Ancient Maya Life: The Starry Deer Crocodile

Image Credit: NPS/Chris Wonderly.

Seen in the Classic Period as well as the Postclassic Period, the Starry Deer Crocodile (or Starry Deer Alligator) is one of the wealth of "composite" beings that the ancient Maya included in their art and writings. Identified by Spinden in 1913 and given its current name by David Stuart, there are now various theories out there on it, including that it was a symbol or an aspect of another being, the Cosmic Monster.

Appearance

The Starry Deer Crocodile has deer hooves for feet, eyes that have crossed bands (a sign for Venus) in them, a deer's ear, and eye-lids that have lines on them -- there are also times the Maya added an antler coming out of its forehead. It has water scrolls on its joints and has a shell under its ear. As for its body and head, they're like a crocodile or caiman's. You might see it drawn with a head on each end, though the ancient Maya didn't do that much.

A notable feature about the being's middle section is that one way the Maya liked to draw it was as a “sky-band” – in both ways, they put symbols connected to the sky on it.

The ancient Maya also liked to put one of several things on the Starry Deer Crocodile’s back. One of these things was the Principal Bird Deity (or PBD), which they would put on top of the Starry Deer Crocodile’s tail or make it part of the Starry Deer Crocodile’s back.

The other of these things was a symbol called the “Quadripartite Badge”. The Maya put it on the top of other end of the Starry Deer Crocodile. (This takes us back to the times the ancient Maya drew it with two heads. The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous's description of this symbol includes a skull as part of it. A description in a dissertation by Penny Janice Steinbach says the skull was something put under the Quadripartite Badge.)

Relation to the Sky

It may be that this being is an aspect of the being that archaeologists call the Cosmic Serpent or the Celestial Crocodile -- or was a different version of that other being.

Within the view of the Starry Deer Crocodile being an aspect, it might be that it was the Milky Way at night, the Milky Way with clouds, or the Underworld's sky at night. You might also see it suggested that it was a symbol of the Underworld's night sky, and this also made it a symbol of the earth...this is because the Underworld's sky would be our ground, in the ancient Maya view. (One caveat though: it must be said, I've had difficulty separating when an author was talking about the Starry Deer Crocodile as an aspect and talking about it as a symbol.)

This being might also be part of a theory about a possible creation myth. In this myth, the Starry Deer Crocodile was not only connected with destruction (via flood) but also with creation. This possible myth might not have just been a myth among the Maya either – it could have, with some differences, been a myth throughout Mesoamerica.

This being was also a symbol. It is understood that when it was drawn with sky-related symbols for its body, the Starry Deer Crocodile was a way the ancient Maya drew the sky.

Calendar Functions
The Starry Deer Crocodile had two calendar functions, one in the Tzolk'in or sacred calendar and one in the Haab or solar calendar. With the Tzolk'in, the Maya used its head as another way of writing "Lamat", the eighth day of the Tzolk'in. With the Haab', it was the patron of Yaxk'in, the tenth month of the Haab.

Function for Royalty
Rulers seemed to like to use images of the Starry Deer Crocodile in connection to taking the throne. To them, the image of the Starry Deer Crocodile was a symbol of power and of taking the throne.

Consideration: Zoomorph P at Quirigua

Some examples of where you can find the Starry Deer Crocodile -- either in writing or drawn -- include Stela 9 at Lamanai, Temple 22 at Copan, a codex-syle plate called the "Cosmic Plate", and Stela 1 at Yaxchilan.

One side of zoomorph P at Quirigua -- the photo was
taken by Alfred Maudslay. From the NYPL Digital Commons.

You can also spot this being at Quirigua. As for where exactly, I've come across a bit of snag. Several works I've come across don't say that a carving at the site -- zoomorph P (the Great Turtle or Monument 16) -- has the Starry Deer Crocodile on it. In fact, The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous says another zoomorph at the site -- zoomorph O -- is the only thing you can find the Starry Deer Crocodile on there. However, Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya says zoomorph P does show the being.

References

PLOS One: "Jaguar and Puma Captivity and Trade Among the Maya: Stable Isotope Data from Copan, Honduras"; Nawa Sugiyama , William L. Fash, Christine A. M. France; September 12, 2018

Google Books: "Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya"; Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos; 2017

Mesoweb: "The PARI Journal" Volume 15, No. 3; "In the Realm of the Witz': Animate Rivers and Rulership among the Classic Maya";Jeremy D. Coltman; Winter 2015

Google Books: "Cosmology, Calendars, and Horizon-Based Astronomy in Ancient Mesoamerica"; Anne S. Dowd, Susan Milbrath; 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.)

Google Books: "Maya Imagery, Architectuer, and Activity: Space and Spatial Analysis in Art History"; Maline D. Werness-Rude, Kaylee R. Spencer (editors); 2015