Death and the Classic Maya Kings

Inbunden, Engelska, 2009

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Beskrivning

Like their regal counterparts in societies around the globe, ancient Maya rulers departed this world with elaborate burial ceremonies and lavish grave goods, which often included ceramics, red pigments, earflares, stingray spines, jades, pearls, obsidian blades, and mosaics. Archaeological investigation of these burials, as well as the decipherment of inscriptions that record Maya rulers' funerary rites, have opened a fascinating window on how the ancient Maya envisaged the ruler's passage from the world of the living to the realm of the ancestors.Focusing on the Classic Period (AD 250-900), James Fitzsimmons examines and compares textual and archaeological evidence for rites of death and burial in the Maya lowlands, from which he creates models of royal Maya funerary behavior. Exploring ancient Maya attitudes toward death expressed at well-known sites such as Tikal, Guatemala, and Copan, Honduras, as well as less-explored archaeological locations, Fitzsimmons reconstructs royal mortuary rites and expands our understanding of key Maya concepts including the afterlife and ancestor veneration.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2009-01-15
Mått:178 x 229 x 30 mm
Vikt:880 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:321
Förlag:University of Texas Press
ISBN:9780292718906

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Mer om författaren

James L. Fitzsimmons is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Middlebury College and is currently directing excavations at the site of Zapote Bobal, Guatemala.

Innehållsförteckning

A Note on OrthographyAcknowledgmentsChapter 1: Celebrations for the Dead Anthropology and Death RitualsThe Classic Maya CaseMethodological ConcernsKingship and the AncestorsChapter 2: Death and the Afterlife in the Lowlands EarthMaizeMortalityWriting DeathThe Self and the SoulBreaths of Life and DeathWayTo the AfterlifeCelestial Bodies and Maize GodsChapter 3: Royal Funerals Waiting for IntermentGravemakersTombs as Underworld SurfacesTombs as CavesTombs as HousesTiming and the Ritual ProcessEmbalming and ProcessingDressing and Bundling the CorpsePaintingArranging the Body, Arranging the FurnitureSealing the TombChapter 4: Death and Landscape K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'Lowland Founders and Local VariationsCults of PersonalityBird Jaguar IVGods and Orchards at PalenqueSouls within BuildingsAncestor ShrinesChapter 5: Entering the Tombs of the Classic Maya Kings Patterns of Reentry at Piedras NegrasFire in the Motmot BurialFire and History at ToninaFamily AffairsFalse ReentryPainting, Drilling, and Bone PeelingThe Portable DeadChapter 6: The Dead King and the Body Politic Royal Funerals: Public or Private?Bodies and MonumentsCorpses, Souls, and Mourners in TransitionGuide to AppendixesAppendix 1: Burial Structures and ContextsAppendix 2: Body Preparations and Funerary ActivitiesAppendix 3: Grave GoodsNotesReferencesIndex