Cinnabar is a common name for mercuric sulfide (meaning it is made of mercury and sulfur) -- a mineral that can release mercury via the heat from hands. It was a trade item not only in Mesoamerica but also in South America. The most likely area the ancient Maya would have mined cinnabar is the highlands. They would use cinnabar in and of itself and for extracting the mercury from it.
What was the significance of this mineral? The ancient Maya may have thought cinnabar was sacred due to its color red. Red to the ancient Maya may have been associated with the east (which may be connected to the rising sun) and with blood, a sacred substance.
Funerary Rites
Cinnabar was also used in funeral rites. Skeletons covered with cinnabar (or sometimes hematite) have been discovered, and the ritual seems to vary. In some burials such as Tikal Burial 10, the head seems to be the most important part for the cinnabar covering ritual.
One famous example of cinnabar coated skeleton is lord Pacal. Another instance is of the "Red Queen" who was buried in tomb near lord Pacal's tomb. The reason they did this isn't entirely clear, but this practice may have been done in connection to the sacred color, possibly even meaning resurrection.
Other Rituals
Both mercury and cinnabar have been found in places where rituals were performed. According to Robert. J Sharer, "In rituals involving fire, the Maya priests would burn cinnabar, transforming it into metallic mercury with mysterious qualities."
Pigment
Ancient Maya painters used different kinds of substances to make paints. Among these substances was cinnabar, cinnabar as a kind of paint. However, cinnabar tends to darken. Funerary goods, such as incense burners (and in one instance, lord Pacal's sarcophagus), were also sometimes painted with cinnabar.
Decorative Coating
Ancient maya craftsmen would sometimes use cinnabar on jade. They would coat the jade with a very thin layer of copal, and then apply cinnabar.
Consideration: Containers of Mercury
At Belize, archaeologists found various items -- including about 0.67 ounces of cinnabar, a container with about 3.5 ounces of hematite -- and and other things on top of a pool of mercury. Two possible areas the mercury for this are the Matapan Formation (located in west Honduras) and the Todos Los Santos Formation (located in Guatemala).
Containers of mercury have also been uncovered from underneath mud. Archaeologists working at Guatemala's Lake Amatitlan uncovered two containers that possessed mercury. These containers are understood to be from the Early Classic period (around 300 AD to 600 AD).
References:
"Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 1500 Years of Inventions and Innovations"; Emory Dean Keoke, Kay Marie Porterfield; 2009
"The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction"; Geoffrey E. Braswell; 2003
"Death and the Classic Maya Kings"; James L. Fitzsimmons; 2009
"Exploring Maya Ritual Caves: Dark Secrets from the Maya Underworld"; Stanislav Chládek; 2011
"Archaeomineralogy"; George Robert Rapp; 2009
"Mercury In The Environment: Pattern and Process"; Michael S. Bank; 2012
"Pulltrowser Swamp: Ancient Maya Habitat, Agriculture and Settlement in Northern Belize"; B.L. Turner; 2000
Showing posts with label cinnabar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cinnabar. Show all posts
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Copal Resin -- Sacred Incense
Copal resin (called pom in various Maya languages today) was one of the various substances the ancient Maya held to be sacred but also used in everyday taskes. Commonly, they used it as incense -- other incense substances being rubber, chicle, and pine resin -- and as an adhesive.
The ancient Maya used different kinds of trees for copal resin, and today various kinds of tree resins are called copal. Via infrared spectometry, it is now understood that the most common kind of copal resin that the ancient Maya (as well as Mesoamerica in general) used comes from Bursera bipinnata, a tree with tiny leaflets. Other names for this tree include copal amargo, copalillo, copal santo and copal cimarrón. (However some sources write as though the most common copal is from the species Protium copal.)
Sacred Offering
The ancient Maya believed that copal resin was very sacred. The ancient Maya burned the resin in balls or lumps, both lower and upper classes. Incence burners that the ancient Maya used ranged from ceramic and wooden burners to ones made from gourds. When the incense burned, the ancient Maya thought the gods came down to eat the smoke.
On a side note to this, one kind of glyph shows a god diving down with a ball of copal in each hand. This may have something to do with the idea that the gods came down for the smoke.
Unburned copal also seems to have been given as an offering. When the Well of Sacrifice at Chichen Itza was excavated, one of the things they found was balls of copal. These balls had been painted blue-green and sometimes had shaped pieces of jade -- such as disks and balls -- set into them.
Practical Uses
Copal resin also had other uses. In order to get cinnabar to stick to greenstone carvings, the ancient Maya would use copal as a glue. They would place a thin layer of copal where the wanted the cinnabar to stick. Similarly, they used copal as a binder in their paint.
Copal resin was also part of the ancient Maya's medicine. In the Yucatan area, before European contact, copal was used for various things such as curing headaches.
References:
University of Texas at Austin: Mesoamerican Copal Resins
"Gardens on Hills: Ancient Maya Terracing and Agricultural Production at Chan Belize"; Andrew R Wyatt; 2008
"Plants and Animals of the Ancient Maya: A Guide"; Victoria Schlesinger; 2001
"Breath on the Mirror: Mythic Voices and Visions of the Living Maya"; Dennis Tedlock; 1993
"The Maya Tropical Forest: People, Parks, & Ancient Cities"; James D. Nations; 2006
"Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas, From the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley"; Jennifer P. Mathews, Gillian P. Schultz; 2009
"Historical Dictionary of Ancient Mesoamerica"; Joel W. Palka; 2000
"Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture:A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1994"; Stephen D. Houston; 1998
"Words of the True Peoples/Palabras de Los Seres Verdaderos: Anthology of Contemporary Mexican Indigenous-Language Writers: Volume Two/Tomo Dos: Poetry/Poesía"; Carlos Montemayor, Donald H. Frischmann, George O. Jackson, Jr.; 2005
"Trees of Guatemala"; Tracey Parker; 2008
Image Credit:
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Censer, Seated King
The ancient Maya used different kinds of trees for copal resin, and today various kinds of tree resins are called copal. Via infrared spectometry, it is now understood that the most common kind of copal resin that the ancient Maya (as well as Mesoamerica in general) used comes from Bursera bipinnata, a tree with tiny leaflets. Other names for this tree include copal amargo, copalillo, copal santo and copal cimarrón. (However some sources write as though the most common copal is from the species Protium copal.)
 |
| This incense burner was made in the 300s AD, and was uncovered in Guatemala. There are two parts: the part with the ruler on it is a chimney for the incense's smoke to go up as it burns in the base. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
The ancient Maya believed that copal resin was very sacred. The ancient Maya burned the resin in balls or lumps, both lower and upper classes. Incence burners that the ancient Maya used ranged from ceramic and wooden burners to ones made from gourds. When the incense burned, the ancient Maya thought the gods came down to eat the smoke.
On a side note to this, one kind of glyph shows a god diving down with a ball of copal in each hand. This may have something to do with the idea that the gods came down for the smoke.
Unburned copal also seems to have been given as an offering. When the Well of Sacrifice at Chichen Itza was excavated, one of the things they found was balls of copal. These balls had been painted blue-green and sometimes had shaped pieces of jade -- such as disks and balls -- set into them.
Practical Uses
Copal resin also had other uses. In order to get cinnabar to stick to greenstone carvings, the ancient Maya would use copal as a glue. They would place a thin layer of copal where the wanted the cinnabar to stick. Similarly, they used copal as a binder in their paint.
Copal resin was also part of the ancient Maya's medicine. In the Yucatan area, before European contact, copal was used for various things such as curing headaches.
References:
University of Texas at Austin: Mesoamerican Copal Resins
"Gardens on Hills: Ancient Maya Terracing and Agricultural Production at Chan Belize"; Andrew R Wyatt; 2008
"Plants and Animals of the Ancient Maya: A Guide"; Victoria Schlesinger; 2001
"Breath on the Mirror: Mythic Voices and Visions of the Living Maya"; Dennis Tedlock; 1993
"The Maya Tropical Forest: People, Parks, & Ancient Cities"; James D. Nations; 2006
"Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas, From the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley"; Jennifer P. Mathews, Gillian P. Schultz; 2009
"Historical Dictionary of Ancient Mesoamerica"; Joel W. Palka; 2000
"Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture:A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1994"; Stephen D. Houston; 1998
"Words of the True Peoples/Palabras de Los Seres Verdaderos: Anthology of Contemporary Mexican Indigenous-Language Writers: Volume Two/Tomo Dos: Poetry/Poesía"; Carlos Montemayor, Donald H. Frischmann, George O. Jackson, Jr.; 2005
"Trees of Guatemala"; Tracey Parker; 2008
Image Credit:
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Censer, Seated King
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