Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T23:51:58.149Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Contextualizing the Glyphic Texts of Tipan Chen Uitz, Cayo District, Belize

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Christopher R. Andres ,
Christophe Helmke ,
Shawn G. Morton ,
Gabriel D. Wrobel  and
Jason J. González
Christopher R. Andres
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, 655 Auditorium Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824
Christophe Helmke
Affiliation:
Institute of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Karen Blixens Vej 4, DK-2300 , Copenhagen S, Denmark
Shawn G. Morton
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4
Gabriel D. Wrobel
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Michigan State University, 655 Auditorium Drive, East Lansing, MI 48824
Jason J. González
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Georgia, 250A Baldwin Hall, Jackson St., Athens, GA 30602-1619
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The 2011 investigations of the Caves Branch Archaeological Survey at the large and recently documented Maya site of Tipan Chen Uitz resulted in the discovery of the site's first monument with a glyphic inscription. Prior to this discovery, the site's glyphic corpus was limited to a small collection of texts rendered on fragmentary ceramics. In this paper, we describe these sherds as well as the monument (Monument 1), report on their archaeological contexts, provide an epigraphic analysis of the texts, and consider these written sources relative to our growing understanding of Tipan and its place in the ancient political landscape. The discovery of Monument 1 is important, for it stands to contribute to sociopolitical reconstructions in this part of the central Maya Lowlands and has significant implications for the possible presence of other, as yet undiscovered, Late Classic period (A.D. 550-830) monuments at Tipan.

Resumen

Resumen

Las investigaciones de la temporada de 2011 del proyecto Prospección Arqueológica del Caves Branch en el sitio grande — y recientemente documentado—de Tipan Chen Uitz resultaron en el descubrimiento del primer monumento del sitio con una inscriptión glífica. Previamente, el corpus glifico del sitio estaba restringido a una pequeña colección de textos fragmentarios realizados sobre cerámica. En este artículo describimos estos tiestos, el monumento (Monumento l),y sus contextos arqueológicos. Proporcionamos un análisis epigráfico de los textos y consideramos estas fuentes escritas relativas a nuestro entendimiento creciente de Tipan y su lugar en el panorama político prehispánico, El descubrimiento del Monumento 1 es un hallazgo importante, pues contribuye de manera reveladora a las reconstrucciones sociopoh'ticas en esta parte de las tierras bajas may as centrales y tiene implicaciones significativas para la posible presencia de otros monumentos del período Clísico Tardío (550-830 d.C.) en Tipan.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 46 - 64
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Adams, Richard E.W., and Jones, Richard C. 1981 Spatial Patterns and Regional Growth among Maya Cities. American Antiquity 4:301–322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andres, Christopher R. 2005 Building Negotiation: Architecture and Sociopolitical Transformation at Lamanai, Chau Hiix, and Altun Ha, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Andres, Christopher R. 2011 The 2010 Architectural Investigations at Tipan Chen Uitz, Cayo District, Belize. In The Caves Branch Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2010 Field Season, edited by Christopher R. Andres and Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 41–126. Belize Archaeological Research and Education Foundation, Oxford.Google Scholar
Andres, Christopher R., Wrobel, Gabriel D., and Morton, Shawn G. 2010 Tipan Chen Uitz (“Fortress Mountain Well”): A Major “New” Maya Civic-Ceremonial Center in the Cayo District, Central Belize. Mexican 32:88–94.Google Scholar
Andres, Christopher R., Wrobel, Gabriel D., Morton, Shawn G., and González, Jason J. 2011a Insights into Pre-Hispanic Maya Power and Status in the Caves Branch River Valley. In Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 8, edited by John Morris, Jaime Awe, George Thompson and Melissa Badillo, pp. 43–54. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Andres, Christopher R., Morton, Shawn G., González, Jason J., and Wrobel, Gabriel D. 2011b Causeways and Sociopolitical Integration in the Caves Branch Region. In The Caves Branch Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2010 Field Season, edited by Christopher R. Andres and Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 127–147. Belize Archaeological Research and Education Foundation, Oxford.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J. 2008 Architectural Manifestations of Power and Prestige: Examples from Classic Period Monumental Architecture at Cahal Pech, Xunantunich, and Caracol, Belize. In Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 5, edited by John Morris, Sherilyne Jones, Jaime Awe and Christopher Helmke, pp. 159–173. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J. (editor) 1998 The Western Belize Regional Cave Project: A Report of the 1997 Field Season. University of New Hampshire, Durham.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J. 1999 The Western Belize Regional Cave Project: A Report of the 1998 Field Season. University of New Hampshire, Durham.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime, J., Campbell, Mark D., and Conlon, James 1991 Preliminary Analysis of the Spatial Configuration of the Site Core at Cahal Pech, Belize and its Implications for Lowland Maya Social Organization. Mexicon 8(2):25–30.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J., Griffith, Cameron S., and Gibbs, Sherry A. 2005 Cave Stelae and Megalithic Monuments in Western Belize. In In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, edited by James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer, pp. 223–248. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J., and Helmke, Christophe 1998 Preliminary Report on the Reconnaissance of Cahal Uitz Na, Roaring Creek Valley, Cayo District, Belize. In The Western Belize Regional Cave Project: A Report of the 1997 Field Season, edited by Jaime J. Awe, pp. 205–244. University of New Hampshire, Durham.Google Scholar
Awe, Jaime J., and Helmke, Christophe 2007 Fighting the Inevitable: The Terminal Classic Period of the Upper Roaring Creek Valley. In Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 4, edited by John Morris, Sherilyne Jones, Jaime Awe, and Christopher Helmke, pp. 29–42. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Beetz, Carl P., and Satterthwaite, Linton 1981 The Monuments and Inscriptions of Caracol, Belize. University Museum Monograph 45. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Boot, Erik 1999 A New Naranjo Area Toponym: Yo:tz. Mexicon 21(2):39–42.Google Scholar
Brady, James E. (editor) 2009 Midnight Terror Cave: Report 2009 Season. Report on file, Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan.Google Scholar
Brady, James E. 1997 Settlement Configuration and Cosmology: The Role of Caves at Dos Pilas. American Anthropologist 99(3):602–618.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brady, James E., Cobb, Allan, Garza, Sergio, Espinosa, Cesar, and Burnett, Robert 2005 An Analysis of Ancient Maya Stalactite Breakage at Balam Na Cave, Guatemala. In Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context, edited by Keith M. Prufer and James E. Brady, pp. 213–225. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., and Rodas, Irma 1995 Maya Ritual Cave Deposits: Recent Insights from the Cueva de los Quetzales. Institute of Maya Studies Journal 1(1):17–25.Google Scholar
Brady, James E., Scott, Ann, Neff, Hector, and Glascock, Michael 1997 Speleothem Breakage, Movement, Removal, and Caching: An Unreported Aspect of Ancient Maya Cave Utilization. Geoarchaeology 12(6):725–750.Google Scholar
Bullard, William 1960 The Maya Settlement Pattern in Northeastern Peten, Guatemala. American Antiquity 25:355–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chase, Arlen F. 1994 A Contextual Approach to the Ceramics of Caracol, Belize. Studies in the Archaeology of Caracol, Belize, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase, pp. 157–182. Monograph 7. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Chase, Arlen F, and Chase Diane, Z. 2001 The Royal Court of Caracol, Belize: Its People and Palaces. In Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya, Vol. II, edited by Takeshi Inomata and Stephen D. Houston, pp. 102–137. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
Conlon, James M., and Ehret, Jennifer J. 1999 Survey at the Major Center of Cahal Uitz Na, Cayo District, Belize. In The Western Belize Regional Cave Project: A Report of the 1998 Field Season, edited by Jaime J. Awe, pp. 33–44. University of New Hampshire, Durham.Google Scholar
Culbert, T. Patrick 1993 The Ceramics of Tikal: Vessels from the Burials, Caches and Problematical Deposits. Tikal Report No. 25A. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Davis, Clinton E. 1980 Archaeological Investigations in the Caves Branch-Deep Valley Region of Belize, Central America. Unpublished M.A. thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
Demarest, Arthur, Morgan, Kim, Wolley, Claudia, and Escobedo, Héctor 2003 The Political Acquisition of Sacred Geography: The Murciélagos Complex at Dos Pilas. In Maya Palaces and Elite Residences: An Interdisciplinary Approach, edited by Jessica Joyce Christie, pp. 120–153. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Ehret, Jennifer J., and Conlon, James M. 1999 Plaza Excavations at Cahal Uitz Na, Cayo District, Belize: A Preliminary Report. In The Western Belize Regional Cave Project: A Report of the 1998 Field Season, edited by Jaime J. Awe, pp. 53–68. University of New Hampshire, Durham.Google Scholar
Evans, Susan Toby, and Pillsbury, Joanne (editors) 2004 Palaces of the Ancient New World. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Gifford, James C. 1976 Prehistoric Pottery Analysis and the Ceramics of Barton Ramie in the Belize Valley. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 18. Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Glassman, David M., and Villarejo, Juan Luis Bonor 2005 Mortuary Practices of the Prehistoric Maya from Caves Branch Rockshelter, Belize. In Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Religion in the Cave Context, edited by Keith M. Prufer and James E. Brady, pp. 285–296. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.Google Scholar
González, Jason J., and Howell, Cameron 2011 The 2010 Site Center Mapping Program at Tipan Chen Uitz. In The Caves Branch Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2010 Field Season, edited by Christopher R. Andres and Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 148–155. Belize Archaeological Research and Education Foundation, Oxford.Google Scholar
Graham, Elizabeth A. 1994 Highlands of the Lowlands: Environment and Archaeology in the Stann Creek District, Belize, Central America. Prehistory Press, Madison.Google Scholar
Graham, Elizabeth, McNatt, Logan, and Mark Gutchen, A. 1980 Excavations at Footprint Cave, Caves Branch, Belize. Journal of Field Archaeology 7(2):153—172.Google Scholar
Graham, Ian 1978 Naranjo, Chunhuitz, Xunantunich. Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Vol. 2, Pt 2. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai 1994 Epigraphic Research at Caracol, Belize. In Studies in the Archaeology of Caracol, Belize, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase, pp. 83–122. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai 2004 La historia dinástica de Naranjo, Petén. Beiträge zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Archäiologie 24:195–213.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai, and Martin, Simon 2004 Patronage, Betrayal, and Revenge: Diplomacy and Politics in the Eastern Maya Lowlands. In Notebook for the XXVIIIth Maya Hieroglyphic Forum at Texas, edited by Nikolai Grube, pp. 1–95. University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
Hammond, Norman 1975 Maya Settlement Hierarchy in Northern Belize. In Studies in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by John A. Graham, pp. 40–55. University of California Archaeological Research Facility, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe 2009 Ancient Maya Cave Usage as Attested in the Glyphic Corpus of the Maya Lowlands and the Caves of the Roaring Creek Valley, Belize. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, and Awe, Jaime J. 2008 Organización territorial de los antiguos mayas de Belice Central: Confluencia de datos arqueológicos y epigráficos. Mayab 20:65–91.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, and Awe, Jaime J. 2012 Ancient Maya Territorial Organisation of Central Belize: Confluence of Archaeological and Epigraphic Data. Contributions in New World Archaeology 4:59–90.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, Awe, Jaime, and Grube, Nikolai 2010 The Carved Monuments and Inscriptions of Xunantunich. Classic Maya Provincial Politics: Xunantunich and Its Hinterlands, edited by Lisa J. LeCount and Jason Yaeger, pp. 97–121. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, Robert Colas, Pierre, and Awe, Jaime J. 1998 Comments on the Typology, Epigraphy, and Iconography of the Actun Tunichil Muknal Vase and Belize Valley Modeled-Carved Vessels. In The Western Belize Regional Cave Project: A Report of the 1997 Field Season, edited by Jaime J. Awe, pp. 93–140. University of New Hampshire, Durham.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, Grube, Nikolai, Awe, Jaime J., and Healy, Paul F. 2006 A Reinterpretation of Stela 6, Pacbitun, Belize. Mexicon 28(4):70–75.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, and Kettunen, Harri 2011 Where Atole Abounds: Naranjo during the Reign of K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan Chahk. 1 st Cracow Maya Conference. Jagellonian University, Cracow.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, and Reents-Budet, Dorie 2008 A Terminal Classic Molded-Carved Ceramic Type of the Eastern Maya Lowlands. In Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 5, edited by John Morris, Sherilyne Jones, Jaime Awe and Christopher Helmke, pp. 37–49. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Helmke, Christophe, and Wrobel, Gabriel 2012 Je’reftheel, Roaring Creek Works, Belize. In Heart of Earth: Studies in Maya Ritual Cave Use, edited by James E. Brady, pp. 69–81. Association for Mexican Cave Studies, Austin.Google Scholar
Hillier, Bill, and Hanson, Julienne 1984 The Social Logic of Space. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 1991 Appendix: Caracol Altar 21. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986, Vol. 8, edited by Merle Greene Robertson and Virginia M. Fields, pp. 38–42. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 1993 Hieroglyphs and History at Dos Pilas: Dynastic Politics of the Classic Maya. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 2008 te-mu and te-ma as “Throne.” Electronic document, http://decipherment.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/te-mu-and-te-ma-as-throne/, accessed March 5,2012.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D., Stuart, David, and Taube, Karl A. 1992 Image and Text on the ‘Jauncy Vase.’ The Maya Vase Book, Vol. 3, edited by Justin Kerr, pp. 498–512. Kerr Associates, New York.Google Scholar
Hruby, Zachary X., and Child, Mark B. 2004 Chontal Linguistic Influence in Ancient Maya Writing: Intransitive Positional Verbal Affixation. In The Linguistics of Maya Writing, edited by Søren Wichmann, pp. 13–26. The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi 2006 Plazas, Performers, and Spectators Political Theaters of the Classic Maya. Current Anthropology 47(5):805–842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inomata, Takeshi, and Houston, Stephen (editors) 2001 Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya, Vol. I: Theory, Comparison, and Synthesis. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
Jordan, Jillian 2008 The Late-to-Terminal Classic Period at Baateelek, Caves Branch River Valley, Cayo District, Belize. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Mississippi, Oxford.Google Scholar
Lacadena, Alfonso, and Wichmann, Søren 2002 The Distribution of Lowland Maya Languages in the Classic Period. In La organización social entre los mayas: Memoria de la tercera mesa redonda de Palenque, Vol. II, edited by Vera Tiesler, Rafael Cobos, and Merle Greene Robertson, pp. 275–314. Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia and Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, México City and Mérida.Google Scholar
Martin, Simon 1996 Tikal’s ‘Star Wars’ against Naranjo. In Eighth Palenque Round Table, 1993, edited by Martha J. Macri and Jan McHargue, pp. 223–236. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Martin, Simon, and Grube, Nikolai 2000 Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. Thames and Hudson, London.Google Scholar
Morton, Shawn G. 2010 Preliminary Speleoarchaeological Reconnaissance of the Upper Caves Branch River Valley. In The Caves Branch Archaeological Survey Project: A Report of the 2009 Field Season, edited by Christopher R. Andres and Gabriel D. Wrobel, pp. 50–63. Belize Archaeological Research and Education Foundation, Oxford.Google Scholar
Reents, Doris J. 1980 Prehistoric Pottery from Petroglyph Cave, Caves Branch Valley, El Cayo District, Belize, Central America. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin.Google Scholar
Reents, Doris J. 1982 Ceramic Units from Petroglyph Cave, Belize. Cerámica de Cultura Maya 12:60–66.Google Scholar
Reents-Budet, Dorie J. (editor) 1994 Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period. Duke University Press and Duke University Museum of Art, Durham and London.Google Scholar
Reents-Budet, Dorie, and MacLeod, Barbara 1997 The Archaeology of Petroglyph Cave, Cayo District, Belize. Report on file, Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan.Google Scholar
Satterthwaite, Linton Jr. 1951 Reconnaissance in British Honduras. University Museum Bulletin 16:21–37.Google Scholar
Scheie, Linda, and Freidel, David 1990 A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. Quill & Morrow, New York.Google Scholar
Seibert, Jeffrey 2004 A Functional Analysis of Structure 12A, Minanha, Belize. In Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 1, edited by Jaime Awe, John Morris, and Sherilyne Jones, pp. 165–171. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1998 ’The Fire Enters His House’: Architecture and Ritual in Classic Maya Texts. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture, edited by Stephen Houston, pp. 373–425. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington D.C. Google Scholar
Stuart, David 2005 The Inscriptions from Temple XIX at Palenque: A Commentary. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Taschek, Jennifer T., and Ball, Joseph W. 1992 Lord Smoke-Squirrel’s Cacao Cup: The Archaeological Context and Socio-Historical Significance on the Buenavista ‘Jauncy’ Vase. In The Maya Vase Book, Vol. 3, edited by Justin Kerr, pp. 490–497. Kerr Associates, New York.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. Eric S. 1962 A Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Turner, Ellen Sue, Turner, Norman I., and Adams, Richard E.W. 1981 Volumetric Assessment, Rank Ordering, and Maya Civic Centers. In Lowland Maya Settlement Patterns, edited by Wendy Ashmore, pp. 71–88. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.Google Scholar
Villaseñor, Isabel, and Helmke, Christophe 2007 Characterization of Lime Plasters and Lithological Fades from Pook’s Hill. In The Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project: A Report of the 2005 Field Season, edited by Christopher G.B. Helmke and Jaime J. Awe, pp. 135–156. Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History. Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Wrobel, Gabriel D., Morton, Shawn G., and Andres, Christopher R. 2010 An Introduction to the First Season of the Caves Branch Archaeological Survey. In Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, Vol. 7, edited by John Morris, Sherilyne Jones, Jaime Awe, George Thompson and Melissa Badillo, pp. 73–84. Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize.Google Scholar
Wrobel, Gabriel D., Andres, Christopher R., Morton, Shawn G., Shelton, Rebecca Michael, Amy and Helmke, Christophe 2012 Ritual Landscapes of the Caves Branch River Valley. Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology 9:233–244.Google Scholar