Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings Maya Studies University Press of Florida Florida A&M University, Tallahassee Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers Florida International University, Miami Florida State University, Tallahassee New College of Florida, Sarasota University of Central Florida, Orlando University of Florida, Gainesville University of North Florida, Jacksonville University of South Florida, Tampa University of West Florida, Pensacola Ritual, Violence, and the Fall of the Classic Maya Kings Edited by Gyles Iannone, Brett A. Houk, and Sonja A. Schwake Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase, Series Editors University Press of Florida Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota Copyright 2016 by Gyles Iannone, Brett A. Houk, and Sonja A. Schwake All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper This book may be available in an electronic edition. 21 20 19 18 17 16 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Iannone, Gyles, editor. | Houk, Brett A. (Brett Alan), 1967– editor. | Schwake, Sonja A., editor. Title: Ritual, violence, and the fall of the classic Maya kings / edited by Gyles Iannone, Brett A. Houk, and Sonja A. Schwake. Other titles: Maya studies. Description: Gainesville : University Press of Florida, [2016] | Series: Maya studies | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2015038628 | ISBN 9780813062754 (alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Mayas—Kings and rulers. | Mayas—Politics and government. | Mayas— Social conditions. | Ritual—Mexico—History. | Ritual—Central America—History. | Violence—Mexico—History. | Violence—Central America—History. | Mayas— Antiquities. | Indians of Mexico—Antiquities. | Indians of Central America—Antiquities. Classification: LCC F1435.3.P7 R58 2016 | DDC 972/.6—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038628 The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida. University Press of Florida 15 Northwest 15th Street Gainesville, FL 32611-2079 http://www.upf.com To all of the Maya people, past and present, in appreciation of their amazing resilience across centuries of environmental, social, and political change Contents List of Figures ix List of Tables xi Foreword xiii Christopher C. Taylor 1. Introduction 1 Gyles Iannone, Brett A. Houk, and Sonja A. Schwake 2. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Scapegoat King: The Anatomy of a Model 23 Gyles Iannone 3. Killing the “Kings of Stone”: The Defacement of Classic Maya Monuments 61 Eleanor Harrison-Buck 4. Concepts of Legitimacy and Social Dynamics: Termination Ritual and the Last King of Aguateca, Guatemala 89 Takeshi Inomata 5. The Life and Afterlife of the Classic Period Piedras Negras Kingdom 108 Charles Golden, Andrew K. Scherer, Melanie Kingsley, Stephen D. Houston, and Héctor Escobedo 6. Destruction Events and Political Truncation at the Little Kingdom of Minanha, Belize 134 Sonja A. Schwake and Gyles Iannone 7. The Collapses in the West and the Violent Ritual Termination of the Classic Maya Capital Center of Cancuen: Causes and Consequences 159 Arthur A. Demarest, Claudia Quintanilla, and José Samuel Suasnavar 8. Social-Political Manifestations of the Terminal Classic: Colha, Northern Belize, as a Case Study 187 Palma J. Buttles and Fred Valdez Jr. 9. Signs of the Times: Terminal Classic Surface Deposits and the Fates of Maya Kingdoms in Northwestern Belize 203 Brett A. Houk 10. Events and Processes Leading to the Abandonment of the Maya City of Blue Creek, Belize 223 Thomas H. Guderjan and C. Colleen Hanratty 11. Dynamic Transitions at El Perú-Waka’: Late Terminal Classic Ritual Repurposing of a Monumental Shrine 243 Olivia C. Navarro-Farr 12. Lords of the Life Force and Their People: Reflections on Ritual Violence and Reverence in the Maya Archaeological Record 270 David Freidel References 285 List of Contributors 339 Index 343 Figures 1.1. Map of the Maya area showing sites discussed in this volume and selected other major sites 9 3.1. A carved limestone tablet with a portrait of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb’ III 71 3.2. Locations of terminal deposits in Central Acropolis Court 5D-2 at Tikal 76 3.3. Front of Stela 32, Naranjo 77 3.4. Distribution of sites with termination deposits, monument defacement, and Terminal Classic circular shrines in the Maya Lowlands 79 4.1. Map of the Aguateca epicenter 94 4.2. Dense deposit of artifacts found south of the stairway of Structure L8-6 97 4.3. Stairway of Structure L8-7 after removing the pile of stones viewed from the west 98 4.4. Fragment of a carved limestone object found in the deposit of Structure L8-6 101 5.1. Map of the northern portion of the Piedras Negras epicenter 114 5.2. Throne 1 at Piedras Negras 115 5.3. Fragment of modeled stucco head discovered in the collapse of Structure J-4 in the Acropolis of Piedras Negras 116 5.4. Map of the southern portion of the Piedras Negras epicenter 119 5.5. Structure O-7 at Piedras Negras 120 6.1. Map of the Vaca Plateau and adjacent areas showing the location of Minanha 136 6.2. Rectified isometric plan of the Minanha epicentral court complex 137 6.3. Remnants of the razed 38J-3rd shrine 143 6.4. Components of the buried penultimate royal residential courtyard at Minanha 147 6.5. Butt of Stela 4 at Minanha 149