The ideology and symbolism of ancient Maya chert and obsidian eccentrics from central Belize: Materials, contexts, chronology, and meaning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2218/jls.7299Keywords:
eccentrics; chert; obsidian; Maya; caches; cavesAbstract
Eccentrics are associated with fundamentally important concepts in ancient Maya cosmology and religion. As their name implies, eccentrics are irregularly shaped, non-utilitarian, special function artifacts. Knapped from chert and obsidian, they vary in size, take many forms, and can be expediently made or masterfully crafted. In this study, we focus on eccentrics from Central Belize, specifically those from Ballcourt 2 at Xunantunich, as well as examples from caves the Roaring Creek Valley, including Actun Chapat, Actun Tunichil Mucnal, Actun Uayazba Kab, Actun Yaxteel Ahau, Je’reftheel, and Midnight Terror. To understand the uses of eccentrics in the ancient Maya world, we examine them in terms of their archaeological contexts (e.g., caches, burials, caves), dating, lithic raw material types and sources, production techniques, and meanings. This information is used to reconstruct the role of eccentrics in understanding the animate world of the Maya, as well as the embodiment of ancient Maya mythology and cosmology in these ceremonial items. The symbolism with which these artifacts are imbued is examined in relation to numerology and correspondences between Maya iconography and epigraphy. These analyses demonstrate that eccentrics play a significant role in the enactment of ancient Maya mythology and cosmology and embody critically important concepts for Maya success and survival in a natural world entangled in the supernatural. As such, they also served as inalienable possessions offered as gifts to supernatural forces and entities in times of need or crisis. Eccentrics embody and reflect the ideas of kingship, sacrifice, natural phenomena (specifically rain and lightning), celestial bodies (such as the sun, moon, and eclipses), maize, zoomorphic denizens of the Maya underworld (including centipedes, serpents, and scorpions), as well as representations of deities, especially K’awiil - the embodiment of lightning. Moreover, the geomorphic designs and numbers of eccentrics, which occur particularly in sets of seven, nine, and thirteen, represent locations and gateways in ancient Maya cosmological understanding of the structural universe. Significantly, the eccentrics of Xunantunich and Central Belizean caves are consistent with the use of this class of artifacts in a pan-Maya belief system.
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