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Ucanal Stela 29 and the Cosmopolitanism of Terminal Classic Maya Stone Monuments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2020

Christina T. Halperin*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Université de Montréal, 3150 Jean-Brillant, Montréal, QC H3T 1N8, Canada
Simon Martin
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania Museum, University of Pennsylvania, 3260 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA (simonm3@sas.upenn.edu)
*
(christina.halperin@umontreal.ca, corresponding author)

Abstract

The Terminal Classic period (ca. AD 800–1000) in the Southern Maya Lowlands witnessed a precipitous decline in the erection of carved stone monuments, a decline that corresponds to shifts in political ideologies and the disappearance of many prominent royal dynasties. Although Southern Lowland sites are often considered peripheral to the events and innovations occurring elsewhere in Mesoamerica during this time, a recently discovered stela, Stela 29, at the site of Ucanal in Peten, Guatemala, underscores the active role of the site in broader political movements in the ninth century. Our iconographic, textual, and stylistic analysis of this stela, in concert with other Terminal Classic monuments from the site, reveals a vernacular cosmopolitan aesthetic whereby local Classic Maya styles were infused with images and elements that referenced connections with peoples from northern Yucatan, the Gulf Coast, and Central Mexico.

El período Clásico Terminal (ca. 800–1000 dC) en las tierras bajas mayas del sur experimento un descenso precipitado en la construcción de monumentos de piedra tallada, un descenso que corresponde a cambios en las ideologías políticas y el cese de muchas dinastías reales prominentes. Aunque los sitios de las tierras bajas del sur a menudo se consideran periféricos a los eventos e innovaciones que ocurren en otras partes de Mesoamérica durante este tiempo, una estela recientemente descubierta, la Estela 29, del sitio de Ucanal en Petén, Guatemala, subraya el papel activo del sitio en los movimientos políticos más amplios en el siglo noveno. Nuestro análisis iconográfico, textual y estilístico de esta estela, en concierto con otros monumentos del Clásico Terminal del sitio, revela una estética cosmopolita vernácula en la que los estilos Mayas Clásicos locales se infunden con imágenes y elementos que hacen referencia a conexiones con gente del norte de Yucatán, de la costa del Golfo y del Centro de México.

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Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for American Archaeology

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