ThePARI Journal

A quarterly publication of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute

Volume VI, No.4, Spring 2006

In This Issue:
The Queen’s Mirrors
The Queen’s Mirrors : Interpreting the Iconography of Two Teotihuacan Style
Interpreting the Mirrors from the Early Classic Margarita Tomb at Copan
Iconography of Two
Teotihuacan Style
Mirrors from the JESPER NIELSEN
Early Classic University of Copenhagen
Margarita Tomb
at Copan One of the most hotly debated topics tihuacan iconography on their stuccoed
by Jesper Nielsen in Mesoamerican archaeology the past and painted backings. What does this
PAGES 1-8 decades has been the role played by Teoti- little-studied imagery represent, and what
huacan outside central Mexico in the Early significance can be attributed to the ico-
• Classic period, and specifically Teotihua- nography? Does the presence of the mir-
can’s influence in the Maya region (e.g., rors and the iconography in any way offer
Braswell 2003; C. Millon 1988; Nielsen new perspectives on the possible contacts
A Selection of
2003; Stuart 2000). Much of this debate has between Copan and Teotihuacan? These
Rubbings, Part Two
focused on two great sites in Guatemala, are the questions of primary concern, but
by Merle Greene Tikal in the lowlands and Kaminaljuyú in I will also briefly explore how the mirror
Robertson the eastern highlands. Another important iconography may help us to refine our
PAGES 9-16 Early Classic Maya city showing a number understanding of the mural chronology of
of intriguing references to Teotihuacan is Teotihuacan.
Copan in present-day western Honduras
(e.g., Sharer 2004; Stuart 2004; Taube 2004). The Founding Events: K’inich Yax
Joel Skidmore Recent extensive tunneling and excava- K’uk’ Mo’ and Hunal
Editor tions in the Copan Acropolis have led to
[email protected] a series of new insights into the history of Before taking a closer look at the mirror
the city’s founding and the life of the first iconography a short reiteration of the cur-
The PARI Journal
ruler in the early fifth century. Thus, there rent knowledge of the archaeological and
202 Edgewood Avenue are now several lines of evidence that historical context of the Margarita struc-
San Francisco, CA 94117 suggest that the dynastic founder, K’inich ture and its predecessors is necessary. As
415-664-8889 Yax K’uk’ Mo’, whose bones reveal him a result of the excavations beneath Temple
[email protected] as a foreigner to the Copan Valley, had 16 in the Copan Acropolis, archaeologists
close relations with the Petén area as well have located what is believed to have been
Electronic version as Kaminaljuyú and apparently also the the first royal temple complex at Copan
available at: imperial capital of Teotihuacan (Bell et (e.g., Sharer et al. 1999; Bell et al. 2004b).
www.mesoweb.com/ al. 2004a; Sharer et al. 2005; Andrews and This includes a unique temple structure
pari/journal/0604 Fash 2005). designated Hunal, built in talud-tablero
The present article focuses on two spe- style (the predominant architectural style
The PARI Journal is made cific objects that were found in the tomb of of Teotihuacan), which in all likeli-
possible by a grant from a high ranking woman placed in a temple hood holds the tomb of the dynastic
Mesoweb structure named Margarita. The woman founder K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ (e.g., Bell
most probably was the wife of K’inich Yax et al. 2004b:132-136; Sharer 2004; Stuart
K’uk’ Mo’, and the objects in question are 2004:232). Hunal was to become one of
ISSN 1531-5398 two Teotihuacan-style iron pyrite mirrors, the most sacred locations in the Copan
both of which display characteristic Teo- kingdom, and for centuries new temples

The PARI Journal 6(4):1-8. 

 Nielsen

especially associated with dynastic genesis and seem-

ingly of Mexican origin [and] the location seems to have
been a distant one. It was 153 days before Yax K’uk’
Mo’ and his party reached Copan itself […] expressed
as an ‘arrival here’” (2000:192-193). It is still debated
whether Yax K’uk’ Mo’ made the journey to Copan
from Teotihuacan or Tikal, but the reported duration
of his trip does not seem to rule out the possibility
that he had received his “right to rule” and insignia
in Teotihuacan (Martin and Grube 2000; Sharer 2003a;
2003b; 2004; Stuart 2005).
What, then, happened when Yax K’uk’ Mo’ arrived
in the Copan Valley? Robert Sharer has recently pre-
sented what seems to be a likely scenario:
Assuming that the Copan take-over was accomplished by
force of arms, and in keeping with what little we know about
Early Classic warfare, whatever force K’uk’ Mo’ brought with
a him to Copan was probably small and mobile. If a battle for
Copan took place, it may have been limited in scope and the
issue settled rather quickly. There is no evidence for fortifica-
tions at Copan, so that an armed strike aimed specifically at
the local ruler and the heart of his capital could have been
decisive. Advantages of speed and surprise, along with the
same Teotihuacan-inspired militarism that propelled Tikal’s
expansionism, could have insured the success of the invad-
ers. (Sharer 2003a:323)
Apart from replacing the old dynasty, the arrival of Yax
K’uk’ Mo’ and his followers also changed what had
previously been a village center near the Copan River,
perhaps the seat of a local lord, into a fast-growing royal
city with close ties to other parts of Mesoamerica. There
is evidence of a series of smaller, competing chiefdoms
in the valley before the arrival of Yax K’uk’ Mo’, and
most of these chiefdoms were subjugated by the in-
truders. One of them, however, seems to have entered
some kind of forced alliance with the arriving party. It
b may have been from the ruling lineage of this chiefdom
Figure 1. Examples of Early Classic mirrors from the Maya area that Yax K’uk’ Mo’ chose a wife, since we know that the
showing Teotihuacan-style iconography: a) Kaminaljuyú, Tomb woman buried in Margarita was of local descent (Fash
B-V; b) Tikal, Group 6C-XVI, Burial PNT-174 (redrawn from Kid- and Fash 2000:447-448; Bell 2002; Bell et al. 2004b:137;
der et al. 1946:Fig.175a and Laporte 1989:Fig.83). Buikstra et al. 2004). Such a combined strategy of mili-
would be built on top of it, most of them decorated with tary threat and conquest as well as elite intermarriage
images as well as texts that recalled the great founder is identical to what is suspected to have happened at
and his apparent affiliation with the central Mexican Tikal some thirty-eight years earlier at the time of the
superpower of Teotihuacan (Taube 2004). Teotihuacan entrada led by Siyaj K’ak’ (e.g., Martin and
The combination of the Hunal material and the Grube 2000; Stuart 2000). From Late Classic retrospec-
rich hieroglyphic record of Copan provides us with a tive inscriptions from nearby Quirigua we know that
in AD 426, Yax K’uk’ Mo’ also played the leading role
detailed view of the historical events surrounding the
founding of the city and its dynasty. Thus, the famous
Altar Q (erected in front of Temple 16 by the last ruler 1
References to wi’te’naah structures are found in glyphic
of Copan, Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, in AD 776) recounts inscriptions in Copan, Tikal, and elsewhere. While the term can
how, “On 5 September 426 the founder...K’uk’ Mo’ best be translated as “Tree-root House,” the wi’te’naah buildings
seem to have been conceived of as “houses of origin” (Stuart 2000;
Ajaw...took the snake-footed k’awiil sceptre and rose to 2004:235-239; 2005:377). In the Copan area structures named as
kingly status” (Martin and Grube 2000:192). Three days wi’te’naahs are often embellished with overt Teotihuacan symbo-
later, he “set out from” a so-called wi’te’naah structure.1 lism (Taube 2004:273-274; see also Nielsen 2003:89-90, 223-226, in
This, as Martin and Grube point out, was “a structure press).


The Queen’s Mirrors

in establishing a (new) dynasty at the site that was stra-

tegically situated on the banks of the Motagua River.
According to Martin and Grube, “Quirigua’s first king
[…] was crowned ‘under the supervision’ of Yax K’uk’
Mo’” and there are “strong echoes here of Siyaj K’ak’s
New Order and the installation of a new political elite
at a number of centres in the Petén” (Martin and Grube
2000:216).

Margarita and the Queen’s Tomb

Some time after Yax K’uk’ Mo’s death in about AD 437
Hunal was completely covered by a new temple struc-
ture designated Yehnal (Sharer et al. 1999). This build-
ing stood only for about a decade before it was buried
beneath a new and larger temple, today nicknamed
Margarita. The iconography of the well-preserved
stucco facade of Margarita surely holds important
clues to the origins of the Copan dynasty and its self-
perception,2 but for now let us consider the interior of
the temple and the tomb chamber beneath the summit
floor of the temple. Placed on a burial slab similar to Figure 2. Mirror 1 from the Margarita Tomb,
that of the Hunal tomb were the skeletal remains of a Copan (drawing by Jesper Nielsen).
high status woman. In fact, the lowest courses of this
burial chamber were laid at the same time as the Hunal shell rings and bone needles. Each mirror is made of
tomb, and apparently the chamber was held “open and iron pyrite mosaic adhering to a stuccoed and painted
unused until it was was modified during the construc- slate backing, showing what has been described as
tion of the Yehnal and Margarita substructures” (Bell “Teotihuacan-style designs.” Such Teotihuacan-style
2002:95). Even though no known hieroglyphic text from mirrors have been found at several other sites that are
Copan mentions a royal woman, it is currently believed believed to have been in more or less direct contact with
that the woman buried here was the wife of K’inich Yax Teotihuacan in the Early Classic period, and mirrors
K’uk’ Mo’ (e.g., Bell et al. 2004b:141). Her tomb is by far appear to have been closely associated with specific
the richest female burial yet found in the Maya region, aspects of Teotihuacan culture in this period (Nielsen
and among the offerings in the tomb were more than 2003; Taube 1992a) (Figure 1). So far, two different sets
9,000 jade beads and a number of ceramic vessels that of preliminary drawings of the Copan mirrors have
can be traced to the Guatemalan highlands, the Petén been published (Bell et al. 2004:Fig.8.5; Sharer 2000:
region, and Central Mexico (Bell et al. 2004b:137-140). Figs.6a-b). For the purpose of a detailed iconographic
Detailed descriptions of many of the burial goods have analysis, however, I have found it necessary to produce
recently appeared in print (e.g., Bell 2002, Bell et al. a new set of drawings based on digital photos of the
2004b). This, however, does not hold true for what are mirrors in combination with the previously published
arguably the most unusual objects recovered from the drawings. I begin with the mirror that is now known as
tomb: the two decorated iron pyrite mirrors. (A full Mirror or Disk 1.
description of the contents of the Margarita Tomb will The back of this Mirror 1 is badly damaged, and the
be included in the forthcoming Ph.D. dissertation by upper part of the central portion of the painting has
Ellen E. Bell.) weathered away almost completely (Figure 2). Previ-
ous descriptions of the iconography simply state that
The Iconography of the Mirrors
2
It should be noted that the facade is dominated by a large
The two mirrors were found together inside a basket and very unusual glyphic variant of K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’s name.
with a stuccoed and painted lid. According to the Its emblematic character and close resemblance to Teotihuacan
excavators the lid displayed a “fine-line polychrome writing has been noted by Taube who sees it as “an intentional
design depicting a figure in profile wearing a deco- allusion to the Teotihuacan style of mural texts” (Taube 2000:29).
The knowledge of and reference to a different “font” of writing
rated turban” (Bell et al. 2004:140). The mirrors seemed
at Teotihuacan by the Copan scribes is also evident in the famous
to have been wrapped in a “finely woven textile,” and and much later Late Classic Temple Inscription that formed part
the offering was placed in the central area of the tomb of the interior design of the temple atop Structure 10L-26 (Stuart
together with a host of other offerings, including carved 2005:387-390).


 Nielsen

the mirror has yellow dots and stars on the border and
“a geometric design that may represent a Teotihuacan-
style headdress” (Sharer 2000:6; see also Bell 2002:99;
Bell et al. 2004:139-140). Despite the damage I believe it
is possible to give a more accurate and detailed descrip-
tion of the surviving imagery. Thus, the central motif
consists of the so-called Mexican Year Sign placed on
a b top of a reed mat. The Mexican Year Sign is a common
Figure 3. The “Mexican Year Sign”. Two examples from Teotihuacan element in Teotihuacan iconography, and it appears to
(redrawn from Langley 1986:Figs.41f & 41c). have associations beyond its basic calendrical meaning.
Janet Berlo suggested that “it is as an element of war-
rior iconography that the sign was carried to southern
Mesoamerica […] Along with the RE-glyph, it is one of
Teotihuacan’s most important glyphic emblems. They
prominently displayed it abroad, and it may have been
one of the emblems that identified them as Teotihuaca-
nos” (Berlo 1984:112). In at least one example the Year
Sign also forms part of a toponym. On a Teotihuacan-
style stela from Acatempa, Guerrero, a Teotihuacano
warrior stands on top of the Mexican Year Sign which
has the “twisted root” locative attached to its base
(Taube 2000:9, Fig.6d). Apparently the warrior was
associated with or came from this “Mexican Year Sign
Place.” On the Copan mirror the Year Sign is combined
with a reed mat, a well known and widespread symbol
of rulership throughout most parts of Mesoamerica
(Figure 3). As seen elsewhere in Teotihuacan iconogra-
phy mats are often depicted in combination with other
glyph-like elements that together seem to represent a
Figure 4. Possible iconographic reference to a ”House of Darts” on a personal name or group affiliation (e.g., Nielsen 2003:
plano-relief vessel from Teotihuacan. Note the small house structures Fig.C75). Above the Year Sign is a combination of ele-
seen just below the butts of the two darts (redrawn from Séjourné 1966: ments that most unfortunately are very damaged, and
Fig.87). it is difficult to identify any of them with certainty. Im-
mediately above the Year Sign is an element that may
be an example of what James Langley called “Object
F” and which has been identified as the fringe of a
tasseled shield (Langley 1986:313). On the extreme left
is what seems to be a stylised “house.” Similar small
and highly stylised houses placed around a central
a b c motif are known in other examples of Teotihuacan ico-
nography, for example on a plano-relief vessel with a
probable iconographic reference to a “House of Darts”
(Garcia-des-Lauriers 2000:107, 141, Fig.3.3.) (Figure 4).
Most importantly, on Copan Mirror 1 the Year Sign is
placed inside and above a Teotihuacan-style mountain
sign, and the adjoining edges of additional mountains
can be traced on either side of the central sign. On the
mountain edge to the right a sawtooth design mark-
ing the inner rim of the mountain can still be seen.
Several examples of such sawtooth-marked mountains
d e are seen in the corpus of Teotihuacan iconography, and
they occur with highly variable elements, or glyphs,
Figure 5. Possible place names in Teotihucan mural art consisting of a
standardized hill sign and variable specifiers, e.g. “Torch-mountain” or
in the center (e.g., flaming bundle, star, water-drop, a
“Torch-place” in (d): a) Zacuala (Corridor 2, Mural 4); b) Zacuala (Room 2, mouth or, as in the most complex known example from
Mural 5); c) Zacuala (Platform 5, Mural 1); d) Tetitla (Room 16, Mural 3) Atetelco, a combination of several elements) (Figure
and e) Atetelco (Patio 3, Murals 2-3) (drawings by Jesper Nielsen). 5; see also Cabrera Castro 1995:Fig.18.18). Mountain


The Queen’s Mirrors

The second mirror, Mirror 2 (Figure 6), shows a per-

son rendered in pure Teotihuacan style and according
to Teotihuacan iconographic conventions. The male
figure, rendered short and squat, wears an elaborate
Serpent Headdress, a tri-paneled cape, a mirror on
the hip, a feathered backrack, and tufted sandals, all
of which are basic identifying markers of Teotihua-
canos (Garcia-des-Lauriers 2000:67-68). In the right
hand the person holds a bag and not a trophy head
as has previously been suggested (Bell 2002:99; Sharer
2000:6). The bag is most likely to be an incense pouch
similar to those frequently represented in Teotihuacan
iconography, where we find the same characteristic
handle with a mat-like design. Presumably the Copan
example, like its Teotihuacan counterparts, was deco-
rated with a rattler and/or a small animal head (Figure
7). Looking closer at the head of the individual, we find
nearly identical figures with the same facial features
and similar Serpent Headdresses in the murals of
Tlacuilapaxco and Tepantitla in Teotihuacan (Figure 8).
The similarities between these figures and Mirror 2 are
striking even in minor details, i.e. the way the feathers
Figure 6. Mirror 2 from the Margarita Tomb, of the headdress and backrack overlap and the way the
Copan (drawing by Jesper Nielsen). earflares are depicted. The characteristic speech scroll
with attached flowers emanating from the mouth of the
signs form a common part of toponymic references person is encountered throughout the corpus of Teoti-
in Mesoamerican writing systems, and Teotihuacan is huacan iconography. Below one of the individual’s legs
no exception in this regard (e.g., Angulo 1995; Nielsen is an almost completely eroded, squarish element that
n.d.; Taube 2000:8-10). Karl Taube prefers to see these remains unidentified. Nevertheless, it could well have
elements as bodies of water rather than mountains served as a name or titular glyph since these are often
(personal communication, February 2005), but I believe placed in front of or below the named individual (Taube
there are a number of good reasons to interpret them 2000; Nielsen 2004). Finally, the two Feathered Serpents
as representing stylized mountains, i.e. their tendency that encircle the central scene of the mirror have identi-
to contain variable elements, and the fact that similar cal twins in the mural art of Teotihuacan. We find the
mountain shapes occur in the North Patio of Atetelco exact same heads, water bands (marked by eyes) that
(Murals 2-3) where they clearly form part of a larger flow from the mouths, and rattles on serpents in the
landscape scene that in several respects is comparable murals of Tlacuilapaxco and Tepantitla (Berrin 1988:
to those found in indigenous documents and maps Fig.VI.25; Miller 1973:Fig.173). The Tepantitla ex­ample
from the colonial period (Cabrera Castro 1995:Fig.18.18; is particularly interesting since the Feathered Serpent
Boone 2000; Mundy 1996; see also Nielsen n.d.). The here serves as a border encompassing a scene with
aforementioned sawtooth design, however, does seem
to denote “water” and often appears together with
aquatic motifs, i.e., Tetitla Room 17 and the mural of
Room 18, Zone 5A (Miller 1973:Figs.296, 128). This
presence of “water” in mountains suggests a concept
similar to that of the Aztec altepetl, literally meaning
“water-hill,” but carrying the extended metaphorical
meaning of “town.” The mountain signs with variable
specifiers may thus well refer either to mythic place
names or actual, historic locations within Teotihuacan
or elsewhere in central Mexico. I therefore suggest that
the “Year-Sign-Shield-House-Mountain” place shown a b c
on Copan Mirror 1, too, is a toponym. Whether it refers Figure 7. Examples of incense pouches in Teotihuacan iconography:
to a mythical place or an actual locale or building in a) Tepantitla; b) Tlacuilapaxco; c) Mural in Zone 11 (Room 2, Mural 2).
Teotihuacan, Copan, or elsewhere, however, is impos- Note the mat-like design on the handles (redrawn from Miller 1973:
sible to say at the moment. Fig.183, Berrin 1988:Fig.VI.25 and Miller 1973:Fig.149).


 Nielsen

Figure 8. Individuals from the murals of (a) Tlacuilapaxco and (b)

b
Tepantitla displaying several features identical to those seen on Mir-
ror 2 from the Margarita Tomb, including the Serpent Headdress,
back mirror, elaborate feathered backrack, speech scroll, and incense
pouch (redrawn from Berrin 1988:Fig.VI.25 and Miller 1973:Fig.177).

figures similar to the one on Copan Mirror 2. Thus, we tic rather than stratigraphic analyses, and the majority
find identical combinations of elements in Teotihuacan of murals are grouped in the large time span ranging
and Copan. But who, then, is the person depicted on between AD 450-700 (Lombardo de Ruiz 1995:34-35;
the mirror? If we follow Garcia-des-Lauriers’ assess- see also C. Millon 1972), that is, in the last centuries
ment that the cape is a diagnostic part of high-ranking of the city’s history. As for the two Copan mirrors,
warriors’ costume there seems to be little doubt that both displaying Teotihuacan iconographic themes
he represents a Teotihuacan warrior (Garcia-des-Lau- executed in pure Teotihuacan style, we know that
riers 2000). Supporting this view is the Serpent Head- they were made no later than about AD 450. The
dress which represents the Teotihuacan War Serpent murals of Tlacuilapaxco and Tepantitla, with which
first identified by Taube (1992b). Interestingly, in her the mirror iconography shares so many minute de-
recent study of the warrior costume of Teotihuacan, tails, however, are dated to ca. AD 600-750 (see Berrin
Claudia Garcia-des-Lauriers points out that mirrors 1988:202-203). This chronological gap either points to
(aside from the multiple symbolic associations they an exceptional degree of conservatism in Teotihuacan
carried) were also used as markers of rank and as mural art (which is not unthinkable), or it may force
identifying “emblems” among the military (2000:85; us to reevaluate the suggested dates for the murals in
see also Taube 1992a). Mirrors worn on the hip or question. Recently, Taube has shown that the murals
close to the back indeed form one of the standard ele- of Tetitla date to ca. AD 450 (Taube 2003:285-287), and
ments of the dress worn by Teotihuacanos outside the Cabrera Castro has argued that the Atetelco murals
central Mexican area, and these mirrors were prob- were made somewhere between AD 300-400 (Cabrera
ably considered status objects closely linked with the Castro 1995:203). Taken together, these studies not
powerful central Mexican capital (Taube 1992a:198). only call for a renewed attempt to place Teotihuacan’s
mural art in a chronological sequence, but they also
Possible Implications for Teotihuacan Mural change our view of Teotihuacan’s history in Late
Chronology Tlamimilolpa and Early Xolalpan times. It has been
assumed that so-called secular and militaristic themes
Identifying close similarities between the iconog- only entered Teotihuacan mural art at a late date, but
raphy of the mirrors from the Margarita tomb and this was not the case, as the walls of Atetelco clearly
Teotihuacan murals may also have implications for attest (Headrick 1995). Such themes, rather, seem to
our understanding of the chronology of mural art have entered mural art when Teotihuacan consoli-
in Teotihuacan and Teotihuacan history in a broader dated its position as a superpower in central Mexico,
perspective. Previous datings of most Teotihuacan and iconographic references to the military power of
murals have been made mainly on the basis of stylis- Teotihuacan were also represented on a host of other


The Queen’s Mirrors

media, including mirrors, some of which followed the References

Teotihuacanos on their way to a number of regions Andrews, E. Wyllys, and William L. Fash
throughout Early Classic Mesoamerica (e.g., Berlo 2005 Issues in Copán Archaeology. In Copán: The History of an Ancient
1984; Nielsen in press). Maya Kingdom, edited by E. Wyllys Andrews & William L. Fash,
pp. 395-425. School of American Research Press & James Currey,
Santa Fe & Oxford.
Concluding Remarks
Angulo, Jorge V
To conclude this preliminary analysis of the mirror 1995 Teotihuacán – Aspectos de la cultura a través de su expresión pic-
iconography an obvious question comes to mind: tória. In Pintura mural Prehispánica en México, Teotihuacán, Tomo II,
edited by Beatriz de la Fuente, pp. 65-186. UNAM, México, D.F.
Why and how did the mirrors find their way to the
queen’s tomb? First of all, both Copan mirrors could Bell, Ellen E
well have been manufactured in central Mexico, and 2002 Engendering a Dynasty: A Royal Woman in the Margarita Tomb,
it is tempting to hypothesize that K’inich Yax K’uk’ Copan. In Ancient Maya Women, edited by Traci Ardren, pp. 89-
104. Alta Mira Press, Walnut Creek.
Mo’ brought them along from Teotihuacan, which he
may have visited as part of his preparations to become Bell, Ellen E., Marcello A. Canuto, and Robert J. Sharer (eds.)
a new dynastic ruler, before his so-called entrada into 2004a Understanding Early Classic Copan. University of Pennsylvania
Copan. It is possible that it is there that he received his Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
personal set of royal and military insignia, including Bell, Ellen E., Robert J. Sharer, Loa P. Traxler, David W. Sedat, Christine
a War Serpent helmet (remnants of which were found W. Carrelli, and Lynn A. Grant.
in the Hunal tomb, see Bell et al. 2004b:133) as well as 2004b Tombs and Burials in the Early Classic Acropolis at Copan. In
the two mirrors and some of the ceramics discovered Understanding Early Classic Copan, edited by Ellen E. Bell, Marcello
A. Canuto, and Robert J. Sharer, pp. 131-157. University of Pennsyl-
in his tomb (Reents-Budet et al. 2004:169-174). It was vania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
probably not accidental that one mirror featured a
high-ranking military leader wearing a mirror, and Berlo, Janet C
1984 Teotihuacan Art Abroad: A Study of Metropolitan Style and Provincial
the mirrors certainly underscore K’inich Yax K’uk’ Transformations in Incensario Workshops, Vols. I-II. BAR International
Mo’s affiliation (whether actual or nominal) with Series 1999, Oxford.
Teotihuacan. Perhaps the two mirrors were presented
to his new, local Copanec wife as part of the ritual Berrin, Kathleen (ed.)
1988 Feathered Serpents and Flowering Trees – Reconstructing the Murals
gift-giving that was also a standard element of mar- of Teotihuacan. The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San
riage alliance-building in Mesoamerica, or perhaps Francisco.
they were only handed over to the widow queen after
K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ had died. At present we cannot Boone, Elizabeth H.
2000 Stories in Red and Black: Pictorial Histories of the Aztecs and Mixtecs.
know with certainty which scenario is most probable, University of Texas Press, Austin.
but there can be little doubt that the mirrors signal
a real and important contact with Teotihuacan, rela- Braswell, Geoffrey E. (ed.)
tions that may, however, have come via Tikal and its 2003 The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction.
University of Texas Press, Austin.
“bi-cultural” Teotihuacan-Maya ruling elite (Nielsen
in press; Sharer 2004). Buikstra, Jane E., T. Douglas Price, Lori E. Wright, and James A.
Burton
2004 Tombs from the Copan Acropolis: A Life History Approach. In
Acknowledgements Understanding Early Classic Copan, edited by Ellen E. Bell, Marcello
A. Canuto, and Robert J. Sharer, pp. 191-212. University of Pennsyl-
An earlier version of this paper was presented at the vania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
symposium “New Perspectives on the Classic Maya
City of Copan: Discoveries and Interpretations in Cabrera Castro, Rubén
1995 Atetelco. In La Pintura Mural Prehispánica en México I, Teotihuacán,
Archaeology, Iconography and Language” (Univer- Tomo I, edited by Beatriz de la Fuente, pp.203-258. UNAM, México,
sity of Copenhagen, December 14, 2004). I greatly D.F.
appreciate the comments from the audience and
especially from two of the other speakers, Loa Traxler Fash, William F., and Barbara W. Fash
2000 Teotihuacan and the Maya. In Mesoamerica’s Classic Heritage:
and Robert Sharer. I also wish to thank Karl Taube From Teotihuacan to the Aztecs, edited by Davíd Carrasco, Lindsay
for exchanging views on the mirrors and Teotihuacan Jones & Scott Sessions, pp. 433-463. University Press of Colorado,
iconography in general, and Christophe Helmke and Boulder.
Stephen Houston for several good suggestions and Garcia-Des-Lauriers, Claudia
important corrections. Any errors, though, are my 2000 Trappings of Sacred War: The Warrior Costume of Teotihuacan. Un-
sole responsibility. published MA. thesis, University of Riverside at California.


 The Queen’s Mirrors

Headrick, Annabeth Sharer, Robert J.

1995 The Teotihuacan Trinity: UnMASKing the Political Structure. Unpub- 2003a Tikal and the Copan Dynastic Founding. In Tikal: Dynasties,
lished Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin. Foreigners,& Affairs of State – Advancing Maya Archaeology, edited
by Jeremy Sabloff, pp. 319-355. School of American Research Press
Kidder, Alfred V., Jesse D. Jennings, and Edwin M. Shook
& James Currey, Santa Fe & Oxford.
1946 Excavations at Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of
Washington, Publ. 561, Washington, D.C.
Sharer, Robert J.
Langley, James C 2003b Founding Events and Teotihuacan Connections at Copan,
1986 Symbolic Notation of Teotihuacan: Elements of Writing in a Mesoame- Honduras. In The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic
rican Culture of the Classic Period. BAR International Series 313, Interaction, edited by Geoffrey E. Braswell, pp. 143-165. University
Oxford. of Texas Press, Austin.
Laporte, Juan Pedro Sharer, Robert J.
1989 Alternativas del Clásico Temprano en la Relación desde Mundo Perdido,
Tikal: Una Reevalución. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, UNAM, 2004 External Interaction at Early Classic Copan. In Understanding
México, D.F. Early Classic Copan, edited by Ellen E. Bell, Marcello A. Canuto,
and Robert J. Sharer, pp. 297-317. University of Pennsylvania Mu-
Lombardo de Ruiz, Sonia seum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
1995 El estilo teotihuacano en la pintura mural. In La Pintura Mural
Prehispánica en México I, Teotihuacán, Tomo II, edited by Beatriz de Sharer, Robert J., Loa P. Traxler, David W Sedat, Ellen E. Bell, Marcello
la Fuente, pp. 3-64. UNAM, México, D.F. A. Canuto, and Christopher Powell.
1999 Early Classic Architecture Beneath the Copan Acropolis – A
Martin, Simon, and Nikolai Grube
2000 Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens. Thames and Hudson, Research Update. Ancient Mesoamerica 10:3-23.
London.
Stuart, David
Miller, Arthur G. 2000 ”The Arrival of Strangers”: Teotihuacan and Tollan in Classic
1973 The Mural Painting of Teotihuacán. Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Maya History. In Mesoamerica’s Classic Heritage: From Teotihuacan
Harvard University, Washington, D.C. to the Aztecs, edited by Davíd Carrasco, Lindsay Jones, and Scott
Sessions, pp. 465-513. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Millon, Clara
1988 A Reexamination of the Teotihuacan Tassel Headdress Insignia.
Stuart, David
In Feathered Serpents and Flowering Trees, edited by Kathleen Berrin
et al., pp.114-134. The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, San 2004 The Beginnings of the Copan Dynasty: A Review of the Hiero-
Francisco. glyphic and Historical Evidence. In Understanding Early Classic
Copan, edited by Ellen E. Bell, Marcello A. Canuto, and Robert
Mundy, Barbara E J. Sharer, pp. 215-247. University of Pennsylvania Museum of
1996 The Mapping of New Spain – Indigenous Cartography and the Maps of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.
the Relaciones Geográficas. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Stuart, David
Nielsen, Jesper
2005 A Foreign Past: The Writing and Representation of History on
2003 Art of the Empire:Teotihuacan Iconography and Style in Early Classic
Maya Society (A.D. 380-500). 2 vols. Ph.D. dissertation, University a Royal Ancestral Shrine at Copan. In Copán: The History of an
of Copenhagen, Copenhagen. Ancient Maya Kingdom, edited by E. Wyllys Andrews, and William
L. Fash, pp. 373-394. School of American Research Press & James
Nielsen, Jesper Currey, Santa Fe & Oxford.
2004 The Coyote and the Tasseled Shield: A Possible Titular Glyph on
a Late Xolalpan Teotihuacan Tripod. Mexicon 26(3):61-64. Verlag Taube, Karl
Anton Saurwein, Markt Schwaben. 1992a The Iconography of Mirrors at Teotihuacan. In Art, Ideology, and
the City of Teotihuacan, edited by Janet C. Berlo, pp. 169-204. Dum-
Nielsen, Jesper
In press The Coming of the Torch: Observations on Teotihuacan Icono- barton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C.
graphy in Early Classic Tikal. In Maya Ethnicity – The Construction
of Ethnic Identity from the Preclassic to Modern Times, edited by Taube, Karl
Frauke Sachse. Saurwein Verlag, Markt Schwaben. 1992b The Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Cult of Sacred War at Teoti-
huacan. In RES, Spring issue, pp. 54-87
Nielsen, Jesper
n.d. Mountains of Water, Mountains of Stars: On Placenames in Teoti- Taube, Karl
huacan Writing and Iconography. 2000 The Writing System of Ancient Teotihuacan. In Ancient America,
Reents-Budet, Dorie & Ellen E. Bell, Loa P. Traxler, Ronald L. Bishop No. 1.
2004 Early Classic Ceramic Offerings at Copan: A Comparison of the
Hunal, Margarita, and Sub-Jaguar Tombs. In Understanding Early Taube, Karl
Classic Copan, edited by Ellen E. Bell, Marcello A. Canuto, and 2003 Tetitla and the Maya Presence at Teotihuacan. In The Maya and
Robert J. Sharer, pp. 159-190. University of Pennsylvania Museum Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction, edited by Geof-
of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia. frey Braswell, pp. 274-314. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Séjourné, Laurette Taube, Karl
1966 Arqueología de Teotihuacán – La cerámica. Fondo de Cultura Econó-
mica, México, D.F. 2004 Structure 10L-16 and its Early Classic Antecedents: Fire and the
Evocation and Resurrection of K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’. In Under-
Sharer, Robert J. standing Early Classic Copan, edited by Ellen E. Bell, Marcello A.
2000 Results of Materials Analyses Thus Far. In Early Copan Acropolis Canuto & Robert J. Sharer, pp. 265-295. University of Pennsylvania
Program 2000 Field Season. Report posted at www.famsi.org. Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia.


A Selection of Rubbings, Part Two
MERLE GREENE ROBERTSON
Editor’s note on Tonina for the capture and death, 28 years earlier, of
This continues the selection of rubbings that began with an K’inich K’an Joy Chitam (also known as Kan Xul).
introduction by Merle Greene Robertson in The PARI Journal Butz’aj Sak Chiik is dressed in a beaded collar
Vol. VI, No. 1. with three huge medallions which are reminiscent of
Thompson’s glyph T771 with two balls in a crescent.
Palenque Temple XVII Tablet These balls are actually part of the large bead necklace
On this tablet (Figure 1) Palenque ruler Butz’aj Sak the ruler wears. His headdress is a heavily beaded bird
Chiik (formerly known as Manik) is portrayed in mili- with the mat symbol of royalty to the rear. He holds a
tary costume standing before a kneeling prisoner. The staff with a long serrated blade in his right hand and
date is AD 490. The text tells about the accession of the his left holds a large cloth mantle.
next king, Ahkal Mo’ Nahb’ I. The prisoner sitting on his haunches beside him
Two glyphic captions refer to battles and captures with pieces of cloth or paper pulled through his ear
that took place in AD 695 and possibly 739, the lat- holes is reminiscent of tied prisoners at Tonina, so pos-
ter involving Tonina. It is possible, according to Peter sibly this piece does indeed refer to revenge against
Mathews, that this tablet represents Palenque’s revenge that site. Such retribution would have been exacted by

Figure 1. Palenque Temple XVII Tablet (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

The PARI Journal 6(4):9-16. 

 Robertson

Figure 2. Chichen Itza: The Great Ballcourt (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

Palenque ruler K’inich Kan Bahlam, so the possibility All of the players wear padded sleeves on both
should be borne in mind that he is depicted here rather arms and one regular sandal on one foot and a padded
than Butz’aj Sak Chiik. shoe on the other, to kick the ball with. It was originally
thought that the ball had to be propelled through the
Chichen Itza: The Great Ballcourt ring by using only the hips and shoulders. However
here, as also in Tepantitla in Teotihuacan, they used one
The Great Ballcourt, one of thirteen at Chichen Itza and foot. They also used a bat, also shown being used in the
the largest in all Mesoamerica, is an I-shaped court 167 Tepantitla murals. The bat here can be seen thrust in
meters long and 70 meters wide. On its sloping bench the belt of both players.
are stone panels carved in bas relief on which six ball- It is possible that the game was not played in this
games are being played, three on the west side and court and instead it was used as a grand ceremonial
three on the east. center to be seen by everyone in the peninsula, a sym-
The wall of the court is set back three meters from bol for all Yucatecans of the supremacy of this great
the bench, and the 1.5-meter-diameter ring is set up ten city. The enactment of the game carved in stone for all
meters on the wall, making it very difficult, if not im- time would have conveyed its purpose, as related in
possible to get a ball through it. The game was played the Popol Vuh.
many different ways over Mesoamerica, and the way
it was played at Chichen was very different from the Chichen Itza: Wooden Lintel
highlands or the southern lowlands, as shown in the
iconography on these sloping walls. The zapote wood lintel in the Upper Temple of the Jag-
This one section (Figure 2) depicts the captain of uars was remarkably well preserved at the time these
the winning team on the left holding the decapitated rubbings (Figure 3) were made. The lintel is over the
head of the losing captain with blood dripping from doorway into the inner room of the temple with wall
his severed head, the ball (much enlarged) in the cen- murals. These two rubbings are details from two of
ter, and the captain of the losing team kneeling on the the three sides of the lintel. (The three sides face east,
right with blood spurting from his neck in the form of west and downward.) They portray K’ak’upakal and
serpents. K’uk’ulkan, the names or titles of the twin rulers of

10
A Selection of Rubbings, Part Two

Figure 3. Chichen Itza: Wooden Lintel (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

Chichen Itza. These represent the Chichen Itza dual Chichen Itza: Los Caracoles, Detail of Frieze
kingship which manifests itself in the paired icons of
The entire upper frieze of the Casa de los Caracoles,
Sun Disk and Feathered Serpent. They are also shown
nearly nineteen meters long, was uncovered and as-
in the Lower Temple of the Jaguars on the west wall
sembled by Dr. Peter Schmidt, Director of the Chichen
and explain the double symbolism in the Castillo. Itza Project, a truly momentous task. It is covered with
K’ak’upakal or, in full, K’ak’ u Pakal K’awiil, “Fire is scenes depicting “fertilizing the earth” and “rebirth,”
the Shield of K’awiil,” is the Sun Warrior king, and with flowers and water plants sprouting from the roots
K’uk’ulkan is the Feathered Serpent king represented of the earth. Birds are seen diving into the flowers suck-
throughout the site. ing the pollen from them.
The icon on the left in the upper rubbing is Some sections portray a bird-masked figure or deity
K’uk’ulkan the Feathered Serpent, and the icon on the fertilizing the earth, a large bulbous tuber from which
right, surrounded by the rays of the sun, is K’ak’upakal roots emit on either side and extend up, across, and
the Sun Disk. down in the pattern of a volute from which the flowers
The lower rubbing is another detail of K’ak’upakal,
the Sun Warrior king. The Sun Disk and Feathered Ser-
pent mythologically and structurally equate with the
Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque of the Popol Vuh.

Chichen Itza: Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles

This jaguar is one of six carved on the Platform of Jag-
uars and Eagles in the Great Plaza of Chichen Itza. All
are holding human hearts in their paws and smacking
their lips over the meal to be. This jaguar (Figure 4) has
only three regular jaguar spots on his body, the rest of
the spots being just large round dots. Artistic license
was taken with the tail, which has evenly spaced lines
on the outside with serpent markings on the inner side.
Scrolls emit from the jaguar’s mouth, curve over his
head, then terminate in a human head wearing a mask
that stretches far beyond its nose.
On this same platform, along with the jaguars, are
sixteen carved eagles, most of which are smaller in
width than the sculptured jaguars. This platform is a
statement of the presence of the two powerful warrior
groups at Chichen Itza, the Jaguar Warriors and the Figure 4. Chichen Itza: Platform of the Jaguars and Eagles
Eagle Warriors. (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

11
 Robertson

Figure 5. Chichen Itza: Los Caracoles, Detail of Frieze (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

and plants grow. Other scenes portray the rebirth of Chichen Itza: Casa de los Falos, Chaak with Bee
this figure, springing from the bulbous “earth.” Bakab
The figure on this particular rubbing (Figure 5)
wears a bird beak mask, a hat with layers of flat feath- There are over 276 bakabs or their associates at Chichen
ers next to his face, and a stiff rolled headpiece. His Itza. They are the supernaturals who hold up the sky,
pectoral has two dots in it, similar to other pectorals at frequently focus on dance, and most often take on the
Chichen Itza. He wears a belt of four sections, each with semblance, either in costume or other attributes, of
a large bead in the center. With outstretched hands the conch and other shells, monkeys, turtles, spiders, opos-
figure is holding onto the roots of the earth from which sums, or bees. On the east side of the Casa de Los Fa-
the flowers grow. This is probably the only narrative los in Old Chichen (Figure 6), we saw for the first time
scene with this story in all of the Maya repertory. one of these, a bee bakab, interacting with the rain god

Figure 6. Chichen Itza: Casa de los Falos, Chaak with Bee Bakab (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

12
A Selection of Rubbings, Part Two

Figure 7. Yaxchilan Lintel 24 (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

Chaak. The Chaak god on the left with his upturned The scene being portrayed here seems to be recall-
nose is offering or being offered a bowl of supposedly ing the “birth and rebirth” scenes that are all along the
sacrificial fluid by the bee bakab on the right. There is entire side of the Casa de los Caracoles.
a bowl on the floor beneath the bee bakab which will
hold the sacrificial fluid which he is emitting. As the Yaxchilan Lintel 24
section of the panel beneath the Chaak god is missing,
we do not know if there was another bowl there, but Many have called the three lintels from Temple 23,
his wide-spread legs lead us to believe that there may known as as the House of Lady K’abal Xook (Lady
have been one. Xoc), the most beautiful in all the Maya realm. Lintel
Chaak wears a large round wrist shield with a head 24 (Figure 7) dated AD 709 depicts Lady K’abal Xook
in the center on his right arm and a pectoral with the in a blood-sacrifice ritual of pulling a thorn-embedded
same motif. His headdress is another manifestation of rope through her tongue, with blood falling into a bas-
the Chaak god. ket containing blood-spattered paper strips and blood-
The bee bakab on the right is one of very few and letting paraphernalia. Her husband Itzamnaaj Bahlam
the most beautiful representation of this god that I have III (Shield Jaguar the Great), the longest-reigning king
ever seen. Four crosshatched bee wings can be seen to in Yaxchilan’s history, is holding a flaming torch over
the side, and an exquisite bee body is attached to the her head and celebrating the twenty-eighth solar an-
right of his belt. He also wears bee dangles, seen so of- niversary of his accession to the throne.
ten on bakabs. Lintels 24 and 25 enable us to see the designs on

13
 Robertson

Figure 8. Yaxchilan Lintel 53 (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

the cloth from which the woman’s gown was woven. Yaxchilan Lintel 53
She wears wristlets of six rows of tiny beads, a collar
of many tiers of these same beads, and elaborate ear The date on this lintel (Figure 8) is one day after the
spools. Her headdress bears the Mexican year sign. sacrificial ritual shown on Lintel 24, in AD 709. The
Carolyn Tate points out the unique manner in which accession bundle carried by the woman probably con-
three-dimensionality is indicated by the way her hand tains the paraphernalia needed for the sacred ritual of
is made, and the inner and outer edges of her garment. self-sacrifice—the bowl, a stingray spine, bark paper to
She has shown that at least two artists in a sculptural catch the blood, and a hallucinogen, possibly the sa-
workshop collaborated on Lintel 24, one who rendered cred mushroom Psilocybe cubensis or Panaeolus venenos-
the 3D aspects of the figure and the energetic composi- us, both of which are found in the area and are shown
tion, and one who excelled in textile and knot details. on stone monuments along the Usumacinta River.
Itzamnaaj Bahlam wears a shirt of intricate embroi- She is dressed in elite clothing, a long gown with
dery and a necklace of large beads which supports a embroidered edge, a waist-length beaded cape with
medallion of a human head with a nose bone, a very a medallion containing a human head, and multiple
short loincloth, tasseled knee gaiters, and high-backed bead wristlets. Her headdress is composed of an elabo-
boots that tie with a bow in front. His headdress, worn rate long-nosed god embellished with feathers and nu-
at the rear of his head, is attached to his long pulled-up merous motifs. Her bundle is of some weight, as can be
hair while another human head is at the front of the seen by the way she supports it with her right hand.
band that holds the whole contraption in place. The king is in the elaborate costume worn for Pe-

14
A Selection of Rubbings, Part Two

Figure 9. Bonampak Stela 1 (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

riod Endings and anniversaries, completely covered Bonampak Stela 1

with medallions of a human head and belt-heads. The
drummajor headdress he wears is balanced on top of This immense stela (Figure 9) records the hotun ending
a long-nosed god with mirrors, jade medallions, and in AD 781 in the reign of Yajaw Chan Muwaan (Lord of
feathers splaying from the rear and on top. A ceremo- the Sky Hawk), the ruler shown on this immense stela.
nial bar is shown across his chest. He holds a God K His mother and father are depicted on Stela 2, standing
manikin scepter with its right leg a serpent instead of a on the stairs close by. When we look at this monument,
foot. we are immediately drawn to his face with the large

15
 Robertson

tear-drop eye. Bonampak Sculptured Stone 1

His costume, completely covered with different
kinds of beads, has its finishing touch in the ballet-type This scene (Figure 10) shows a new ruler seated on a
throne, being presented with a Jester God head by one of
skirt fringed with oliva shells. His wristlets, also cov-
three persons seated before him. The Jester God, usually
ered with beads, are not identical. The one worn on his
a head ornament, would probably have been tied on the
right wrist is made up of five rows of small beads fin-
young ruler’s head by the long cloth that is held in the
ished with long rows of even smaller beads threaded
hand of the person making the presentation.
on strings which act as tassels. His left wristlet is made The young king is simply dressed in a plain loincloth,
of two rows of beads set between three bands, and simple wristlets but no anklets or footwear, a pectoral with
then another beaded band holds the long-nosed-god a human head, and the remaining portion of a headdress
wrist shield in place. This shield, shown in profile, is that looks like it may be a saurian creature of some kind.
undoubtedly round. The three attendants are dressed identically—simple
The staff that the king carries is almost exactly like loincloths, unadorned short skirts, transparent mantels
that carried by the elite personage on the stela that is in draped over their shoulders, plain ear spools, and high
the Reitberg Museum in Zurich. Interestingly enough, hats made of some stiff material, possibly starched cloth
the treatment of the eye is the same in this stela also. or very thin bark paper. The two delegates behind the
One of the unique aspects of Bonampak Stela 1 is presenter hold their hands across their chests clutching
the treatment of the loincloth. In almost every other the opposite arm, a position of submission. All three are
instance, the loincloth is attached to the belt and then slouched slightly forward and not sitting in upright posi-
hangs on top of the skirt. In this case, the elaborate tions.
skirt covers the top of the loincloth so we do not know The composition of this beautiful stone is remarkable.
whether there was a typical head at the belt or not. The delicate incised lines, as well as the pictorial view of
Every possible space on the witz monster at the base the personages recalls Palenque style in the Creation Tab-
is covered with beads and scrolls. let and the Tablet of the 96 Hieroglyphs.

Figure 10. Bonampak Sculptured Stone 1 (rubbing by Merle Greene Robertson).

16