Freedline 1977.10 a&b Jaguar Effigy Urn copy

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1977.10 a&b Urn with Jaguar Cover

Southern Highlands, Guatemala

Josh Freedline Fall 2015 ANTH 128a Meaning and Material Culture

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Introduction

The object examined in this paper is of unknown exact identity, however it is

linked to similar objects, both physically and ritually, within past and present Maya

culture. Structurally speaking, this artifact a terracotta tripod vessel with a

decorated jaguar effigy lid. Both the lid and body of the vessel are decorated with

red, black, white, and yellow post-‐fired paint. This decorative style signifies that the

vessel was painted after it was fired, but was left unglazed throughout the crafting

process. Based on museographic research regarding the object’s physical features,

this object is most likely an urn of the Maya Late Classic Period (650-‐850 CE) (Boot,

2009: Email Correspondence). Additionally, it is plausible based off of this research

that this urn originated from the Southern Highlands of Guatemala. Thus, because

the exact provenance of this object is obscure, it is imperative to analyze this object

through three major lenses: regional variation, ritual function, and ethnographic

data of related object use. This object resides within a deep enchainment to these

three categories, such that the material function of Maya urns has amalgamated

meaning based on context of use through time. Furthermore, it will become clear

through this analysis that Maya urns are correlated with the spiritual renewal of the

dead, and of ‘living’ architecture through various modes of use.

Design and Deposition: Links Between the Maya Highlands and Lowlands

During the span of the Classic Period (250-‐909 CE), archaeologists have

found evidence economic and political ties between the Maya Lowlands and

Highlands (Masson and Freidel 2002; McCampbell 2010). The political capitals

during this era were situated for the most part in the Lowlands, present day Petén

(GT), Chiapas (MX), and Western Belize (Fitzsimmons 1989). However, this does not

signify that urn use and production was limited solely to this area, rather it is quite

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the opposite. Archaeologists have excavated urns from sites of both the Highlands

and Lowlands, however these urns vary in their physical form.

The Southern Highlands of Guatemala have yielded urns from a variety of

sites, notably the Classic period centers of Zaculeu, Chipal, and Chama (McCampbell,

2010: 14). Late-‐Classic urns of the Highlands have been categorized into three major

types in terms of physical structure: effigy, cylinder, and square (McCampbell, 2010:

16). The effigy funerary urn is decorated, conical and always accompanied by a lid

(fig. 1). This category of urn has a subtype known as ‘vase-‐type urns’, labeled as a

vase because it is tall enough to fit a whole human body (fig. 2) (McCampbell, 2010:

16). The second type, the cylinder, is more similar to incensarios in their structure

based on dual flanges on either side of the urn (fig. 3) (McCampbell, 2010: 16).

Square urns are found most infrequently of all categories mentioned (fig. 4).

This is due to the fact that some archaeologists will not label the square urns as urns

at all, rather they will be labeled as caches. Many urns of this type have been found

to have no traces of human remains within them, instead only containing offerings

such as seeds, shells, and jade among other things (McCampbell, 2010: 20). Whereas

many urn specimens have been big enough to fit a whole human body (as many

have actually had partially burned bodies found within them), the square type is not

nearly large enough. Furthermore, not all urns of the Late-‐Classic Highlands have

human remains within them, regardless of type.

The ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ being examined in this paper has characteristics that

correlate with each of the aforementioned Highland urn types, yet cannot be

definitively placed in a single category. The effigy of a jaguar on this object is

characterized by a head accompanied by ears, eyes, a nose, and an open mouth filled

with teeth. Additionally, the lid is decorated with the paws of the jaguar facing

down, possibly insinuating that it is holding the lid closed. Figures 1-‐4 clearly show

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the effigy of a jaguar on the lids of these urns taking similar positions to that of the

object of study. Another resounding detail of the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ is its cylindrical

shape. This physical feature of the urn places it well within the category of

cylindrical urns, however it is much smaller than typical urns of this category, which

could allow it some similarities to the square-‐type often labeled as a cache vessel.

The object of study, by virtue of these material categories, could be labeled as a

miniature.

Generally speaking, miniatures found within a given material culture will be

physically smaller than the object that they are emulating, but will maintain the

same level of efficiency as the object being emulated (MacCannel, 2005: 95). In the

case of the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’, miniaturization remains a possibility in examining

what this object may have contained. Where many of urns of the Southern

Highlands were large enough to contain partially cremated corpses, this object may

have contained fragments of a given body, along with grave goods. Fragmentation in

the archaeological record is a critical concept when viewing objects that may have

only contained various parts of a given whole. To view a body as fragmented could

signify that the division of the corporeal body may have had symbolic value in other

depositions of the same individual (Chapman, 2000: 26). The concept of

fragmentation plays a fundamental role in analyzing the levels of enchainment that

this ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ was involved in. Could it be possible that urns of this size

were symbolically linked to each other by virtue of a deceased individual being

fragmented within other similar urns? In this way, ceremonies attributed to one urn

of this type would be enchained with countless other urns used in a similar fashion.

To further examine the plausibility of this, it will be beneficial to analyze accounts of

urn use from the Maya Lowlands during the Late-‐Classic Period.

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Many of the urns dating back to the Classic and Late-‐Classic Periods, which

have been excavated from the Maya Lowlands, are considerably smaller in size

compared to those of the Southern Highlands of Guatemala. Notable urns of this

character have been excavated at the site of Caracol, Belize. The most common types

of urn found within the archaeological record of Caracol are known as “face caches”

and “finger bowls” (Chase and Chase, 1998; Becker, 1993). The “face caches” are

characterized by a central face depicted on one side of the vessel, usually flanked by

flanges or ear flares on either side of the face (Chase and Chase, 1998: 311). Within

this category of urn are usually cremated pieces of the deceased, and material goods

including jadeite, shell pieces, and obsidian flakes (Chase and Chase, 1998: 313). The

other classification of urn known as the “finger bowl” is typically not as decorated as

“face caches”, but are of a similar size. These bowls are named as such because they

contain the cremated remains of finger bones (Chase and Chase, 1998: 319).

Physical details aside, why would these items be known as ‘caches’ or ‘bowls’ if they

in fact contain remnants of deceased persons? This inquiry can be resolved by

analyzing the depositional contexts of these Lowland urns.

At Caracol, and Tikal, among other prominent Maya Lowland sites, there is a

great deal of evidence regarding urns being labeled as caches. The overarching

reason for this phenomenon is related to the architectural context that many of

these objects are found in. Human remains may be interred in a variety of contexts

including burials in fill, cist burials in holes, crypt burials, and burials in open-‐air

tombs (Chase and Chase, 1998: 301). However, where could objects containing

material goods in addition to human remains be placed within this list? Marshall

Becker describes many of these caches that have been interred within the walls of

various buildings as ‘commemorative’ of the deceased’s spirit (1993: 68). The

notion of renewing the ‘spiritual essence’ of architecture will be re-‐visited in the

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following section of this paper, however it is beneficial to articulate here as well.

Caches that were interred in buildings both at Caracol and Tikal may have served to

‘feed’ the gods in order to bring forth renewed life and to continue the cycle of being

as opposed to disposal of the corpse, which would signify the end of life. Thus, by

placing the remains of the deceased within these structures, individuals were

essentially reinvigorating the buildings with the spirit of those interred within.

Both the depositional contexts and physical attributes of urns in this section

are critical to understand before delving into the realm of ritual use of Late-‐Classic

urns. The jaguar effigy vessel embodies a variety of physical aspects of items that

have been elaborated on thus far. The motif of the jaguar effigy on its lid, its

cylindrical shape, and small size indicate that this object may have been enchained

within Maya traditions of cache ‘burials’ and architectural commemoration.

Enchainment in these aforementioned cultural systems allows for the development

and transformation of further traditions to be associated with the object over the

course of many generations. This ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’, among others of similar design,

could be considered as a form of ‘unexpected technology’. This term refers to the

notion that individuals of the modern day may have failed to recognize the broader

cultural systems an item was a part of because of technological bias (Lechtman,

1993: 259). Due to the relatively small size of this ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’, some may have

unintentionally placed it within the realm of decorative pottery, or food storage.

While I am not entirely discounting these categories, it is crucial to understand that

this ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ could have been used as a cache-‐burial to spiritually

reinvigorate deceased persons and/or architecture. These concepts will be

illuminated at length in the following section of this material culture analysis.

Fire, Darkness, and Smoke: Portals to the Immaterial

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Before delving into the fundamental cosmologies associated with urn usage

and spiritual reinvigoration, it is critical to offer a few explanations as to why such

cosmologies are transmitted through countless generations. As discussed earlier,

urns of various types were being manufactured and interacted with in the Maya

Highlands and Lowlands during the span of the Classic period. The creation of these

urns was not solely tied to material economies, but was imbued with ritual

significance. Ritual practice should be more properly conceived as a type of

production in which labor and resources are marshaled to achieve the

materialization of a desired end (McAnany, 2010: 21). Thus, Maya economic

processes can best be understood by foregrounding the ritual practices as entangled

with realms of landscape, identity, religion, and power.

Entanglement is a concept that can be used to interpret a plethora of both

ancient and present Maya transactions between the living and the dead. Ian Hodder

defines entanglement as the interlacing of materials with the whole suite of ways in

which humans and things depend on each other (2011: 164). Thus in the context of

Maya urn cosmology, people depend on urns to perform ritual acts on the dead, just

as much as the urns depend on people to be manipulated to maintain semiotic value.

Thus, entanglement will be a major lens in understanding the broader ritual value

that this ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ may have had in antiquity.

Cremation among the Classic period Maya was an integral ritual practice in

bridging the realm of the living and the realm of the spirits. In order for the body to

transform from its corporeal state into ash, mass amounts of heat and fire are

necessary. Heat, fire, and darkness are all components of cremation, but also of birth

and regeneration. This tradition stems back to the creation myths of the Popol Vuh, a

chronicle written by the Postclassic K’iche Maya, which was based off of more

ancient oral and pictorial traditions of the Classic and Preclassic Maya (McCambpell,

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2010: 3; Christenson, 2003: 10). The lifecycles of people are parallel to that of maize

according to the Popol Vuh. Therefore in order for maize to grow from the soil, heat,

darkness, and water were all necessary for the birth of this plant. In that fashion, the

soul of a person needed these elements to be reborn in the spiritual sense. The

following quote from the Popol Vuh serves to demonstrate exactly what was meant

by this parallel between corn and humans:

“The yellowness of humanity came to be when they were made by they who are called She Who Has Borne Children and He Who Has Begoten Sons, by Sovereign and Quetzal Serpent. Thus their frame and shape were given expression by our first Mother and our first Father. Their flesh was merely yellow ears of maize and white ears of maize. Mere food were the legs and arms of humanity, of our first fathers. And so there were four who were made, and mere food was their flesh” (Christenson, 2003: 195).

Thus, through analysis of this passage the parallel between people and maize

becomes quite clear. Reinvigoration of the souls of the deceased would then take

place within urns, such that the bones of the deceased would undergo the same

exposure to heat and darkness that maize seeds would in soil.

In the context of this creation myth, urns hold a powerful role in the

transition between material and the immaterial. To catalyze this process, the urn

must possess a degree of agency in that the urn is not solely a container of human

remains, but is instead both the contents and container (Bynum and Gerson, 1997:

5). The urn as a reliquary allows for both mortal and supernatural actors to take

part in the physical and spiritual transformations that occur within the confines of

the vessel. Because of this entanglement, human actors would embody certain

deities represented on urns to usher in this spiritual rebirth (Fitzsimmons, 1989:

156; McCampbell, 2010: 45).

Located on the lid of the effigy vessel being examined in this analysis is a

jaguar painted in red, yellow, black, and white paint. The presence of the jaguar on

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urns has massive intrinsic value regarding the physical and spiritual

transformations that take place within urns. The Classic Maya revered the jaguar as

the intermediary between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and a

protector of royal houses during this period (Mahler, 2009: 106; Fitzsimmons, 1989:

88). Focal archaeological finds have evidenced this notion further, such as the

excavation of the tomb of Yax Pac by Dr. William L. Fash and the Copan Acropolis

Archaeological Project. The tomb of this 8th century ruler was found with fifteen

jaguars buried inside it, apparently sacrificed for each of the fifteen priest-‐kings who

had preceded him in the royal dynasty (Mahler, 2009: 107). Besides the naturalized

jaguar, the Classic Maya also venerated and embodied an anthropogenic form of the

jaguar, known as the Jaguar God of the Underworld.

A common deity represented on urns of the Classic and Late-‐Classic periods

is the Jaguar God of the Underworld. The Jaguar God of the Underworld has a

transformative property to it, such that it rises as the fire-‐eyed sun god (K’inich

Ajaw), and sets as the ‘night sun’, or Jaguar God of the Underworld (Fitzsimmons,

1989: 122; Taube, 1998: 441; Stuart, 1998: 404). The descent of the sun into the

underworld, only to be revitalized and brought back into the world of the living is a

direct parallel to what happens during the process of cremation. Once the corporeal

body is burnt within the darkness of an urn, the resulting ashes and smoke of the

body are equated with the deceased’s soul being revitalized. The process of the

smoke rising can be paralleled with the sun rising out of the underworld

(McCampbell, 2010: 60). For these reasons, the jaguar has become a common motif

on urns of the Classic and Late-‐Classic Periods.

Regarding the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ being analyzed, the jaguar on the lid of this

vessel may serve as a facilitator of the processes occurring within the object. Noted

on figures 1-‐4 (see appendix) are jaguars rendered in similar styles, and in similar

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positions on their respective lids. Each of the jaguars is depicted with its head as an

outcrop of the lid, eyes and mouth open, and arms with paws outstretched over the

lid. The action that the jaguars are taking could symbolize the facilitation of the

transformative processes occurring within the urns. To reiterate, these urns are not

simply containers, but are rather reliquaries that have the agentive property of

directing these physical and spiritual metamorphoses (Bynum and Gerson, 1997: 5).

In essence, the jaguars are symbolically transferring heat to the contents of these

urns in order to catalyze these processes, as the Jaguar God of the Underworld was

also responsible for creating fire (Taube, 1998: 441). To further analyze this ritual

enchainment, it will be beneficial to expand on the human actors who physically

embody the Jaguar God of the Underworld in fire related ceremonies.

At the prominent Classic period site of Naranjo, located in Northeastern

Guatemala, stela 30 represents a ruler taking part in what appears to be a ‘fire-‐

drilling’ ritual. As depicted on the stela, the ruler holds a knotted staff used for the

‘fire-‐drilling’ ceremony, and a trident flint object (Stuart, 1998: 408). The ceremony

of ‘fire-‐drilling’ is documented in the Popol Vuh as originating from Tohil, also

known as ‘The Framer and Shaper, The Provider’ (Christenson, 2003: 215). As the

chronicle explains, Tohil appears in Xibalba, the Maya underworld, with a drill from

which he brings forth fire. This drill warmed the underworld, and helped to bring

forth the mortal world (Christenson, 2003: 215). Thus, Classic period rulers adopted

‘fire-‐drilling’ ceremonies as a legitimizing aspect of their supernatural power on

Earth, as seen in Naranjo stela 30 (figure 5). That being said, the most notable

characteristics portrayed on this stela are the jaguar markings on the ruler’s face, in

addition to the spotted jaguar pelt worn as well (Stuart, 1998: 408). These two

features correlate the ruler as the direct embodiment of the Jaguar God of the

Underworld, performing this ‘fire-‐drilling’ ritual at a tomb or temple most likely.

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The implication of renewal that the Jaguar God of the Underworld carries

with it is critical to the ceremonies of ‘fire-‐entering’ and ‘fire-‐drilling’. ‘Fire-‐entering’

is representative of the application of heat in ceremonies of revitalization and

renewal, however it also represents the initial connection between an individual

and the location being dedicated with the fire-‐related ritual. An example of this

phenomenon is within the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Chiapas. Within

this structure is the Tablet of 96 Glyphs, which states the phrase ‘och k’ak’ ta-‐y-‐oot’,

meaning ‘the fire enters his house’ (Stuart, 1998: 389). This phrase illuminates the

connection between fire, and the dedication of structures. According to Tzotzil Maya

ethnographic accounts, the rites of burning associated with the erection of

structures demonstrates a community giving the structure a soul (Vogt, 1970: 100).

Although this will be explained further in the following section, this aspect of

modern Tzotzil Maya life is crucial to understand because it represents enchainment

with the past. Structures at Palenque during the Classic period were being dedicated

through similar incendiary rituals as houses of the Guatemalan Highlands are being

dedicated today.

A final example of how architecture undergoes similar ceremonies of

renewal to that of urns is noted at Caracol. At this site, Classic period populations

actively participated in the burning of goods and bodies as seen through the results

of the site’s excavation. In terms of architecture, one structure in particular stands

out because it directly incorporates burned goods into its iconographic complex.

Structure B20-‐2nd served as a tomb for elite individuals living at Caracol during the

6th century CE (Chase and Chase, 1988: 20). At the entrance to this tomb, an

elaborately carved skeletal face is adorned just above the doorway into the tomb

(fig. 6) (Chase and Chase, 1988: 21). According to Diane and Arlen Chase, the

directors of the Caracol Project, this skeletal face was designed because it represents

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the summit where the sun rose from its nightly rest in the underworld (1988:21-‐

22). An important facet to note about this facial feature is what was contained

within the mouth of the carving.

The ‘skeletal’ face above the entrance to Structure B20-‐2nd had burnt bones

within the mouth of the carving. According to the 1987 field season report, the

bones were severely burnt, pointing to the fact that they had most likely been burnt

repeatedly over the course of several decades (Chase and Chase: 1988, 23). The

placement of these bones in the ‘mouth’ of the structure parallels how the structure

may have served as a reliquary for the deceased. Reliquaries may have the power to

“speak” for its contents (Bynum and Gerson, 1998:4) such that certain rituals may

need to be performed in order to satiate the given reliquary that is interacting with

grave goods. Classic Maya architectural rituals, such as ‘fire-‐drilling’ and ‘fire-‐

entering’ had similar meanings tied to the symbolic ‘feeding’ of structures (Stuart,

1998: 395).

To sum up, urns of the Classic and Late-‐Classic periods serve as much more

than just receptacles for the deceased, rather they are the fulcrums of dedicatory

practice and origination myth of these time periods. The cremation of bodies within

urns or architecture is meant to ‘ensoul’ the given location of the deceased with

b’aah (Fitzsimmons, 1989: 166). B’aah is a Classic period phrase essentially defining

an extension of life-‐force that certain objects can be imbued with (Fitzsimmons,

1989: 168). The souls that urns and architecture are attributed represent

connections to one’s ancestors, such that ‘fire-‐drilling’ and ‘fire-‐entering’ rituals

associated with such reliquaries may offer ancestral protection or blessing.

According to Patricia McAnany, ancestor veneration in particular was not a practice

that promoted social equality during the Classic Period. Rather, it promoted a

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mechanism of lineage legitimization to cement land claims, and/or to alienate other

royal houses (McAnany, 2014: 162).

The focal ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ of this material culture analysis may have had a

myriad of ceremonies associated with its use-‐life. Because it most likely dates to the

Late-‐Classic period, it may very well have been involved in one or more of the

aforementioned ritual complexes. Thus, the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ embodies an

incredibly powerful enchainment centered in political and religious systems of this

time period. The following section of this analysis will be devoted to ethnographic

accounts of how homes of the Tzotzil and Zinacanteco Maya are treated in a

semiotically parallel way to that of urns of the Late-‐Classic period. This notion will

demonstrate the degree of entanglement that both urns and homes are woven

within, such that each needs people to ‘nourish’ it and give it life.

Nurturing the Home: Tzotzil and Zinacanteco Ethnography

One of the metrics of analysis that can be used to study entanglement within

the archaeological record is through transmission of memory. Ian Hodder writes

that insetad of viewing antiquity as solely ‘descent with modification’; it is useful to

instead view it as the product of social learning and memory construction (2011:

167). Therefore, practices of similar nature within material culture of the present

should not be viewed in an evolutionary lens as being derived from a linear past.

This notion informs current Tzotzil and Zinacanteco Maya house ‘feeding’ rituals

because these rituals share a semiotic relation to the ‘feeding’ of urns and buildings

of the Late-‐Classic period. The connection comes with the territory quite literally, in

that the ancestral beings are fixed in the landscape, and become a timeless reference

point outside the politics of daily life (Morphy, 1995: 188). Thus, homes became

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reliquaries for the living, just as the urn was a reliquary for the spirit, because they

needed to be given a soul in order to ensure the safety of its inhabitants.

The Zinacanteco people of Highland Chiapas practice rituals to nourish

houses, quite literally, in order to give the house a soul. When a new home is built,

several actions must be taken. First, a chicken must be buried under the center of

the house to compensate the ‘Earth Owner’ for the wood, palm, and mud that have

been taken from this domain (Vogt, 1976: 98). This compensation is an overarching

Zinacanteco concept, as I will explain in the following section, naturally occurring

entities such as trees, animals, and dirt all have souls. The ‘Earth Owner’ for the

Zinacanteco people is described in a multiplicity of manifestations. Some say he is a

fat Ladino living under the ground with piles of money in addition to cows, horses,

and chickens (Vogt, 1976: 6). The ‘Earth Owner’ is also said to be a direct part of

caves, limestone sinks, and waterholes (Vogt, 1976: 6). This non-‐human entity is just

as much a part of the Zinacanteco universe as the ‘earth monster’ depicted on many

Late-‐Classic urns of the Southern Highlands.

Figures 1 and 3 (more clearly pronounced on 1) have representations of the

‘earth monster’ in the process of swallowing a jaguar on the front of their bodies.

Little is known about this motif regarding evidence from the Late-‐Classic period,

besides the fact that it is a reptilian creature that has continuity on urns of this

period. One theory explains this ‘earth monster’ motif as a representation of heat

that is rising from the earth (McCampbell, 2010: 16). This further connects to the

myth that heat is necessary for the germination of souls within the urn, paralleling

that of the maize seed. However, there is an ethnographic connection to current

Tzotzil Maya myth regarding reptilian creatures ‘eating other deities.

The term ‘God-‐Eating’ is a Tzotzil myth that explains the significance of

reptilian creatures ‘eating’ other deities. In one creature devouring another

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represented on material goods, an essence of mortality is being demonstrated

(Fitzsimmons, 1989: 25). This ideology dates back to the Classic period, seen at

various sites. One example of this is seen at Tonina Monument 69 where a deceased

ruler rests upon the head of a crocodile (fig. 7) (Fitzsimmons, 1989: 18). This

concept is critical to understanding the aspect of soul renewal associated with many

Late-‐Classic Highland Maya urns. Just as the Classic period example of Tonina

insinuates the deceased being consumed by a representation of the ‘earth monster’,

the Tzotzil Maya share a similar view on what happens to the soul after death.

The Tzotzil Maya believe in an important part of the soul known as the ch’ulel

and this ch’ulel exists within the hearts of all people (Pitarch, 2010: 24). More

importantly, the ch’ulel resides in two places at once, within the hearts of mortals

and within the heart of the mountain, known as the ch’iibal, or ‘place of growth’

(Pitarch, 2010: 25). Once a person has died, the ch’ulel will leave its mortal

residence and return to its ch’iibal where it may reside with the spirits of ancestors

until it joins another living being (Pitarch, 2010: 25). The entanglement between the

earth and the human being for the Tzotzil is inseparable because of the dualism that

exists in the ch’ulel. This modern day Maya ideology relates back to the repetitions

of Earth myth through the centuries, a myth that has been passed down to fulfill

certain intentions. Furthermore, this link between humans and ancestral landscape

shows how ancestor veneration can be referenced at any time to transmit

knowledge through material culture.

Regarding the home as a reliquary for living humans, it is necessary to take

proper care of one’s home to insure the safety of its inhabitants. The dedicatory rites

associated with houses in Tzotzil culture also involve giving the house a soul via

cache offering ‘bringing the house to life’ (Brown and Emery, 2008: 329). This life

cannot be taken for granted though, because just as the inhabitants are giving the

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structure a soul, the structure has the power to eat souls as well (Brown and Emery,

2008: 330). Two things are critical to understand regarding these myths. First the

concept of the Tzotzil soul existing in a natural landscape has been noted in two

areas. Earlier it was discussed that mountains (ch’iibals) served as a type of

repository for souls, and now the trees are stated as having souls. Second, humans

are not the only beings to have souls because as we will wee in this example, tress

contain souls and therefore houses made of trees to as well.

Tzotzil ritual associated with censing a house begins with lighting candles

and incense within the home in addition to mounting a cross outside the home for

protection (Stuart, 1998: 393). The next step in the process is the addition of pine

boughs being planted in all four corners of the house with chicken broth poured

over the pines (Stuart, 1998: 393). This is considered to be a censing along with the

‘feeding’ of a house. According to Tzotzil myth, if a house is not fed appropriately, it

will begin to envy its occupants (Brown and Emery, 2008: 332). This envy will

include noises that will emanate from the house in addition to nightmares being

instilled upon its residents until it is properly taken care of (Brown and Emery,

2008: 332).

Regarding material culture myth of the Tzotzil and Late-‐Classic Maya of the

highlands, both have a type of ‘feeding’ associated with them, however they take on

different respective meanings. Arguably, urns can be ‘fed’ heat and fire in order to

reinvigorate the souls of the deceased within them. Based on the iconographic

complexes of jaguar and ‘earth monster’ motif, the cycles of renewal based on the

presence of heat are revealed. Similarly, houses for the Tzotzil and Zinacanteco

Maya must be fed with incense and food if the house is to take care of its inhabitants.

Bridging these two Maya cultures require entanglement to better understand the

processes taking place in each culture. Entanglement in this case exists as ‘multi-‐

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stranded cables’ (Hodder, 2011: 164) whereby things need people to maintain

semiotic value, just as much as people need things to maintain cultural saliency.

Concluding Remarks

Over the course of this analysis there have been numerous iconographic

complexes presented, and structural variations given of Late-‐Classic urns, which

serve to inform the greater body of knowledge regarding the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’.

Based on the aforementioned information throughout this analysis, the ‘Jaguar

Effigy Urn’ most likely originated from the Southern Highlands of Guatemala, dating

back to the Late-‐Classic period (650-‐850 CE). Although the size of the urn could link

it to the deposition of caches as burials (Chase and Chase, 1998; Becker, 1993) of the

Lowlands, the jaguar effigy lid provides a much stronger link to the Highlands.

Though the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ does not incorporate all motifs that many Highland

urns have, it is crucial to view this object as possessing synecdoche with the

iconographic complexes presented.

Synecdoche in the case of the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ seeks to portray this object

as standing for the greater whole of spiritual renewal within Maya culture of the

past and present. This theory accounts for the fact that, as stated earlier, the ‘Jaguar

Effigy Urn’ does not possess all of the motifs that have been elaborated on. When

viewing objects from the perspective of the Western world, a gap usually arises

between defining what is subject, and what is object (Gosden and Marshall, 1999;

Kopytoff, 1986). However, this gap is unnecessary when attempting to understand

the enchainments and entanglements that this object is a part of. The biography of

this object did not end when it was deposited in the collection of the Anthropology

Department at Brandeis University, rather it is still inextricably linked to all who

have used it prior. The trade routes that the ‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ may have been part

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of, the interments it may have been deposited as, and the contents it held inside are

all part of the material culture of this object. Thus, despite the unknown provenance

of this item, it serves to benefit the corpus of cultural data associated with the

‘Jaguar Effigy Urn’ if it is considered to be an integral piece of Maya culture of both

the past and present.

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Appendix

Figure 1: Late-‐Classic Effigy Urn, Southern Highlands, Guatemala. Museo Popol Vuh McCampbell, K.G. 2010. “Highland Maya Effigy Funerary Urns: A Study of Genre, Iconography and Function”. Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 2617. Florida State University.

.

Figure 2: Late-‐Classic Effigy Urn (Vase Type), Southern Highlands, Guatemala. Museo Popol Vuh. McCampbell, K.G. 2010. “Highland Maya Effigy Funerary Urns: A Study of Genre, Iconography and Function”. Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 2617. Florida State University.

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Figure 3: Late-‐Classic Urn (Cylinder Type), Southern Highlands, Guatemala. Museo Popol Vuh. McCampbell, K.G. 2010. “Highland Maya Effigy Funerary Urns: A Study of Genre, Iconography and Function”. Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 2617. Florida State University.

Figure 4: Late-‐Classic Urn (Square Type), Southern Highlands, Guatemala. Museo Popol Vuh. McCampbell, K.G. 2010. “Highland Maya Effigy Funerary Urns: A Study of Genre, Iconography and Function”. Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 2617. Florida State University.

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Figure 5: ‘Fire-‐Drilling’ Ceremony, performed by K’Ahk Tiliw Chan Chaak (aka ‘Smoking Squirrel’) (688 CE-‐?). Naranjo, Stela 30. Stuart, D. 1998. The Fire Enters His House: Architecture and Ritual in Classic Maya Texts. Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: 373-425.

Figure 6: ‘Skeletal Face’ carved into the doorway of Caracol Structure B20-‐2nd. Chase, A.F. and D.Z. Chase. 1987. Investigations at the Classic Maya City of Caracol, Belize, 1985-1987. Volume 3. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute.

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Figure 7: ‘Earth Monster’ and the death of Wak Chan K’ahk’, Tonina Monument 69. Drawn by Peter Mathews, 1983. Fitzsimmons, J.L. 1989. Death and the Classic Maya Kings. University of Texas Press.

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Work Cited Becker, Marshall J. 1993 Earth Offerings Among the Classic Period Lowland Maya: Burial and Caches as Ritual Deposits. In Perspectivas Antropológicas en el Mundo Maya, pp. 45-‐74. Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas. Boot, Erik 2009 Otot as a Vessel Classification for a Footed Bowl: Short Epigraphic Note on a Bowl in the Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Email to Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 1/27/2009 Brown, L.A. and K.F. Emery 2008 Negotiations with the Animate Forest: Hunting Shrines in the Guatemalan Highlands. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 15(4): 300-‐337. Bynum, Caroline W., and Paula Gerson 1997 Body-‐Part Reliquaries and Body Parts in the Middle Ages. Gesta 36(1): 3-‐7. Chapman, John 2000 Fragmentation in Archaeology: People, Places, and Broken Objects in the Prehistory of Southeastern Europe. Routledge, London Chase, Arlen F., and Diane Z. Chase 1987 Investigations at the Classic Maya City of Caracol, Belize, 1985-‐1987. Volume 3. Pre-‐Columbian Art Research Institute. 1998 The Architectural Context of Caches, Burials, and Other Ritual Activities for the Classic Period Maya (as reflected at Caracol, Belize.). Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: 299-‐332. Christenson, A.J. 2003 Popol Vuh: The Sacred Book of the Maya. University of Oklahoma Press. Fitzsimmons, J.L. 1989 Death and the Classic Maya Kings. University of Texas Press. Gosden Chris, and Ivonne Marshall 1999 The Cultural Biography of Objects. World Archaeology 31(2): 169-‐178. Taylor and Francis, London. Hodder, Ian 2011 Human-‐Thing Entanglements: Towards an Integrated Archaeological Perspective. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 17: 154-‐177.

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Kopytoff, Igor 1986 The Cultural Biography of Things: Commoditization as Process. In The Social Life of Things, edited by Arjun Appadurai, pp. 64-‐91. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Lechtman, Heather 1993 Technologies of Power: The Andean Case. In Configurations of Power: Holistic Anthropology in Theory and Practice, edited by John S. Henderson and Patricia J. Netherly), pp. 244-‐280. Cornell University Press, Ithaca. MacCannel, Dean, C. Cartier, and A.A. Law. 2005 Silicon Values: Miniaturization, Speed, and Money. In Seductions of Place: Geographical Perspectives on Globalization and Touristed Landscapes, pp. 91-‐102. Mahler, R. 2009 Jaguar's Shadow: Searching for a Mythic Cat. Yale University Press. McAnany, Patricia Ann 2010 Ancestral Maya Economies in Archaeological Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2014 Living with the Ancestors: Kinship and Kingship in Ancient Maya Society. Cambridge University Press. McCampbell, K.G. 2010 Highland Maya Effigy Funerary Urns: A Study of Genre, Iconography, and Function. Pitarch, P. 2010. The Jaguar and the Priest: An Ethnography of Tzeltal Souls. University of Texas Press. Stuart, David 1998 The Fire Enters His House: Architecture and Ritual in Classic Maya Texts. Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: 373-‐425. Taube, Karl 1998 The Jade Hearth: Centrality, Rulership, and the Classic Maya Temple. Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture: 427-‐478. Vogt, Evon Z. 1970 The Zinacantecos of Mexico: A Modern Maya Way of Life. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

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1976 Tortillas for the Gods: A Symbolic Analysis of Zinacanteco Rituals. Cambridge: Harvard University Press Auction Sites Sotheby’s Auction: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/african-oceanic-n09347/lot.70.html ‘Maya Two-Part Effigy Vessel of an Armadillo’ Early Classic, ca. 250-450 CE. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000 USD The lidded container formed as an armadillo in a defensive posture, with forelegs holding his snout and rear legs grasping the upcurled tail against the smooth and vulnerable belly, the scaly carapace indicated with bands of cross-hatched altering triangles, the head with incised eyes and tapering ears. Height: 101/4 inches (26 cm). Date of Access: November, 11th 2015

Freedline 1977.10 a&b Jaguar Effigy Urn copy

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