Hostname: page-component-5db58dd55d-4jdj6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-06-15T14:59:52.877Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dealing with Uniqueness: A Classic Period Maya Mosaic Ceramic Patolli Board from Naachtun, Guatemala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2025

Julien Hiquet Open the ORCID record for Julien Hiquet [Opens in a new window]  and
Rémi Méreuze
Julien Hiquet*
Affiliation:
UMR 8096: Archeologie des Ameriques, CNRS, Paris, France
Rémi Méreuze
Affiliation:
UMR 8096: Archeologie des Ameriques, CNRS, Paris, France UMR8215: Trajectoires, CNRS, Paris, France
*
Corresponding author: Julien Hiquet; Email: hiquetjulien@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article describes a unique patolli board found in a large residential compound at the Classic period Maya site of Naachtun (Petén, Guatemala) and discusses its implications. While dozens of patolli engraved in stucco floors and benches are known, the example from Naachtun has divisions outlined with sherds inlaid in the fresh mortar. This way of creating the board may provide a fresh perspective on the way the game was played, as it indicates boards could be included in the architecture from the planning stage and also potentially have a long use life.

Resumen

Resumen

En este artículo, se describe un singular patolli maya del periodo clásico, hallado en un gran complejo residencial de Naachtun (Petén, Guatemala) y se analizan sus implicaciones. Aunque se conocen docenas de patolli esgrafiados en pisos de estuco y superficie de banquetas, el ejemplo de Naachtun es único, ya que no estaba inciso, sino delineado con tiestos incrustados en el mortero fresco, a la manera de un mosaico. Esta forma de crear el tablero podría aportar un nuevo enfoque sobre la forma en que se jugaba: indica que los tableros podían ser planeados en la arquitectura, desde su construcción, y que podían tener un uso a largo plazo.

Keywords

ceramic mosaicMayaNaachtunpatollimosaico de cerámicaMayaNaachtunpatolli

Information

Type
Article
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , September 2025 , pp. 548 - 561
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for American Archaeology.

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

References Cited

Acosta, Jorge R. 1961. La doceava temporada de exploraciones en Tula, Hgo. Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia 6(13):29–58.Google Scholar
Andrews, E., and Wyllys, V. 1974. Some Architectural Similarities between Dzibilchaltun and Palenque. In Primera Mesa Redonda de Palenque Part I: A Conference on the Art, Iconography, and Dynastic History of Palenque, edited by Robertson, Merle Green, pp. 137–147. Robert Luis Stevenson School, Pebble Beach, California.Google Scholar
Andrews, George F. 1980. Maya Graffiti and the Classic Maya Elite. University of Oregon, Eugene.Google Scholar
Drucker, Philip, Heizer, Robert F., and Squier, Robert J.. 1959. Excavations at La Venta Tabasco, 1955. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin No. 170. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Durán, Fray Diego. 1971. Book of the Gods and Rites and The Ancient Calendar. Translated and edited by Francisco Horcasitas and Doris Heyden. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Estrada, Paulo. 2016. Operación I.3: Documentación de los saqueos: el Complejo 6L13. In Proyecto Petén-Norte Naachtun 2015–2018, Informe de la Sexta Temporada de Campo 2015, edited by Nondédéo, Philippe, Michelet, Dominique, Hiquet, Julien, and Garrido, Lilian, pp. 17–60. CNRS, Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris; CEMCA, Guatemala City.Google Scholar
Euan Canul, Gabriel, Martín, Ana, and Ramos, Pilar Asensio. 2005. Graffiti en el Grupo de la Serie Inicial: La Estructura 5C35, Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, México. In XVIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2004, edited by Laporte, Juan Pedro, Arroyo, Bárbara, and Mejía, Héctor, pp. 856–866. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City.Google Scholar
Fash, William L., and Fash, Barbara W.. 2015. Apuesta, guerra ritual e identidad en el juego de pelota de Mesoamérica. In El juego de pelota mesoamericano: Temas eternos, nuevas aproximaciones, edited by Uriarte, María Teresa, pp. 37–66. UNAM, Mexico City.Google Scholar
Fitzmaurice, Rosamund, Watkins, Tia B., and Awe, Jaime J.. 2021. Play and Purpose: The Relationship between Patolli and Graffiti at Xunantunich, Belize. Papers from the Institute of Archaeology 30(1):59–91. https://doi.org/10.14324/111.444.2041-9015.1286.Google Scholar
Gallegos Gómora, Miriam Judith. 1994. Un patolli prehispánico en Calakmul, Campeche Revista Española de Antropología Americana 24:9–24Google Scholar
Gilabert Sansalvador, Laura. 2018. La bóveda en la arquitectura maya. PhD dissertation, Department of Architectural Constructions, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain.Google Scholar
Hellmuth, Nicholas. 2023 Patolli Game Boards: Maya, Teotihuacan, Toltec, Mixtec, and Aztec. Meeting of the Precolumbian Society, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. YouTube, March 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9im6T6HM_Cw, accessed October 21 , 2024.Google Scholar
Hiquet, Julien, Castanet, Cyril, Dussol, Lydie, Nondédéo, Philippe, Testé, Marc, Purdue, Louise, Tomadini, Noémie, Grouard, Sandrine, and Dorison, Antoine. 2022. After the Preclassic Collapse: A Socio-Environmental Contextualization of the Rise of Naachtun (Guatemala). In Shaping Cultural Landscapes: Connecting Agriculture, Crafts, Construction, Transport, and Resilience Strategies, edited by Brysbaert, Ann, Vikatou, Irene, and Pakkanen, Jari, pp. 133–152. Sidestone Press, Leiden, Netherlands.Google Scholar
Hiquet, Julien, González, Giovanni, and Cano, Miguel Angel. 2014. Operación II.2 Bis: Sondeos estratigráficos en busca de ocupaciones del Clásico Temprano en la Periferia Sur de Naachtun. In Proyecto Petén-Norte Naachtun 2010–2014, Informe de la Quinta Temporada de Campo 2014, edited by Nondédéo, Philippe, Hiquet, Julien, Michelet, Dominique, Sion, Julien, and Garrido, Lilian, pp. 57–128. CNRS, Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris; CEMCA, Guatemala City.Google Scholar
Hiquet, Julien, Nondédéo, Philippe, Nimatuj, Julio Cotom, and Michelet, Dominique. 2023. La fundación de una ciudad maya durante el Clásico Temprano: El papel de la construcción monumental en el desarrollo de Naachtun (Petén). In Historia de la construcción, edificaciones mesoamericanas y obras de arquitectura del siglo XVI al XIX, Volumen 1, edited by Aguilar, Gladys Martínez and Capistrán, Polimnia Zacarías, pp. 41–67. Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa, Mexico.Google Scholar
Hiquet, Julien, Schwendener, Omar, and Sotz, Julio. 2016. Operación II.2 Bis: Sondeos estratigráficos en busca de ocupaciones del Clásico Temprano en la Periferia Sur de Naachtun. In Proyecto Petén-Norte Naachtun 2015–2018, Informe de la Sexta Temporada de Campo 2015, edited by Nondédéo, Philippe, Michelet, Dominique, Hiquet, Julien, and Garrido, Lilian, pp. 63–138. CNRS, Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris; CEMCA, Guatemala City.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D., Brittenham, Claudia, Mesick, Cassandra, Tokovinine, Alexandre, and Warinner, Christina. 2009. Veiled Brightness: A History of Ancient Maya Color. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
INAH. 2024. El INAH conserva nueve patollis, juegos mesoamericanos, descubiertos en obras del Tren Maya. INAH (website), Septebmer 4. https://www.inah.gob.mx/boletines/el-inah-conserva-nueve-patollis-juegos-mesoamericanos-descubiertos-en-obras-del-tren-maya, accessed May 11 , 2025.Google Scholar
Johnson, Lisa M., and Johnson, Lucas R. Martindale. 2021. Sealing with Stone, Assessing an Assemblage of Lithic Debitage from a Funerary Context at the Lowland Maya City of Caracol, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 32(1):39–56. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2020.82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kampen, Michael. 1978. The Graffiti of Tikal, Guatemala. Estudios de Cultura Maya 11:155–174.Google Scholar
Lowe, Gareth W. 1959. Archaeological Exploration of the Upper Grijalva River, Chiapas, Mexico. Papers No. 2. New World Archaeological Foundation, Orinda, California.Google Scholar
Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte de Guatemala. 2015. Se realiza en Petén presentación de hallazgo arqueológico Maya. https://mcd.gob.gt/se-realiza-en-peten-presentacion-de-hallazgo-arqueologico-maya/, accessed April 1 , 2024.Google Scholar
Nondédéo, Philippe, Guzmán, Mavelyn, and Hiquet, Julien. 2024. Operación III.8: En busca del Clásico temprano en contexto real. In Proyecto Arqueológico Petén-Norte Naachtun, Informe de la Doceava Temporada 2023, Tomo I, edited by Nondédéo, Philippe, Begel, Johann, and Cotom-Nimatuj, Julio, pp. 273–304. CNRS, Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris; CEMCA, Guatemala City.Google Scholar
Nondédéo, Philippe, Lacadena, Alfonso, and Garay, Alejandro. 2018. Apuntes epigráficos: La temporada 2015 del Proyecto Naachtun. In Tiempo detenido, tiempo suficiente: Ensayos y narraciones mesoamericanistas en homenaje a Alfonso Lacadena García-Gallo, edited by Kettunen, Harri, López, Verónica A. Vázquez, Kupprat, Felix, Lorenzo, Cristina Vidal, Cosme, Gaspar Muñoz, and de León, María Josefa Iglesias Ponce, pp. 329–350. Wayeb Publication No. 1. Wayeb, Couvin, Belgium.Google Scholar
Nondédéo, Philippe, Sion, Julien, Lacadena, Alfonso, Cases, Ignacio, and Hiquet, Julien. 2021. From Kings to Nobles: The Political-Historical Context of Naachtun at the End of the Classic Period. In Rupture or Transformation of Maya Kingship: From Classic to Postclassic Times, edited by Okoshi, Tsubasa, Chase, Arlen, Nondédéo, Philippe, and Arnauld, M.-Charlotte, pp. 124–153. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.Google Scholar
Novotny, Claire, and Houk, Brett A.. 2021. Ancient Maya Patolli from Gallon Jug, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 32(3):647–654. https://doi.org/10.1017/laq.2021.11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patrois, Julie. 2013. Rio Bec Graffiti: A Private Form of Art. Ancient Mesoamerica 24(2):433–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruppert, Karl, and Denison, John H.. 1943. Archaeological Reconnaissance in Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Peten. Publication No. 543. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Smith, A. Ledyard. 1977. Patolli at the Ruins of Seibal, Peten, Guatemala. In Social Process in Maya Prehistory: Studies in Honour of Sir Eric Thompson, edited by Hammond, Norman, pp. 349–363. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Swezey, William R., and Bittman, Bente. 1983. El rectángulo de cintas y el patolli: Nueva evidencia de la antigüedad, distribución, variedad y formas de practicar este juego precolombino. Mesoamerica 4(6):373–416.Google Scholar
Tozzer, Alfred M. 1913. A Preliminary Study of the Prehistoric Ruins of Nakum, Guatemala: A Report of the Peabody Museum Expedition 1909–1910. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. 5, No. 3. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Verbeeck, Lieve. 1998. Bul: A Patolli Game in Maya Lowland. Board Games Studies 1:82–103.Google Scholar
Walden, John, and Voorhies, Barbara. 2017. Ancient Maya Patolli. In Prehistoric Games of North American Indians, edited by Voorhies, Barbara, pp. 197–218. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Walker, Debra S., and Reese-Taylor, Kathryn. 2012. Naachtun, Petén, Guatemala: First Analyses. Report to FAMSI. http://www.famsi.org/reports/06035/06035Walker01.pdf, accessed August 27, 2025.Google Scholar
Źrałka, Jarosław. 2014. Pre-Columbian Maya Graffiti: Context, Dating and Function. Wydawnictwo Alter, Kracow, Poland.Google Scholar