Navigation – Plan du site

AccueilNuméros24L'archéologie dans les Amériques ...Les technologies numériques au se...The Lord of the Spear: New iconog...

L'archéologie dans les Amériques aujourd'hui
Les technologies numériques au service des techniques et de l'archéologie des Amériques

The Lord of the Spear: New iconographic and contextual analysis of a parietal image in an architectural cave at Calakmul

Le seigneur de la lance : Nouvelle analyse iconographique et contextuelle d'une image pariétale dans une grotte architecturale de Calakmul
El Señor de la Lanza: Nuevo análisis iconográfico y contextual de una imagen parietal en una cueva arquitectónica de Calakmul
Daniel Salazar Lama, Ana García Barrios. et Benjamín Esqueda Lazo De La Vega

Résumés

Cet article présente une nouvelle analyse d'une image représentée dans l'une des deux grottes architecturales de la sous-structure II C à Calakmul, Campeche, Mexique. Cette analyse s'inscrit dans le cadre d'une étude plus vaste visant à mieux comprendre cette sous-structure. Jusqu'à présent, on supposait que la figure représentée sur l'image correspondait à un guerrier tenant une lance. Cependant, une nouvelle étude nous permet de proposer une interprétation alternative qui associe cet individu à un héros culturel des récits de création mayas, Juun Ajaw. Notre analyse commence par un examen iconographique détaillé, après quoi nous contextualisons l'image et tentons de relier la figure au cadre architectural et au programme sculptural de la Substructure II C.

Haut de page

Texte intégral

Acknowledgements

We would like to express our gratitude to the Secretaría Técnica de la Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural – INAH for allowing us to consult the reports in their custody and to Adriana Velázquez Morlet, Director of Centro INAH Campeche, for arranging the corresponding permissions and for her invaluable assistance. Furthermore, we would like to express our gratitude to Verónica A. Vázquez López, Claudia García Solís and Luz Evelia Campaña Valenzuela for their assistance in providing information regarding certain details of Image No. 2 of Sub II C1. Furthermore, we would like to acknowledge Christophe Helmke, who provided us with invaluable material and bibliographical references for our research, and Arianna Campiani, who made a significant contribution to the 2024 field season. Furthermore, we would like to express our gratitude to the editors of this special issue of IdeAs (Idées d'Amériques) for extending an invitation to us to participate and for providing encouragement to present the progress of our work. Additionally, we are indebted to the anonymous reviewers for their invaluable suggestions on how to enhance this work.

The current project started in 2020 as part of a postdoctoral research at ArchAm (Archéologie des Amériques UMR8096-CNRS / Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne), funded by the CONACYT Postdoctoral Fellowships Abroad Program. The project is currently under the authorisation and logistical support of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia of Mexico and the Centro INAH Campeche. Financial support is provided by ArchAm and the Stresser-Péan Foundation.

Introduction

1The Maya city of Calakmul is situated in the south of the state of Campeche, at the centre of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico (Fig. 1). The period of greatest splendour for the city corresponds to the 7th and 8th centuries CE when it was under the control of the Kanu'l lineage. During this period, Calakmul emerged as the most powerful kingdom in the entire Maya area, exerting dominion over numerous kingdoms and cities in distant regions (Martin S. and N. Grube, 2002: 101-115). Its origins can be traced to the end of the Middle Preclassic period, around 500-400 BCE, when it already exhibited monumental architecture and a certain degree of influence in the surrounding area. Over the following centuries, Calakmul distinguished itself from the other Maya kingdoms through its artistic and architectural expressions, which were disseminated and adapted by numerous other sites.

Figure 1. Maya area showing Calakmul and other archaeological sites mentioned in the text

Figure 1. Maya area showing Calakmul and other archaeological sites mentioned in the text

Credits: Map from AW3D30 (JAXA), adapted by Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega.

2The urban layout of the city is governed by Structure II (Fig. 2), a voluminous pyramidal basement with the earliest architectural remains observed at the site, dating to the initial periods of occupation (Rodríguez Campero O., 2008; 2009; 2012). Among them is the architectural cave that forms the subject of this study. Over the centuries, numerous layers of construction have been added to the structure, resulting in the main architectural landmark of Calakmul with a construction history spanning over 1,200 years (Rodríguez Campero O., op. cit. See also Carrasco Vargas R. and M. Cordeiro Baqueiro, 2014).

Figure 2. Map of Calakmul core area

Figure 2. Map of Calakmul core area

Credits: Taken from Ruppert K. and J. Denison (1943: Pl. 61), with modifications made by Daniel Salazar Lama.

Figure 3. a). Structure II. Drone photography b) Structure II (Areal photogrammetry) superimposed on the preliminary virtual reconstruction of Substructure II C (ground photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution)

Figure 3. a). Structure II. Drone photography b) Structure II (Areal photogrammetry) superimposed on the preliminary virtual reconstruction of Substructure II C (ground photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution)

Credits: a) Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega; b) Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.

3Structure II, with a height of more than 40 metres, is oriented towards the Main Plaza of Calakmul (Fig. 3a). This public open space contains several of the most significant stone monuments on the site, including portraits of the rulers and their consorts and records of the most pivotal historical events at the political level. From this vantage point, the public observed the ceremonies and rituals of the ruling and religious elite conducted in structures II, IV, V, VI and VII, which delineate the plaza on all sides.

4As previously stated, the earliest archaeological remains reported in the whole city were discovered in Structure II, during the excavations conducted in Substructure II C and beneath the building Sub II C1 (Fig. 3b, 4). These remains date to the end of the Middle Preclassic period, before 400 BCE, and correspond to the first two architectural phases of Structure II. The Calakmul Archaeological Project (PAC, in Spanish), under the auspices of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), has determined that Substructure II C—which corresponds to the third construction phase of Structure II (Fig. 3b)—was built over a long period beginning in the transition between Middle and Late Preclassic periods, around 400/300 BCE (Rodríguez Campero R., 2008: 15; 2009: 1345).

  • 1 See Hasso Hohmann (1979).

5It remains unclear precisely when the construction commenced, given that only two charcoal samples from the entirety of the substructure have been recovered, and these were obtained from material associated with Sub II C1 (Rodríguez Campero R., op. cit.). What is somewhat more evident to archaeologists is that the entire complex was constructed over a period of several years, or even decades. This is inferred from the differences in the construction techniques employed in the arched vaults of Sub II C1 and Sub II C2 (Fig. 5, 6). In general, the vault of Sub II C1, which has an arched form that recalls a continuous barrel vault, does not function structurally in the same way1. It has a more experimental and unpolished technique, with large lintels in the entrance openings, no voussoirs and no keystone, and only 57 cm in rise from the springing, in contrast with the 2.85 metres of total height and 2.80 metres in maximum span. These characteristics allow the archaeologist to propose that Sub II C1 was the initial structure erected on the platform summit. In contrast, the vault of Sub II C2 has a keystone and well-ordered voussoirs, and the absence of lintels in the north and south openings, which allows the arch-shaped vault to be perceived from the outside. Its construction technique reflects a much more developed and advanced structural knowledge than that observed in Sub II C1 (Carrasco Vargas R. et al., 2003: 26).

6Furthermore, the south façade of Sub II C1 underwent a substantial architectural renovation, with the original façade partially obscured by a pair of staircases and a new frieze (Salazar Lama D., 2022a: 183, Fig. 14a, 14b). These findings suggest that the entire Substructure II C underwent a series of architectural modifications and additions over an extended period.

Figure 4. Calakmul Substructure II C with buildings Sub II C1 and Sub II C2 indicated. Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Figure 4. Calakmul Substructure II C with buildings Sub II C1 and Sub II C2 indicated. Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.

Figure 5. General view of Substructure II C: vaulted corridors of Sub II C1 and C2 marked in yellow (top, view from the north; bottom, view from the northwest). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Figure 5. General view of Substructure II C: vaulted corridors of Sub II C1 and C2 marked in yellow (top, view from the north; bottom, view from the northwest). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.

Figure 6. a). Vaulted corridor of Sub II C1, seen from the north (left, during the process of the first photogrammetric record; right, preliminary virtual reconstruction) b) Vaulted corridor of Sub II C2, seen from the north (left, photography of the present-day aspect; right, preliminary virtual reconstruction)

Figure 6. a). Vaulted corridor of Sub II C1, seen from the north (left, during the process of the first photogrammetric record; right, preliminary virtual reconstruction) b) Vaulted corridor of Sub II C2, seen from the north (left, photography of the present-day aspect; right, preliminary virtual reconstruction)

Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.

7It is crucial to highlight that the construction of Substructure II C was completed during the Late Preclassic period. This is confirmed by the archaeological surveys conducted in Substructure II B, a massive pyramidal basement built on top, which has been dated to the second half of this period (approximately 100 BCE) on the basis of the ceramic material found in the excavations (Rodríguez Campero R., 2008: 1345-1346).

8The discovery of Substructure II C by the end of the 1990s and early 2000s, along with the subsequent investigation of this architectural complex, was part of the PAC investigations under the direction of Ramón Carrasco Vargas. The exploration and consolidation of Structure II, carried out by this project, has enabled us to study in detail the sculptural and pictorial programs of the substructure below.

9In the framework of the ongoing project "Virtual Reconstruction and Analysis of Substructure II C of Calakmul, Campeche", here we present the progress of the recording and the preliminary results of the iconographic analysis of one of the figures depicted in the interior of building Sub II C1. As shown in Figure 4, this building is part of the architectural assemblage of Substructure II C.

  • 2 The first reconstructive proposals for Substructure II C were made by PAC and published by Ramón Ca (...)

10The objective of this project is to gain an in-depth comprehension of Substructure II C. It is entirely concealed by Structure II, which was erected upon it in accordance with the Maya tradition of superimposed constructions, as illustrated in Figure 3b. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to employ a virtual reconstruction that includes all the buildings and their characteristics, as well as the complete sculptural and pictorial programs. In situ, it is virtually impossible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the site, as it is only accessible through narrow exploratory tunnels that impede a clear view of the entire area. We are aware of the limitations of the virtual reconstruction in places with this kind of difficulty. Nevertheless, the initial results presented in this paper are based on a methodology that takes into account our own architectural measurements and the photogrammetry record of the stucco reliefs and architectural features exposed, as well as the observations, reconstructive hypotheses, and architectural surveys made by PAC.2

The architectural caves of the Substructure II C

  • 3 This type of vault is a rare occurrence in Maya architecture. A similar arched vault was initially (...)

11Buildings Sub II C1 and Sub II C2 of Substructure II C have wide corridors with arched vaults (also described as “semicircular vaults”), as shown in Figures 5 and 6.3 Ramón Carrasco Vargas (2000, 2008, 2012) and Ana García Barrios (2007, 2016) mention that the shape of these vaults, covered with irregular stucco plaster, recreate the interior of a cave. It is the latter author who supports the interpretation by comparing the arched shape with the representations of caves in Olmec sculpture of the Middle Preclassic, especially those of altars 4 and 5 at La Venta (García Barrios A., 2016: 24-25. See also Grove D., 1973; Stone A., 1995: 48-49). An additional illustrative example can be found in a royal tomb in Substructure II-B at Calakmul, which was constructed during the Late Classic renovations of Structure II. In this instance, the tomb of Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk'the ruler of Kanu'l from 686 to 695 CEfeatures an arched vault full of images and texts in medium and high relief (Carrasco Vargas R., 2011: 50). It is hypothesised that this tomb may also represent a cave-like structure, reminiscent of the one constructed in Sub II C1 (García Barrios A., 2014: 53).

12Returning to the caves of Sub II C1 and Sub II C2, in addition to the aforementioned atypical architectural features, there are multiple positive handprints in black and red (Fig. 7a, 7b). These handprints reproduce the internal visual environment of natural caves with parietal images, as described by Carrasco Vargas (2005: 64). It is evident that both vaults adhere to the established tradition of man-made caves within the Mesoamerican built environment (Brady J., 2003; 2012). It is noteworthy, however, that the three architectural caves found in the Calakmul Structure II (Sub II C1, Sub II C2, and Substructure II-B) are among the few examples in the Maya region to have been identified with arched vaults.

Figure 7. Handprints in the vaults of Substructure II C. a) Building Sub II C1 b) Building Sub II C2

Figure 7. Handprints in the vaults of Substructure II C. a) Building Sub II C1 b) Building Sub II C2

Credits: Daniel Salazar Lama.

  • 4 Translated and emphasis by the authors.
  • 5 For a synthesis of all these aspects, see Stone A., 1995.

13According to James Brady (2012: 61), architectural caves replicated the same characteristics of natural caves, as well as having iconographic elements that designated them as thresholds to the interior of the earth. As for the meaning of architectural caves, the same author forcefully states that the effort to "invoke the same symbolic elements as in natural caves [...] leaves little doubt that the function and meaning was similar in both cases" (Brady J., 2003: 149).4 Broadly speaking, in the ancient and contemporary Maya cosmovision, caves are conceived as thresholds that connect the anthropic world with the subterranean world inhabited by deities and supernatural creatures; at the same time, they serve as a portal or bridge between the vertical strata of the cosmos that favour the liminal processes of gods and ancestors that culminate in rebirth and celestial apotheosis. The caves are also a receptacle of material wealth and abound with resources and natural forces that revitalise the life and fertility cycles. This makes caves places of pilgrimage and settings for rituals that activate all these processes, or community foundation rituals, dedicated to the ancestors and protective gods that dwell within them.5

The "Lord of the spear": the character drawn in the architectural cave of Sub II C1

Background

14The drawing we will analyse was catalogued in the 2022 field season as Image n°2 of the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1 (Fig. 8). Image n°1 is a group of five black handprints situated in the highest point of the vault (Fig. 7a).

Figure 8. Image n°2 from the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1. a) Drawing with stucco surface b) Clean drawing of the figure.

Figure 8. Image n°2 from the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1. a) Drawing with stucco surface b) Clean drawing of the figure.

Credits: Daniel Salazar Lama, based on photographs included in Carrasco Vargas R., 2008 and 2012, and in Lozano P., 2004.

  • 6 The stacco technique involves the separation of the stucco plaster and the pictorial layer on top o (...)

15Originally, Image n°2 was located on one of the walls of the corridor of Sub II C1. It was reported by Ramón Carrasco Vargas in at least two publications (2008: 233, 2012: 77). In 2004, the pictorial film was completely detached with the stacco technique (Soto Calderón A. and P. Nishimura Ávila, 2005)6 and taken to the Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural (CNCPC in Spanish, an INAH department dedicated to preserving and protecting cultural heritage), in Mexico City, where it is awaiting restauration. For this reason, it could not be recorded in 2022, as other images were, especially in the architectural cave of Sub II C2 (Salazar Lama D., 2023a).

  • 7 Document consulted under permission of Secretaría Técnica de la Coordinación Nacional de Conservaci (...)

16The drawing presented in Figure 8 is based on photographs published by Carrasco Vargas in 2008 (235, Fig. 5) and 2012 (77), and on photographs included in a 2004 report submitted to the Dirección de Museos del Centro INAH Campeche (Lozano P., 2004).7

17Ana García Barrios and the restorer Claudia García Solís, collaborators in this new project, saw this image in situ. Both agree in locating it in the centre of the east wall of the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1 and looking towards the north span, at a height of a metre or so above the floor (García Barrios and García Solís, February 2022). Its precise location is unknown; however, an approximate area can be inferred from these observations (see Fig. 6a and 9).

Figure 9. Approximate location of Image n°2 in the interior of Sub II C1 (marked by an arrow). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Figure 9. Approximate location of Image n°2 in the interior of Sub II C1 (marked by an arrow). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.

18Ana García Barrios recalls that the figure was not depicted in its full body and mentions that other elements were accompanying it, such as the spear held in the left hand, which is why she immediately nicknamed it "Lord of the Spear". The fact that he did not have a full body was confirmed by the photograph included in the report of Paola Lozano (2004), in which it is clear that the lower part of the figure is hidden by a group of regular marks that we will discuss later. It can also be seen that the figure may have been interacting with other elements, perhaps animals or landscape descriptors. However, the images available at the moment are not conclusive.

19According to the report of Lozano (ibid.), the entire scene was located on a stucco surface approximately 1.70 m wide x 1.90 m high. Thus, the figure depicted in the image—which at some point we thought may have had dimensions close to human-body scale—must have been only a few tens of centimetres tall, as shown in Figure 8.

20To date, Ramón Carrasco Vargas is the only scholar who has given a description and interpretation of the character depicted in this image:

  • 8 Translated by the authors.

"This figure executed in grisaille represents a warrior in profile carrying a spear and a shield; this personage shows clearly Olmecoid features. These features can be seen on the head, where ribbons can be seen knotting the nape of the neck, following a style similar to that of the so-called 'helmets' of colossal Olmec heads. On the face, the eye is partially missing, and the mouth is delineated according to the canons of Olmec art, i.e. with the so-called feline lip and shark's tooth". (Carrasco Vargas R., 2008: 233).8

Formal and iconographic analysis

21The grisaille technique mentioned by Carrasco Vargas was made with charcoal applied with different saturations and procedures, for example, with a charcoal point to draw lines of different thicknesses and spreading pigment by hand or with a dry brush to generate wide areas with different saturations. According to Soto Calderón and Nishimura Ávila (2005) in a report made for the CNCPC, some details of the drawing were retouched with black paint in ancient times, presumably to enhance charcoal traces that had become barely visible. Some of these traces can be seen in the outline of the back and the spear.

22In some photographs, we detected scattered red stains in some parts of the image, which are not mentioned in the publications and reports. These may have been made with hand-scattered clays, which were not intended to be precisely defined iconographic motifs, contours or shapes. In 2022 we observed a similar treatment of the images in the drawings of the walls and vault of building Sub II C2 (Salazar Lama D., 2023a).

  • 9 See Źrałka J. (2014) for a detailed discussion.

23In our opinion, this is undoubtedly a parietal image, created in an architectural replica of a cave. The technique used is far from graffiti and it was executed by an experienced master painter. In this sense, and according to K. Herbert Mayer (2009: 14), mural representations that use dry techniques can be classified as drawings, unlike mural paintings that use brushes and paintbrushes to apply wet pigments; unlike graffiti, which according to the author are incised representations on the walls, and handprints, positive and negative.9 Andrea Stone (1997: 33) makes a similar distinction and categorises as drawing the parietal images in Maya caves that are made with charcoal or hardened pieces of clay and whose colour palette is restricted to black and red. This observation by Stone is extremely important, as it corroborates our idea that the same technique and materials were used in the drawing of Sub II C1 as were used in the wall paintings in the natural caves; we believe, therefore, that this is a way of emulating in an architectural cave the images found in the natural caves.

  • 10 See Carrasco Vargas R. and M. Colón González (2005: 44), Boucher Le Landais S. (2012: 195, 209, Fig (...)
  • 11 Erik Velásquez García (2009: 233-234, 258) suggests that this visual resource creates a backlight e (...)

24One striking detail is the thin line that runs parallel to the thicker outline of the figure's right arm. Between this thin line and the thicker outline there is a small unpainted margin. Many Preclassic and Classic wall and ceramic drawings and paintings have this same characteristic. In a late Early Classic polychrome plate from Tomb 1, Structure XX at Calakmul (Fig. 10),10 a winged Maize God has light-coloured margins on the torso, arms and legs, which create an effect of volume, enabling the differentiation of the overlapping body parts. It has been suggested that this stylistic device was intended to make the figures more intelligible and differentiate them from the background (Miller M. and M. O'Neil, 2014: 212). Perhaps this is an incipient attempt to reproduce the three-dimensionality and volume of the body with two-dimensional techniques.11

Figure 10. The Early Classic Maya Maize God in a polychrome plate found in Tomb 1, Structure XX, Calakmul

Figure 10. The Early Classic Maya Maize God in a polychrome plate found in Tomb 1, Structure XX, Calakmul

Credits: Drawing by Daniel Salazar Lama, based on a photograph taken in the Museo Arqueológico Maya de Campeche, Fuerte San Miguel. Use under permission.

25The high quality of the drawing in the corridor of Sub II C1, as evidenced by the harmonious proportions of the body, the modulation of the strokes, the double contour line, the use of grisaille and even, as will be explained below, the marked foreshortening of the left arm, leads us to believe that the drawing was made by an expert. Interestingly, some details of the drawing were repainted, as can be seen in the thicker lines of the back, the raised arm and the spear. This made it difficult to identify the iconographic details, as we observed that some forms were modified, erased and superimposed on others, making the image look like a palimpsest. We suggest that this repainting aimed to ensure the permanence of the image, that is, to preserve it in a good and visible condition, which makes sense if we consider that it is located in an enclosure that was in use for several years, perhaps centuries, after the date of its construction.

26As for the "Olmecoid" physiognomy, the shape of the mouth and the prominent incisor clearly fit the description of Carrasco Vargas (2008: 233). The eye has been almost completely lost, as the author mentions.

27A small circular dark area on the cheek is preserved, which is only moderately noticeable because it appears washed out or somewhat diluted and because it was severely affected by the stucco that fell from the central part of the face. Dark semi-circular patches are also visible on the back and right arm, despite the deterioration or erasure of the charcoal.

28About the bands that knot the back of the head and that Carrasco Vargas interprets as a helmet in the style of the colossal Olmec heads, we consider that it is more likely to be the hair that is tied back and tied up. These bands may have been made of fabric or plant fibres and are known in the specialist literature as "twisted bands" (Stuart D., 2004: 135; Taube K. et al., 2010: 14-16, Fig. 11). The hair is arranged in several long locks tied in a knot with vanished traces of red pigment. The figure also wears a circular earflare with an oval pendant with parallel lines. These may be shining marks, suggesting it was a polished stone.

29According to Carrasco Vargas (2008: 233), the figure carries a spear diagonally across his chest. He holds it firmly in his left hand while bending his torso and looking forward. We have noticed that the left arm has a marked foreshortening: raised, with the elbow pointing forwards and the hand downwards. The upper end of this object still preserves a group of successive knots interrupted by a fracture in the stucco, but which we recognise as part of the ornaments of the punches used in the bleeding rituals (Joralemon D., 1974: Fig. 3). On the other hand, the lower end, where the point must have been, has not been properly preserved.

30Does this image represent a warrior, as Carrasco Vargas suggested? Our interpretation is different. We suggest that it is Juun Ajaw, a mythical character frequently depicted in the Classic period and, to a lesser extent, in the Late Preclassic.

  • 12 Compare the different drawings of Izapa Stela 25: Norman G. (1973: Lam. 41, 42), Guernsey J. (2006: (...)
  • 13 In addition to the above examples, Lucia Henderson (2013: 412) identifies Juun Ajaw in Kaminaljuyu (...)

31Indeed, many of the features mentioned coincide with the depictions of Juun Ajaw in the iconography of both periods. The twisted band across the forehead and head and the hair tied back are some of the most common features of this character. The Preclassic representations of the four Juun Ajaw in the western mural of Pinturas Sub-IA from San Bartolo (individuals 3, 5 and 7. See in Taube K. et al., 2010: Figs. 7, 58-60) and on Izapa Stela 2512 are consistent in showing him with these characteristics.13

  • 14 See also the Classic examples of Juun Ajaw on a vase from Huehuetenango (Joralemon D., 1974: Fig. 1 (...)

32Another diagnostic feature of this character is the black circle on the cheek and the circular black spots on the arms, torso and legs (e.g. Individual 1 from the west mural of the Sub-IA of San Bartolo and fragments of mural painting from the Sub-IB building. Taube K. et al., 2010: Fig. 7, 12).14 In the face of the Juun Ajaw of Sub II C1 from Calakmul, the circle on the cheek is barely hinted at by an inconspicuous black spot, but which coincides with the location of the dark spots on the faces of the aforementioned characters from San Bartolo.

33The tied bands that the Calakmul character has under his chin and that extend towards the left shoulder also recall the cloth tied around the necks of individuals 3, 5 and 7 in the San Bartolo west mural painting. Only one Preclassic example of Juun Ajaw, Individual 7 from this same mural, has a tuft of hair falling in front of the face and down to the chin. A similar feature is seen in front of the mouth of the figure from Sub II C1, which must have fallen over the nose (now lost).

34All these features point to the fact that the figure represented in the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1 of Calakmul is Juun Ajaw. Moreover, its style suggests a date close to that of San Bartolo, in the first or second century BCE. In this sense, it is worth remembering that the substructure must have had a prolonged use from the date when its construction began.

Discussion: The context of Juun Ajaw, a clue to his meaning?

35Beyond the identification of Juun Ajaw, what is the meaning of the scene of this personage in the cave of Sub II C1 at Calakmul? Answering this question would be essential to understand his presence in such a particular context; however, with the photographs we have at the moment, we can only formulate some hypotheses, in the hope that new material will allow us to confirm some of our ideas.

36According to several authors, Juun Ajaw is the primordial hunter of the mythical time, the one in charge of defeating with a blowgun the Principal Bird Deity, a monstrous celestial bird with solar features (Helmke C. and J. Nielsen, 2015: 32-34; Nielsen J. and C. Helmke, 2015: 3-11). In the western mural of San Bartolo, four versions of this character are seen offering animals and sacrificial blood in front of the trees located at the cardinal points and on which the bird perches. With these actions, Juun Ajaw structures the world and shapes the cultural space (Saturno W., 2009: 124; Taube K. et al., 2010: 27-28).

  • 15 The relationship of Juun Ajaw with penile piercing blood sacrifices has been identified by several (...)
  • 16 In a recently presented paper (Salazar Lama D., A. García Barrios, and B. Esqueda Lazo de la Vega, (...)

37Although the mortification or bleeding of the penis appears to be the logical action of Juun Ajaw in the preclassic scenes,15 in Calakmul we find some peculiarities that distance us from this hypothesis. One such peculiarity is the fact that the spear does not go through the virile member of the character; on the contrary, its trajectory moves away from the pelvis area.16

  • 17 See Figure 8b, which lacks the colour of the stucco surface, for a better image of this staining pa (...)
  • 18 See other examples in Robicsek F. and D. Hales (1981: vessels 95, 99, 102) and Boucher le Landis, S (...)

38Other elements in the image suggest new interpretative possibilities, such as the succession of curved dark and thick lines over a light grey area. These lines appear to follow a pattern and to have been made with charcoal swept over the surface of the stucco.17 They are found below Juun Ajaw and could be the reason why we cannot see the figure's legs and the element at which the spear is directed. We note that this stains-like pattern is similar to that observed on some Late Classic Codex style pottery. On vessels K4013 and K521 (see MVDB), similar sweeping lines or dark areas depict moving water or humid environments in the vicinity of mythological mountain-caves (Robicsek F. and D. Hales, 1981: 80).18 Similarly, in a series of narrative images known as "confrontation scenes", the representation of water employs an identical pictorial technique, with the bodies of the characters submerged to a depth of approximately half their height (García Barrios A., 2006: 139-140, Fig. 6, 7; Robicsek F. and D. Hales, 1981: vessel 102). If our observations are correct, the same could have happened with the character in Sub II C1, and he could have been covered with water up to his hips or thighs. Thus, the action that the personage performs with the spear could be taking place in a wet or watery space, which would make sense in the cavernous space in which he was represented.

  • 19 At Uxul, Substructure K2-Sub has a mural painting of the god Chaahk fishing, at the foot of which r (...)
  • 20 At this time, the only available feature that supports our hypothesis is the slope of the corridor. (...)

39As illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1 connects the substructure inner courtyard with the main façade. During the 2022 field season, we observed a slight slope of the corridor to the north, directly to the second level main access. This led us to consider the possibility that during periods of heavy rainfall, the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1 may have channelled the water coming from the inner courtyard until it flowed through the main façade staircase, falling in a cascade below the frieze and the rain god Chaahk (Fig. 11).19 If this is the case, the presence and actions of Juun Ajaw within the corridor would be contextualized in the context of a tangible aquatic environment of a cave.20 The potential outcome of this feature is to engage the observer with the environment and the scene in a phenomenological manner. This could be employed to create an immersive space within the vaulted corridor for the recreation or commemoration of a mythical narrative.

Figure 11. Calakmul Substructure II C, main façade (north). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Figure 11. Calakmul Substructure II C, main façade (north). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction

Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.

  • 21 See Quenon M. and G. Le Fort (1997: Fig. 8a-b).

40While analysing this possibility, the idea arose that Juun Ajaw may have been hunting or fishing in the water. Comparatively, many spear-wielding figures have body postures similar to Juun Ajaw in Sub II C1, especially in scenes in which they spear and kill the Xook fish, a monstrous shark flailing in mid-water.21 Some scenes include deities extracting the Maize God from the open jaws of the fish after hunting it. For this reason, it is considered that this is one of the episodes of the Maize God's life cycle, when he temporarily inhabits the subterranean water world (Quenon M. and G. Le Fort, 1997: 886-892). To date, this episode is not known in Preclassic Maya iconography, however, a scene on a Late Classic Codex style vessel (K1004. See MVDB), shows Juun Ajaw on a serpent resembling the Xook monster, while Yax Bahlam—another mythical character who frequently accompanies him in his exploits—presents the infant Maize God on a huge plate and surrounded by jewels. We do not know for certain whether Juun Ajaw captures the creature and frees the little deity. If this is the case, the scene on vessel K1004 would be the only example we know of in which Juun Ajaw participates in the hunt for the fish and subjugates it (Chinchilla Mazariegos O., 2017: 215-217; Salazar Lama D., 2022b: 144).

41Another partially similar scene can be seen in the western mural of San Bartolo, where Juun Ajaw (Individual 1) is not hunting the Xook monster, but fishing and offering a fish that is grilled on a tripod. Like the Juun Ajaw of Sub II C1, the San Bartolo individual is in an aquatic environment defined by a band of moving water at his feet (Saturno, W. 2009: 122-123, Fig. 8).

  • 22 See also Martin S., 2004: 107-108.
  • 23 It is essential to note that in the historical Maya texts of the Classic period, the expression och (...)
  • 24 As Stuart (Vogt E. and D. Stuart, 2005: 159-160) notes, the phrase och witz, "enters the mountain", (...)

42These details prompt the consideration of the expression och ch'e'en, meaning "to enter the cave". In the Classic Maya inscriptions, the logogram (or word sign) ch'e'en is employed in a variety of contexts (Vogt E. and D. Stuart, 2005: 157-163). It is of particular interest here to consider the literal meaning of ch'e'en as a cave or well, as discussed by David Stuart (Vogt E. and D. Stuart, op. cit.), and to the verb och, "to enter". For example, in Temple XIV of Palenque, ch'e'en is used to refer to the watery interior of the temple, and in the confrontation scenes mentioned above, the same term is used to describe an aquatic or humid environment (García Barrios A., 2006: 139; 2009: 504). These and other examples have led Velásquez García (2004: 84) to suggest that the term may allude to a mythical place or a cave.22 The same author (op. cit.) has also mentioned that the wider use of ch'e'en as a city or territory may have its roots in the Mesoamerican practice of naming places after caves or waterholes, which were considered to be the most important natural landmarks.23 In these contexts, the term och ch'e'en probably refers to the act of entering natural or artificial caves for ritual or commemorative purposes, or even to temples that are assimilated to mountains and their interiors to caves.24

  • 25 See García Barrios (2011: 85-87) for a broader discussion of the possible meanings of the expressio (...)

43Building on the ideas put forth by Velásquez García, Ana García Barrios and Ramón Carrasco Vargas (2006: 129) have proposed the hypothesis that in some confrontation scenes with several characters with water up to their waist, and in a painted sherd found in Calakmul Structure XX, ch'e'en may allude to a real location within the Calakmul core, probably the architectural cave in Substructure II C. The observations made on Image n°2 of Sub II C1 in this paper provide further evidence to support the previous suggestion, particularly given that the Sub II C1 cave was conceived as an aquatic or humid space.25

44We propose that this Sub II C1 cave may have been a scenography and ritual space for rulers and nobles or for the Preclassic pilgrims who arrived at this monumental building. Furthermore, this cave could be a replica of a specific place where Juun Ajaw was involved in deep-time events.

45The complex sculptural program that frames the access and entrance to the cave suggests that the events that took place there connected the protagonists with a mythical space and time of creation (Salazar Lama D., 2022a: 183, 185). In this sense, in Figure 11 we see that above the northern span of the cave of Sub II C1 there is a frieze with a complex scene. In it, the rain god Chaahk descends and enters the cave (García Barrios A., 2007), flanked by two versions of the Principal Bird Deity in a celestial frame, which have been interpreted as avian manifestations of the sun god (Salazar Lama D., 2022a: 174; 2023b: 194-196). In addition, just below the frieze and the opening of the cave are two monumental masks with two Maize Gods emerging from the open jaws of creatures with terrestrial turtle features (Salazar Lama D., 2022a: 176-178; 2023b: 196-200, Fig. 9, 10). It has been suggested that the sculptural program of the main façade of Substructure II C focuses on one of the most outstanding moments in the life cycle of the Maize God and the rains that propitiate his birth (Salazar Lama D., 2023b). Based on these observations, we suggest that Juun Ajaw in the Sub II C1 cave may well be part of the same narrative.

Concluding remarks

46As previously stated, an understanding of the scene within Sub II C1 is crucial to grasping the worldview surrounding this cave. However, it is important to acknowledge that the arched vault of this building forms part of a vast and intricate architectural space, Substructure II C, and that it is but one of the numerous elements that contribute to the meanings and functions of the entire complex. In this context, the comprehensive virtual reconstruction of the substructure will permit the analysis of the images and built forms, thereby facilitating the obtaining of a more clear and comprehensive understanding of the site.

47Focusing on the Juun Ajaw of Sub II C1, there is much speculation about the action he is performing and the meaning of the scene. For now, we have few clues, allowing us only a small glimpse of what could have been a much larger representation. What we do know is the physical space in which the drawing is located, the interior of an artificial or architectural cave, understood as an aquatic environment. Of course, the context, the space and what we have discovered so far in the scene raises new questions that will have to await further stages of research to be answered.

48We plan to continue our research and look for new images that will allow us to complete the drawing and the rest of the scene of Sub II C1. Only in this way will we be able to understand the functions and significance of this cave within the whole of Calakmul Substructure II C.

Haut de page

Bibliographie

Boucher Le Landis, Sylviane, "Tradición y arte cerámico" in Calakmul. Patrimonio de la humanidad, Mexico City, Secretaría del Estado de Campeche, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2012, p. 179-211.

Boucher Le Landis, Sylviane, "Codex style vessels from Calakmul. Mythological narratives and archaeological contexts", Arqueología Mexicana, XXII, n°128, 2015, p. 58-65.

Brady, James E., "La importancia de las cuevas artificiales para el entendimiento de los espacios sagrados el Mesoamérica" in Alain Breton, Aurore M. Becquelin, and Mario H. Ruz (dir.), Espacios mayas. Uses, Representations, Beliefs, Mexico City, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Centro de Estudios Mexicanos y Centroamericanos, 2003, p. 143-160.

Brady, James E., "The Architectural Cave as an Early Form of Artificial Cave in the Maya Lowlands", Association for Mexican Cave Studies. Bulletin, n°23, 2012, p. 61-68.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón, "El Cuchcabal de la Cabeza de Serpiente", Arqueología Mexicana, VII, n°42, 2000, p. 12-19.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón, "La montaña sagrada: arquitectura preclásica en Calakmul" in Virginia M. Fields and Dorie Reents-Budet (dir.), Los mayas Señores de la creación. Los orígenes de la realeza sagrada, San Sebastián, Nerea Ediciones, 2005, p. 62-66.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón, "Montaña y cueva: génesis de la cosmología mesoamericana. Los olmecas y los mayas preclásicos" in María Teresa Uriarte and Rebecca González Lauck (dir.), Olmeca. Balance y perspectivas. Memorias de la Primera Mesa Redonda. Volume I, Mexico City, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, 2008, p. 227-244.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón, "Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’ (Garra de Jaguar) (649-¿695?), Calakmul, Campeche", Arqueologia Mexicana, XIX, n°110, 2011, p. 46-51.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón, "Religión" in Calakmul. Patrimonio de la humanidad, Mexico City, Secretaría del Estado de Campeche, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, 2012, p. 89-95.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón and Marinés Colón González, "El renio de Kaan y la antigua ciudad maya de Calakmul", Arqueologia Mexicana, XIII, n°75, 2005, p. 40-47.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón and María Cordeiro Baqueiro, "El origen de a montańa", Arqueologia Mexicana, XXII, n°128, 2014, p. 41-45.

Carrasco Vargas, Ramón, Omar Rodríguez Campero, Marinés Colón González, Claudia García Solís, Tamara Mato, Raquel Tamayo, Cristina Acuña y Javier Hernández, Proyecto Arqueológico Calakmul. Informe Técnico, temporada 2003. Tomo I. Report submitted to INAH, 2003.

Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo, Imágenes de la Mitología Maya, Museo Popol Vuh, 2011.

Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo, Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya, Yale University Press, 2017.

Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo, "The Solar and Lunar Heroes in Classic and Maya Art", in Holley Moyes, Allen J. Christenson and Frauke Sachse (dir.), The Myths of the Popol Vuh in Cosmology, Art, and Ritual, Louisville, University Press of Colorado, 2021, p. 251-267.

Coe, Michael D., "The Hero Twins: Myth and Image" in Justin Kerr (dir.), The Maya Vase Book: A Corpus of Rollout Photographs of Maya Vases, vol. 1, New York, Kerr Associates, 1989, p. 161-184.

Delvendahl, Kai and Nikolai Grube, "Tempel des Wassergottes und Palast der Schlangenkönige: Die Chronologie des Gebäudes K2 von Uxul, Campeche" in Lars Frühsorge, Meike Böge, Christian Brückner, Miriam Heun, Jenny Lebuhn-Chhetri, and Dirk Tiemann (dir.), Mesoamerikanistik. Archäeologie, Ethnohistoire, Ethnographie und Linguistik, Aachen, Shaker Verlag GmbH, 2015, p. 108-138.

Doyle, James and Stephen Houston, "A Watery Tableau at El Mirador, Guatemala", Maya Decipherment, 2012. Online version: https://mayadecipherment.com (consulted: 06/20/2024).

García Barrios, Ana, "Confrontation Scenes on Codex-Style Pottery: An Iconographic Review", Latin American Indian Literatures Journal, 22, n°2, 2006, p. 129-152.

García Barrios, Ana, "El dios Chaahk en el Preclásico Maya", Los investigadores de la Cultura Maya, n.° 15, 2007, p. 267-278.

García Barrios, Ana, Chaahk, el dios de la lluvia en el período Clásico Maya: aspectos religiosos y políticos, PhD Dissertation, Anthropology, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 2009.

García Barrios, Ana, "Análisis iconográfico preliminar de fragmentos de las vasijas estilo Códice procedentes de Calakmul", Estudios de Cultura Maya XXXVII, 2011, p. 67-97.

García Barrios, Ana, "Difusión de dioses como refuerzo en el control político: el caso del reino de Kanu’l y el dios Chaahk", Verónica A. Vásquez López, Rogelio Valencia Rivera, and Eugenia Gutiérrez González (eds.), Socio-Political Strategies among the Maya from the Classic Period to the Present, Oxford, Archaeopress: BAR International Series 2619, 2014, p. 51-65.

García Barrios, Ana, "Cuevas y montañas sagradas: espacios de legitimación y ritual del dios maya de la lluvia" in Roberto Romero Sandoval (dir.), Cuevas y cenotes mayas. Una mirada multidisciplinaria, Mexico City, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2016, p. 15-56.

García Barrios, Ana and Ramón Carrasco Vargas, "Algunos fragmentos cerámicos de estilo Códice procedentes de Calakmul", Los investigadores de la Cultura Maya, vol. 1, 2006, p. 125-136.

Grove, David C., "Olmec Altars and Myths", Archaeology, vol. 26, n°2, 1973, p. 128-135.

Guernsey, Julia, Ritual and power in stone. The performance of rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan style art, University of Texas press, 2006.

Guernsey, Julia, "Rulers, Gods, and Potbellies: A Consideration of Sculptural Forms and Themes from the Preclassic Pacific Coast and Piedmont of Mesoamerica" in Julia Guernsey, John E. Clark and Barbara Arroyo (dir.), The Place of Stone Monuments. Context, Use, and Meaning in Mesoamerica's Preclassic Transition, Washington D. C., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2010, p. 207-230.

Helmke, Christophe, Ancient Maya Cave Usage as Attested in the Glyphic Corpus of the Maya Lowlands and the Caves of the Roaring Creek Valley, Belize, PhD Dissertation. London, University College London, Institute of Archaeology, 2009.

Helmke, Christophe and Felix Kupprat, "Where Snakes Abound: Supernatural Places of Origin and Founding Myths in the Titles of Classic Maya Kings" in Daniel Graña-Behrens (ed.), Places of Power and Memory in Mesoamerica’s Past and Present How Sites, Toponyms and Landscapes Shape History and Remembrance, Berlin, Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, 2016, p. 33-83.

Helmke, Christophe and Jesper Nielsen, "The Defeat of the Great Bird in Myth and Royal Pageantry: A Mesoamerican Myth in a Comparative Perspective", Comparative Mythology, vol. 1, n°1, 2015, p. 23-60.

Henderson, Lucia R., Bodies Politic, Bodies in Stone: Imagery of Human and the Divine in the Sculpture of Late Preclassic Kaminaljuyú, Guatemala, PhD Dissertation. Austin, University of Texas at Austin, 2013.

Hohmann, Hasso, "Gewölbekonstruktionen in der Maya-Architektur”, Mexicon, I, n.° 3, p. 33-36, 1979.

Hohmann, Hasso, "A Maya Keystone Vault at La Muñeca", Mexicon, XXVII, n.° 4, p. 73-77, 2005.

Joralemon, David, "Ritual Blood-Sacrifice among the Ancient Maya: Part I" in First Palenque Round Table, Pebble Beach, Robert Louis Stevenson School, 1974, p. 59-75.

Lozano, Paola, Dictamen de la pintura mural de la Estructura IIC-1, Bóveda. Zona Arqueológica de Calakmul, Campeche, research report, San Francisco de Campeche, Dirección de Museos, Centro INAH Campeche, 2004.

Martin, Simon, "Preguntas epigráficas acerca de los escalones de Dzibanché" in Enrique Nalda (dir.), Los cautivos de Dzibanché, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City, 2004, p. 105-115.

Martin, Simon and Nikolai Grube, Crónica de los reyes y las reinas mayas. La primera historia de las dinastías mayas, Crítica, 2002.

Maya Vase Data Base. Digital Repository: http://www.famsi.org/spanish/research/kerr/index.html.

Mayer, Karl H., "Ancient Maya Architectural Graffiti" in Cristina Vidal Lorenzo and Gaspar Muñoz Cosme (dir.), Los grafitos mayas. Cuadernos de arquitectura y arqueología maya 2, Valencia, Universitat Politècnica de València, 2009, p. 14-27.

Miller, Mary and Megan O'Neil, Maya Art and Architecture, Thames & Hudson World of Art, 2014.

Nielsen, Jesper and Christophe Helmke, "The Fall of the Great Celestial Bird: A Master Myth in Early Classic Mexico", Ancient America, vol. 13, 2015, p. 1-46, 2015.

Noriega Girón, Raúl and Oscar Quintana Samayoa, "Conservation and Maya Architecture in Peten, Guatemala", Gremium 15, 2021. Online version: https://editorialrestauro.com.mx/conservacion-y-arquitectura-maya-en-peten-guatemala/.

Norman, Garth. V., Izapa Sculpture; Part 1: Album, New World Archaeological Foundation, 1973.

Quenon, Michel and Genvieve Le Fort, "Rebirth and Resurrection in Maize God Iconography" in Justin Kerr (dir.), Maya Vase Book: A Corpus of Rollout Photographs of Maya Vases, Vol. 5, New York, Kerr Associates, 1997, p. 884-902.

Robicsek, Francis and Donald M. Hales, The Maya Book of the Dead. The Ceramic Codex. The Corpus of Codex Style Ceramics of the Late Classic Period, University of Oklahoma Press, 1981.

Rodríguez Campero, Omar, "La permanencia de las montañas: cambios morfológicos en los edificios de Calakmul", Investigadores de la Cultura Maya 15, Tomo I, Universidad Autónoma de Campeche, 2007, p. 179-189.

Rodríguez Campero, Omar, "Arquitectura" in Calakmul. Patrimonio de la humanidad, Mexico City, Secretaría del Estado de Campeche, Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, 2012, p. 117-131.

Rodríguez Campero, Omar, La arquitectura Petén en Calakmul: una comparación regional, research report, Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, 2008. http://www.famsi.org/reports/02070es/02070esRodriguezCampero01.pdf.

Rodríguez Campero, Omar, "La Estructura II de Calakmul: 1200 años de historia constructiva" in Juan Pedro Laporte, Bárbara Arroyo and Héctor Mejía (dir.), XXII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2008, Guatemala, Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, 2009, p. 1343-1355.

Ruppert, Karl and John H. Denison Jr., Archaeological Reconnaissance in Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Peten, Publication 543, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1943.

Salazar Lama, Daniel, "Un lugar repleto de dioses. Nota preliminar sobre el programa escultórico de la Subestructura II C de Calakmul, Campeche, México", Journal de la Société des Américanistes, 108-1, 2022a, p. 153-193.

Salazar Lama, Daniel, "Maize, Rebirth" in Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos, James A. Doyle and Joanne Pillsbury (dir.), Lives of the Gods. Divinity in Maya Art, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2022b, p. 137-159.

Salazar Lama, Daniel, Proyecto de reconstrucción virtual y análisis de la Subestructura II C de Calakmul, Campeche. Resultados preliminares del registro y análisis de las imágenes en las bóvedas de los edificios Sub II C1 y Sub II C2, research report, San Francisco de Campeche, Centro INAH Campeche, 2023a.

Salazar Lama, Daniel, "Dramatis personae del programa escultórico de la Subestructura IIC de Calakmul", TRACE, n.° 83, 2023b, p. 188-206.

Salazar Lama, Daniel and Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega, "Reveal the unseen: Virtual reconstruction of Substructure II C of Calakmul, Campeche, México" in Journées Scientifiques – Séminaire d’intégration, Centre Malher, Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris, 03 May 2022.

Salazar Lama, Daniel, Ana García Barrios and Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega, "Las cuevas pintadas de Calakmul: análisis de las imágenes y la reconstrucción virtual de las bóvedas de la Subestructura IIC" in 12° Congreso Internacional de Mayistas, Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico, 26 June 2023.

Saturno, William A., "Centering the Kingdom, Centering the King: Maya Creation and Legitimation at San Bartolo", in William Fash and Leonardo López Luján (dir.), The art of urbanism: how the Mesoamerican kingdoms represented themselves in architecture and imagery, Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2009, p. 111-134.

Soto Calderón, Armando and Pedro Nishimura Ávila, Informe de los trabajos de conservación en los restos de pintura mural localizada en el interior de la Estructura IIC-1 Bóveda de la zona arqueológica Calakmul, Campeche, research report, Mexico City, Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural, 2005.

Stone, Andrea, Images from the Underworld. Naj Tunich and the Tradition of Maya Cave Painting, University of Texas Press, 1995.

Stone, Andrea, "Regional Variation in Maya Cave Art", Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 59, n°1, 1997, p. 33-42.

Stuart, David, "La concha decorada de la tumba del Templo del Buho, Dzibanché", in Enrique Nalda (dir.), Los cautivos de Dzibanché, Mexico City, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2004, p. 133-140.

Taube, Karl A., The Mayor Gods of Ancient Yucatan, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1992.

Taube, Karl A., William A. Saturno, David Stuart and Heather Hurst, "The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala, Part 2: The Western Mural", Ancient America, 10, 2010, p. 1-111.

Velásquez García, Erik, "Los escalones jeroglíficos de Dzibanché" in Enrique Nalda (ed.) Los Cautivos de Dzibanché, Mexico City, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2004, p. 79-103.

Velásquez García, Erik, Los vasos de la entidad política de 'IK: Una aproximación histórico artística. Estudio sobre las entidades anímicas y el lenguaje gestual y corporal en el arte Maya Clásico, PhD Dissertation. Mexico City, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 2009.

Vogt Z., Evon and David Stuart, "Some Notes on Ritual Caves amond the Ancient and Modern Maya" in James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer (eds.), In the Maw of the Earth Monster. Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, Austin, University of Texas Press, 2005, p. 155-185.

Źrałka, Jarosław, "Maya graffiti in a wider cultural and geographic context" in Cristina Vidal Lorenzo and Gaspar Muñoz Cosme (dir.), Artistic Expressions in Maya Architecture: Analysis and Documentation Techniques, Oxford, BAR International Series 2693, 2014, p. 43-56.

Haut de page

Notes

1 See Hasso Hohmann (1979).

2 The first reconstructive proposals for Substructure II C were made by PAC and published by Ramón Carrasco Vargas (2000: 14-15; 2005: Fig. 2; 2008, Fig. 1; 2012: 89, 90-91) and Omar Rodríguez Campero (2007: 188, 2008: Fig. 2, 2009: Fig. 4, 2012: 118-119). The preliminary virtual reconstructions presented in this paper are partly based on these initial results, to which we have added our own observations and in situ research (Salazar Lama 2023a, Salazar Lama and Esqueda Lazo de la Vega 2022).

3 This type of vault is a rare occurrence in Maya architecture. A similar arched vault was initially reported by Karl Ruppert and John H. Denison (1943: 25-26) in Room 2 of Structure XII at La Muñeca, near Calakmul, and it was subsequently confirmed by Hasso Hohmann (2005). Additionally, two more arch-shaped passageways were discovered at Temple A in Nakum, Peten, Guatemala (Hohmann H., 2005: 73; Noriega Girón R. and O. Quintana Samayoa 2021).

4 Translated and emphasis by the authors.

5 For a synthesis of all these aspects, see Stone A., 1995.

6 The stacco technique involves the separation of the stucco plaster and the pictorial layer on top of it.

7 Document consulted under permission of Secretaría Técnica de la Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural. January 2024. Official communication number: 401.8C.16-2023/2262.

8 Translated by the authors.

9 See Źrałka J. (2014) for a detailed discussion.

10 See Carrasco Vargas R. and M. Colón González (2005: 44), Boucher Le Landais S. (2012: 195, 209, Fig. 21).

11 Erik Velásquez García (2009: 233-234, 258) suggests that this visual resource creates a backlight effect that highlights the forms in relation to the background.

12 Compare the different drawings of Izapa Stela 25: Norman G. (1973: Lam. 41, 42), Guernsey J. (2006: Fig. 3.17), Chinchilla Mazariegos O. (2017: Fig. 56).

13 In addition to the above examples, Lucia Henderson (2013: 412) identifies Juun Ajaw in Kaminaljuyu Sculpture 20, dated to the Late Preclassic.

14 See also the Classic examples of Juun Ajaw on a vase from Huehuetenango (Joralemon D., 1974: Fig. 12), on the "Blom Plate" (K3638) and on vessels K1226, K3055, K1345 and K4546 (see Maya Vase Data Base. From now on MVDB).

15 The relationship of Juun Ajaw with penile piercing blood sacrifices has been identified by several researchers (Chinchilla Mazariegos O., 2011; 2017; 2021; Coe M., 1989; Nielsen J. and C. Helmke, 2015; Saturno W., 2009; Taube K., 1992; Taube K. et al., 2010).

16 In a recently presented paper (Salazar Lama D., A. García Barrios, and B. Esqueda Lazo de la Vega, 2023), we proposed the possibility that Juun Ajaw was piercing his penis with an awl and making a blood offering. Now, with the new photograph, courtesy of the CNCPC, the drawing has been refined and the initial hypothesis discarded.

17 See Figure 8b, which lacks the colour of the stucco surface, for a better image of this staining pattern.

18 See other examples in Robicsek F. and D. Hales (1981: vessels 95, 99, 102) and Boucher le Landis, S. (2015: Fig. 4).

19 At Uxul, Substructure K2-Sub has a mural painting of the god Chaahk fishing, at the foot of which runs a canal for water management. In times of rain, the water of the canal and the image recreated a scene like that on Izapa Stela 1, with Chaahk fishing on a basal watery band (Delvendahl K. and N. Grube, 2015). The Izapa stela, incidentally, also had a canal at Chaahk's feet, which carried rainwater from Group A to a reservoir near Mound 60 (Guernsey J., 2010). In Preclassic El Mirador, north of Peten, Guatemala, two canals were constructed to channel rainwater into pools or reservoirs. The water passes under the stucco reliefs of the Calzada Acropolis, where it is complemented by the scene of a human figure embodying the god Chaahk descending from the sky (Doyle J. and S. Houston, 2012). If our interpretations are accurate, the observed result in this case would be comparable to that on the façade of Substructure II C at Calakmul during periods of rain, suggesting a potential relationship between the two.

20 At this time, the only available feature that supports our hypothesis is the slope of the corridor. However, in the last field season of this project (June 2024), we observed that the floor of the entire corridor of Sub II C1 has been significantly altered by the archaeological and restoration works conducted in recent years. Consequently, our initial hypothesis requires additional data from the early excavation years to be either confirmed or discarded. In the future, we will seek to verify this and provide new information to corroborate our ideas.

21 See Quenon M. and G. Le Fort (1997: Fig. 8a-b).

22 See also Martin S., 2004: 107-108.

23 It is essential to note that in the historical Maya texts of the Classic period, the expression och ch'e'en also carries a martial connotation and was employed to describe military engagement. Christophe Helmke (2009: 90-102. See also Helmke C. and F. Kupprat, 2016: 50-53) has suggested that this usage of the expression may have a profound mythological foundation related to the confrontation between the Maize God and Earth Lords, in which the entrance to a cave precipitated an armed conflict that served as a conceptual framework for subsequent historical events. The author notes that in some polities, natural or artificial caves were considered the domain of royal houses, probably the abode of the ancestors or the patron deities of the community. Consequently, och ch'e'en may have been used as a bellicose expression in relation to the act of entering another's cave —natural or artificial— which could have been considered an act of dishonour and desecration, potentially leading to armed conflict.

24 As Stuart (Vogt E. and D. Stuart, 2005: 159-160) notes, the phrase och witz, "enters the mountain", may function as a parallel verb phrase describing the entering and descending into a cave.

25 See García Barrios (2011: 85-87) for a broader discussion of the possible meanings of the expression och ch'e'en on the confrontation scenes in Codex style pottery.

Haut de page

Table des illustrations

Titre Figure 1. Maya area showing Calakmul and other archaeological sites mentioned in the text
Crédits Credits: Map from AW3D30 (JAXA), adapted by Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 588k
Titre Figure 2. Map of Calakmul core area
Crédits Credits: Taken from Ruppert K. and J. Denison (1943: Pl. 61), with modifications made by Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 377k
Titre Figure 3. a). Structure II. Drone photography b) Structure II (Areal photogrammetry) superimposed on the preliminary virtual reconstruction of Substructure II C (ground photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution)
Crédits Credits: a) Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega; b) Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 829k
Titre Figure 4. Calakmul Substructure II C with buildings Sub II C1 and Sub II C2 indicated. Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction
Crédits Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 123k
Titre Figure 5. General view of Substructure II C: vaulted corridors of Sub II C1 and C2 marked in yellow (top, view from the north; bottom, view from the northwest). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction
Crédits Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 195k
Titre Figure 6. a). Vaulted corridor of Sub II C1, seen from the north (left, during the process of the first photogrammetric record; right, preliminary virtual reconstruction) b) Vaulted corridor of Sub II C2, seen from the north (left, photography of the present-day aspect; right, preliminary virtual reconstruction)
Crédits Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 424k
Titre Figure 7. Handprints in the vaults of Substructure II C. a) Building Sub II C1 b) Building Sub II C2
Crédits Credits: Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 438k
Titre Figure 8. Image n°2 from the vaulted corridor of Sub II C1. a) Drawing with stucco surface b) Clean drawing of the figure.
Crédits Credits: Daniel Salazar Lama, based on photographs included in Carrasco Vargas R., 2008 and 2012, and in Lozano P., 2004.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 325k
Titre Figure 9. Approximate location of Image n°2 in the interior of Sub II C1 (marked by an arrow). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling, and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction
Crédits Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-9.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 314k
Titre Figure 10. The Early Classic Maya Maize God in a polychrome plate found in Tomb 1, Structure XX, Calakmul
Crédits Credits: Drawing by Daniel Salazar Lama, based on a photograph taken in the Museo Arqueológico Maya de Campeche, Fuerte San Miguel. Use under permission.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-10.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 180k
Titre Figure 11. Calakmul Substructure II C, main façade (north). Photogrammetry, 3D modelling and virtual chromatic restitution. Preliminary virtual reconstruction
Crédits Credits: Benjamín Esqueda Lazo de la Vega and Daniel Salazar Lama.
URL http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/docannexe/image/19150/img-11.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 310k
Haut de page

Pour citer cet article

Référence électronique

Daniel Salazar Lama, Ana García Barrios. et Benjamín Esqueda Lazo De La Vega, « The Lord of the Spear: New iconographic and contextual analysis of a parietal image in an architectural cave at Calakmul »IdeAs [En ligne], 24 | 2024, mis en ligne le 01 octobre 2024, consulté le 19 février 2025. URL : http://0-journals-openedition-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/ideas/19150 ; DOI : https://0-doi-org.catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/10.4000/12hsi

Haut de page

Auteurs

Daniel Salazar Lama

Non-permanent member, CNRS UMR8096 Archéologie des Amériques. Associate researcher, Centro de Estudios Mexicanos y Centroamericanos, UMIFRE 16. Since 2011, Daniel Salazar Lama has specialised in the iconography and art history of the Maya, with a particular focus on sculpture integrated into Preclassic and Classic architecture. Today, his research projects also explore new registration technologies to support his analysis and produce virtual reconstructions of art and architecture. Daniel has also participated in archaeological projects throughout Mesoamerica. In addition, he is leading a project focusing on the sculptural programme at Substructure II C of Calakmul. More recently, he has published a series of papers focusing on the Preclassic iconography of Calakmul.
danielsalazarlama[at]gmail.com

Ana García Barrios.

Titular Professor, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid. PhD Cum Laude from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Titular Professor at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid. Her main research interests are pre-Hispanic Maya iconography, religion and politics. She has participated in seven archaeological projects in Mexico and has curated two exhibitions on Maya culture. Her research has been presented at more than 30 international conferences in Mexico, Guatemala, the United States and Europe, and in more than 45 publications, including articles and book chapters. Recently, she has been a member of various research groups at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, the UNAM and the Universidad Complutense.
anagbar[at]gmail.com

Benjamín Esqueda Lazo De La Vega

Independent researcher. Benjamín is an archaeologist who graduated from the Autonomous University of Yucatán. He is a specialist in the registration and digitisation of cultural heritage, with a focus on Maya archaeology, at sites such as Calakmul, Balamkú, Ichkabal, and the Ruta Puuc. His current research interests include photogrammetric methods, Mesoamerican iconography and three-dimensional modelling. His main interest is the democratisation of heritage through digitisation for the dissemination of science and culture.
benjamingus10[at]gmail.com

Haut de page

Droits d’auteur

CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.

Haut de page
Rechercher dans OpenEdition Search

Vous allez être redirigé vers OpenEdition Search