Codex-Style Vessels

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

The gods that were painted on this codex-style
may be images of K'awiil (god K.) From the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Within the Late Classic, codex-style vessels were made around the start of the 700s AD – between 672 AD and 731 AD or 670 AD and 740 AD. They weren’t made for very long though – possibly around 50 years. They were made mostly or entirely in the Mirador Basin. The vessels may even have been made only at one site, Nakbé-- though there is another view that they were made in the area in and around Calakmul.

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.)

This codex-style vessel has
a fluted outside. From LACMA.

There is something to consider when it comes to codex-style vessels: a lot of them are unprovenanced. The term “unprovenanced” means that they were not found at a site. Because these vessels pass through sellers, it is common for the paint to have been touched up (or even modified) – done in the hope they will be easier to sell.

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.

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:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: "Ancient Maya Painted Ceramics";  James Doyle; April 2017

Maya Decipherment: Ideas on Ancient Maya Writing and Iconography: "The Universe in a Maya Plate"; James Doyle;  March 4, 2017

Google Books: "Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya"; Walter R.T. Witschey; 2016

Google Books: "The Origins of Maya States"; Loa P. Traxler, Robert J. Sharer (editors); 2016

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.)

Google Books: "Faking Ancient Mesoamerica"; Nancy L. Kelker, Karen O. Bruhns; 2010

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Cylindrical Vessel

Image Credits:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Codex-Style Vase with Mythological Scene

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Cylindrical Vessel

LACMA: Fluted Cylinder Vessel

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Vessel, Mythological Scene

Lady K'awiil Ajaw

From the CIA's World Factbook.

Cobá is a site in the Yucatan Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo (on the right side of the peninsula.) In our times, the site's historical monuments have had a lot of erosion happen to them. They're not all entirely unusable though. One of the figures that archaeologists can still make out is from the Late Classic (which went from around 600 AD to 800 AD.)

The figure is a woman ruler or queen that has been named Lady K'awiil Ajaw. (You might also see her called Ruler B, and Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya calls her Ix K'awiil Ek.) Depending on the source, her existence is either confirmed or still a possibility.

Rank
Like Lady K'abel, this queen was a kaloomte'. Being a kaloomte' (which you may find spelled kalomte) meant that you had gotten to the highest rank you could get if you were an ancient Maya living during the Late Classic -- it means "Supreme Warrior." This rank has been described as being a military governor. (On a related note, after studying Cobá, Guenter does not think that father to son rule was a common thing there.)

Rule
Lady K'awiil Ajaw may have ruled Cobá from about 640 AD until 681 AD. (One source, the newsletter from Far Horizons, gives the end date of 682 AD.) In these forty-odd years, there are several possible things she may have done to increase the power of her city-state. One possibility is that she increased control over the places that Cobá controlled. Another possibility is that she ordered a takeover of another city-state, called Yaxuná. (This other city-state was and is west of Cobá, and is now located in the Mexican state of Yucatan.)

There are four monuments that show Lady K'awiil Ajaw, one of which is Stela 1, whose date is 682 AD. The stela is striking in that it has her image on both sides. This is unusual because it doesn't seem to have been the done thing for putting queens' images on both sides.


Consideration: A Road
There's a possibility that a road or sacbe (or sacbé) called Sacbe 1 -- that goes between Cobá and another site called Yaxuná -- was a public work ordered by Lady K'awiil Ajaw. (Though another possibility is that the road existed before she was the ruler of Cobá .) Sacbe 1 is 62 miles long. It looks like it wasn't something people really used, after Lady K'awiil Ajaw passed on.

The sacbe may have been made as a way to move troops more easily. But it's thought that this road had some other uses -- that there were non-combatants who were given permission to use the road, like merchants and ambassadors. However, it's possible the main reason was moving troops.

References:
Google Books: "Before Kukulkán: Bioarchaeology of Maya Life, Death, and Identity at Classic Period Yaxná"; Vera Tiesler, Andrea Cucina, Travis W.Stanton, David Freidel"; 2017

Google Books: "The Role of Archaeoastronomy in the Maya World: the Case Study of the Island of Cozumel"; 2016

Google Books: "Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya"; Walter R.T. Witschey; 2016

University of California Riverside: UCR Today: "Anthropologist Awarded NSF Grant to Excavate maya Households"; Bettye Miller; June 29, 2016

Far Horizons: "Newsletter" volume 17, No. 2; Fall 2012

Lady K'abel -- A "Supreme Warrior"

Map of Guatemala, courtesy the CIA World Factbook.

Ix or Lady K'abel was a powerful woman whose life seems to have occurred during the later half of the 600s AD. (You may also find these names for her: Lady Snake Lord (actually a title) and Lady Waterlily Hand.) She became part of the royal family of El Perú-Waka' -- now in the northwest of Guatemala's Petén region -- and was a very large part of the power there, as her rank was the most powerful one you could have in the Classic Period: military governor/kaloomte'. (Her actual title was "ix kaloomte'," which you may see translated as "Lady Overlord" or "Lady Warlord.") Specifically with her, she was Calakmul's kaloomte'.

Royal Descent and Marriage Background
It seems that Lady K'abel's life is first connected to Calakmul. When she was alive, it was powerful -- in fact, it was the strongest lowlands power during the second half of the 600s AD. Do archaeologists know anything about her family? Possibly -- it could be that she was related to a man named Yuhknoom Ch'een II, a ruler of Calakmul. (His rule went from 636 AD to 686 AD.) Specifically, she may have been his granddaughter or she may have been his daughter.

As you might guess, Lady K'abel's marriage -- to K'inich Bahlam/B'alam II, the ruler of El Perú-Waka' -- was part of Calakmul's political decisions. At the time when Lady K'abel was alive, the city-state was doing things to get more power, and her marriage was one of those things. When they married, the two city-states formed an alliance. For someone from Calakmul, sharing power with your spouse wasn't unusual, and El Perú-Waka's history involves other women who were known to have had power as well. (It seems, though that there was actually an alliance that had been made may years beforehand in 656 AD. In this year, there is a record of K'inich Bahlam II being made king while Yuhknoom Ch'een II watched.)

Term as Kaloomte'
Like Lady Yohl Ik'nal, a ruling queen of Palenque, Lady K'abel stayed in her position as Calakmul's kaloomte' for a long time -- twenty years, if not more. Currently, her reign dates are known as 672 AD to 692 AD. She had or at least may have had -- more authority than her husband over the people of El Perú-Waka' because of her being in the kaloomte' rank. A social point that is notable is that art at Lady K'abel's new city became more like her "hometown."


Death
No specific date has been found that tells us when Lady K'abel passed from this life. (K'inich Bahlam II is known to have still been alive in the 700s AD.) A burial found in 2012 seems like it could be hers.

This burial was in a building shaped like a pyramid that archaeologists call M21-35 or the Royal Couple's Building -- specifically, she was buried under a staircase on its north side. (It may sound unusual, but it wasn't odd for the ancient Maya at El Perú-Waka' to bury people under staircases, if the burial was an important one.) Archaeologists have found that though the site became abandoned, this building wasn't -- people went to it, using it as a temple. (Why were people still coming here? One possibility is because it really was Lady K'abel who was buried there.)

One item that was part of the burial was a bloodletter in the shape of the god Akan that was made from a stalactite. Another was a vase made out of alabaster that had an inscription on it (with Lady K'abel's name,) and was carved not only so that it looked like a conch shell, but also like both a woman's head and arm were moving away from the jar. Yet more items in the burial were ones made of shell (there was a spondylus shell too, a big one) as well as pieces of jade that had been carved. There were also, as far as could be told, about 21 ceramic dishes.

Here is a short and informative video on Lady K'abel and the tomb that is thought to be hers, done by the University of Washington at St. Louis.

Stelae
Archaeologists have found multiple stela that show Lady K'abel. One is stela 34, now to be found at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This stela shows Lady K'abel during a Period Ending. On this stela, she is with her attendant, who is a person with dwarfism and is playing music. Meanwhile, Lady K'abel's head has a headdress connected to war on it, and a shield in fitted on her left hand. (A theory wonders if this attendant, Pah Tuun Ahk, was also a former citizen of Calakmul. This is due to the fact that El Perú-Waka' doesn't have any monuments that show people with dwarfism other than this one.)

Stela 34 is actually one of a pair, with K'inich Bahlam II getting his own, now called stela 33 and located at the Kimbell art Museum; both have the date 692 AD, and were connected to a Period Ending. These two are understood to have been set up on the Royal Couple's Building's north side. (There is also another set of stelae, called stela 11 and stela 12 -- these two's Period Ending date is 672 AD. Stela 11 is Lady K'abel's and stela 12 is K'inich Bahlam II's.) Both were also taken by looters, and eventually ended up in museums.

On a related note, another stela called stela 44 seems to have been part of Lady K'abel's life, if somewhat indirectly. It's possible that K'inich Bahlam II used it as an offering, part of the things being done in connection to Lady K'abel's funeral.

References:
Google Books: "Fusion: Integrated Reading and Writing" book 2, second edition; Dave Kemper, Verne Meyer, John Van Rys, Pat Sebranek; 2016

Google Books: "Encylopedia of the Ancient Maya"; Walter R.T. Witschey; 2016

Google Books: "Archaeology at El Perú-Waka': Ancient Maya Performances of Ritual, Memory, and Power"; Olivia C. Navarro Farr, Michelle Rich (editors); 2014

Washington University in St. Louis: The Source: "Discovery of stone monument at El Perú-Waka’ adds new chapter to ancient Maya history"; July 16, 2013

University of Chicago Division of the Humanities: Visual Resources Center: "Tomb of Lady K’abel, Maya Queen, Found in Guatemala"; Bridgetm; October 18, 2012

Washington University in St. Lous: The Source: "Tomb of Maya queen K’abel discovered in Guatemala"; Jessica Daues; October 3, 2012

Ix Wak Chan Ajaw (Lady Six Sky)

Author's note: The names of places refer to specific cities that are now archaeological sites, but they also refer to city-states that existed at the time.

Guatemala colored in blue.
From the CIA World Factbook.

When you see her name in English, it's Lady Six Sky or Lady Six Sky Queen. When written down in its original form you'll see Ix Wak Chan Ajaw or Ix Wac Chanil Ahau -- and there's also the mixture of English and Mayan, Lady Wac-Kan Ahaw. A child of Lady B'ulu' and a ruler named B'alaj Chan K'awiil, she became part of Calakmul's desire to keep a hold on Naranjo.

How she helped achieve this goal makes her and the politics of the time something of a mystery. Though it seems she always kept her connection to her home, this royal lady is known for being one of Naranjo's rulers, her reign taking place in the Late Classic (around 600 AD to 800 AD.) Which wasn't that common for when she lived.

Origin
Ix Wak Chan Ajaw came from the family that ruled Dos Pilas, located in the south of the Peten region, in Guatemala. Calakmul controlled Dos Pilas and B'alaj Chan K'awiil -- Ix Wak Chan Ajaw's father -- seems to have been completely fine with this.

Meanwhile, Naranjo wasn't. It had also been under Calakmul's power, but two rulers (the 36th and 37th) had tried to rebel. However, neither of these two rulers won their wars.

Because of their actions, Ix Wak Chan Ajaw was sent all the nearly 94 miles to Naranjo. She was to bring it properly back into Calakmul's hands. This is the mystery of Ix Wak Chan Ajaw, because from what archaeologists understand, ancient Maya rulers following tradition wouldn't have sent her. They would have ordered their second sons to go, not their daughters.

To achieve the goal of making Naranjo's acceptance of Calakmul's authority permanent, Ix Wak Chan Ajaw may have married someone who belonged to a different branch of Naranjo's royalty. This would have made that branch more impressive -- and whoever agreed to marry her would, of course, be agreeing to do what Calakmul wanted. Either that or her status was enough to start a royal line with whoever she married.

Yet it wasn't simply as a wife that she went. Ix Wak Chan Ajaw ruled.

Reign
Though you won't find her name in Naranjo's list of rulers, Ix Wak Chan Ajaw's reign began in 682 AD. From what this author can tell, this date is thought to be the start of her reign because of an inscription that says she arrived at her destination that year, on August 27th. This record may or may not be literally true, due to nuances around the word "arrive." (Apparently, there's a nuance connected to this word about starting royal lines.) At any rate, five years after she "arrived" at Naranjo, the future ruler of Naranjo was born.

The name of this future ruler name was K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak, and he became Naranjo's ruler officially in 693 AD, even though he was five years old. K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak (who is also known today by a number of names including Smoking Squirrel) may or may not have been Ix Wak Chan Ajaw's son -- the likelihood of this depends on who you talk to. But just because Naranjo had a new "real" ruler, it doesn't mean that Ix Wak Chan Ajaw's power ended.

(On a side note, one possible piece of evidence that she was his mother involves monuments. K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak would always have a monument made for her each year -- each time he had a yearly monument made to mark his becoming Naranjo's ruler. These monuments seem to have been made to say that her lineage was the reason he deserved to be the ruler, which could mean he was her son.)

For instance, a stela at Naranjo called Stela 22 lists eight war-related events, starting in 693 AD -- these events seem like they must have been brought about through the orders of Ix Wak Chan Ajaw. (Though K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak was ruler in title and was the one given the credit, he would seem to be far too young, at five years old.) K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak seems to have eventually started ordering his own military actions, though.

Why did Ix Wak Chan Ajaw go to war so much? Some actions may have been for the sake of Calakmul. Others may have been because other nearby city-states thought they'd try their luck warring against Naranjo when a woman was ruler.

Death and Considerations
Ix Wak Chan Ajaw may have passed on in 741 AD, possibly on either February 11th or February 10th.  (A record of her passing was found at Dos Pilas.) No one knows whether or not K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak ruled Naranjo after that, because he may have died before she did.

If she did live longer than K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak, then she may have kept his successor from taking his place, continuing to rule Naranjo until she died too. You may even see 741 AD as the year listed for the end of her reign. However, since the death dates aren't nailed down, nothing is for sure. (On a related note, the successor, Yax Mayuy Chan Chaak, was taken in a war started by Tikal in 744 AD.)


References:

Mesoweb Encyclopedia: Lady Six Sky

Mesoweb Encyclopedia: K'ahk' Tiliw Chan Chaak

"Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya"; Walter R.T. Witschey (editor); 2016

"Ancient Maya Women"; Traci Arden (editor); 2002

"The Maya Tropical Forest: People, Parks, and Ancient Cities"; James D. Nation; 2006

Maya Blue

This figurine is partly painted with Maya blue. It was made in the
600s AD to 700s AD. It may represent a being that you may see
called the "Fat Man." (This figure seems to have been in part of
Mesoamerican cultures, and was connected, it seems, music as well
as comedy.) From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Used by the ancient -- and Colonial Period -- Maya (and other Mesoamericans), Maya blue is a pigment that is noticeably resistant to deterioration. After numerous studies (beginning in the early 1900s), it is now thought that at least two things went into its making: indigo dye and a kind of clay, either sepiolite or palygorskite. This article will focus on Maya blue's composition, production, resistance and its uses.

Historical Note

Maya blue has been found within the context of the Late Preclassic. However, it is in the Late Classic that increased usage of Maya blue began. During the beginning of the Late Classic, the use of Maya blue appears to have become common in the Usumacinta region, the Puuc region and Guatemala. The ancient Maya used the pigment through the Postclassic Period and even in the Colonial Period -- though its use declined and disappeared during the latter (around the end of the 1500s).

Color

Maya blue ranges in color from a light blue to green blue, and adjectives connected to its description include "vivid" and "radiant".  The color might be connected to iron as well as iron oxide nanoparticles, though it is also possible that it isn't -- an alternate theory being that it is the ratio of indigo dye to clay. Different shades may have been possible through different kinds of Maya blue recipes.

Indigo Dye

The genus Indigofera has species that can be used to produce indigo dye. The indigo dye the ancient Maya used could have come from different species, such as Indigofera suffruticosa (a shrub whose other names include Guatemala indigo, ti cafe, añil, wild indigo, añil de pasto or just indigo.

As for the way the ancient Maya made their dye -- that has yet to be discovered, and is therefore one of the lingering mysteries of Maya blue. For example, whether or not the dye was a liquid or reduced even further into chunks of dye (which would be ground up). 

The Clay -- Palygorskite or Sepiolite?

This is a rattle and whistle painted with Maya Blue that was
made in the 700s AD. From The Metropolitant Museum
of Art.

Of the resources thus far found in researching Maya blue, most tend to favor palygorskite as the clay that was used; (though some also include sepiolite in their definition. One book, Developments in Palygorskite-Sepiolite Research, states that sepiolite sometimes is found in Maya blue from the Aztec area.)

Also called attapulgite (an older name), palygorskite is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica Online as a fibrous magnesium aluminum silicate. It is a clay whose molecular structure is described as "fibrous", a kind of structure that has "channels" (or tunnels, as Handbook to Clay Science describes them). The "fibrous" structure, it is understood, is necessary for making Maya blue.

Production

It is now thought that it is not enough to mix indigo dye and palygorskite together -- the mixture has to be heated (Handbook says it must be 302 Fahrenheit), and for a couple of days.  As evidence, dehydroindigo (oxidized indigo dye) has been found in Maya blue, which may have formed when heated. Also, a blue color was only obtained, in studies I have found on creating Maya blue, when something else was added (such as acetone or diluted hydrochloric acid), so it is possible the ancient Maya had an acid or acids they could use.

How does the indigo dye bind to the clay?  It is thought that the dye is caught in the channels (or tunnels) of the palygorskite, perhaps at the ends of these channels. 

Resistance

A word connected to Maya blue is "stable". It is resistant to many things. For example, The Field Museum's Dr. Gary Feinman states that, "Maya blue is a very stable pigment. In other words, it does not rub of or wash off very easily." (Author's transcription.)

But Maya blue can resist more than rubbing and washing. Published in 2009, Electrochemical Methods in Archaeometry, Conservation and Restoration gives a list of things Maya blue can withstand. The book states that Maya blue is resistant to "...acids, alkalis, oxidants, reducing agents, organic solvents or biodegration."

How long can Maya blue resist attack? A study conducted by Rutherford J. Gettens involved putting samples of Maya blue from an incense burner in various liquids, including concentrated hydrochloric acid, concentrated sulfuric acid and concentrated nitric acid. After eighteen hours had passed the samples were still the same color.

Uses

The ancient Maya used Maya blue artistically for their murals, such as the murals at Bonampak, and figurines, such as those found on Jaina Island. Maya blue was also used as part of the color palette in codices. Also, it seems, they used it when preparing people and inanimate objects off as sacrifices.

What was the connection between Maya blue and making sacrifices? The understanding is that votives were covered with the pigment before they were sacrificed. As evidence, at the bottom of the Sacred Cenote, a layer of blue silt was found while it was being dredged. Dr. Feinman states that coating objects (and people) in Maya blue was an act used when making sacrifices to rain deities.

Consideration: Copal, A Potential Ingredient

A theory also exists that Maya blue was made by using burning copal resin to bind the indigo and palygorskite. According to Developments, it is yet to be seen whether or not Maya blue could be created by adding palygorskite-indigo dye mix to melted copal -- which melts below 302 degrees Fahrenheit.

References: 

"Handbook of Clay Science"; F. Bergaya, B.K.G. Theng, G. Lagaly; 2011

"Pigment Compendium: A Dictionary of Historical Pigments"; Nicholas Eastaugh, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin, Ruth Siddall; 2012

"Developments in Palygorskite-Sepiolite Research: A New Outlook on these Nanomaterials"; Elsevier; 2011

"The Archaeology of Science: Studying the Creation of Useful Knowledge"; Springer; 2013

"Electrochemical Methods in Archaeometry, Conservation and Restoration"; Antonio Doménech-Carbó, María Teresa Doménech-Carbó, Virginia Cost; 2009

"Analytical Archaeometry: Selected Topics"; Howell Edwards, Peter Vandenabeele; 2012

USDA Forest Service: International Institute of Tropical Forestry: Indigofera suffruticosa P. Mill.

The Field Museum: Science at FMNH : Ep. 42 – The Production of Maya Blue

The Field Museum: Dr. Gary Feinman

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Crocodile Rattle

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Costumed Figure

Image Credits:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Costumed Figure

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Crocodile Rattle

Chenes Architecture

The word Chenes is used to describe one of the approximately five different kinds of ancient Maya architecture that archaeologists have classified. Chenes is a lowland Maya kind of architecture that can be found in sites located in the southern area of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the Chenes and Río Bec regions, north of the central lowlands. Examples of Chenes style architecture include such places as Dzibilnocac, Hochob, Edzná, Chicanná and part of Uxmal's Pyramid of the Magician.

History
Chenes architecture occurred during the Classic period. According to Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Maya, the style came about in the Late Classic period, a sub-section of the Classic period. Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica states the style was used in both Late Classic and Terminal Classic times (the Terminal Classic period being the sub-section of the Classic period that came after the Late Classic). Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia states that the Chenes style started around the beginning of the 600s AD (around the beginning of the Late Classic) and continued into the beginning of the 800s AD (around the beginning of the Terminal Classic). The Chenes architectural style was an influence in certain kinds of Puuc architecture and is also related to Río Bec architecture.

Features: What Chenes Structures Look Like
Chenes makes use of carved mosaic facades on both the upper and lower facades of the structure. The mosaic decorations took the form of spirals as well as distorted beings. Chenes style facades are commonly one story high.

Another major feature of Chenes architecture is the practice of framing of doors with monster masks -- the actual doorway making the "mouth". The mask possibly represented a sky deity or a mountain deity -- sometimes identified as Chac (God B), the rain god. It is understood that the mask doorway indicated an entrance to the spiritual world.

Foundations of Chenes buildings are also of note. Unlike other styles, Chenes style buildings have shorter foundations.

Features: What They Don't Look Like
The Chenes style also is known for what it doesn't incorporate. It doesn't use columns, and glyphic inscriptions (including stelae) are not often used.

References:

Southwest Missouri State University: Theme #17 Maya Art and Architecture

"A Dictionary of Archaeology"; Ian Shaw, Robert Jameson; 2002

"Prehistoric Mesoamerica"; Richard E. W. Adams; 2005

"Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Maya"; Timothy Laughton; 2011

"Pre-Columbian America: Empires of the New World"; Kathleen Kuiper; 2010

"The Ancient Maya"; Robert J. Sharer, Loa. P Traxler; 2005

"Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World"; Lynn V. Foster; 2005

Southwest Missouri State University: Maya Architectural Styles

"Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica"; Walter R. T. Witschey, Clifford T. Brown; 2011

"Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia"; Susan Toby Evans, David L. Webster; 2013

Cacao (Chocolate)

Author’s note: A lot of the information on how the Maya viewed and ate and drank cacao comes from the Classic period. This is because this period has the most text information from painted texts and pictures on ceramics, which come from the context of what is understood to be the elite class. The Maya codices, understood to be from the Postclassic period, are another source of information on the Maya view of cacao.

Other than corn, one of the foods most talked about when it comes to Maya cuisine is cacao. It comes from the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), also known as the chocolate tree. The ancient Maya cultivated the cacao tree for its fruit as well as for the fruit's seeds, which are the basic item required to make cacao. The ancient Maya viewed cacao as a precious substance, and used it as food as well as for religious and economic purposes.

The Tree
Found only in wet, tropical lowlands, the cacao is found in Mesoamerica and the Amazon Basin. The tree has leathery and long leaves and a wide trunk. The tree produces pink flowers on its trunk and branches—flowers whose smell repels human noses. After these bloom, the tree produces its edible, red-brown fruit pods with sweet flavored flesh and twenty to fifty seeds.

The ancient Maya, who in the Yucatan Peninsula at least, grew plantations of cacao trees, possessed methods to grow the trees well. They pruned the trees to make them grow more seedpods (this happens with some other plants as well), and they had to keep the trees out of direct sunlight.

History
It is understood that the ancient Maya began using cacao seeds as a food source 2,000 years ago or so. Based on a vessel with a spout that comes from Belize, cacao consumption started somewhere around 600 BC to around 400 BC.

Cacao usage has been found throughout the Classic period in the southern lowlands of the Maya world. But in the northern area of the Maya world, the Yucatan Peninsula, archaeologists have only found cacao consumption as far back as the Late Classic.

The Process
To begin the process of making cacao, the Maya first opened the seedpod and removed the seeds, which were white in color and bitter. Then they fermented the seeds for several days, decreasing the bitterness and bringing out the chocolate flavor. After fermentation, the seeds were roasted and shelled. The ancient Maya then mashed the seeds into a paste and it was this paste that they used for in food.

Four hundred seeds makes a pound of chocolate -- a bag of baking chips is about twelve or fourteen ounces, four to two less ounces than a pound. This means it takes about 10 to 20 pods to make a pound of chocolate.

Cacao Drinks and Foods
The ancient Maya made different kinds of drinks (hot and cold ones) via the medium of cacao. They would flavor their chocolate drinks with such things as chilies and seeds such as annatto. Another ingredient that the ancient Maya would sometimes use is honey.

Of the different kinds, a well-known kind of drink the ancient Maya made included chocolate and corn, and was a frothy/foamy drink that was savory. The foam was considered the best part of this drink.

However, drinks weren’t the only food the ancient Maya used cacao for. They also used cacao in gruels.

Containers
The vessels that the Maya used for the serving of cacao-based drinks come in a range of shapes. The most common kind of vessel the Maya used for chocolate is a basic cup. More rare is the spouted vessel that looks like a teapot.

Significance
In the ancient Maya religion, cacao seeds were a kind of offering to the gods. In the Popol Vuh – a book recording Quiche Maya myths – chocolate was something that came out of the mountain Paxil, when it broke open. Beyond mythological meaning, it is also understood that people drank the foamy chocolate drink during their wedding ceremony.

Other than having a religious significance, cacao also served a function in the ancient Maya economy: cacao seeds were used as a kind of currency.

Consideration
Some of what is known about what the Maya made using chocolate comes from chemical analysis of residues on the bottom of ceramics. Hershey Corporation was the first to discover the chemical signature of chocolate in 1990, using a lidded vessel discovered in Rio Azul.

References:
The Free Dictionary: Encyclopedia: Cacao

"Food, Farming and Hunting"; Emory Dean Keoke, Kay Marie Porterfield; 2005

"Chocolate - History, Culture, and Heritage"; Louis E. Grivetti, Howard-Yana Shapiro; 2011