidian blades, flint eccentrics, textiles, wooden litters
burials, ranging them in type fi·om the simplest to tl1e most elaborate and planks, kapok mattresses, wooden headdress armatures, featl1ers,
54 RiO AZUL

the remains of food and drink, and of course, the bones of the A Figure 3-14. Tomb 7 painted text. Glyphs
deceased. In the food and drink category only cacao has been Al-4 are calmdrical, audglyph A8 is prob-
definitely identified by chemical analysis (Hall, ct al. 1990). However, ably the personaluame of the tomb occu.pan t.
judging by Maya art, corn (maize) tamales were another likely item (Drawing by R. E. W Adams)
(Taube 1989). Salvage work in Tomb 1 indicates that incense burners
were also placed in that tomb, as well as a jade mosaic death mask
(eighty pieces found), forty-nine perforated animal teeth from a

~
necklace, mother-of-pearl fragments, and other items (Hall1984:54).
The next most elaborate type of burial, Type 2, is that of the
isolated tomb, located under a special stmcturc. Tomb 5 under Str. 2
C-7 and Tomb 9 under Str. A-9 arc the only examples of this type at
Rfo Azul, and both were looted. Tomb 5 dates to the fifth century

Ie~
A.D. We assume that elaborate burial offerings, including a mask for
the deceased, were placed in the tomb, based on salvage of scraps of (J) ·
jade and mod1er-of-pearl mosaic, iliree jade beads, obsidian blades,
and shell fragments, among other items (Hall1984:57).
3
,,
~
Tomb 9 is a large chamber with geometric painting on the walls
4
and vault (Hall 1986:Fig. 25). A painted panel removed by looters
may have had a geometric or hieroglyphic motif. The tomb is tmder

~
Str. A-9, which is aligned with and faces the gigantic temple of Str.
A-3 across the courtyard. Illegal excavation had emptied the tomb, 5
but assuming the burial of a ruler in A-3, it may be that A-9 contains

~
the burial of his consort. Unfortunately, the material salvaged by the
6
archaeological project was very sparse and includes only a few fi·ag-
ments of shell, mother-of-pearl, and mosaic fragments. Again, a mask
for the deceased is indicated by the remains.
Type 3 is the most common type of elaborate burial, of which 7
thirteen were found at the site. It consists of clusters of bathtub-
shaped tombs dug into the bedrock under a structure. Nearly all are
decorated with murals. Unfortunately, all known examples of this
kind of tomb had been looted by illegal excavations. At least two of
these bmials, Tombs 7 and 12, appear to have been those of rulers
also memorialized by the temples built above them (Figs. 3-14, 8
3-15, 3- 16). The hieroglyphic text on the cast wall identifies the
occupant ofTomb 12 as a certain person with the title of Six Sky (D.
Stuart 1987:167; Figs. 3- 15, 3-16). A piece of pottery from Tomb
12, now in tl1e Detroit Institute of Fine Arts (Graham 1986:456),
has a text on it tl1at includes the title Six Sky and tl1c emblem glyph
 EABT END THE ARCHAEO LOGICAL RECORD, 1 57

----------- r---------------~ -----------

!.
EAST

NORTH SOUTH

WEST

ON::J .LS::JM
Fig. 3-1 7. Tomb 6 murals i1lclttde three varia11ts of the witz (mozmtain or
Fig. 3-15. Hieroglyphic texts fi·om Tomb 12. The four lmge glyphs painted 011 major bttildiug) glyph and an zmdeciphered text on the east wall. A.D.
the cewer of each wall designate the f01tr cardinal directions, each associated 400-540. (Drawings by Barbara Camtell)
with a major celestial body. The fotu· glyphs in the comers are likely titles atsd
of Rio Azul. The date of burial is also given on the tomb wall- 20
name~ of the tOI~tb occupant. The main text is on the east wall. (Glyph
August, A.D. 450. Matelial salvaged from Tomb 12 includes human
drawmgs by Davtd Stuart; layout drawing by G. D. Hall)
bones stained with red cinnabar, shells, jade beads, and a fragment of
carved animal bone. Evidence of incense (copal) burning was fOtmd
on the tomb floor (Hall 1987: 148-49). Interestingly, there was no
evidence of a death n1ask from this tomb, even though it appears to
be a major burial, commemorated by Temple A-4 built over it.
c
Tomb 12 has an associated burial, nearby Tomb 6, which may be
a b d e
that of a family member who died later. Murals and a hieroglyphic
Fig. 3-16. The Tomb 12 mai11 .text (a-f), according to David Stuart reads text in the tomb may name the occupant and indicate family or
<<(On) 8 Bm 16 Kayab [ca. A.D. 449}was buried «6 Sky» {of Rio ~Zttl}. ~ dynastic affiliation (Fig. 3-17). The major motif in the murals is the
(Drmvi11g by D. Sttmrt)
58 RiO AZUL

I A B c D

Rio Azul
emblem
T129: 129:646:129 glyph

Fig. 3-18. Wooden Bowl Fragment B; A.D. 450-500. (Drawiug by R. E. W.

Adams)

storm deity, a symbol found in several other tombs (i.e., Tombs l, 2,

5). Jade and mother-of-pearl mosaic fragments, marine shells, copal
incense fragments, and pieces of obsidian and slate were recovered by
salvage work, which also uncovered evidence of a mask for the
deceased.
Tomb 7 (rigs. 3-12, 3-14) is located under the Str. A-2 stairway
and is evidently the principal tomb memorialized by that structure.
Salvage work recovered jade beads, many jade and mother-of-pearl
mosaic pieces, and carved Wooden Bm-vl Fragment B (Fig. 3- 18). A
single column of hieroglyphic text on the east wall gives a probable
date of 21 October, A.D. 418 (Fig. 3- 14; Robichaux 1990:40; Hall
1984:59-60; Adams 1984:Fig. 28; George Stuart, personal com-
munication 1985). Surviving modeled stucco decoration on the over-
1
lying temple, Str. A-2, includes a hieroglyphic text on tl1e soutl1 edge Fig. 3-19. Hieroglyphic text 01~ Temple Str. A -2, sou.th side. David Stuart
of tl1e roof comb (frontispiece; Fig. 3- 19). The Rio Azul emblem identified glyph D7 as the a·n cimt place·11ame of ltio Azul. (See also
glyph appears at position B8a and is part of a title statement (Robi- Frontispiece.) (Drawi1zg by R. E. W. Adams)
chaux 1990; Adams and Gatling 1986:204--5; D. Stmirt, personal
communication 1984).
Tomb 2, a member of the Type 3 group, is located Lmder the
front stair of Temple Str. A-1. It appears to have been built after tl1e
construction of Tomb 4 and the funerary temple and tl1erefore may
f 60
RIO AZ-UL THE ARCHAUOLOCICAL RECORD, 1 61

3-12). Their locations and the fact that the bmials are the principal
ones for each fun erary temple lead us to think that they arc probably
the burials of rulers. Tomb 4 is a large vaulted chamber located above
ground, in the body of the platlo rm of Str. A-1. Unpainted, grayish-
white plaster once covered the limestone walls and vault. Among the
items recovered by salvage were pieces of slate-backed pytitc mirrors,
fragments of jade, sheU, and mother-of-pearl , and cinnabar chunks.
The A-1 superstructure is badly collapsed, but it shows itself to have
been a temple of the same sort as adjacent Str. A-2.
Tomb 10 is located under Str. A-5, whose superstructure is com-
pletely collapsed. T his chamber tomb is entirely situated within the
NORTH construction fill of A-5 Platform and is a very large vaulted masonry
chamber. Among the items salvaged from the looters' backdirt and
from th e tomb chamber were many jade beads, over 100 shell beads,
and jade and shell fragments of mosaic, as well as fragments of
human bone.
Tomb 3 is a small vaulted tomb under and surrounded by the
hearting or core wall of Str. B·ll/13. It was badly damaged by the
looters. T he danger of collapse of tons of masonry kept us from
working further in this burial chamber.
Tomb 25 was found intact within Str. B-56 and excavated by the
archaeological project (Ponciano 1989). Tlus was a woman's tomb
WEST (Snul and Saul 1989 ) containing seven pottery vessels, jade earplugs,
and obsidian blades, among other things (figs. 3- 21, 3- 22 ). The
Fig. 3-20. The mrmrls of Tomb 2 are dominated by the images of the Storm tomb is unusual in that it is oriented north-south, unlike most tombs,
God, albeit with a vnriable clement in his headdress that is different in each of and is above and behind Tomb 8. T he latter is a Type 3 bmial and
the three renditiom. A possible date is on the right of the north wnl~ together oriented cast-west. We assume that the occupant of looted Tomb 8
with a (Jootpriuts of time» motif A.D. 400-540. (Dmwings by Barbara was male, because all certain elite male burials found at Rfo Azul arc
Cauncll) east-west oriented (Tombs 19, 23, 1).
The clustering of several tomb butials in small mortuary structures
be that of a relative of the occupant of Tomb 4. Mu rals on the walls that were the centers of their residential groups was a common
of Tomb 2 include the storm god motif as well as a possible Maya pattern at Early Classic Rio Azul, occuning in B-56, F-38, and D-4
calendar round date 4 Ahau 14 Pop on the cast wall (Fig. 3- 20). Con1plcxes. Tombs 30 and 31, found in Str. F-38, were small
The best reading of this text indicates a fifth century A.D. date. Tlus chambers in the hem·ting of the building platform. Both contained
tom~ was swept clean by the looters and no salvage material was human bones and pottery that suggest that they date to the fifth
obtamed by the archaeological project.
century A.D. (Fig. 3- 23).
Type 4 burials arc tombs located in the construction fill of plat-
Several other Early Classic burials of a simpler kind (Type 5) were
forms that once supported temples. Tombs 4 and 10 arc truly enor-
found in palace rooms of C-42 Complex that had been converted
mous chambers associated with Temple Strs. A-1 and A-5 (Fig.
to burial chambers (EatOn and Farrior 1989). Three burials were of
 62 Rfo AZUL

~~ fj)l ~t
~~ b c ~6 f
a b
a
~~ ~~d e
CQ)
CillO) 0
g

Fig. 3-21. Cache 3, Str. B-56. Forty-seven items, i11cludi11g those pictured here,
were found imide a large cyliuder jar. Carved jade and it~cised shell objects
are from a fifth-century A.D. 1·itual deposit in Str. B-56. The objects in groups . "- 22 C'ache 6 Str. R-56. Twwty-niue objects were fotmd in~ide n lnrge
f and g are jade and combiue to form a coat of arms that signifies the stm Ftg. .? · ' db f. · d plnques
·I· d . ·ar. iiJcluding those pictured here. Items 3 ll11 nre I ml Jll e
god. Items a-e are thin jade plaques iucised with alligator designs. Items h C) til "J ' . . .r h ll rip . ts whnt George
. . d 't' n//t;lfntor mottifis I tem c, whiCh IS 0; s e ) e IC
IIICISC !VI rl •• ~·· ' • b d
and i are of shell, with serpmt rmd bird elements iucised on them. Item h wns . d '' P obnbly a /oug beaked cormoraut, tts o y
Stunrt has mterprete ns . . . r . . . . 40Q-500
also embellished by small jade ((buttom" that were attached to the 1Ji11e .r » (Adnms J986b:449). A.D. ·
wrvi11g aromtd the finee O; n mflll
serratiom on the right of the object; A.l). 40Q-SOO. (Drawings by Vivim~
(Drnwings by Vivian Bromnn Moralrs)
Broman Morales)

the simple inhumation type, while the fourth was radically distinct.
T his burial ( PD-4) was an incomplete cremation associated with
sherds of both Tcotihuac:m and Early Classic Maya pottery. Aside
from cave burials, cremation was not a Cl:lssic or Preclassic Maya
custom, but was a normal practice at the M exican highland city of
Tcotihuacan.
T ype 6 burials were placed in crypts built into stairways and under
floors of temples. T hey represent burials of persons who were either
not important enough to rate a massive renovation of the temple, or
who died when the resources were simply not available for such Fig. 3-23. Blnck on White bowl from Early C/nssic 2- 3 Tomb 30, F38 Groupj
renovation. One such bmial was fo und under the floor of the Early
en. A.D.
o-soo. (Drnwi11g by Leone/ Alvarndo)
39

l
 64
R.fO AZUL T HE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 65
Classic 2 temple, Str. B-56. It contained human bones and a b all classes of people for multiple purposes. Among the Maya
reworked piece ofTeotihuacan pottery, but little else. The ceramic is p~ttery was used to contain liquids, foods,. incense, and other ~ub­
of tmusual interest because of the hieroglyph that is painted on it sranccs. Stone tools were essential to the bas1c Maya technology, smce
wh-!~1 will be discussed in the section on written texts (Fig. 3-40)~ what little metal the Maya had was late and nonutilitarian. No metal
Untorumately, we found no nonelite burials from Early Classic at Rio objects were found at Rio Azul. Beca~se o~ their high frcq.uencY: rela-
Azul.
tively rapid change over time, and vanety 111 space, cera1111cs arc used
Late Classic s chronological markers, as explained in chapter 2.
a Undoubtedly there were many other artifacts in use that we do
All Late C lassic burials are either from phases 2 or 3.
00 t find principally because they decay so rapidly. These were items
Late Classic 2 burials are represented by a set of very simplified of wood,' shell, feathers, bone, and textiles. Under cxcepttona
· I conili-
practices. The only elite burials known fi·om the period come from tions, such as the airtight environments of the Rio Azul tombs, w~
~ather smal~ elite residential buildings or are Type 6 crypts placed did find traces of these fabtications. Appendix 4 provides more detail
mto the stairways or terraces of A-3 Complex. There is a likelihood on nonceramic artifacts. .
of a very large Type 2 elite bwial within Temple Str. B-1 1/13, but Much of this book's descriptive material on artifacts is placed m
none was apparently found by the looters, and the project did not
excavate this building. A secondary burial was found inside a bench
Appeniliccs 3 and 4 , making some of the bases. fo:_interprctati~n
available. Here I shall outline some of the more stgruficant trends m
of a Late Classic remodeled palace (D -29).
artifact styles and usages at Rio Azul and its surrounding region.
Type 7 inhumations with little in the way of burial offerings
became the pattern in Late Classic 3. Burials were made with little of Ce1"·am.ics (See also Appmdix 3)
the major construction effort that had characterized earlier elite
burials. A Type 6 crypt was created under the plaza floor between The Preclassic
w~at.was even then an ancient mausoleum (B-56) and a small palace Pottery appeared in Mesoamerica by 2200 n.c. and in the Maya
bulldmg (B-62 ). A bench burial was found in B-48 Patio of the same lowlands by about 1200 B.c. Thus, the earliest Maya materials were
complex. An intrusive burial was made in the old C-42 Palace· a already sophisticated in form and decoration. At Rio Azul the earliest
reused Early C lassic room was cleared, stripped of its red pain;ed pottery dated about 900 B.c., was present only in very small sam~lcs
plaster, and a Late Classic burial placed in it with a large number of that were very similar to contemporary pottery from surroundmg
pots. This burial is the exception, however, since it appears that for regions. Small bowls with gourd forms, flat, open pans, round bowls,
most people in Terminal Classic times, burial distinctions among and water jars with necks and roughened surfaces were all used both
classes had become vague except for location.
at this time and later. Cooking vessels are probably represented by
Artifacts the round bowls and flat pans. Food service pottery was finished
with a color coating called a slip. Most prcclassic ceramics are either
The pro~ucrs of human hands are customa1ily labeled artifacts in uncolored or slipped in single colors or monochromes, dark red being
archaeologiCal reports. One could regard architecture as a kind of the favorite. Black and cream were also used as finishes. The water jars
~iant artifact, but a building is a product of a group effort and is were unslipped, and their rough surfaces enabled people to keep _a
•mmovabl~, while an artifuct is usually the product of one person, grip on them even when they were wet and slippery. A few Preclasstc
often a skilled artisan, and is portable. Pottery is the most common Maya ceramics have different forms, such as effigies of animals or
artifact type found on Maya sites, but stone tools, or lithics, are also humans like those found east of Rio Azul at Cuello and Calha
often encountered in high frequencies. These two kinds of materials (Kosakowsky 1987; Valdez 1988). None of the effigy pottery has
arc the most common because both survive well and both were used been found at Rio Azul.
 66 Rfo AZUl. THE ARCliAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 67

In the Late Preclassic, the Rfo Azul region appears to have adopted
most of the ceramic Mandards of surrounding zones, especiaJJy the
Tikal Uaxactun region . As noted in chapter 2, recent ceramic anaJysi
in the Belize sites (Kosakowsky 1987; Valdez 1988) and in the Rf~
Azul region (Adams and Adams 1991) has indicated that the older
traditional Preclassic monochromes continued in usc among the rmal
popul:ltion even as the newer forms of decoration were adopted
among the elite classes.

11Je Early Classic

The earliest polychromes appear in the Maya lowlands at the
beginning of the Classic and even in the Terminal Preclassic. This
carcgor)' includes three or four-colored, brightJ)' painted ceramics
with distinctive moti(c; and vessel forms. It has become apparent at
Rio Azul d1at in some cases the motifs relate to families or dynasties
of rulers and serve as coats of arms. This would explain why the
appearance of polychrome~ was delayed among rural and nonelite Fig. 3- 24. En.rly Classic polyciJrome bn.sn.l jln.nge bowls; probn.ble elite
families. These motifs were human, animal, geometric, or abstract, «urblewn.re» for food service; en.. A.D. 350. (Drawi1zg by 1-eonel AlMrado).
and combinations of pans of these motifs m:~kc up a set of abstrac·
tions that blend into Maya writing. Symbolic scenes, themselves
made up of symbols, led to more abstract and efficient ways of used in place, and very large monochrome food service bowls imply
transmitting messages. Thus, early examples of polychrome pottery meals served to large numbers of people.
at Rio Azul serve to express worldview, identifY the possessor with The tombs of Early Classic 2 were packed with pottery containing
aspects of the supernatural, and in some cases, identifY tJ1e owner as a food and liquids. A kind of black pottery, tJ1e BaJanza Black Group,
person of superior status {rig. 3- 24). Fairly rapidly, the possession of was especially favored for such use in tombs, as w:ts anotJ1er mono-
polychrome pottery became an index of social status, and the more chrome called Aguila Orange (Fig. 3-26). Unique ceramic objects
excellent the piece, the higher tJ1e possessor's sratus. were likely to come from these proveniences, of which the best
ln Earl)' Classic 2, a series of incised and carved types appeared, example is Vessel 15 from Tomb 19, called The Chocolate Pot (Fig.
man)' of which arc very el:~borate. These ceramics arc mainly mono- 3- 27; Plate 6), is tJ1e best example of unique ceramic objects likely to
chrome in coloring, although tJ1eir forms may difTcr drasticaJI)' from come from these style groups. (The Chocolate Pot is discussed fur-
those of the older Preclassic monochromes (Fig. 3 23 ). Much of tJ1is ther in chapter 4.)
pottery appc:trs to have been inAuenced in form and decoration by As in the Preclassic, the Early Classic complexes were stylistically
centml Mexican ceramics ft·om 1eotihuacan. Some of it is a blend of linked to contemporary pottery ofTikal and Uaxactun, even sharing
the two traditions, while other undecorated monochromes show their assimilation of outside influences from central Mexico. For
outside influence only in their vessel forms, particularly tJ1at of cylin- example, the ubiquitous brown-black cylinder tripod vessel with a lid
drical jars with tripod feet and lids (Fig. 3-25 ). Occasionally these was locally imitated in both sites. Stylistic analysis shows that there
~ylin~er tripods were decorated with a thin coating of Mucco ~ainted were also definite imports, ~uch as pottery stamped with the image of
111 bnght colors. Huge water jars, which must have been made and Tlaloc, the Mexican version of the rain god.

l
 Fig. 3-26. Early Clnssic Aguila Orange bowl from ll looted tomb. Note the
Fig. 3-25. Erwly Clnssic cyli11der tripod vnse; a mark ofTtotilmncan presence i11cised design witb sbort hieroglyphic text a11d n glypiJ 01l the pot i11 the
nt Rfo Azul. From Tomb 3 1) F38 Group; en. A.D. 400. (Drn1vi11g by Leone/ depiction. Cn. A.I> 39Q-500. (PIJoto by R. E. W Adnms)
Alvarado)
 !BE ARCIIAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 71

Late Classic 1
Our samples of pottery from the Late Classic 1 period at Rfo Azul
are weak. We have concluded that this relative scarcity is due to the
extension of The Hiatus into Late Classic 1 in the region . The little
pottery we recovered from the complex is again unexceptional com-
pared with that of the Tikal and Uaxactun sequences.

Late Classic 2
H uge amounts of pottery recove•·ed from this period allow us to
define it with confidence. We found the same proliferation of elab-
orate forms as at Tikal and Uaxactun, indicating broader and
stronger demand for polychro me and incised-carved pottery (Fig.
3-28). Some very attractive local innovations were developed, in-
cluding one type that emphasizes a glassy black rippled surf:'lce.
Another distinctive type is a sort of pink polychrome. Water jars in
the J..ate Classic became larger, some reaching truly gigantic
proportions. The latter must have been made in place and contained
up to 150 gallons of water each. N. Hammond suggests that chicha
or corn beer mjght have been brewed in these large jars (personal
communication 1994 ). Individual food service bowls supplemented
very large serving vessels .

Late Classic 3

The Terminal Classic was a petiod of significant change, outside

influence, and discontinuity in our sequence. Roughened water jars
and orange and red monochromes met most household needs for
containers, cooking vessels, and food service pots. The proliferation
of decorated types continued and a bewildeting amount and variety
of imported and local polychr01nes was fotmd in all classes of
housing. Even the water jars had elaborate rims and at least four
types were developed.
Samples of potsherds from I ,ate Classic large palace complexes
Fig. ~-27. Chocolate Pot (VesselJS) from Tomb 19; en. A.D. 480. The hiero- (Class 1 housi ng) typically produce 12- 16 percent polychrome
glypluc text on the lid gives the flmction of the vessel ns a «chocolate pot)) ,. d pottery, while minor palaces (Class 2 housing) possess only 8-12
11
x 01t t A~c bod:y states that the OIVn&1· was the «coumelor o• ~' ,.. p' . •• »
the ttwt percent. " Middle-class" housing (Class 3) will have roughly 4-6
d· , . 'J •• rtnce,
a ccor mg to ttJe readmgs by Da,,id St unrt. (Photo by R . E. W Adams) percent polychrome pottery, nnd the most impoverished housing
(Class 4) have only l - 2 percent. Quality and variety also diminishes
down the scale as might be expecLed.
 72 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, l 73
R.fO AZUL

Fig. 3- 28. Late Classic polychrome how~ ca. A .D. 800. (Drawing by Leonet
Alvarado)

Outside influences from the Puuc hill region of northern Yucatan

can be seen in the appearance ofTrickle Ware and Slate Ware jars and
small polychrome cups decorated in northern style. We found Fine
Orange (Fig. 3- 29) and Fine Gray pottery &om the lower Gulf of
Mexico, as we11 as lead-colored Plumbate ceramics from the south
coast of Guatemala.
Toward the end of the period, the repertoire of pottery was
apparently reduced to the most utilitarian types: water jars, cooking F' 3- 29 Fine Orange jar fou1ld in a shallow deposit in F-38 group. A tr~de
. N . Yiucatau). ca. A .D. 840. (Drawmg
1ff. from· the Chontal area) pe,·haps vta
pie.:e
vessels, and food ser vice pots. Incense burners dating trom A.D.
1000, in one case (Fig. 3- 30), and from the nineteenth-century by Leonel Alvarado)
Maya in another, arc indicators of visitors. Rio Azul h ad been
abandoned in the ninth century, and by the time the first incense
burners were placed in Temple Str. A-3, it was tailing into ruins and tural tasks , and construction jobs all required large numbe~·s ?f ~tone
overgrown. tools. Most of the tools were made of local chert, bt~t hrmte us.e
also was made of obsidian imported from the Maya ~~~land:~~~t:~
Lithics likely that obsidian importation was controlled by the 1eg1onal . P .
Stone tools reflect the utilitarian needs of the ancient Maya, largely at Tikal during the Early Classic and then through the eastern Sites m
those of the lower classes. Woodworking, forest clearance, agricul- Belize in Late Classic times.
74 RiO AZ.UJ. 75
'ffH: ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1

dating on the Rio Azul structure is still insecure :md could

'fhe ibly date anytime between 500 :md 50 n.c. The dating on most
plaus l scult>ture is now placed in the period 300- 50 n.c. (Lowe et
[zapar . r .
al. }982: 17, 23, rig. 2.1 ). Given the lack of evtdcnce •,Or any tn.n~-
. , . role in the development of early Maya art at Rio Azul, 1t IS
,,anvc . I th
likely that the origin of these clements is rrom contact w1t 1 e
area the south coast of Guatemala, and the Isthmus of
Izapan • • , d ti
Tehuantepec. This makes 300 B.C. the. earliest proba?le ate or
Gl03 sub 2. The meaning of the combtned elements IS some,:hat
·
erugmat · but the "J" clements may be examples of what Jacmto
tc, .
Quirarte has identified as the "bifi.trcated to~gue" (~976:79~, smce
the central clement (perhaps a loincloth) IS ass?ctated wtth the
tongue in at least one other case (Quira.rte 1976:ftg. 4f). The. tota~
image may be a symbolic representation of one of the c1 eatot
"dragons" or serpents that overhang scenes i~ so much <~f lzap~n art.
Although Str. G-103 sub 1 is L·\te Preclasstc and certamly a ntually
Fig. 3 .10 Frrrgmmt ofJ>ostclrrssic inceme burner; found in drbris rrtop Tcmplr
important building, we have thus far not ?ecn able. to loca~e ar~y
Str. A -3. (Drnwing by l-eone/ A/Jif'trrrdo)
decorative art- masks, painting, or the hke-assoctated With 1t.
Possibly the earliest Classic period example of complex art is that of
the modeled stucco masks on the temple at BA-20 (205 sub 1).
Art and Iconography.
These masks arc not exposed enough to reveal their subject matter
J>rcclnssic with any certainty, but they may be personified wind god references
(Black 1987:Fig. 49), which also may have the meaning of "breath
The rcl:nionship between 1\ taya art and writing has often been of life" derived from the lk day sign !>)'lllbol (l11ompson 1950:73).
remarked upon (Coggin~ 1979; Marcus 1992) and is evident at Rio The round masonry column-aha~ set in rront of Str. A-3 sub 3
Azul, where tomb tnlll"<lb and sculpture were mainly Mtpplcmental to date between A.D. 360 and 393, based on stratigraphy and the date
hieroglyphic texts. I lowever, there is also a significant body of an of Stela 1 (Figs. 3- 31, 3- 32). Three altars were found by Miguel
from ceramics and other media that apparently i!> independent of Orrego by using lateral passages dug outward from the main looters'
both written records and funerary contexts. tunnel under A-3. These altars arc decorated with stucco modeled
Complex art appeared in quantity at the beginning of the Early into the bas-relief forms of nude male human figmes (Fig. 3-33).
Cla.\sic. Unlike many other sites such as Nakbe, El Mimdor, Lamanai, Five of these human figures were f(>und, although it is probable that
and Ccrros in the Maya Lowbnds, there is only one example of there were o 1iginally six or eight. Safety considerations inside the_
Prcclassic art at Rio Azul, the incised stucco on Str. G I03 sub 2 (rig. deep tunnels under A-3 made it inadvisable to remove any more of
3 6). This is not surprising, given the relative isolation and marginal the material around the altars.
nature of the Rio Awl region, which appears not to have been :m AJI of these human figures arc prc~cnted in the same pose--down
innovative zone for Maya civilization. on one knee with the appeamnce of being pulled off balance or
The incised mirror and flanking «)" symbols on G I03 sub 2 arc falling. Blood is depicted flowing in a large stream fi·om each man's
nearly identical \\~th clements common to the Middle and Late head to the ground. The heads have disheveled hair, no headdress,
Prccl:l'>.,ic Izapan style (rig. 3 6; Quirarte 1973:Figs 2, 8; 1976). and mutilated e:trs without earplugs. Each figure is bound with rope
 76
Rio AZUL

A B Fig. 3-32. Rio A zttl Stein 1, nort!J (A, B)

rmd sout!J (C, D ) sides, The Maya date
(A 1-10) and the uame of R io Azu! rule~
Zak Balam (B8) rm iuclu.ded m thts
text. (Dmwi1lg b)' it E. W Adams and
Cathy Dodt Ellis)

0
---meters
10

Fig. 3-31. A -3 Temple Comple.x, plan of buildi11,gs shoJPing the colum~t altar
locations. (Drn 111ittg by Miguel Orrego Corzo)

around the wtists. Male genitalia are clearly depicted in each case,
and the rornl effect is that each person has been sttipped of his
clothing and jewelry and exposed to ridicule. In spite of the similarity
of poses, each face is individualized. Their eyes and mouths are wide
open, giving the appearance of terro r. An elaborate and unique glyph
is bound by rope o r cloth to each person>s back. From each glyph
falls a cloth with two tails. These glyphs have all the epigraphic
characteristics of personal names and will be discussed in the next
section. Incense had been burned on the tops of the altars. A cere-
monial deposit (Cache 16), consisting of a flared -sided orange bowl
contai11ing a bundle of nineteen laurel leaf-shaped flint knives wrapped 16'!
in ro ugh cloth, was placed behind the altars when they were finally
covered by new construction. Based on strat:igmphy, associated pottery,
 78
RiO AZUL T ilE ARCHAEOLOGICAIJ RECORD, l 79

fro m the rear of an Early Classic temple at Tikal, Str. SD86-6

(LaPorte and Vega de Zca 1988:127-40, figure on p. 139). The
frieze depicts a row of nude human figures, each on ~:me knee, with
bands bound, and name glyphs on their backs. It dates between
A.D. 200 and 300 and therefore is earlier than the Rio Azul altars
by at least eighty years, making the specific iconography of conquest
and humiliation established at Tikal well before it appeared at Rio
Az ul. An example from much farther away is an unpublished Early
Classic sculpture now in the National Museum of Guatemala . It is
a b fi·om Kaminaljuyu, the huge site now under Guatemala City, and it
shows individual captives, each confronted by a finely dressed
person seated on a cushion or throne. As at Rio Azul, the captives
arc nude, male, bound, down on one knee, and identified by asso-
ciated glyphs.

Early Classic Stelae

.
i _ _, : '
·-- • J
Stela l, a sculpted stone monument in front of Str. A-3, is
chronologically the next piece of art from Rio Azul. It was erected
c after the aJtars were in place and probably after an enlargement of the
platform and temple. The monument has texts on the two narrow
no rth and south sides (Fig. 3-32 ). At some time after the monu-
ment's erection it was deliberately battered and burnt on the front.
The back side, facing east, is uncarved. On the main broad side
f.·King west a standing figure is visible from the knees down, and at
its feet a captive human figure lies prone on its stomach. The text
indicates that the principal figure was a ruler of Rio Azul, Zak Balam.
The Maya date on Stela 1 correlates to A.D. 393.
d e Stela 3 is a badly damaged, large stone monument on which the
Fig. 3-33. Modeled stucco decoration 0 11 Temple Complex A -3 nita h . carving is eroded from all but about the lowest meter. Enough
execut iou .r R , A l rs, s Olvmg remains to show that it also faced west and depicted a principal
t~•e ,·,ld. 'd I
d. · . OJ to . zu. . rulers. Letters desinnnte
v ,, tvt un persom
e~tcted, tlote the mdtvtdunlized g lyph 01t each mnn )s bnck. (Dratvitl s by figure standing in the stiff, "at attention" pose characteristic of early
Mtguel Orrego Corzo) VI Cycle 9 monuments in the lowlands. A seated, bound captive figure
with personal name glyphs in his hair is seen in the lower left corner.
T he sides of the monument are carved with glyphs, most of which
and style of rendition, the estimated date of the altars is be... .
380 and 392. uveen A.D. arc badly damaged by weather and deliberate battering. Based on
style, location, and stratigraphy, we estimate the date o f Stela 3 to
Compara~ivc materials arc rare, but there arc other sculptures in be benveen A.D. 400 and 420. It is located near nvo large (Class 1)
the Maya hig hlands a~d lowbnds that show captive figures in the
residential compounds both of which existed in the Early Classic
same pose. The most Important parallel is a modeled stucco fticzc
and therefore were contemporary with the monument. Later, in
 80 81
Rio AZUL THE ARCI IAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1

Late Classic 2, the monument was incorporated into a long, linear

structure, which may have been a deliberate act of disrespect or
saclilegc.

TombMurats
All murals from Rfo Awl were found in tombs dating rrom the
years between ca. A.D. 440 and 520. There arc eleven painted tombs.
It is noteworthy that in six tombs mural subject matter is a com-
bination of hieroglyphic and iconographic material, four painting sets
arc exclusively hieroglyphic, and only one mural is exclusively icono-
graphic. Therefore, in the Rfo Azul tomb murals, depictive matetial
is supplementary to hieroglyphic symbolism.
The most elaborate of the murals arc those in Tomb 1 (Fig. 3- 34;
Plates 2, 3). The hieroglyphic text dominates the scene because of its
placement and states the birthday of the occupant, an individual who
we have designated Governor X. More detail about the text is given
in the section on hieroglyphic writing. The text is flanked by two pairs
of elaborated mask motifs. Based on the usu:~l ~tela text formula, the Fig. 3-34. Black tmd white photogrnpiJ of Tomb 1 murals. 17Je view is toward
birthday of the principal individual mentioned is often followed by a the eastern wd of the tomb, witiJ the birth date of the tomb occupant, 29
genealogical statement. I have interpreted the ma.~ks to be a kind of September A.D. 417, as well as the mwu ofthe tomb occupant, Ruler X, noted.
"coat of arms" that designates Governor X's illusuious ancestry. The probable «cants of arms» of tbe pn.reuts of Ruler X flnuk the text on the
These ancestral figures can be more specifically identified given left, aud the emblems of a graudfatiJer (below) and of the srm god (above) are
that the iconography of the upper left mask is close to that of the on the right. Symbols of the watery rmdu·world decomte tiJe rut of the tomb.
contemporary Tikal ruler called Stormy Sky. While a full comparative (See nlso Pinus 2 tmd 3.) (Photo by R. E. W Adams)
statement is beyond the scope of this book, the storm god, or the
Classic equivalent of Chac, appears to have been the special patron of estimated to have ruled at Tikal fi·om A.D. 426 457 (Jones and
this Tikal ruler (Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:fig. 41; W. R. Coc Satterthwaite l982:Table 6). Governor X was born in A.D. 417.
1990:1-"ig. I 82). Further, the tomb of Stormy Sky at Tikal is the only Thus, the person buried in Tomb l appears to make a claim to
known Early Classic painted tomb at that site. Finally, the consort parentage fi·om Tikal ruler Stormy Sky and his consort Bird Claw.
of Stormy Sky is known to have been a woman nicknamed by Further, Governor X, as we now call him, also claims ancestry from
cpigraphers Bird-Claw (Jones and Satterthwaite 1982: Tables 5 and Curl Nose, the f.'lther of Stormy Sky, and ultimately from the sun
6); the lower left-hand mask in Tomb 1 is clearly a bird and is asso· god. Stormy Sky's successor at Tikal was named K:ln Boar, and may
dated with the Stormy Sky mask above it. 10 the tight of the stela· have been his eldest son. Govemor X's identification as a son of
like text in Tomb 1 arc two more masks. The lower mask bears a Stormy Sky and Bird Claw and hi!l rule at a city much smaller than
close re~emblance to the hieroglyphic rendition of the Tikal ruler Tikal would seem to indicate his status as a younger son, not the heir
Curl Nose (Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Fig. 41). rinally, the upper to the Tikal throne.
rnask is clearly that of the Sun God.
The rest of the tomb up to the doorway is decorated with
All of these elements appear to be much more than happenstance symbols for water, deluge, rain clouds, serpents, jade, and flood .
correlations, especiaJiy given the historical timing. Stormy Sky is The doorwny to the tomb is Oanked by two vertic:~ ! panels
 82
Rio AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, l 83
representing mats. The iconographic symbols of water refer to the An apparent speech scroll issues from the figure's mouth. It can be
watery underworld that is passed through after death. The mat is seen that a small (lmman) head is held in the figure's hand in fiont of
the traditional symbol of rulership. A sixteenth-century title of his face, although the arm has largely disappeared. Remains of stucco
rulership was ah hotpop, or cchead of the mat" (Roys 1972:63-64) scrolls and costume detail indicate that the principal figure was
There arc nine panels on the walls of the tomb, each separated dressed in ceremonial regalia similar to that found in stela depictions.
from the other by broad, dark red bands. Nine was a sacred Finally, at the base of the wall there arc remnants of at least one and
number for the Maya and usually referred to the nine levels and possibly two serpent heads upon which it seems that the human
lords of the underworld, entirely appropriate symbolism for a figure stood or sat. The earplug of the principal figure is of the scroll
tomb. Red was a sacred color because of its identification with type. Unfortunately the figure is too badly damaged in critical areas
human blood and therefore with genealogical matters. All other to permit style dating by Proskouriakoff's (1950) method, although
painted tombs at Rio Azul were painted with similar red stripes the general impression to Adams is that of earliness. (Adams and
dema.rcating t~e corners, wall bases, and wall tops. The stripes were Gatling 1964:205)
occasiOnally g1vcn emphasis with black parallel lines, as in t11e case
ofTomb 12.
Recessed panels on the sides of the temple were decorated with
Tom~s 2, ?• 6, and 25 combine hieroglyphs with storm god or modeled stucco. The motifs on the north and south sides are ilie
mountam (wttz) symbols as the main iconographic referents. In the same and allow a complete restoration of the design, which is that of
s~cti~n o~ hieroglyphic texts, I will argue that these are symbols of a goggle-eyed, tusked, full front mask. The reconstructed masks
kinsh1p (lmeagc) or of a dynasty (Figures 3-20 3-43 3- 17 and shows a certain resemblance to Teotihuacan depictions ofTlaloc, the
3- 39). ) , )
central Mexican version of the rain god.
Tor.11b 9 possessed the only painting of a completely nonhiero- A section of a very large Early Classic painted and modeled smcco
glyphlC ~1ature. H.owever, even this painting may have originally been facade was cut d1rough by the looter's trench into the west side of A-
p~rtly h reroglyph1c. It has already been noted that a painted panel 2. This very complex facade, witl1 an estimated height of about
w1~h .an unknow~ motif was removed by tl1e looters. The remaining fifteen meters is associated with Tomb 7 and belongs to the earliest
)

pamtmgs arc enorely geometric and cover three walls-west sout11 construction phase of Temple A-2. It was anciently covered by an
d t1 ) )
an nor 1. Bands of dark red outline tl1e walls and delimit panels on extension of ilie temple to the west. We left it unexcavated because
the walls which arc solid rectangles, an empty rectangle, and a boxed exposing it would have made it too difficult to preserve, and our
rectangle.
attempt to raise funds for tl1e purpose of excavation, stabilization,
Early Classic Modeled Stucco Architectut·al Decoration and protection failed. Unfortunately, Guatemalan government fimds
allocated for this and other work were used for other purposes.
Str. A-2, tl1e temple memorializing Tomb 7, retains portions of A very damaged large modeled stucco mask and its armature are
modeled smcco decoration, which originally covered the entire exposed about d1ree-quarters of the way up on the south side of the
building. J. L. Gatling and I (1964) noted that one can discern the stairway to Str. A-3. There are also fragments of scrolls and modeled
re1nains of a giant seated human figure on tl1e front or west side of stucco in the debris.
tl1e roof comb, but that it is so damaged tl1at no details can be seen. The fragmentary remains of the modeled stucco on A-2 and A-3
On ~1e south .side of the roof comb is a hieroglyphic text, which will indicate d1at they arc only parts of a much larger program of decora-
be d1scusscd rn the next section. On the rear or cast side of the tion, which must have been extraordinary in size and complexity.
building is a very large standing figure with the body presented full George Stuart has produced a tentative reconstruction of the A-3
fi·ont and the head turned in profile to the observer's left. As we complex, giving an excellent impression of its probable original
observed in 1964:
appearance (Plate 7). The only change made necessary by further
 84
Rio AZUL TflE ARC£1/\EOLOGICAL RECORD, l 85
RIM OF VESsEL Pll0F1LE HEAD OF A PECCARY WITH Terminal I .ate Preclassic. Of the possible methods of decoration,
FLOWER-LJK.E SUN SYMBOl 0~ fORI;JiEAo
polychrome painting was always the favored method in the southern
~~--------------~-- lowlands, but at times carved and related techniques were very
popular. The earliest polychrome at Rfo Azul is a type tailed Jxcanrio
Orange Polyclu·omc, which was made into bowls with feet that arc
clearly representations of human female breasts.
During the Early Classic, decoration was mainly placed on food
service and mortuary vessels. Polychrome motifs range from animal
and bird forms to highly stylized geometric and curvilinear designs.
One of the most complete examples of Early Classic 1 polychromcs is
a water jar that we tound under about ten meters of ballast in a court·
yard of B-56 building complex, a Small Palace (Class 2) 1·esidential
F.Y£OF
·STORM COD"--~ItlJ,.~
complex. The jar was restored from shcrd material and is now about
75 percem complete. Fortunately the painted scene on it is about 95
percent complete (Fig. 3- 36). The following summarizes the analysis
of the scene done by Jane Jackson Adams ( 1990) with advice fi"om
Professor Jacinto Quirartc.
Briefly, the scene is that of four Cauac monsters, which appear to
CARVED WOODEN BOWL FRAGMENT represent the four directions of the universe. The monsters arc
;ig~ 3- 35. Wooden Bowl Fmgmem A; formd nbaudoned iu looters> camp. arranged on the jar so that they arc opposed to one another. Each of
. ro ably from Tomb 1, based on similarities between the bowl motif and those two opposed Cauac monsters is associated with a parrot and a
motmot bird. The other monsters are associated with a monkey on
' · A ·D· 460· (Drawmg
m the murals ofthe tomb. Ca · bY Geo1;ge E. Stuart)
one mask, and a composite, feline creature on the other. The scene is
complex and includes two monkeys, seven birds (parrots, motmots,
~~~~vest~gati~n is that w~ now know that the inner small temples (A-2
and waterbirds), :md one composite feline creature, together with
d A 4) d•d not have mdependent stai rways (Fig. 3-9).
vegetation and abstract symbols.
Itenu of Wood The core of the interpretation made by Jackson Adams is that the
scene probably represents activity in the afterlife. Both the celestial
Carved Wooden Bowl fragments A d B
f
., . . . an arc excellent examples world and the underworld are present, linked through the Cauac
o Eat!) Classic art 111 this medium. The subJ"ect matte. o e
Aa . b I t n rragment monsters. The vessel therefore appears to be a cosmic diagram in
. ppcars to e t lat of the storm god Chac on whose I d
the head of a peccaq' or deer (fig 3-35).
f 1 d f ·
A . lea . appears
· sun symbol IS on the
which various roles are assigned to various creatures. No overtly
human figme is to be seen, although humanity might be represented
?re 1Ca o the animal head and an Ik, or wind sign is in f-o t f.

b
hagnh1c(•~~- B appears to depict a glyph (Ik) hangi:lg li ke fruit' o~ aotr~~
by one or more of the birds or the composite animal. A tentative
ranc r 1g. 3- 18). suggestion is that the birds and animal may represent totemic
creatures associated with paailincagcs. This would accord with the
Ce·m mic Art generally agreed upon tl1cme of ancestor worship in Classic Ma)'a
Elaborately decorated JJOtte1. d . . religion as well as the concept of the "way" (an imal spirit com-
• f , ,' . Y appcare 111 prof us ion at the begin . panions) that has been detected by David Stuart and Stephen
1
1mg o the Early Classic, although it was first introduced during the
Houston (1989).
 86 87
Rio AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, l

fig. 3-37. Caal Red Polychrome Motif No. 1. (Drawing by Leotzel Alvarado)

bowls. Several sherds from this type of bowl and bearing the motif
were found at ruo Azul, along with a complete vessel found in the
tomb of an a aristocratic woman (Tomb 25). A very similar poly-
chrome vessel was found in a wornan's tomb (Burial C2) of similar
date at the city of Ua.xactun, ncar Tikal (A. L. Smith 1950:Table 6;
R. E. Smith 1955:Fig. 13b). It is possible that these women
belonged to the same kinship group, perhaps a lineage or a clan.

Late Classic Art a·n d Iconography

Fig. 3-36. Early Classic polychorme decorated jar- the «Cosmogram Pot»j ca. We found no Late Classic architectonic art in the form of modeled
A.D. 350. (Drawing by Leonet Alvarado) stucco or painted surfaces. Judging by contemporary temple struc-
tures at Tikal and elsewhere, Temple Str. Bll-13 was probably
decorated with masks and other media but is so destroyed that
The archaeological context of this jar indicates that it held a liquid nothing is now visible. No evidence for Stucco decoration was _fo~nd
that was poured out as a libation over a small courtyard altar after at the Late Classic 2 palace of A-ll complex, although the bmldings
which the jar was smashed over the altar as an additional tenni 1~ation were tmdoubtcdly painted (Eaton 1987a). All Late Classic tombs
offering. Finally, the altar was butied under new construction. The were unpainted. .
interpretation of the scene lends some credence to Proskouriakoff's The major evidence for Late Classic art is in the form of ccra1111cs.
idea that Early Classic religion was more impersonal and animistic As mentioned before, one of the functions of highly decorated
than it became in the Late Classic. The Jack of iconographic referents pottery during the Classic period was as statuS material for the aris-
and human figures are in strong contrast to the importance of these tocracy, since elaborate pottery was a valuable possession not easily
aspects in Late Classic polychrome ceramic decoration. available to everyone in Maya society.
This tendency to more abstract ceramic art in the Early Classic 1 There is great diversity in ceramic decoration from Late Classic 2
p_eriod gave way in Early Classic 2 to a use of symbols possibly asso- in Rio Azul (A.D. 68Q-840). At one elite residential compound, I
Ciated with families and other kinship units. The best example from Group, twenty-four separate types of polychrome were found in a
Rfo Azul is that of a motif that we call Caal Red Polychrome Motif sample of twenty-six sherds. Again, there is evidence of the use of
No.. 1, or simply Caal Motif No. 1 (Fig. 3- 37). The shape of the ceramics as documents of the possessors' social status; more hiero-
motJf su~gcsts the body of a snake. The motif is invariably painted glyphic texts occur on the brightly colored vessels, the mythological
on the s1des of elaborate food service dishes called basal-flanged linkages of families with the gods arc shown, and acmal histot;cal
 88
RIO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 89
scenes occur (Adams 1971:59-78). In some highly customized
pieces, the owners of vessels arc named and their titles given , and
I
even the painter of a vessel may be identified (Fig. 3-28; Houk and I
Robichaux 1991). I
I
It has been noted repeatedly that polychrome decoration of the I
I
Late Classic is highly regionalized, and that therefore certain types of I
I
pottery can be identified as coming fi·om certain zones (Adams
1971:117- 37). A few ofthcse zones arc represented in the Rio Azul
rcg~on. The appearance of regional styles in tombs f.1r away fi·om
then· zones of origin has been interpreted as the result of a pattern of
I~
I
aristocratic funerary visits. Thus, on the occasion of the death of an
il:1portant family member, other members would travel long
~Istan~es to be present at the funeral and bring with them otterings,
mcludtng pottery (Adams 1971:59- 78). Evidence of such a pattern
from Rfo Azul is especially strong in the Early C lassic, but also occurs
in the Late Classic.
An interesting and significant negative example is that of the Late
Classic polychrome style defined as Codex Style pottery (Robicsek
and Hales 1981). None was found in Rio Azul. Based on recent
work by R. D. H:msen and his colleagues (1991) at Nakbe, 60 km to Fig. 3- 38. Frngmmt of a '~inth-cmtury A.D. polychrome cyli11der jar similar
the west, it is now known that this pottery was made in a small part to those fou-nd at Holmul abottt thirty-two miles south of Rfo Azul. Recovered
of the .o.therwise abandoned city of Nakbe, to the west (Hansen from looters> discard. (DrniVing by LeonelAlvarndo)
1991 ). 1 hese codex style polychromcs occur within the area defined
as the Calakrnul Regional State (Adams and Jones l98l:rig. 1). ruo a standardized motif. The bowl is usually orange in background
Azul, while not certainly pnrt of the Late C lassic Tikal Regional color with the motif in red or blnck. The clements are invatiably a
State, was part of the economic and social sphere of influence of "darkened sun" symbol \\~d1 a raptOtial bird (eagle or buzzard)
TikaJ, within which clearly defined status items circulated among the flying toward it. This symbolism may indicate d1e advent of a new
elite.
ideology, associated with d1e sun nnd perhaps the epi -Classic "sacred
On the positive side, pieces of ceramics from the smaller city of war" concept. These ideas seem to have been present earlier at
Holmul _to ~he south have been found; they appear to depict elite Uxmal, likely the regional state capital of d1e Puuc I I ills zone in d1e
persons 111 ntual settings (Fig. 3-38). Many of the pieces fi·om the
northern lowlands. U ltimately, the origin of the new worldview
~1te Cla_ssic, both imported and of local manuf.1cture, arc of exqui - appears to hnve been central Mexico, perhaps wid1 the Toltecs.
slle quahty- from very good to excellent-in brushwork color and
Compared to the Early Classic, the body of art from Late Classic
executio~1 (Fig. _3-2~). They arc true works of art. Most 'were ~rob­
Rfo Azul appears to be impoverished, except for the polychrome
ably bunal offenngs masmuch as they were found only in collections
salvaged fi·om looter digging. pottery of the Late Classic 2 period. This 150-year florescence
produced some highly creditable ceramics, but it must be remem-
In Late Classic 3, there was a definite decline, both in the quality
?f pol~chr~me pottery and in the diversity of types. Particularly
bered d1at many of d1e best pieces may have been imports from
mtcrestmg ts the appcnrancc of a local type of polychrome bowl with other zones. At Rfo Azul imported polychromes from northern
Yucatan include small drinking vessels that arc mainly geometric in
 90 RiO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 91

moti~ Carved pottery, with an emphasis on hieroglyphs and geo- Late Classic, from about A.D. 680 to 840. Texts arc found on tl1e
metncs, also makes a strong appearance. Much of this material seems mbs sculpted in stone, painted and carved on pottery and
wa liS Of to , b. h
to come from centers in the cast in what is now Belize. d and modeled in stucco on large buildings. Hubert Ro tc aux
woo, .
made a comprehensive study of all twenty-etght ~cxts that were
Hieroglyphic Texts
found by the project or which appear to be fi·om Rio Azul (1990).
Of all the thousands of people who lived in and around Rio Azul David Stuart (1986, 1987), Stephen Houston (1986), Clet~ency
during its six hundred years of history, only about twenty-five are Coggins (1988), and Michael Closs (19~8a, b) a~l have ~ubhshed
known to us by name (Robichaux 1990:113- 16). All members of short or comparative studies of Rio Azul h1eroglyphtc .matenals.
the elite class, they owe their relative immortality to the fact that they It should be noted that the surviving body of wnttcn data from
were mentioned in written texts found at Rio Azul. Rio Azul is but a small part of the original. An example of the wealtl1
The sophistication of the Maya writing system distinguishes Maya now lost to us is the fragmentary text from the Str. A1: roof comb
culture from any other civilization in Mesoamerica, even the entire (Frontispiece; Fig. 3- 19). Nineteen glyphs are presently mt~ct on the
New vVorl.d. All other Mesoamerican writings were either supple- south edge of tlus building, but it is calculated that tl1ere ts enough
mental to Illustrations, or limited in the amount of information they space for twenty-four more glyphs above tl1e intact text, for a total of
could convey. Either limitation made an oral or artistic explanation about forty-four glyphs. There was undoubtedly a complementary
necessary to get the full meaning. For many of their neighbors, like text on the north edge of the roof comb, for a possible total of eighty·
tl~c Zapotecs, writing depended on a combination of writing and art, eight glyphs on Str. A2. The three otl1er small tem~lc building~ of A3
With the texts largely limited to pictographs. Only a small amount of Complex undoubtedly canicd texts as well. Assummg that thc_lr.texts
phonetic information could be transcribed by this means. Only in the were as long as tl1at of A2, tl1is yields a total of 352 glyphs ongmally
case of the Maya could a complete message be transcribed without on StrS. A1, A2, A4, and AS. A3 is a much larger building and its
the nee~ for exegetical aids. A discussion of New World writing assumed text would probably have been much longer, perhaps as
s~stems IS beyond the scope of this book. However, the major many as 100 glyphs. Thus the total number of glyphs in texts on the
dtfferences between the Maya and other Mesoamerican wtiting was A3 Complex may once have been on the order of 452, of whi~h only
that tl~e. former had developed a way of directly and completely the 19 on A2 have survived-a mere 4 percent of the esttmated
transcnbmg the sounds of their language into written form (Adams otiginal number. This calculation docs not include any of the other,
1991:179-87; Marcus 1992) . contemporary temple structures at Rio Azul, which probably also
.T~tiana Proskowiakotf defined tl1e content of Maya writing in a canied hieroglyphic texts.
bnlltant effort (1960, 1961, 1963) and provided tl1e means of seeing
Early Classic
a part of Maya culture from tl1e inside. Many other scholars rushed in
to build on h~r work. We can now read many Maya texts completely, The earliest "texts" at Rio Azul may be the name glyphs on the
and otl1ers yteld at least their general meanings to us (Houston modeled stucco altars under Str. A3, depicting tl1e execution of five
1989). We now know, for example, that Maya texts arc entirely con- high-status men, and dating between A.D. 360 and 393. Each oftl1e
cerne~ wit~ elite class matters: politics, war, ruling class genealogy, men shown bears a large and very distinctive glyph on his back (Fig.
accesston ntuals, and related aft'lirs. At Rio Azul, therefore, the 3- 33). Unfortunately, none of the putative names of the captives also
twenty-five "immortals" arc mentioned because they were important occur on tl1e stelae at Rio Azul or in tl1e known texts at any other
enough to figure in such texts. city.
The extant Rio Azul texts cluster into two periods. One falls into Proskouriakotf has definitively demonstrated that stelae are his-
the Early Classic, from about A.D. 372 to perhaps 525. The other torical monuments that record the major events in the lives of Maya
cluster of written materials falls into the middle and late parts of the rulers (1960). Two of the four Rio Azul stelae, Stelae 1 and 3, date
92 RiO AZUl.

fl·om the Early Classic. Stela 1 (Fig. 3-7, 3- 32) is directly in front of
the most important temple at Rio Azul, Str. A3. The text gives a date
of26 March, A.D. 393 (8.17.16.12.2) and mentions two people who
rna)' be rulers . Federico ~ahsen (1998) has identified one of these
people as Zak Halam (White Jaguar), who may have been a ruler of
Rfo Azul. A contemporary ruler of Uaxactun (or Tibl), Smoking
frog, is aJso mentioned. The name Zak Balam also appears on the
back of the "Phoenix Mask" (Mayer 1987), which is a fuschite ma!.k
apparently looted from Rlo Azul. A color illustration of the front of
thi~ mask can be found on the cover of NatiomrL Geographic
Mngazine for April 1986.
Stela 1 is a conquest monument, judging by the captive figure at
the feet of the principal person shown on the fi·ont. The monument
is somewhat later than the nearby stucco covered altars, but may
refer to the conquest that led to the execution of the five persons
shown on the altars. The date of A.D. 393 is shortly after tl1e takeover
of T ikaJ about A.D. 378 by a usurping ruler, Cml Nose, who may
have allied or identified himself with tl1e centraJ Mexican power of
Teotihuacan .
Stela 3, aJthough very weathered from standing in tl1e open, can be
dated by its ~tyle. It has the remnants of a long text on its sides, and
some caJendrical material appears to be present, but erosion has erased
most of the details. The monument is again a conquest memorial,
with a captive figure seated in the one corner of the front panel.
As noted above, modeled stucco glyphs on the south side of Str.
A2 represent about haJf of the 01iginaJ text on tl1e south side of the
building's roof comb (Fronti piece; Fig. 3 19). The front of the roof
comb originally presented a huge modeled smcco portrait of a
human, the general outlines of which can still be seen. The rear of
the roof comb abo presents a very large standing human figure with
a human head resting on its right hand. The text probably explicated
these scenes. Although no glyphs are now visible on the north edge
of the roof comb, they were probably there otiginnlly, judging by
texts fi·om otl1er similar Maya buildings such as those at Tibl.
The surviving text from Str. A2 has been read by Robichaux ns
naming a ruler who appears to have included tl1e phrase, "the
younger,, in hi~ name. A frngmcntary calcndtical calculation and the
Rfo Azul emblem glyph make up tl1e majority of the remaining text
( Robichaux 1990:35-38; frontispiece).
Plate 2. Rio Azul Tomb 1. (Courtesy of George F Mobley/National Geographic Image Collect£on)

Plate 3. Tomb 1 Murals. (Photos by R. E. W. Adams)

""J"' "':' 'll'l · l .....,,.-v m.v nv '.lV
~5' ."'..
~~-or-tJ ~d. I~V <?J~

! ~~~

(k'!'OS
:J~qrJvAf?Oii:J tVUO~VN
'1AVmS ·g :Jf?.J,O:J[)
jo imAtta;)) ·X3trlt«O;)
'trlm:~L f- V jo f?:tt?l11V.tp
1t0~11JA01f:IA .I.OfOJ 'f- :111/fcJ
 93
THE AllCilAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1

rrhc series of eleven painted tombs discussed earlier can be dated

to 1he Early Classic and moreover, can be narrowly assigned to the
fifth century A.D. Tombs 7, 12, 6, and 2 arc all painted with texts :md
all arc under the associated temples of A3 Complex. The function of
many Maya temples being funerary, there is a special interest in the
burial below Str. A2, Tomb 7. Unfortunately, Tomb 7. was looted,
but there remains a text on the cast wall, which appears to name a
certain "Three Monkey" and to give a date of 21 October, A.D. 418,
app<'rencly the date of death or interment (Fig. 3- 14). Perhaps Three
Monkey was a governor of Rfo Az.ul or a member of the tulcr's
family. Robichaux (1990:116-17) remarks that the common usc of
the eastern walls of Rio Azul tombs for statements of names and
even of bircl1 is probably significant. Arthur Miller has suggested that
for the Maya, cl1e tising of the sun, the moon, and Venus in the cast
represented a rebirth after the death of night and darkness
(1974:45-49).
Tomb 12 has at least five separate texts with an additional four
isolated glyphs (l~igs. 3-15, 3- 16). David Stuart has deciphered most
of the inscriptions ( 1987). Each of the four walls of the tomb bears a
glyphic compound that corresponds to a world direction- nonh,
south, cast, or west. On cl1e east wall is a glyph for the sun, and on
the west wall is a glyph for the night sun, or darkness. The north wall
bc:lrS the moon glyph , and the south wall the glyph for Venus.
Some controversy has been generated between two groups of
scholars who interpret cl1e directional glyphs differently. Michael
Closs (1988a) and Hubert Robichaux (1990:45) prefer the simpler
explanation that each glyphic compound representS a cardinal direc·
tion. Clemency Coggins (1988) and V. R. Bricker (1988) prefer an
interpretation in which the so-called north glyph really represents cl1e
zenith or "up," and cl1e soucl1 glyph symbolizes the nadir or "down."
The major text on the east wall has been read by David Stuart as:
"(On) (18 March, A.D. 450) was buried Six Caan (Sky) [last part of
name), (member of the ruling family of) Rio Azul" (1987:167). The
f(>ltr isolated corner glyphs appear to be additional names or titles for
the person buried in Tomb 12.
Tomb 12 was looted before the archaeological project arrived, and
we found little confirming evidence from it. However, a vase
:;::s~~:,::;:e ?ln~ic vase recomtructed from fragments found in a
. pt e. 1l example of the damage that itle al a11d un acquired by the Detroit Institute of Arts likely originates from this
fesstonal excavation does to i1ldividtml t. :g pro· tomb. It is both carved and covered wicl1 brightly colored stucco,
patrimony of millions. (Photo by R E W. A dar ifa)cts and the mlturnl
· · . . ams
 94 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, l
95
Rfo AZUL

with eleven glyphs painted on the stucco. Justin Kerr has published a
rollo.ut photograph of the vase (1989:5). Robichale<'s reading of the
text IS that the three glyphs on the lid describe the vessel's function-
a c?ntainer for strong cacao drinks (Robichaux 1990 :46-49). The
mam text ?n the pot seems to be a statement of ownership by a titled
lord of Rio Azul, one of whose parents is also named. Given the EAST
occurrence of tl1e Rio Azul emblem gJyph and tl1e name of Six Sky ·
. l'k I I
IS 1 e y t 1at the vessel came fi·om Tomb 12 at Rio Azul.
) It
T\~0 ~ade earflares now in a Brussels collection (Mayer 1987)
have mc~sed texts that include the Rio Azul emblem glyph on one
and a l.lieroglyphic phrase similar to one on the "Detroit Vase.,:
The onginal (Maya) owner of the earflares was apparently a titled
lord of Rio Azul and possibly the occupant of Tomb 12. The to111 b
NORTH SOUTH
· di rec tl y under Str. A4, a temple that therefore probably memori-
IS
alized Six Sky.
Tomb 6 is physically associated with but later than Str. A4 and
Tomb 12, sometime between A.D. 450 and 525. The burial in Tomb
6 :vas looted, but aJI four walls were painted with hieroglyphic texts
(Ft~. 3-17~. On the east wall is what is probably a personal name,
whiCh Robichaux reads as North Ceiba (1990:51 ). The ceiba was the
sacr~d tree of the Maya. As Peter Dunham notes, "indeed, the ceiba Fig. 3-39. Tomb 25 texts are placed one glyph to each of the four walls and
mediated berween (the) heavens, our world, and (the) underworld" appear to refer to the witz) which is the mozmta.in or major stmcture in which
(pe~sonal communic~tio~ 1997). On d1e other walls are rather enig- the tomb is located. (Drawi11gs by Erick and Cm·olina Po11ciauo)
m~ttc. glyphs, the mam s1gn of which is apparently the witz or moun-
tam stgn, according to David Stuart's reading (1987b:l8). Robichaux The dating of Tomb 2 is particularly difficult. The possible dates
suggests that the witz may refer to buildings or locations at Rio Azul. on the walls make no calendrical sense in known Maya systems. It is
Perhaps the tomb occupant was thus symbolically surrounded by possible that a different system was used, or that a mistake was made
sacred geography. by the artist-sciibe. However, most "mistakes" detected in Maya
Tomb 2 is located lmder the front of Str. A1, the northernmost calendrics have turned out to be deliberate manipulations of the
t~mple i~ A3 C~mplex (Fig. 3-12). It is a secondary tomb, the prin- calendric base date, which may be the case here (Peter Dunham, per-
cipal bunal associated with this temple being the very large, unpainted sonal communication 1997). Stratigraphically, the tomb ought to
Tomb 4. Botl1 tombs were looted, but based on size and location it is date between A.D. 450 and 525.
likely that Tomb 4. held the principal person being buried, while Tomb 25 (Figs. 3- 10, 3- 39) is located in a small temple building
Tomb 2 was the restt.ng place of a relative. (B-56) surrounded by Class 2 (small palace) residences. Two tombs,
Tomb 2 (Fig 3-20) was 01iginaJiy decorated with paintings on all 8 and 13, were looted from B-56 by the vandals. Tomb 25 is the
four walls, but the south wall painting was nearly destt·oyed by the only burial at Rio Azul that we know to be that of an elite woman
looters. On each waH is a depiction of a monster face, which Eduard (Saul and Saul1989). The tomb is oriented along a north-south axis.
Seler.nam~d The ~ightt~ing Beast (1960,4:549- 52). It is probably a Four glyphs arc painted on each of the four walls of the burial
Classtc penod versiOn of tl1e Maya rain god, Chac. chamber. Three of the glyphs refer to the wit:t, or mountain glyph,
 96
RfO AZUl THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RHCORD, 1 97
which also has associations with the Chac rain god. The cat.t wall
carlies a distinctive glyphic compound, which Robichaux has read as
possibly meaning "Nine Darkness," and which may be the name of
the individual buried in Tomb 25. The glyphs arc 11imibr to those in
Tomb 6, but better executed. Again, as Robichaux suggests (1997
personal communication), the witz glyphs may refer to specific loca
tions within Rfo Azul.
Tomb 24 (fig. 3- 10) is a burial under the floor of the rear room
in the temple m the top of Str. B-56. A vase from the tomb shows
strong evidence of being an heirloom piece. The vessel is of a type of
pottery called Balanza Black. The pot originally had three feet, but
these have been broken off. This sort of vessel invariably has a lid
also, but the lid was missing in this case. The original black mono-
chrome finish of the vase had been altered by a thin coat of cream
stucco, which had been painted with brown-black paint. The two
glyphs painted on the vessel are highly aberrant in Maya writing style
(Fig. 3-40). five separate clements make up each glyph, and each
glyph is a duplicate of the other. The five components include an Fig. 3-40. Photo of hieroglyphic text from modified (heirloom) Balanza Black
inverted sky glyph with a spear passing diagonally behind it as well as pot from Tomb 24> m1der the temple floor of Str. B-56. (Photo by R. E. W
possible jaguar spots and a shell clement. No interpretation of this Adnms)
glyph has been made to date. It is as if someone unf.1miliar with
Maya writing had set down all the right elements, but did not know
the Maya technique of integrating them into a single compound. fortu nately, a text from associated Tomb 19 gives more data about
Governor X. Tomb 19 was discovered, undisturbed, by ~e archaeo-
Tombs I, 19, and 23 (Figs. 3- 12, 3- 13) arc all physically associated
with one another and with Structure C1, a large temple building. All logical project. Symbols of rulership and power were pau~ted on the
these burials contain glyphic material, either painted on the walls or tomb's waJls (Plate 4), but the major text from Tomb 19 IS fo~d on
on pottery. Tomb l (Fig. 3-34 and Plates 2, 3) was looted and, unfor- Vessel 15 T he Chocolate Pot (Plate 5, figs. 3-27, 3-41). Th1s cer-
tunately, we found only a small amount of material fi·om the floor of amic vess~l is of unusual form. It is a small jar with a lid, which has a
the burial chamber. The hieroglyphs are framed in the manner of a flange Jock in it. The lid had six stucc~ 1:nedalli~ns on it, each. pai~ted
stela text (Plate 2) on the cast wall of the tomb and present a Maya with a glyph. On the body were ongmall~ nmc s~ucco medallions
date which is equivalent to 27 September, A.D. 4 17. Some lunar painted with glyphs, of which seven remam. Dav1d S~~rt ~1986,
information is also given. The text states that the date is that of t he 1987) has interpreted the text in the following m~n~er. I he ltd .text
birth of a certain person whose name is given. There is controversy can be paraphrased as: "This vessel is for the contammg of two kmds
among the epigraphers about the exact phonetic equivalent of this of chocolate dlink." Analysis of brown powder from the closed vessel
name, and therefore I have simply called him Governor X. A-; noted by chemists at Hershey foods Corporation confirms that the powder
before, the elaborated masks on either side of the main text probably was definitely the residue of cacao, or chocolate (Hall et al. 1990).
represent the parents, the grandfuther, and the sun god ancestor of The text on the jar is less clear. It refers to "an advisor to a prince" as
Governor X. Its identical symbolism suggests that Wooden Bowl the owner of the pot. This is taken to mean that the owner of the pot
Fragment A (fig. 3- 35) probably comes from Tomb 1. was the occupant of Tomb 19 . The prince referred to is probably
Governor X, who is buried in adjacent Tomb 1.
 Tl IE ARClli\EOLOCICAL IU\CORD, 1 99

Tomb 19 also contained Vessel 17, a gomd covered with an

eggshell-thin coating of blue-tinted stucco. Six glyphs were deli-
cately painted on the stucco (Fig. 3-42). The text is extremely
difficult to deal with, but Robichaux thinks that the general import
concerns a ritual having to do with an anniversary date (1990:
89- 91). The vessel itself may have been intended to hold blood or
incense pellets.
Tomb 23, on the other side of Governor X's burial, contained
only two glyphic clements, both painted on a rock protruding ft·om
the ceiling of the chamber (Plate 6). Following George Stuart
(Adams 1987a:24), Robichaux (1990:96) interprets these elements
D E F as the portraits of the Moon Goddess above and the Earth Monster
below.
A small temple building similar to B-56, Str. C-7, contains Tomb
5. This is a very deep shaft-and-chamber tomb with nine glyph
\ /
,------ ,
" ,"'
------... " ......
groups painted on the walls (Fig. 3-43). Considerable damage was
/ \ I \ caused to the texts by the looters. Stratigraphic and comparative
: I II \
i I I 1 evidence dates Tomb 5 to between A.D. 400 and 450. No Maya date
: I I
/ \ I I I is discernible in the confused melange of affixes, small heads, painted
,•'
.·· \
'- ,__ ,., /
I \
\ ............ _ _,/ I
I
representations of human footprints, and Maya numerals spattered
----- on the walls. The west wall displays a Lightning Beast with the
mountain glyph in its headdress. Robichaux suggests that abbre-
viated forms of the mountain glyph may be a reference to Chac, the
rain god (1990:99). To the left of the Chac is a glyphic symbol that
is generally used to designate the half-Katun, or ten-year period
ending, but is also occasionally used to mark the ha1f-.13aktun, or two
hundred-year petiod. If the former is meant, there is a possibility that
a date of 30 January, A.D. 426 is referred to.
Tomb 17 is a small tomb in a small temple structure in a Class
2, or small palace, residential compound. Looters emptied it prior
to 1981. A badly faded text is on the cast wall of the burial
chamber (Fig. 3-44 ). Robichaux reads it tentatively as ((StOrmy
Sky, Lord ... Sky Bone" ( 1990:102- 3). This may be a person's
0 name, as is the case with the other Rfo Azul tombs in which
personal name phrases were placed on the cast wall. That the
Fig. 3-41. Tomb 19 Vessel 15 text; Chocolate Rot t"xt·•.
1 " • (See legend for Fig. tomb was painted and evidence from some diagnostic pottery
• - 27) (Dmwi1lgs by George rmd Dnvid Stuart)
salvaged from the looting of the burial indicates a fi fth century
A.D. date.
 Tl IE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 101

. ---·· ·····-···-·--· ..
EAST
•• ••

SOUTH

WEST
}'ig. 3-43. Tomb 5 murals are domimr,ted by Storm God images, together with
enigmatic glyphs and mtmericat coefficimts; A.D. 40(}-450. (Drawi1zgs by
Ba1·bara Cmmell)

Late Cltusic
Stela 2 stands in front of Su·. Bll-13- inside a shrine at the foot
of the stairway of this massive temple. The stela is carved on all four
sides (Figs. 3-45, 3-46). T he monument was discovered, recorded
llo">+ t.!>~
and partially published by Ian Graham (1984). Graham fumished his
Fig. 3-!2. An elegant but enigmatic set of glyphs pai1Jted on stttcco finished drawings to Robichaux, who has worked on the complete
medallt.ons that were originally on a gourd vessel (Vessel 17) in Tomb 19. text. S. D. Ilouston ( 1986) partially deciphered the text but did not
(Drawmg by G. D. Hall)
do a comprehensive analysis of the whole inscription.
The monument is of very soft limestone, and the sculpted scene on
the south side has cspcciaUy suffered fi·om exposure to the clements.
 102
RiO AZUL
A B c

I
2 l
I
I
I
3 )
l
I l
4 I
(
, Q
5 ;
, . 0

Fig. 3-44. The Tomb 17 Wt is on the enst JVa/1 of the tomb in a building itt n
remote part of Rio Azul. 11;e text is enig111atic, but the upper left glyph I
77
appears to refer to tiJe sky. Early Classic period. (Drnrving by R. E. W.
6 I
I ~-
Adams)

7
Graham found pieces of modeled stucco from the stela, which
indicated that even when it was new, it was necessary to fill in defcc
tivc or especially soft parts of the stone shaft. The remains of the 8
scene on the south f.1ce show a standing male figure with a prostrate
captive at his feet. The west, cast, and north sides arc carved witl1 9
hierog lyphs. Robichaux calculates that there is space for a total of
thirty-two g lyphs on the cast and west sides, but notes that only 10 -I
....
nineteen g lyphs remain. The north side has twenty-two glyphs, all o f
which arc readable.
Houston {l986:fig. 8) has read the date of the monument to be 8
December, A.D. 66 1, but this now seems likely to be the birthdate Ptg. 3-45. Stela 2 IJieroglyphic texts from the tzortiJ (A-B) n11d s011tiJ (C-D)
of the ruler mentioned later in the text (Robichaux 1997). The sides. (Dran>itzgs by Inn Grnhnm,from colltrolled-I(IJIJt photos)
 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ltECORD, 1 105

/•>
/i~
~ ~,
iih
· e•
G H
·
__ I _ J
· •
L
.' 2'
Fig. 3-46. Stela 2
text on the rear
(uorth) ofthe
dedicatory date, however, is surely after this, since the activities of
the ruler arc also mentioned. Robichaux suggests that the dedica-
tory date may be c.a. A.D. 690. The text appears to record the
~ mouutr/.CrJt. The accession to power of a local ruler, who we call Governor Z, and to
M N text is long and give data on his genealogy. The ruler is named, as are his father and
difficult, but his mother. Robichaux notes that a visit from a personage of La
Robichaux con- Milpa, 40 km to the cast, is also mentioned on the stela ( 1997).
1 siders that the The sculptor of the monument is named as Ah Zactcl, or H e of the
A.D. 661 date 011 White-Crested Bird, perhaps indicating that the artist himself was a
the monument is member of the nobility. The Rio Azul ruler is referred to by the title
likely the birth of wha-chi)l or His Utmost. Governor Z also is referred to as a
day ofthe ruler Batab, a Maya title for a subordinate ruler, and his name is associated
depicted on the with the Rio Azul emblem glyph. This ruler was possibly attempting

3 I front. The Stela

was probably
erected late')
perhaps as late ns
ca. A.D. 690.
to establish himself as an independent ruler, but, alternatively, may
have been allied to the ruler of La Milpa. No mention is made of
either the Tikal dynastic record or the contemporary ruler of Tikal
(Robichaux 1997).
Kerr Vessel # L38 3 is a ceramic vessel apparently looted from Rio
Azul and now in a private collection. A rollout photograph has ·been
(Drawings by
Ia11 Graham, published by Justin Kerr (1989:5). S. D . Houston (1986) has linked
4\ from controlled- the text on the vase to that of Stela 2 because of the appearance of
I light photos) Governor Z's mother's name on tl1e vase. H er mother, the grand-
\
I
, mother of Governor Z, is also mentioned, extending the genealogy
back another generation . Legitimacy of rulership was part of the

sJ ,'
•
reason for such emphasis on specification of kinship among the
Classic Maya.
) Stela 4 is the final monument at Rio Azul and, altl1ough crude in
execution, is of great interest because of irs possible association witl1
the art style common at the Early Postclassic city of C hichen Itza, to
61 , the north. Two glyphs are incised on the l'nonument and tl1cse arc
1 similar to a glyph that appears at Chichcn ltza (Fig. 3-47; Kelley
l976:Fig. 72, 73).
Summary
7
) Of tl1e twenty-eight texts presently known to be from Rio Azul,
many more arc ft·om the Early Classic tl1an fi·om the Late Classic. This
1 fits very well with the other evidence fi·om the site and region for an
especially strong Early Classic florescence. Given that the hieroglyphic
texts from Rfo Azul probably represent less than 5 percent of tl1c
 T HE ARCIIAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 1 107

original body of material, it is not surprising that we can reconstruct

only an incomplete and ambiguous history. This cautionary talc
should warn us against reconstructions of Maya culture that arc
aJmost exclusively based on decipherments of hieroglyphic texts. The
reconciliation of all data is needed for proper reconstruction; such an
exercise is the subject of the next chapter.

,,

Fig. 3-47. R {o Azul Stela 4 ira 11ery late Lnte Classic monummt, ca. 11.0.
840 or later. The rtyle of the monummt owes more to the Early Postclassic rtyle
of Chichen Itza thmt to the Late Clnssic momnnmtJ of the Peten. (Drawing
by lt E. W. Adams awl Cathy Dodt Eltir)
 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2 10V"'

CHAPTER4 has reached the same conclusion from his studies of Maya languages
( 1988), aliliough he suggests considerable v~riabilit:y, e~pecially arnong
elites who maximized legitimacy fi·om both stdes ofthctr a~1ces~r-y.
THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2 The record at Rio Azul also indicates d1at, for the ehte, mfonna-
Primary Implications ·011 from both sides of the family was recorded. Governors X and Z
tt I .
both mention their mothers, and Governor Z's mother's mot 1er ts
o mentioned in another text. This goes against ilie received wis-
a!s I.
dom that the elite were strictly patrilineal, but it may be that t 11s
practice was more widespread than we ~a~ suppo~ed . When power is
involved, all possible buttresses to legtttmacy wtll be called upon.
!1~ MAY APPEAR.TO BE an ac: of hubtis to attempt an anthropology of However, it should be noted that all known rulers at Rio Azul were
Rio Azul ~d ItS people, g1ven the limitations of the archaeological males. Elsewhere we do find women rulers, but we do not yet know
record. Yet tfwe do not make such attempts, archaeology as a part of whether they were political leaders in their own right or regents
anthrop?logy cnn only be seen ns a very limited, highly technical standing in for young sons, nor do we understand what impact their
study of material culture and its evolution. In any given instance, we status may have had on elite genealogies.
must go beyond those limitations and attempt to breath lite into the Clues about how they traced their lineage can be found in the
culture that created the material remains. Maya organization of living space. Minor palace groups such ~ ~- 56
Like the m.an ~vl.1? had b~e1~ speaking prose without knowing it, have as many as twenty-two small platforms that supported butldmgs
most. people m c1v~lizcd soc1ettes unknowingly spend their energies having a variety of functions. Food preparation, storage, religious
~reatt~~ an~ operatmg cultural institutions. The concept is one which activities, mortuary, and residential arc all included, but tl1c latter
ts ~amthar ~n. a kind of folk classificntion which we all use: politics, functi on was predominant. Excavations elsewhere suggest that each
society, rehgton, and so forth. Anthropology has formalized these small platform and residential building represented a household and,
categoties into institutions which, taken together, form the whole of likely, a family. Perhaps as many as ten or twelve fami~ies lived. ~ogether
any culture. I will usc this device to examine the various kinds of in B-56 group. Tlus seems to include servant and arttsan fam1ltcs, who
ancient ac~~ties. th~t we have fotmd at Rio Azul and to come up with appear to have lived ncar elite groups, albeit on the outskirts of d1e
a f~w baste msutut1ons, based on evidential logic, analogy, and his- elite housing groups.
toncal parallelisms. In any case, allowing for about an equal number of servants for
each elite fam ily we can estimate that perhaps as many as five or six
Kinship
related families lived together. This is a pattern typical of kinship
The most basic of cultural institutions is that of d1c fami ly and the groups that emphasize unilineality in ilicir genealogical reckoning,
larger groups based on it. Our evidence for kinship organization comes regardless of whether they emphasize the fathers' o r mothers' lines.
fi-om tlu·ec sources: ethnology, archaeology, and linguistics. The Maya Since the Maya arc patrilineal today, in the colonial period, and in the
were and are a patrilineal society, ito; families tracing their descent I .ate Postclassic, it seems probable that they had the same kinship
tlu·ough tl1e fad1er's line. This was as tnte in tl1c colonial pctiod (1540- arrangements in the Classic period , as Haviland has argued.
18_2~) (Roys _1972:33-36) as it is in the edmographic villages of today. The small groups of house platforms in the Maya lowland cotumy-
Wtlltarn Haviland has made several studies of the data from T ikal side show d1e same pattern of groupings ranging fi·om three to six in
(1968, 1977) and has concluded that all information indicates that the number. Anifucts dug fi·om tl1esc platforms indicate commoner status.
Maya were patrilineal tl1rough tl1e Classic pctiod. This seems to have lt is assumed that t11ere were few, if any, servants attached to these
been tl1e case both for the elite and the commoners. N. A. H opkins groups, which suggests d1at they were patrilineal descent groups.
 lll
110 Rio AZU L THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2

Social Structure Housing for service people attached to tl1e Late Classic. 2 A-ll
Palace Complex was relatively sumptuous (Eaton 1987a.83-8~).
fred Valdez's discovery of the Middle Preclassic pyramid at Rfo Service specialities t11at we know ~f fro m .chronicles, b ut for. ~vh!Ch
Azul has several implications. It indicates that the organization of tl ere is no direct archaeological evtdcnce, mclude herbal healers .and
1
Maya society was sufficient to build a sophisticated temple structure diviners, who may have been the same people. They may have fit mto
by at least 300 B.C. It also suggests that society had already evolved t11e t11ird level as well. .
beyond an egalitarian, ranked society in which people gained status The mass of the population formed tl1e fourth class, which was
by their achievements. Indeed, there is evidence that status was largely made up of t'\rmers and part~time constr~tction wor~ers. The
already being ascribed to people based on their family backgrounds, skills needed to make dwellings from JUng~c rnate~als arc rea~tly adapt-
which is the basis for an aristocratic society. Maya social structure was able to creating scaffolding for constructton proJeCts. ~o~mg ~a~es
certainly headed by a hereditary aristocracy by the Late Preclassic )
of materials, mixing mortar, quarrying stone and shap~g 1t, bLUlding
and perhaps even by the Middle Preclassic as Hansen's findings at walls of stone and mortar, plasteting,. at~d the mynad otl1~r con-
Nakbe ( 1991 ) and Valdez's at Rio Azul ( 199 3) suggest. In any case, struction tasks would have been well wttllill most Maya men .s capa-
by the time of the Late Preclassic, Maya social structure had assumed bilities. Specialized tasks, such as laying out tl1e structure, plannmg and
the basic form it would hold for the next seven hundred years. rvising t11e construction, and building vaults, were presumably
Sll Pe d· ·
Classic-period social structure appears to have been a mixture of a higher-status jobs. Hunters may have also be~n special~stc;, an. ~tIS pos-
caste and class society (Adams 1970). A caste is a frozen class into sible that guides and hLUlters, sometl1ing hke Sc~to~h ghtlltes, were
which one enters only by birth. This was the case with the hereditary attached to noble households. Perhaps such spcoaloes created sub-
elite. It was impossible for a member of any other class to join it, divisions witllin the fourth social class.
sealing the elite class off fi·om the rest of Maya society. The seal was A fifth social class appears to have been tl1e impoverished, who ~ay
created by the identification of elite ancestors with certain gods, as is have done t11c inevitably dirty, dangerous, or brute tas~ for sooety.
shown in the genealogy of Governor X. Within the elite, there were Such work would have included acting as porters, htter bearers,
apparently subdivisions based on whetl1er one belonged to the cur- diggers of ditches, haulers of water, paddlers o.f. canoes, and ~atl1erers
rent ruling family or not. A family distinguished merely by collateral of firewood. Collectors of nightsoil for fertilizer were evtdently a
ancestry would have been second-level aristocrats. We know fi·om despised class among the Aztecs, and might well have existed among
historical records from Yucatan that such lower nobility were used to tl1e Maya.
fill political positions, such as state administrators or regional and
Economics
district governors ( Roys 1972).
All social divisions are ultimately based on status groupings. The There were several classes of economic activity among tl1e Maya.
next levels of this society were exalted because of their associations The basic categories full into the general class of subsistence activi-
with the elite class. Such people may have been persons of nonelitc ties-the raising and gatl1ering of food. As we have seen, early on
birtl1, but who had certain esteemed talents, such as abilities in matl1- these tasks became specialized , soon ranging from tl1e relatively simple
ematics, in writing, or in tl1e creation of prized works of art. Thus cycle of slash-and-burn to the infinitely more complex f~rms of
sculptors, ceramists, scribes, mathematicians, and others of ability irrigation cultivation. Perhaps 75 percent of the Maya population was
might rise to higher status. Likewise, counselors and lower-level involved in tlus work during tl1e Classic period.
administrators might achieve status tl1rough their careers. Specialty crops probably evolved early in the Maya lowlan~s, partic-
Personal servants and other service personnel attached to large ularly cacao, incense (co pal), and medicinal herbs, all of whtch could
palaces and religious establishments may have formed a tl1ird class. be used for local consumption. Later the cultivation of these crops
They also profited by virtue of tl1eir connection to the elite classes. expanded on the basis oflong-distance trade and became export items.
 112 THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2
113
RIO AZUL

Mark~ting and_ exchange systems developed rapidly during the 110useholds in a patron-client relationship. ReciprocaJ obligations
Preclasstc. Many ttems not native to the Maya lowlands were intr . veen classes arc rypicaJ of generalized fcudaJ societies (Adams and
ben
duced, including obsi_dian from the Guatemalan Highlands and ja~e
I . I. d
Smith 1981; Coulborn 1956), where the hori_z~ntal re auons11ps ten
~·om the Motagua River zone. Perishable materiaJs must have bee be along kinship lines within classes. Thus 1t IS not out of the ques-
~mported also, including quantities of cacao, which grows more easiln t? to imaoine a period of feudal society for the Classic Maya.
m the southeastern lowlands. y non Assuming b"
this were so, then the products o f sk"ll 1 e d . arusan_s_
· ·
m
. Thus, the_re :ver~ two exchange systems, the most basic being the M a)
ra society would be tightly controlled by patron eltte families.
. f . . tl
Internal redistnbut1on of common agricultural commodities: corn Therefore work might be initiated on tl1e basis o commiSSion ra 1er
beans, squash, fruits, roots, herbs, firewood, and other products and than on the basis of supply-demand market operations: .
gathe~ed materials. T.oc~ly manufactured items, such as utility pot- Archaeological work at Rio Azul detected one bmlding complex
tery, Simple wooden furniture, mats, basketry, net bags, and common that appears to have been suitable for a formaJ m~kct/~varehouse
clod1, aJso would have circulated through villages and hamlets. There area. This is Group E in the northern edge of the Site (Fig. 3-3), a
is no ~m e:idence on the nature of such exchange early in the series of quadrangles formed by major buildings. Unfortunately, we
~reclass1c. Iur_1erant merchants may have traveled from village to neither tested nor otherwise excavated tJ1is area, but we can tell that
VIllage, or reg1onal markets may have centered on the larger villages. it is similar to tl1e probable market building at Tikal, Str. SE-32 (W.
Both patterns are found in the Maya Highlands today. R. Coe 1967:map). Its location also suggests such a fi.mction; it is on
There is little doubt that by d1e time of tJ1e Late Preclassic, there the river at the first point where a canoe coming from ChetumaJ Bay
were formal markets operated in association \vid1 religious structures. on d1e Caribbean coast would enter tl1e city. Black and Suhler
These new~r exchange centers did not supersede, but complemented (1986:168) noted some broad stone stairs descending from the_ level
the older village markets, probably handling the more exotic materiaJs of the main buildings to tJ1e river. These could have made a smtable
and most of tJ1e imports, such as salt from the north Yucatec coast landing for both people and cargo. The major buildings co_uld have
and dried fish and ornamcntaJ shells from tJ1e seas around the been permanent warehousing and administt·ative offices, with space
peninsula, as well as the previously mentioned materials. It is likely in t11e courtyards for thatched roof shelters and secure storage.
that d1e new markets were sponsored by the elite. There is little doubt tl1at the state and its political units contt·olled
By the time the elites and new markets appeared, there had also external trade during the Classic period. Group E at Rio Azul, with
em~rge~ a group of artisans who made most of their livelihood by its major commtmity construction investment, conforms_ to the expec-
then· skilled labor. These craft specialties began in the Late Preclassic tations of such a model of Maya exchange systems. Linkage to the
and possibly earlier. Most of the Classic period specialties were extant social stiucture is of course apparent, in tl1at it is certain that the
by the Late Preclassic, although some, such as makers of polychrome aristocracy controlled both politicaJ and economic structur~. Thus, it
pottery, were only to blossom in d1e Classic. is to politicaJ organization that we now turn.
. A c~ucial question about these artisans is how they were organized
Political Structures
m soc1ety. Were they artisan fumilies attached to noble families? Were
tl_1ey independent operators living in relatively affluent, but nonelite Politics provide for the allocation of authority and power \vithin a
Circu~stances: Were there independent artisan villages, such as exist society. Administration is a mechanism through which autl1ority and
today 111 the highlands of GuatemaJa and Chiapas? power is exercised. Therefore, if administrative arrangements can be
In the Late ~lassie Rio Azul region, we find lower-class housing defined archacologicaJly, it is also possible to also define the political
bunched near elrte palaces. Further, these humbler residences show system.
evid~nce of_ considerable artisan activity such as polychrome pottery A major function of cities is to serve as administrative centers. In
making. This suggests that artisans may have been attached to noble civilized societies, the principle of hierarchy is well-developed. Gener-
 114 115
RiO A~UJ. THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2
al.ly s~caking, ever larger cities wield ever more power in modern and erniniscent of the lower parr of a day sign, but we cannot sec
htsto.ncal. cultures, and there is reason to believe that it was so in the r.enough of the image to be cert:~in. In any case, this temple tells .. us
pr~ht~tonc pas.t: I I~wever, it is not necessary to appeal solely to a that large religious structures decorated with iconography or ,~rnung
pnnc1pl.c of un1fonmtarianism to confirm this parallel. Because one of in modeled stucco were possibly present ca. 500 B.C. and ccrt:unly by
the maJor .ways authority and power are exercised is through com- 300 u.c. The size of the building is estimated at around 40,000
mun.al proJects, major building aggregates, cities, reflect the former cubic meters, a much larger structure than can reasonably ha~re been
relauve power and wealth of both individual communities and built by a single village effort. This implies that co~str~cuon was
grou~s of communities. There appears to be no historical exception done by d1c population of the region and that a coordmatmg agency
to th1s pattern. According to all our data from Rfo Azul and else- was present to plan and execute the proj:c~. . .
where, neither arc the Classic Maya an exception to this rule. Edmographic analogy suggests that 1t 1s qUJtc poss1ble d1at s~ch
The various measures of urban hierarchies that have been worked coordination at this early date was achieved by consensus, a counct.l ~f
out for Maya cities all directly reflect political relationships amon village headmen being d1c most likely form. On the od1er hand , It .'s
other things (Hammond 1974; Flannery 1972; Adams 1981; Tmne~ also possible that the coordination of cornmuniry affairs ~vas al~eady 1~1
Tun~cr, a~d Ad:uns 1981; Adams and Jones 1981). Although such d1e hands of a single individual, a chief. The Preclass1c-penod cv1·
relauonshtps were complicated by changing historical circumstances, dence presendy available does not permit a clear choice between d1esc
the n~lllrc of Maya political arrangements can be defined fairly spccifi· two alternatives. We do know that later Classic-period Maya rulers
cally 111 many cases. Individual urban centers can only be fitlly under were certainly despotic and aristocratic, sugge:,ting the appearance of a
sto~~ as p~rts of a greater whole. Even if they were independent nascent hierarchy in early times. Regional coordination being needed
poltucal umts, the various infi'astructures that sustained them must be for such enterprises, it appears that the most likely administrative
?efined. Thus, political relationships at Rfo Azul might be understood hierarchy that can be suggested for the Mjddlc Preclassic along the
m the context of a larger political unit. But there is a comrovcrsy over Rio Azul has at least two tiers: the village and regional levels. It is also
~he nature of Cla~ic Maya states. The two major alternatives arc to possible that long-distance imports such as obsidian '~c~e obtaine~ by
mt~I'PI'et the data as indicating either city-state or regional state units. regional arrangements. Thus, basic economic and rchg10us func~1~ns
This book argues that the weight of the evidence is in favor of the may have been the stimuli for the evolution of the complex polmcal
regional state model for the Classic period. Putting aside this contro structures d1at eventually appeared.
versy for the moment, we should examine Rfo Azul in terms of it~ Descriptions of political life in other ancient civilizations can give
local political strucn11·c. us further clues. The criterion developed by H. T. Wright and G. A.
Johnson (1975) to define the appearance of state-level political sys·
The P1·ccla-ssic Period
tems in the Middle East arc particularly compelling. Civilizations arc
The politica.l structures of the Preclassic arc the most obscure, but characterized by hierarchical structure throughout, and the Wright·
we must begm there. It1thcr surprisingly, Valdez's large stucco· Johnson scheme can be used to descri be a subordi nate part of a
decorated temple at G103 sub 2 is evidence of a Middle Prcclassic civilization, namely, politics. The Wright· Johnson archaeological cri-
con1mu ni~ ~ntc~mt~d enough to build such a structure. The design telion of d1rce or four administmtivc levels is arguably a valid indicator
of the blltldmg mthcates th:~t it was probably a religious structure of the threshold of complex political systems in Mesoamerica.
and its decoration confirms this (Fig. 3- 6). The usc of specific icon: In our region, three or four levels of administration can be seen in
ography such as the "mirror" (or loincloth) sign and the paired <T' the community levels of hamlet, village, town, and city, which come
elements flanking the mjrror arc very close to the symbolism of later to exist in the Rio Azul zone no sooner than A.D. 390 (Appendix 1).
glyphic writi.ng. The "J" signs have been interpreted as :1 bifid serpent Thus, the ultimate form of centralized political control, the state,
tongue (Qlllrartc 1973, 1976). The combination of clements is also emerged late in the Rfo Azul zone in compatison with the Tikal or
116 117
RIO AZUL TI-Il:, ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2

Calakmul regions, where it seems to have appeared at least by 150 Early Classic rulers of Tikal, and not those ?f the majo~ cities of La
B.C. Further, i~ seems to appear de novo at Rfo Azul, rather than by M.ilpa, Xultun, and La Honradez, all of wh1c_h are \Vt.thm ~0 km of
gradual evolutwn. Such a sudden appearance in itself would argue Rio Azul? If Rfo Azul was an independent entity, why IS the 1mmense
for the introduction of the system from elsewhere. Recall the prob- · of Calakmul to the northwest not mentioned? Rio Azul's
ability of conquest of the Rio Azul region by Tikal about A.D. 380. location is itself a difficulty. As noted before, the s01"1s ~re poor, ~ d
Cit)'

In this case, it is worth noting that political reorganization to a new no other obvious natural resources call for the establishment of a
level of complexity was a direct result of such conquest. large city, except for the presence of the river.. But t~e presence of a
significant city on the river makes sense only 1f the City were able to
The Classic Pe·r iod use the river as a route for communication and long-distance trade as
Classic-period political structure is less difficult to outline. As we well as its obvious use as a source of subsistence for its population. If
have noted, various studies have described patterns typical of more or R)o Azul was independent, La Milpa to the cast could have blocked
less centralized relationships among the various cities of the southern its tivcr access to the Caribbean.
and central Maya L:>wlands (e.g., Adams and Jones 1981). The All of these and other difficulties can be explained with a complex
means of analysis used to rank and order the ancient cities are those and torturous set of theories. However, science and scholarship in
applied by geographers to modern urban centers. Briefly, three general follows the logical rule of Occam's Razor: the simplest (most
patterns can be seen among groups of modern cities by using the elegant) explanation to account for all the facts is likely to be the
Rank-Size Rule. One of these, the lognormal pattern , reflects a high correct one. All of the primary and most of the minor difficulties
degree of centralization of power. T his is the pattern shown by disappear if we describe Rio Azul as a part of a regional state rather
analysis of the cities near and around Tikal (Figs. 1- 2, 4-1). This than as an independent polity. In other words, as part of the Early
analysis shows that Rio Azul was probably a part of the Tikal Classic Classic Tikal Regional State, Rio Azul becomes a fortified city on the
grouping of cities. Further, the map generated by such an analysis frontier with the Rfo Bee and the Calakmul Regional States (Fig.
indicates that Rio Azul was on the northwestern frontier of what we 1-2). The location becomes strategic both politically and militarily
have called the Tikal Regional State. The Calakmul Regional State and has economic significance in terms of long-distance trade access
was to the northwest of a buffer zone which averages 20 km wide to the Caribbean. Construction crews could be imported from the
and at least 80 km long (Fig. 1- 2). Hammond's ptior (1974) south and cast and logistical support furnished from the greater
analysis by single-link contour planning shows the same patterning. rcsomces available to Tikal. The appearance of the Tikal rulers in the
Presumably these regional states were competitive at times, as recent dynastic records at Rio Azul become comprehensible, because Rfo
hieroglyphic decipherment confirms (Folan et al. 1995:325-329). Azul rulers were members of the ruling families ofTikal.
Rio Azul's location and its fortifications make sense only in light of T he Late Classic political structure is at once more complicated
the suggested regional political structures of the Classic period. The and more obscure. Rank-size analysis indicates that Rio Azul may still
alternative interpretation should also be examined, however. If Rio have been a member of the Tikal Regional State. However, the one
Azul is considered as an independent city-state, then certain other stela that includes a lengthy text, Stela 2, does not mention Ttkal or
difficulties of explanation arise. One must explain why the city arises its rulers. Its date of A.D. 690 is relatively late in the Late Classic, and
de novo within a relatively short period of rime, seventy-five years. after the great and dynamic Tikal ruler Al1 Cacau, who came to
The labor source to build and maintain the city must also be identi- power in A. D. 681.
fied, since the immediate region was not densely populated enough Robichaux has deciphered a clause on Stela 2 indicating that the
to provide such a construction force. The interlocking of the dynastic ruler of La Milpa may have paid a visit to Rio Azul. This suggests that
records of Early Classic Rfo Azul with those of Tikal presents a in the aftermath of the Hiatus events, a ruler of Rfo Azul attempted
further difficul ty. Why do the Rfo Azul records only mention the to establish an independent state in alliance with the neighboring
 Late PrttlaNic R1ak SQ.e Aa11)-lls of Tbree Riven R taloo Slltt Earty Ctaaalc l -3 Ru k Slu Analyail ortbree Riven Regioa &Ilea
10
100
-- t -
- -
·- t-
- _l
1 i

..::,_ ~ :
I j

I! I
~
~-
~
'0 10
"" ""' ~ I !
I
i
!
!
""" j I
f-

~
I

_l
!
• "- I

"""
~ ""' """ !',
!

Numben of Situ ""' 10 10

"';
" ll
! I

lot
Numbcn oCSitea
Law C'-lc: 2 R¥olt atn Ml'ly1lle of T1lcal ~loft lncludl119 ThrM Rivers S1c.e

~E~,~~~==~~UffF=~F8~1ffi
Late Clutlc l R10k Stu A811yall of Tbru Riven Slltt
100
. '\
- r-
. - ·- r- r--

~ '
--
~
"' _:-.
•• r-
r--
'I

'I
I' '
I
I
~ I. I
' J.
'

~ ,.I i

10
"'
Fig. 4-J. R~nk-size rmalysis of,Three River~ urban centers by courtyard count
100

Azul clearly domi11a11t over other siw iu its regio1! (il~cluding _ L.a _Milptr:)
tr11d by pereod. The. three pertods _of maxmmm cultural developmmt were f'l.1td, based 01~ its size, an urban ce11te1: b~ the Late ClnsStc plttr":lum .IS agam
chosen: Late Preclasst~, Early Classtc 2-3, rtud Late Classic 2. Sample sizes m·e evident, but among 1nany ttrba11 ceutcrs, the Rio Azul has ~ost tts Jln.macy. If
8, 8, aud 74, respectt~ef1· For t~e 0-te Classic 2 period, the 17me Rivers sites 'l'iknl is assumed to have regaiued control over the Three lbvers R egton, then
were n~clde_d w~th the_ 1tkal rcgro1~ sttes for a total sample size of 147. Low-size the sample shows a log-normal distribution. The latter is that of mature, well-
plt~ralmn u evtdm: tn tl~e Late Pre_classic, indicatitl;!] the lack of hiera rchical integrated political tmd economic structures within a 1·egional state. (Chart
structure or tl-rbatmm. Enrly Classtc 2-3 siJoJVs a primate pattern, with Rfo by R. E. W Adams)
 120 Rio AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2 121

ruler of La Milpa, with Rio Azul subordinate to La Milpa. It is with other functional units such as temples or mausolea, kitchens,
noteworthy that the Kinal fortress was built well after the date of AI servants quarters, and so forth. (These functional assignments are
c acau ,s success1on
. and that there are no more Classic stelae at Rfo1 based on sample and salvage excavations \\~th extrapolation to tmex-
Azul after A.D. 690. The questions remain open as to whether Rf cavated buildings.) Thus we have enough information to see Rio Azul
0
Azul was ever reintegrated into the Tikal Regional State or wheth in terms of its people and their various degrees of status.
· an d Ki na I were part of a new regional state headed by La Milpa
1t er The largest palaces are connected to the largest temples. The B-8
The role of La Honradcz, about 20 km to the south, is unknown. Palace Complex forms an acropolis of elevated residential buildings,
!he. disintegration of all forms of unified states after A.D. 850 i~ which not only overlook the whole city but provide views west over
1mphed by the. events of the military intrusion and the subsequent the river and to the ridges 5 to 8 km distant. This palace complex is
rural depopulation of the Rio Azul region. physically connected by a paved causeway to ~he larges.t temples, the
A-3 Complex, approximately 150 meters d1stant (F1g. 3-7). A-3
Urban Structure (See Figs. 3-3, 3-12) Complex sits in the middle of a paved area on the highest po~nt of
Although we have already begun to examine the city of ruo Azul the ridge ·with its temples towering up to 34 meters ( ll5 feet) m d1e
as it rela.tes to the economy and politics of the region, it is necessary air. Another major palace is located cast of it, A-ll Complex (Fig.
to cxamme the urban character of the city as a phenomenon in itself 3- ll). Whed1er d1e ruling family of Rio Azul lived in B-8 or A-ll
For this I will draw upon the information and insights derived fi·om complexes is impossible to determine at the present, because we were
the mapping and architectural work of the Project Associate unable to dig into the B-8 building for lack of time.
Director, Miguel On·ego C. (1987). The causeway from B-8 to A-3 passes immediately in front of the
The city was laid out on a ridge that runs more or less north-south. B-5 Complex, which appears to be an administrative group. B-5
The river flows north along the western length of the ridge, bending buildings include elite residences, but the major feature of the group
around the northern end and continuing far to the east before it turns is that it encloses a great space \\~d1 a kind of large podium in its
north again, eventually to join with the Rio Hondo. center. The main cnu·ance to B-5 is fi·om the west, through the
Like most Mesoamerican cities, Rio Azul is composed of func- protective buildings that line the western edge. This entrance also
tional units called courtyard groups. This is in contrast to the later forms one end of an cast-west axis with the river at the other end.
Spanish colonial pattern of a civic square (or squares) at the center of There is an open corridor, free of buildings, between the river and
a residential grid of houses facing onto streets. Maya architecture is the very large staircase that stands before the entrance to B·5 enclo-
oriented inward upon enclosed plazas, or courtyards, which are often sure . Thus this is the main entrance to the city from the river, its
s~ua~c or rectangular in form (although irregularities do occur). The features being suitable for the sort of status ritual approptiate for elite
City IS composed of 729 separate formal buildings center on several visitors to the city. In fact, d1erc is only one od1er accessible entry to
large plazas, which are paved with heavy plaster floors covering about the city and that is on the north side at E Group, which is located on
197,000 square meters (48.6 acres) (Fig. 3-3). A number of subsid- the edge of d1e river (Fig. 3- 3). T herefore, d1e north-south and east-
iary or smaller independent plaza groups round out the courtyard west axes intersect in front of d1e entrance to B-5 Complex, empha-
count for Rfo Azul to a final adjusted total of thirty-nine. sizing the importance of the various buildings along these avenues.
Due to the relatively rapid construction of the city du1ing the late To d1e east of B-8 palace complex is the city's largest plaza, an
fourth and early fifth centuries, the initial plan is relatively clear and immense paved zone of approximately 62,450 sq meters (15.5
unobscurcd by later building. Further, there are recurrent com- acres), about one-third of the paved area in the city. While this Early
pon~nts in each group, large or small. I have already introduced the Classic plaza was originally rectangular in plan, it now contains cer-
architectural clements and functional tmits and described the four tain Late Classic additions that break it up--Structures B-11/13, the
classes of housing. Recall that these residential classes arc associated ball court (C2-3), a small platform (Str. B-63), and a few other
 122 123
Rio AZUL THE ARCHAEO LOGICAL RECORD, 2

buildings. In the original Early Classic plan there was simply a veqr · · All of the nine tested or salvaged Class 2 groups were origi-
hmlts. . · · d
large space with no obstructions, defined on the cast by long linear II ' built in the Early Classic. Dunng the Late Class1c 2 peno ,
na ) ·d b · fo d
buildings that were defensive in nature. At the north end of this Class 2 housing evidently spread over the countrys1 e, ~mg u~
great plaza is C-67 Complex, built in the Late Preclassic and modi- tllroughout the six-kilometer range ~1at ~ar~s the maxnnum dis-
fied in Late Classic times. e possible from all urban sites dunng d11s umc. Most of the Class
A large group of Early Classic palaces are on the northwest side of tanc ups were occupied in both the Ear1y an d La te Class~e. · Tl1ese
2 grO l ·tl · th .·
the plaza, and another elite Early Classic residential group, C-5 complexes are clearly set apart fi·om one anotl1er, bot 1 w1 1111 e City
Group, is on the east side, but external to the plaza, forming a salient and nearby. F-38 Complex is an example of the latter.
out from the city itself. Both groups are Class l residences probably In an apparent exception to this pattern, a huge complex of small
housing rulers and their collateral relatives and descendants. palace (Class 2) structures lies about nine meters ~clow ~d to tl1e
The early funerary temple, Str. C-1, with Tombs l, 19, and 23, is west of t11e A-3 Temples. These structures arc associated w1th the A-3
located on the northeast corner of the great plaza (fig. 3- 13). From Temple Complex, but are very much smaller and less elabora~e ~an
that temple building a causeway leads northeast to a separate and the larger B-8 and A-ll palaces. However, upon close exanunauon
important palace group, C-42 Complex. Although modest in size, and excavation of part of the group, it was foun.d tha.t the zon.c
this appears to have been the residential compound of Ruler X. Its represents an aggregation of Class 2 housing. Vano~s lmes of evi-
small scale compared to later Class l residences is probably due to its dence suggest that these residences represent the housm~ of c?llateral
early date. relatives of rulers buried in the temples above. Excavauons m th~c
T he northernmost major group, E Group, is a major palace. buildings revealed elite residences, kitchens, and other domestlc
Although the idea is untested, it may also be more of a warehouse features. Platforms tl1at appear to have supported perishable housing
zone than a simple elite residential-administrative complex. I have were probably servants' quarters as well as utility spaces, ~ H~ndo~
offered a speculative reconstruction of its warehousing and mar- has shown at Copan (1991). An estimated 600 people hvcd m this
keting functions in a previous section (p. 11 3). Thus E Group is group of small palaces during tl1e Early Classic and perhaps h~f that
possibly either a Class 1 residence or a functionally unique group. number in the Late Classic (Karbula 1989:181). T he proportlon of
Late Classic Class 1 residences include B-8, which was refiubished, elite to commoners is 432:167 or 2.6:1. Clearly service personnel
A-ll Complex, which was also revamped, and a very large building, fi·om elsewhere must have commuted in to take care of some of the
A-1 Complex. AJI of these arc impressive bui ldings, but their maintenance and cleaning tasks in Group A palaces.
construction fulls far short of that represented by the major Early Approximately 85 percent of Class 3 and 4 h?u~ing can be asso-
Classic residences. ciated with Class 2 residences. T hese smaller blllldmgs, made partly
Class 2 residences probably housed lower-level nobility, persons of of petishable materials, apparently housed common~r fa~ilies tl1at
high status but who clearly were not rulers. B-56 Complex is the were often, if not always, bound by patron-client rclauonsh1ps. to the
most thoroughly explored of these groups (Ellis 1991 ). It appears elite families. The remaining 15 percent may have been housmg for
that it comptised a long-occupied set of residential courts oriented commoners who were also attached to elite families, but this cannot
around a mausoleum . The burial structure (B-56) was enlarged and be demonstrated. It is possible that these persons were on call for
new bmials put in at intervals. There is strong evidence of domestic service in the Group A palaces, which, as noted above, were short on
function. T he life of d1c complex runs from approximately A.D. 250 commoners.
to A.D. 830 or slightly later. Generations of presumably related
A Functional View of Rio Azul
f.1milies occupied d1c group.
There arc sixteen such groups wid1in Rfo Azul. An additional The fimctions of Rio Azul fit tl1ose of any urban center at d1e top
fifteen Class 2 housing groups are located within 1 km of the city of hierarchially arranged cultural institutions. Economically, it was a
124 R.IO AZUl. TTIE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2 125

regional market with connections to other regions and to foreign increase in rural popul:ltion during the eishth century A.D. coincides
places and their commodities. Politically, it served as an adminis- with dispersal of the elite class over the landscape in the " manor-
trative center for the region and for the rcc;ident population. t<ro 111 house, pattern. The rebuilt city may have become much mor~
about A.D. 380 to 550 Rio Azul was a third-level adminiMr:ttive important as a means of social and political integration during thts
center in a political system dominated by Tikal. period. The military intrusion and destruction of Rio Azul ~round
The social structure at Rfo Az ul appears to have been somewhat A.D. 830 definitely led to the abandonment of much of the ctty and
different ti·om what researchers have outlined for Tikal or Uaxactun its conversion to a military outpost. The fortress of Kinal, 12 km
where society was characterized by the classic and cliched P}'r:unidai distant, was built in the eighth century A.D. :md seems to have been
shape. In these central Peten sites, the dominam social classc~ con- an elite refuge at this time. The military intrusion from the north
stituted perhaps only 5 percent of the population (Adams 1974 appears to have been brief, and afterward Rio Azul was reoccupied.
)

1981 ). In the greater Three Rivers Region, the elite was less than 4 These late residentS, however, were only a surviving remnant of the
percent {Appendix 2 ). At Rfo Azul, however, the elite made up a city's population, camped among ruins. The Kina! fortress surviv~d
much greater fi-action of the total population, perhaps as much as 25 these events, but both city and fortrco;s were abandoned gt-adually 111
percent. The suggested fi·ontier military and commercial functions the genet-a! Classic Maya collapse.
explain this disproportionate ratio. Construction labor demands
Militarism and War fare
would be met by temporarily imported work forces rather than per-
manent residents. As we have seen, the Rio Awl elite lived in large Three major episodes at Rfo Azul seem to reflect a history of
and small palaces inside and nearby the city. 1ntermediate and lower militarism. First, the Early Classic presence ofTcotihuacan is in some
ranks of society supported the elite and most often were housed way connected with warfare. Second, The Hiatus seems to have been
nearby. Artisan families and, presu mably, important bureaucrats also a period of violence, but there is less evidence for war in this episode
tended to rc.c;idc near patron elite families. The likelihood of patri- than in the others. Third, the Late Classic (Tcpeu 2-3) sequence of
lineal lineages and clans suggests that the lower-class families may events is tied up \vith trade, the northern Maya, and a devastating
have been members of lower ranking lineages, while belonging to raid. Material evidence for militarism lies in Rio Azul's defensible
the same clan as the leading elite families. This linkage would fom1 location on a ridge o n the cast side of a tiver fronted by an extensive
an indestructible social bond among the social classes as well as S\\ amp, its defenses enhanced by linear defensive structures and dry

carrying inherent obligations. moats, examples of which arc found in the southeast edge of the city.
The city's functions shifted and were modified through time. It All these fortification featLtrcs at R.fo Azul arc Early Classic. The Late
was always in an intermediate position, whether it was a member of a Classic fortress at Kinal is even stronger and was never overrun
larger political unit or not. Initially Rio Azul was probably created as (Adams 1991). The defensive features at Kina! include location on
a frontier administrative-commercial fortress for the Tikal Regional the highest ridge in the vicinity, a series of vertical terraces, each
State. When that regional state underwent a severe crisis during the about seven meters high, an interior acropolis, or citadel, which rises
sixth century A.n., Rio AZLII was at least partially abandoned. In any about fifteen meters above the surrounding pavement, and assured
case, it ceased to perform the functions for which it had been water supplies within the citadel (Robichaux and S. C. W. Adams
designed originally. The city's late and sudden recovery in the late 1993; Scarborough 1993).
seventh century was perhaps as an independent dty state. A reincor Taken together, the evidence from the entire Maya Lowlands
poration into the Tikal Regional State by A.D. 700 is possible, in region indicates that Maya campaigns were short and swift, employing
which case Rio Azul once more became an important subordinate the strategy of the surprise raid. In this, they were different only in
administrative unit. However, as noted before, it may have become a degree from Aztec warf.'lre, as recently !.tudied by Hassig {1988).
unit in a new regional state with the capital at: l A'\ Milpa. A subMantial Given even minimal warning, populations--especially elite people-
 126 127
Rfo AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2

.could have taken refuge rapidly within defensive zones · tl· · written texts. But iconography is such an ambiguous business that it
Rf . . , 111 liS case
o Azu~ and, ~~~er, Kina!. Defense against raids must have included calls into question any otherwise unsupported interpretations. Thus,
~everal k111ds of early-warning" systems. Traditionally, farmers living we will continue to rely most heavily on data tl1at is confirmed from
111 buffer zones have been counted on for such waming. Formal several sources.
outpo~ts, loo~outs, and patrols are traditional features as well. All of Preclassic forms of religion probably were analogous to tl1e
these 1mperat1v_es as_ ~ve~ as tl1e fortifications themselves argue for a shamanistic practices of Maya groups today. In these relatively simple
more systematic r~htansm than we previously have allowed the societies, everyday religious activities are carried out by the individual,
Maya. In a more rationalized military structure, Rfo Azul assumes its who is assisted in times of crisis by a community specialist, a shaman.
pl_ace as p~rt of the defensive structure of a larger political system, the The shaman has certain characteristics that call him to be a curer of
T1k~ Reg~onal State. The unusually high percentage of elite families disease as well as of mental disturbance; disease, illness, and accident
at Rio Azul makes sense in a framework of military necessity. There are all looked upon in these societies as being at least partially due to
may have been m?re professional soldiery and fewer militia present supernatural causes (Colby and van den Berghe 1969).
th~n we had previOusly tl1ought, but there is little doubt tl1at me We have relatively sparse data on religious practice from Rio Azul
pnme movers and leaders in Maya warfare were the atistocrats. duting the Preclassic period. A few fragments of clay human figmines,
Str~~egically, Rfo Azul in ilie Early Classic was probably supported some "mushroom" effigy pot parts, and some small jade pieces all
by nuhtary strength from elsewhere in tl1e Tikal Regional State. An suggest that tl1e inhabitants of ilie Rio Azul region shared tl1e same
analogy_ may be tl1e Tikal fortifications themselves, which enclose a general beliefs as their lowland neighbors. Based on much more evi-
zone of about 300 sq km. The nortl1 and south fortification lines dence available fi·om otl1er sites, these religious beliefS appear to have
have an aggregate length of about 25 km (Puleston and Caltendar emphasized the continuity of human life through a fertility cult,
1~67; Puleston 1983). The most efficient way to hold such a line is which used the small female figurines. The muslu·oom stands may
w~th forward listening posts, patrols, and strong points backed up have been used in rituals tl1at used a mildly hallucinogenic experience
w1tl1 ''~re brigad_es.'' The solution to tl1e larger sn·ategic problem of to establish closer contact wiili the powers of creation. Jade was not
defendmg tl1e Trkal Regional State territory is somewhat the same. only a status symbol, but also a sacred substance that represented
The buffer zone beyond Rfo Azul would have been tl1e forward water, living plants, and, therefore, life. Using analogies to contem-
liste~ng zo~e, R!~ Azul a strong point, and the whole system backed porary Maya societies, we can reconstruct a commllllity in which
up \V1th maJor mrlitary units from deeper within the Regional State. household, family, lineage, and clan were the basic llllits of worship.
If such a system existed, it appears to have failed at least twice- Religion below tl1e elite level is even less accessible because of the
once dtuing tl1e putative civil wars of The Hiatus and again at about lack of formal art and other evidence. However, we may posit that
A_.D. 830 when ?1e nor~ern raid occurred. The Hiatus events may tl1ere were curing ceremonies for all the ills and accidents iliat plague
hav~. bee_n_ parnally an msidc job witl1 elements of betl·ayal and humanity. These may have been carried out at more or less elaborate
up~1smg. I he Late Classic raid, however, probably owed at least part levels, as appropriate to the social status of the patient. Furtl1er, we
of It_s success to su~rise, shock, and perhaps new tactics and weapons. can use the considerable body of anthropological knowledge about
It did not defeat Kina!, however, which seems to have weathered t11e how modern Maya curers operate to build a testable reconstruction
storm, even if later it "witl1ered on the vine." of ancient medicine. A fundamental feature of all t1<1ditional Maya
medicine is the blend of what might be called psychologically
Religion
tl1erapcutic \viili physiological treatment in tl1e process of healing.
Maya religion has become a revitalized subject in tl1e past twenty Mind, spitit, and body were all healed in one operation through a
years. Much controversial material has been developed on the basis process of individual prayer, herbal treatment, sweatbaths, short
of enthusiastic readings of symbols, art, and fluid decipherments of pilgrimages, group prayer, and other techniques.
 129
128 RiO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2

This reconstruction applies to the Classic period Maya at Rio Azul what is shown on Piedras Negras Stela 40 (personal communication
but there is considerable evidence d1at nearly all of these elemen~ 1994). . · ·d b 1 ·
were in place by the Middle Preclassic. Proskouriakoff said some time The well-known Maya habit of burymg people ms1 e enc 1es m
ago (1964b) d1at she believed d1at the developmental pad1 of sym- laces perhaps reflects a desire to keep family members nearby even
bolic art and wdting indicated d1at the elite Classic Maya gradually ~~er death. We found several such burials in large and small (Classes
shifted from animistic to anthropomorphic forms of belief. By d1is she 1 and 2) Early and Late Classic palaces. .
meant d1at in the Early Classic, and probably the Middle and Late The dedication and termination ceremomes that appear ~o have
Preclassic, the Maya were more interested in the manifold expressions begun and ended the construction projects of ~1e Maya~ at Rio Azul
of the supernatural in whatever form: rocks, trees, Lightning, storms, and elsewhere, perhaps had everything to do w1th the disturbance of
clouds, and so forth. The shift noted above occurred during the Early ancestral resting places. Many budals from years gone by were
Classic, placing an emphasis on the gods as manifested in human evidently remembered, because the Maya appeared to have gone to
forms, and on ancestral figures as assuming roles of supernatural lengths to avoid disturbing tl1em. The formal tombs have
some . .
beings. Ancestor worship seems to have appeared at least by d1e end layers of flint or chert chips above d1em; perhaps tl11S was a wammg
of the Preclassic in Rfo Azul and even earlier elsewhere, as shown in to construction crews.
d1e Izapan style art of the Guatemalan south coast and the Maya The iconography of Classic polychrome pottery appears to reflect
highlands (Adams 199l:Figs. 4-7, 4-8). The earliest direct evidence not only the ancestor theme, but others as well. It has already bee~
for this practice in d1e lowlands comes from Burial 22 at Cuello )
argued ti1 at the Early Classic "Creatio.n Vessel" (J .. J.. Ad~s 1990) IS
Belize, which dates around 400 B.C. (Hammond 1991:245). more animistic t11an anthropomorphlC. Indeed, 1t IS a h1ghly elab-
The subjects of donation, invention, and diffusion are reserved for orated graphic expression of mythical themes with. symbolic referents
the next chapter. I will say d1at d1e Maya Lowlands were in contact to important animals, plants, birds, and composite monsters. St~ch
and had significant interaction with od1er partS of Mesoamerica by thematic expression is fairly common on polychr~me po~ery durmg
the Middle and Late Preclassic. They shared a pattern of reverence d1e Early Classic, but becomes more simplified m mouf and sym-
for ancestors early in the Preclassic. The Izapa and early Maya bolism dwing the Late Classic. Again, it has been argued d1at much
sculptures indicate another aspect of this belief system- that d1e gods of d1e symbolism on this status pottery was kinshi~ ~inked.. ,
legitimated supreme political power through ancestral sanction. This As nearly as our reconstructions can tell, rehg10us ntuals at Rio
particular twist meant that the Maya rulers became divinely sanc- Azul fall principally into two categories. One is th~ ceremony for
tioned. Whether they also became divine rulers in the sense that they deceased elite personages (or funerals). The other 1s that of co~1-
were gods on eard1 is a question we will consider later. memorative liturgy. Most of our data is from the Early Classtc,
By the Early Classic d1ere is little doubt that the Maya were particularly from tl1e fifth century A.D.
revering their ancestors and that d1e rulers used this as a legitimating Elite class funerals can be largely reconstructed fi·om the elements
device for succession to power. However, even on the lower levels of involved. While the sequence of events is reasonably certain and tl1e
the elite and perhaps among d1e commoners, such ancestor worship liturgy somewhat accessible, the symbolism is least understood of all.
took firm hold. The B-56 mausoleum has at least two and perhaps Final obsequies involved physical preparation of th~ deceased, who
three "meditation" rooms which abut the bulk of the temple struc- were dressed in fine clod1ing and jewelry. Appropnate headdresses
ture precisely against the location of the important tombs. These were included in some cases, as shown by the remains of wooden
rooms also have niches on the abutting walls, which show signs of armatures in Tombs 19 and 23 (Hall 1988). The bodies were
repeated incense burning. The rooms are furnished wid1 benches for apparently not always eviscerated or drained of body fluids, judging
seating and perhaps sleeping (Ellis 1991). Hammond has suggested by the explosive decomposition that took place after the closure of
d1at perhaps dus practise of communing wid1 the ancestral spirits is the tombs (Gentry Steele, personal communication 1985). After
 131
130 RiO AZUL THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD, 2

dressing, the bodies were wrapped in cloth, first with several layers of larger temples of A-3 Complex can be viewed not only from the
a fine matetial and then with an outer wrapping of a kind of a burlap. auxiliary buildings opposite them, but from a smaller t~n~plc (S~. A-
In the case of rulers and possibly their near kin, mosaic mask images 9). Temple building Str. A-9 is centered on temple bUtld~ng Str. ~-3
of their features were placed on the shrouded bodies. The corpse was as well. This pattern anticipates that of the _Late Classtc opposmg
then put onto a stretcher, which was padded with a mattress. Great Temples I and II in the Great Plaza at Ttkal.
We assume that dressing and preparation of the corpse was carried
out in the privacy of the deceased's residential compOtmd. Therefore
the next likely event was a formal procession from residence to tomb.
Such processions were an important part of major Maya rituals,
judging by their frequent appearance on polychrome vessels. Grave-
side titual included the rapid painting of symbolic material on the
walls of the tomb, placement of the body on its litter inside the
tomb, the offering of food and dtink in pottery vessels, and the
burning of incense. We can infer the probable offering of prayers in
all these stages. The final occurrence was the closure of the tomb,
which might be a wall, as in the case of the lateral cell tombs, or
might involve the construction of a vault, as in the case of the tombs
in Str. A-3. In the latter case, the body and the funerary offeting
were protected from falling debris by a net of finely woven fabric.
Impressions of these nets were found in the mud plaster of the walls.
We presume that after this "funeral" ceremony, the major activities
relating to the deceased were commemorative and had several pur-
poses. One might have been grief assuagement. Another appears to
have been commtmicativc, as the "meditation rooms" ofB-56 Com-
plex suggest. Communication with the dead is also suggested by the
repetitive relationships between buildings within a group, where a
principal structure is oriented so a person seated on a bench in the
central doorway would have faced the temple of the group. This is
the case in the Late Classic A-ll Complex (Eaton l987a) as well as
in the Early Classic B-56 Complex (Ellis 1991 ). Many other such
temple-meditation axes were noted in the site, and perhaps all of the
Class 2 compounds were laid out in this way. Assuming that the
persons seated in the meditation locations were communicating with
the persons buried in the temple being viewed, then d1e question
arises, to what purpose?
Formalized communication with the supernatttral is an invariable
part of all religious practices. We know that it occurred in Meso-
america, generally in order to divine the future, or to consult wid1
divine spirits on matters of importance. It is noteworthy that the
220 APPENDIX 4

direct or indirect, is fi·om the Early Classic, but the basic technology
appears to have been fully developed by the beginning of that period.
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Tombs 19 and 23 produced evidence of decomposed basketry
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designs used on some Balanza Black pottery in ilie Early Classic.
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83-423. 3
Willey, G. R., and D. B. Shimkin
1973 The Maya Collapse: A Summary View. In Culbert, 1973:457-503 Agriculture, 19, 27, 144, 148, 157, 162, Calakmul, 14, 15, 18, 22, 127, 128, 152,
Wright, H. T., and G. A. Johnson . 163, 166, 187, 195, 216; intensive, 187; 166,172,175,179,181,183, 184, 195;
1975 Popul~tion, Exchange, and Early State Formation in Southwestern Iran. wetland gardens, 40 regional state, 98, 183
Ammcrm Amhropo/{)gist 77:267-89. Ah Cacau (Ruler A), 156, 184 Causeways, 9, 46
Yoffee, N., and G. L. Cowgill (cds.) Ah Zactel, 116 Ceramics, 4, 12, 21-23,26, 61, 64-66,72,
AltardeSacrificios, 14, 16,178,179, 183, 74, 87,98, 101, 148,153, 158, 165,174,
1988 'Th_e Collapse of A ncie11t States a11d Civilizati01H. Tucson: University of 219; elite woman's burial, 187 184,188,206
Anzona Press. Archaic cultures, 143 Chac, 79, 84, 105, 107, 110, 178
Architecture, 14, 17, 26,40-43,46,48, 64, Chichen ltZ<J, 48, 116, 193
131, 145-47, 150, 152, 155, 172, 173, Chocolate, 67, 108, 154, 177, 178. See also
188, 203; house platforms, 120; minor Cacao
palaces, 120 Cities, 4, 5, 9, 14-16, 18, 19, 24, 25, 29,
Arroyo Negro, 30, 147, 148, 169, 173, 31, 36, 120, 124, 125, 127, 128, 131,
187 158-60, 164,172,175,180,181,184,
Art and iconography, 74; Chac, 105; 185, 189, 191 , 193, 194,201
Chocolate Pot, 108; column- altars, Classic Collapse, 158, 184,214. See nlsoThe
75- 78; Creation Vessel, 86; Lightning Classic Collapse
Beast, 105, 110; Moon Goddess, 110; Climatic change, 182
polychrome moti~, 86, 87, 98, 100; witz Closs, Michael, 102, 104
glyph and depictions, 105-107 Club of Rome collapse model, 194
Artifacts, 6, 7, 21, 29, 64, 65, 120, 151-53, Coggins, Clemency, 102, 183
157, 177, 184, 215,218,219, 221; Colha: stone tool production, 214-15;
ceramics, 64; stone tools, 65; wooden burials, 52
bowls, 107 Copan, 18, 134
Aztec empire, 12 Corn beer, 71
Cowgill, George L., 186
Cuello, 14, 52, 65, 139, 161, 166; burials,
Batab, 116
52
BA-20 site, residence classes, 146
Culbert, T. P., 187
Becan, 48, 166,171,172, 175;
Curl Nose, 79, 80, 103, 177, 178, 195;
fortifications, 181
dynasty, 183
Black Death, 194
Bricker, Victoria, 104
Detroit vessel, 104, 105
Brussels ear flares, 105
Directional glyphs, 104
Burials, 7, 49, 52, 54,60-62,64, 107, 133,
Drought periods, 183
140, 153, 154, 184, 192,205,220
Dunham, Peter, 105

Cacao,40,54, 105,108,122,123,155, Early Classic, 15, 24, 29, 40, 42, 49, 52, 53,
167, 177, 186; residues of, 108. See nlso 66, 74,134,151, 157, 169, 171,172,
Chocolate 187, 202; architecture, 40; burials, 52, 53;