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| The scene in this vessel shows different gods. Two of them are a god of rain and the god of corn -- the god of rain has broken part of a building, and this is letting the god of corn become alive again. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
Codex-style vessels are ceramic vessels that come in different shapes and were painted in the same style as the four known ancient Maya codices, which were made in the Postclassic Period. (The term "codex-style" for the vessels comes from Michael D. Coe.) The vessels were made in the part of the Classic Period called the Late Classic. So far, most of the codex-style vessels archaeologists have found come from Guatemala’s Petén region, in the north-central part of it.
History
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| The gods that were painted on this codex-style may be images of K'awiil (god K.) From the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
How many codex-style vessels have archaeologists come across? This
seems to depend on the source. In her 2015 dissertation, Sacrificing the
Jaguar Baby: Understanding a Classic Maya Myth on Codex-style Pottery,
Penny Steinbach says that 350 to 400 of vessels with no missing parts have been
found. This seems to be backed up by the site MayaVase, a site that shows, among
other things, photographs of ancient Maya pottery. The site gives over 50 pages
of results for codex-style pottery. (Archaeologists have found a lot of shards of codex-style vessels as well.)
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| This codex-style vessel has a fluted outside. From LACMA. |
General Design
Normally, codex-style vessels have glyphs and images painted in
black on a cream, yellow, or beige background with a red line around the edge
of the base and a red line around the rim. Thin gray paint was used to add
shading. The painters liked to use a lot of curves for the images and glyphs they painted -- you may see their painting style described as being a type of calligraphy.
What the Maya Painted on the Vessels
A variety of images and glyphs were drawn on codex-style vessels.
For example, one scene the Maya would paint is a scene of magic being used to
make an old, male god appear. Another scene they would paint shows a sacrifice
of a supernatural being called the Baby Jaguar. (There’s a theory that scenes
on these vessels together make one myth. It’s also been theorized that some
vessels show parts of the story also found in the Popol Vuh.)
Other than different kinds of images with glyphs, the ancient Maya
who made codex-style vessels would paint large inscriptions about a line of
rulers.
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| The scene painted here shows the scene of the Baby Jaguar being sacrificed. The right shows the death god (god A) or a death spirit, and the left shows either the or a rain god. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
Consideration: The Glyphs
Speaking of glyphs, inscriptions on codex-style vessels have some
strange features. It is common for glyphs on codex-style vessels to be
“pseudo-glyphs,” which are glyphs that don’t mean anything. And when there is
real writing, it’s only in the passive tense. (A comparison of passive and
active in English: I threw the ball (active.) The ball was thrown by
me (passive.)) Also, some less common glyphs are used.
Then, the dates. They don't make sense with the Maya calendar
system. There are theories that try to explain this. One theory says that it’s
because the dates are meant to be set in mythological times. Another says that
a lot of codex-style vessels are probably just fakes.
Use
There are a number of theories about what codex-style vessels were
used for. One theory says that they were tools for teaching ancient Maya boys
about to become adults. Another of the theories says that they were political
gifts sent from the ruler Calakmul – they were sent to less powerful rulers as part of making them loyal to Calakmul.
But what archaeologists have found for sure is that codex-style cylinder vessels were put in burials. They, like other types of pottery put in burials,
may have been used before they were buried.
References:
Google Books: "Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul"; Andrew K. Scherer; 2015
The University of Texas at Austin: Texas Scholar Works: University of Texas Libraries: "Sacrificing the Jaguar Baby : understanding a classic Maya myth on codex-style pottery"; Penny Steinbach; May 2015 (Click on the PDF icon for it to download.)
The University of Texas at Austin: Texas Scholar Works: University of Texas Libraries: "Sacrificing the Jaguar Baby : understanding a classic Maya myth on codex-style pottery"; Penny Steinbach; May 2015 (Click on the PDF icon for it to download.)
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