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Description: The Life Within: Classic Maya and the Matter of Permanence
[Index]
PublisherYale University Press
https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00151.008
View chapters with similar subject tags
Index
Page numbers in italic type indicate illustrations.
abstraction, 55
abundance, 81
acacia tree, 12
Acanceh (Yucatan), 157n48
Adorno, Theodor W., 146n30
adventition, 54
aesthetics, 3, 120–30, 159n1
Africa, 158n1
Agassiz, Louis, 146n31
agave, animated, 16
agency, 9
Aguateca (Guatemala): ceramic bells, 46
headband jewel, 29, 49
Ahuitzotl (Aztec ruler), 122, 158n62
ahuitzotl (water dog), 122
ajaw (lord), 112
ak’ (vine), 10
alabaster, 48, 49
alcoholic drinks, 16
alphabets, 155n41
Altar de Sacrificios (Guatemala), 22
altars, 79, 151n9
Quirigua full-figure glyphs, 111, 118, 119, 120, 121
Alta Verapaz (Guatemala): caves with sacred effigies, 153n21
Chama “basket” edge vessel, 34
Nebaj-area “Fenton Vase,” 34
Altun Ha (Belize): ballplayer’s belt, 36, 37, 49
painted “gourd” on hemispheric bowl, 43
Amazonia, 62, 76, 78
American Southwest, 62–63, 63, 66, 70, 72, 139n4
Anatolia, Luwian hieroglyphic script, 104
ancestors, 81, 94, 96
as plants, 12, 12, 13, 98
Ancestral Puebloans. See Pueblo
anger, 80
animacy, 9, 75–123
agave, 16
craftsman’s response to, 154n33
definition of, 76
diversity of forces and, 79–80
full-figuration subset of, 102, 105–23
materials not shown as, 98
most prominent material features of, 98–99
sacred properties of, 102
animal products, 19–20, 98. See also leather; pelts
animals: animism and, 78
glyphs for, 108, 109, 117, 122, 122, 157n49
human relations with, 76
animation. See animacy
animic societies, 78
anthropology, 3, 80
aesthetics and, 126
psychological, 77
anthropomorphization, 76–77, 98
definition of, 76
archaeology, 3, 15, 31, 40, 51, 53. See also specific sites
architecture, 49, 54, 61
wooden prototypes, 144n21. See also buildings
Aristotle, 100
armadillo: beliefs about/uses of, 142n15
edge marks, 47–48
hides as ceramic motif, 32, 41, 43, 43
art history, 3, 56, 66, 132
artifacts: diffusion of forms, 51–52
intentional smashing of, 27
artifice, 61
artistic creation, 50, 66
Assyrian hieroglyphic system, 104, 105
Athenian pottery, 2
atlantean stone being, Sepulturas bench (Honduras), 21–22, 21
avian. See birds
axes, 97
Aztecs, 122, 133, 152n15, 158n62, 159n10, 160nn13, 14
baah (body), 6, 6, 67, 99
baah pakal (head shield), 27–28, 28
baahte’ (head wood/head stick), 27, 28
baah took’ (head flint), 27, 28
baahtz’am (head throne), 28, 28
baak (bone), 19–20
bahlam (jaguar), 19
Balfour, Henry, 52
ballplayer’s belts, 36, 37
balls, 27
bands, woven cloth, 35–36, 36
Basin of Mexico: day signs, 121–22
baskets, 17, 45, 72, 130
ceramic surface representations of, 33–35, 33, 34, 39, 47, 62, 74, 124, 133
Chama style, 34, 35
clay as mending material for, 53
coil construction of, 139–40n5
shift to ceramic objects from, 55, 59–60
batik, 38, 38
Baudrillard, Jean, 146n30
beauty, 3, 125–33
ephemerality and, 127, 132, 133, 16nn13, 14
permanent possessions and, 130
Beazley, John, 56
bedrock, 20
belief, origins of, 76
Belize, 22, 97, 142n15. See also specific place names
bells, 46, 47
belts, 36, 36, 37, 38
Benjamin, Walter, 73
Berenson, Bernard, 146n31
Bergson, Henri, 144–45n22
binding, 94
Bird Jaguar IV (Yaxchilan, Mexico), 152n16
birds, 19, 24–25, 84, 86
deities with characteristics of, 108, 109
full-figure glyphs, 108–9, 109, 112, 114, 115, 116, 157n49. See also feathers; quetzal bird
birth, 84, 159n10
birth order, 28
black mirrors, 3
blades, 13, 24, 25, 27, 97
Blake, William, “World in a Grain of Sand,” 64
blood and bloodletting, 11, 19, 27, 43, 98
ceiba’s mythic appetite for, 15
ch’ulel and, 81
glyph for, 40
k’uh and, 81–86, 82, 85
obsidian used for, 25
personhood and, 152n14
blue. See green-blue
Blust, Robert, 152n15
Bombacaceae (ceiba tree family), 142n13
Bonampak (Chiapas, Mexico), 15, 17
murals (A.D. 791), 27–28, 28, 36, 36
bone, 24, 27
carved bells, 46
glyph for, 19–20
incised, 16
pointed tools, 139n4
Book of Kells, 155n41
book production, 19, 132
jaguar-hide covers, 39, 39
botany, 10. See also plants
Bourdieu, Pierre, 125, 129, 158–59n1
bowls: calcite, 23–24
clay coil construction of, 140n5
“double refraction” of, 142n14
feathered sacrificial, 45
limestone, 13–14, 13
living plants/mythic models theme, 13–14, 13
polychrome, 38
pumpkin-shaped, 41, 42
walnut black-on-white, 63
wooden, 15, 17. See also ceramic objects; cross-media transfer
“Box of Hackmack” year signs, 158n62
breath, 84
imagery for, 93–94
soul essence linked with, 152n14
bricolage, 57, 72
British Museum, 35
Brittenham, Claudia, 142n14, 143n16, 148n48, 158n62
Buddhism, 61, 62, 101, 130
buhk (clothes), 27
buildings: conjoined, 70
facade “textile” design transfers, 45, 45, 52, 53
materials, 19, 49–51, 51, 52, 144n21
“thatch” roofs, 18, 19, 45, 61
built environment, 79
cacao tree, 13, 14, 15
specialness of pods of, 12
Calakmul (Campeche, Mexico), 94, 112
leather drinking vessel, 39
Stela 9, 22
Stela 52, 120, 120
Tomb 1 greca and weaving design plate, 37
calendar, 8, 27
Campeche (Mexico), 45
Nocuchich stela, 70, 71. See also Calakmul
Cancuen (Guatemala): Stela 1, 16
canoes, dugout, 15, 16, 17
captives 27, 72, 112, 140n7
Caracol (Belize), 22, 153n24
Altar 12, 90
figured glyphs for time, 112
Stela 6, limestone, 22
Stela 20, series of full-figure glyphs, 111, 112, 113
stony heads, 90, 91
Structure B19, 36
“Caribbean hut,” 51
Carnegie Institution of Washington (Fincael Paraíso), 46
cartouches, 121
carving, 3, 27
depiction of act of, 89, 90, 91
glyph for, 21
of wood objects, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 30. See also sculptures; stone carvings
cauac monsters (rocks with faces), 88
cauac months, 153n23
caves, 83, 87–88, 8889, 91
ceiba tree: ceramic representation of, 40, 41
mythic attributes of (“first tree”), 14, 15, 40, 97
practical uses of, 15
unusual properties of, 40
celts, 92, 93, 96–97, 96
censer, 40, 117
centipede carapaces, 20
ceramic objects, 4, 23, 27
ancestors as plants, 12
Ancestral Puebloan, 62–63, 63
bells, 46, 47
bowl, 22
coffer, 35
“composite” pots, 69–70, 69
day signs on, 121
durability of, 130
gourd-form dominance, 41, 65
incense burners, 40, 41
lids, 35, 36
mythic ceiba vase, 14
“resist” technology, 38–39, 38
shift from other materials to, 55, 59–60
skeuomorphic development of, 59–60
surface evocation of other media (see cross-media transfer) surface painting of, 19, 31, 41, 43, 43, 135n3, 140n8
systematic smashing of, 27
vase, 16
vessels, 14, 18. See also bowls; clay
Chahk (rain god), 91, 92, 92, 123, 153nn21, 23
cavern home of, 87–89, 8889
Quirigua zoömorph altar, 118, 119, 120
chakjal (becoming red), 9
ch’am (reception of royal regalia/harvesting maize), 72
Chama style: “basket” edge, 34, 35
textile-design vessel, 38
Charlot, Jean, “Journey of Time,” 156n48
checkwork, 35
ch’e’n (rocky outcrop/caves), 20
chest pendants, 94
chevron, white-and-black, 35
chi (alcoholic drink), 16
Chiapa de Corzo (Mexico), 43
Chiapas (Mexico), 8, 10, 20
Bonampak Murals, 27–28, 28, 36, 36
flamboyant pottery, 66, 67
Palace Tablet, full-figure glyphs, 114. See also Tzotzil Maya; Yaxchilan
ch’ich’ (tree sap/blood), 40
Chichen Itza (Mexico), 8, 15
gourd vessels, 40–41
textile collection, 140n8
Chiik Nahb group (Calakmul), 39, 39
chimpanzees, 1
China: copying practices, 65–66
pictorial writing, 104
spirituality of garden stones, 100, 101
Chinikiha (Chiapas), 27
chisels, 13
ch’o’ (rat), 108
Chochola vessels, carved wood attributes of, 30, 43, 44
chocolate pot, 41
Ch’olti’an language, 8, 10, 137n16, 159n9
Chontal language, 7–8
Ch’orti’ language, 8, 118, 129, 143n18
Ch’orti’ Maya, 118, 151n9, 152n15, 159n8
armadillos and, 41, 43, 14215
numeral classifiers and, 136n12
ritual pottery containers of, 40
Christianity, 3, 66, 79, 81, 135n6
Christy, Henry, 145n23
Chuang-Tzu, 160n13
ch’uchij (soft), 97
chuk (war captives), 72
ch’ulel (spirit essence/soul/denizen of blood), 11, 78, 81
ch’ute (god-tree), 15
Clark Institute, 159n1
classical columns, 144n21
Classical Greece, 3
notions of beauty, 3
ornaments and pots, 65, 67
philosophy, 54–55
Classic Maya (A.D. 250 to 850), 1–29
animal and bird products of, 19–20
armadillo depictions by, 41–42, 43
artifacts of, 31, 32
complexity of craft organization of, 68–69
copying and, 54–55
cross-media quotations and, 32–48
cyclic replacement (k’ex) as overriding concept of, 72
enduring objects of, 32
energies and, 78–81
jade valuation of, 93–94, 126, 126–27
language of inscriptions of, 6–9, 10
miraculous and, 133
nature of matter and, 5–10, 81–82
notions of beauty of, 3, 125–33
Playfulness of, 69–70
possessions of value and, 130
royal court titles of, 27–28, 28
texts of (see glyphs). See also Early Classic period; Late Classic period; Mayan languages
classifiers. See numeral classifiers
clay: animacy and, 88, 91, 98, 100
as ceramic basic material, 31
coil construction of 34, 140n5
glyph for, 20
manipulation of, 19
mending of other materials with, 53
permanence of, 130
replicas of stones, 46
shift of other materials to, 53–54, 55
transformativity of, 20. See also ceramic objects
cleansing rituals, 27
cloth. See textiles
clothing, 27, 39
clouds, 81
Codex Borgia, day signs, 121–22, 122
codex-style vase, 8
cognition, 58
cognitive psychology, 59
coil construction, 34, 139–140n5
Coleridge, Samuel T., Biographia Literaria, 31
Colley March, H., 52–53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 62
Colonial period, 5, 39, 79, 130
notions of “amusement” and, 70
notions of beauty and, 126. See also Tzotzil Maya; Yukatek Maya
color, 9, 34, 38, 126–30, 128
resist designs, 38
woven cloth bands, 35–36. See also green-blue; red; yellow
commensuration, 136n9
compaction of glyphs, 103–4, 103, 105
complex signs, 104
Comte, Auguste, 149n4
conch shell, 19
conflation of glyphs, 103, 103
contrastive value, 58
Copan (Honduras), 22, 23, 25, 27, 153n25
Altar 41, series of full-figure glyphs, 111, 112, 114
bench, series of full-figure glyphs, 111, 112, 114, 117
Corte Block, series of full-figured glyphs, 111, 112, 114, 157n52
deity-fused full-figured bird glyphs, 108, 109, 157n49
full-figure signs, 111, 112, 114, 116–18
Harvard Bench, 111, 116
Hieroglyphic Stairway, 25, 27
Hieroglyphic Stairway, Step 41, 6
Hieroglyphic Stairway, Step 43, 17
Hieroglyphic Stairway, Step 63, 116, 117
incense burner with “ceiba” bark surface, 40, 41
Margarita facade, 110
Margarita Structure, 23, 23
sak lak stone incense burner, 48, 48
Stela 63, 116–17
Stela D, 116
Structure 9N-82 reused step infixation, 103
Temple 26, full-figure glyphs series, 111, 112, 114
Teotihuacan mural and, 157n49
volcanic tuff of, 22
copper, 127
copying, 47–59
accidental, 63
artifact diffusion and, 51
changes introduced with, 54
deception and, 61
human compulsion for, 65, 66
hybrid creations from, 58
as magical process, 66–67
subtle distortions of, 52, 54
terms in Classical philosophy for, 54–55
unknown prototype of, 57
value and, 65–66. See also skeuomorphs
Corbusier, Le, 57, 68
corn. See maize
corn maidens, 14
Corte Block (Copan, Honduras), 111, 112, 114, 157n52
cotton, 15, 16, 27, 108
Cotzumalhuapa civilization, 121, 122
counting (classifiers), 7–9, 10, 137n16
devices for, 22
creativity/creation, 49, 50–51, 66
transience and, 133
crocodile: full-figured glyphs, 110, 111, 120
swimming through k’uh, 86, 87
crone, 137n25
crosses, 78, 79, 151n10
cross-media transfer, 31–73
American Southwest and, 53, 60, 62–63, 63
armadillo hide evocation, 31, 32, 41, 43, 43
basket evocation, 33–35, 33, 34, 39, 47, 62, 74, 124, 133
ceiba tree to ceramic, 40, 41
“double-refraction” and, 142n14
as episodic, 48
feather replication, 44–45, 44
gendered practices and, 60
gourd evocation, 13, 40–41, 42, 43, 45, 65, 142n14
historical prototypes and progenitors, 49–56
hybrid form from, 48
metal to ceramic, 45–48, 48
mimicry and, 47–48
multilateral, 62
origins/unintentional consequences of, 54
pelt evocation, 39, 39, 47, 48
perishable-to-permanent trend in, 54, 69
play of materials and, 124, 125
scale and, 70, 72
stone “thatch” roofs, 19, 45, 61
textile designs to ceramic, 35–39, 36, 37, 38, 53, 63, 63, 133
textile designs to stone, 45, 45, 52, 53
unconscious urges and, 54
wood to ceramic, 43–44, 44. See also skeuomorphs
cross-patterning, 72
cultural “embryology,” 52
cuneiform, 104
cured pelts. See pelts
cyborg, 135n2
cyclic renewal, 72, 130–31
cylinder form, 32, 43, 143n16
dancers, 25, 26, 97
Danto, Arthur, 125, 159n1
Daoism, 101
Darwin, Charles, 51, 52, 56
Daston, Lorraine, “Speechless,” 74
Day of the Dead, 160n13
day signs, 120–22
Dean, Carolyn, 100
death and decay, 79, 81, 99, 132–33
breath as hard beads and, 93
craft and art overcoming, 133
jade masks and, 93–94, 130, 131
royal burial jewelry and, 46
souls and, 152n14
Dee, Dr. (Elizabethan astrologer), 3
deer: antlers, 19
glyph, 122
deities, 22–23, 23, 25, 36, 38, 40, 75, 87, 152n15
bird glyphs fused with, 108, 109
celt markings and, 96, 96, 157n49
full-figure glyphs of, 114, 118, 119, 120, 120, 123
k’uh and, 81, 83
owl plume and, 44
plants and, 14, 16, 98
rulers absorbing identities of, 103
spirit essence in, 78
stone repositories of, 91, 101. See also Chahk; Maize God
Deleuze, Gilles, 146n30
depiction. See representation
Desana baskets, 139n4
Descartes, René, 8
Descola, Philippe, 77, 78
design theorists, 51
dictionaries, 9
diffusionism, 51–52
disgust, 158n1
Dissanayake, Ellen, 66
divination instruments, 98
Dos Pilas (Guatemala), 36, 38, 153n21
Stela 8, 106
Stela 11 mutilated sculpture, 99
Dresden Codex, 159n3
drinking containers, 39, 39, 40, 143n16
dugout canoes, 15, 16, 17
Dumbarton Oaks collection, 26, 41
carved bone bells, 46
carved bowl, 13–14, 13
gourd-mimic bowl, 142n14
eagle, 24–25
feathered sacrificial bowls, 45
as glyph, 88, 118, 120, 122
mythic, 153n26
Early Classic period (A.D. 250 to 550): carved bone, 46
ceramic lids, 36
cross-media transfer, 48
k’uh depiction, 86, 87
Margarita structure, 23, 23
play of materials, 72
sign for te’, 16, 17
woven cloth bands, 35, 36, 36
Early Postclassic period, 45
earspool, jade, 86
earth, 20, 98
sign for, 20
Easter Island, Rongorongo hieroglyphic script, 104
Ecuador, 62, 76
edge marks, 47–48
Edzna (Mexico), 43
Egyptians: death practices of, 132
script, 102, 104–5
El Abra (Honduras), calcite bowl inscription, 23–24
El Chayal (Guatemala), obsidian quarries, 25
El Diablo (Guatemala), jade bead, 91
Elizabeth I, queen of England, 3
Elkins, James, 107
El Mirador (Mexico), 43
El Salvador, 43
El Zotz (Guatemala), 35
newborn Maize God glyph, 109, 110
Emiliano Zapata panel (Tabasco, Mexico), 89, 90, 91
energies, 5, 78–81, 86–87, 99, 102
intercessions with, 79
ephemerality, 127, 132, 133, 160nn13, 14
equifinality principle, 57
ethnography, 75, 78, 80
Eucharist: transubstantiation debate, 66
wafers, 3
evolutionary process, 2, 4, 50, 51, 52, 145nn23, 24, 25
copying and, 58–59
face, carved polished stone, 92, 92, 93
fans, 35, 140n7
feathers, 19, 24
ceramic replica of, 44–45, 44
feline claws, 19, 20
Fenton Vase, 34, 140n6
fetishism, 9, 77, 149–50n4
fibers, 98
fig tree, 19
figural initials, 155n41
figurine, Maya blue, 127, 128
Finca el Paraíso tomb (Quetzaltenango, Guatemala), ceramic bells, 46, 47
flint, 13, 23–27, 24, 26, 29, 97
animism of, 154n33
origins tale, 98
forces. See energies
forests. See trees
form, 52–53, 57, 68
matter vs., 8
transfer of, 53
Freud, Sigmund, 54, 56, 77
fruit trees, 12, 12, 98
full-figure glyphs, 102, 105–23, 109, 110, 113, 114, 119
patterns of, 110, 112, 117
tabulated series of, 111, 112
as text, 117–18
function, form and 52–53, 57, 68
fur. See pelts
Gell, Alfred, 62, 66, 77, 102, 126
gendered practices, 60
German idealism, 50
gifts, 130, 159n9
glyphs, 2, 6–10
animacy of, 75, 88–123
for clay, 20
compaction of, 103–4, 103, 105
conflation of, 103, 103
dynamic figuration of, 114, 116
for eagle, 88, 118, 120, 122
for earth, 20
for flint, 24–25
flow of reading of, 106–7
full-figure (see full-figure glyphs)
generic and specific, 106, 106
infixation of, 103, 103
for jade, 22–23, 22, 23
Maya thought on matter and, 81, 83
for obsidian, 25–26
physical features of, 105
pictorialism of, 102–5, 103
sequencing of, 103
shadow, 104
singularity of, 27, 122–23
for stone (see tuun), superimposition of, 103–4, 103
for thatching, 19
for tree or wood (see te’)
God D, 159n3
God K, 25, 26
gods and goddesses. See deities
Goethe, Wolfgang von, 49
gold, 127, 133
Golden, Charles, 140n5
Goodman, Nelson, 107, 146n30
goodness, beauty and, 126, 159n3
gourds, 10, 16, 73, 139n4
ceramic evocations of, 40–41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 65, 142n14
gradualism, 65, 66, 145n23
grass, 17, 19, 22, 22
basketry pattern, 34, 35
Grassi, Giovannino di, 155n41
greca (step-fret) motif, 33, 33, 35–36, 36, 37, 139n4
Greece. See Classical Greece
green-blue, 9, 22, 81, 93, 126–27, 128, 129, 130, 153n23
as marker of living things, 139n2. See also jade
Grieder, Terence, 141n9
Grube, Nikolai, 136n13, 138n38, 153n24
Guatemala, 8, 20, 23, 98, 126, 152n14
armadillo-design effigy vessels, 43, 43
ceramic bells, 46
Cotzumalhuapa civilization, 121, 122
cross-media transfer, 33–35, 33, 34, 48
flamboyant pottery, 66
flint, 25
full-figure glyphs, 109
obsidian, 25. See also specific place names
guava, 15
Guthrie, Stewart, 76
ha’ (water), 21
ha’b (water snake/annual rain cycle), 112, 116
Haddon, Alfred, 52, 55, 62
hair strands, 22, 22
Hallowell, Irving, 77–78
Hanks, William F., 136n9
hardness, 97, 130, 159n9
Harvard Bench (Copan, Honduras), 111, 116
Harvard University, 135n4
headbands: jewel worn on, 29, 48, 49
paper, 18, 19, 48
heads, stony (Caracol, Belize), 90, 91
heaven, 14, 132
Hegel, G.W.F., 159n1
Heian period (Japan), 133
Heidegger, Martin, 8
hematite, 127
Hersey, George, 61–62, 67
hides, 98
armadillo, 32, 41, 43, 43. See also leather
Hieroglyphic Stairway (Copan), 6, 17, 25, 27, 116, 117
hieroglyphic systems, 102–23
Assyrian example of, 104, 105
derivation of term “hieroglyph” and, 102
rare vs. common, 104–5. See also glyphs
hills, 20, 91
hk’iìnil wiínik (sun person), 79
hmèen (doer), 79
holiness. See sacrality
Holmes, William Henry, 53–54, 55, 62, 66
Holmul (Belize), pottery composite, 69
holy relics, 3
Homer, 158n1
Homo faber, 2
homology, 78
Honduras, 8, 43
Sepulturas bench, atlantean stone being, 21–22, 21. See also Copan
Howler monkey, 70
Hruby, Zachary, 25, 154n31
Hull, Kerry, 143n18
human body, 67, 122, 127
letter figuration of, 155n41
shared terms for parts of plants with, 11
human will, 9
Humboldt, Alexander, 51
Hume, David, 76, 158n1
humor. See playfulness; wit
hu’n (paper/books), 19
huub (conch shell), 19
Huxley, Thomas, 145n23
hybrid objects, 32, 58, 72
ik’ (wind), 94, 118
ikaatz (tribute/jade), 23
illness, 78, 152n15
illusionist deception, 61–62
imagery, 2, 59, 81, 126, 159n8
breath, 93
caves, 87
deity celt markings, 96
hieroglyph characteristics compared with, 103
idealized depictions, 29
jade, 23
k’uh flow, 81
mythic plants, 14
perishable objects, 139n2
rock and stone, 87–88, 8889, 91
royal portraits, 72
trees, 15
Western, 101. See also glyphs; pictorialism
imitation: copying vs., 31
skeuomorphs and, 52–53
theory of, 59. See also mimesis; representation
impermanent, influence on permanent of, 139n2
inanimate objects. See objects
incense burners, 40, 41
mythic, 86
stone, 48, 48
incense-producing trees, 142n13
infixation of glyphs, 103, 103
Ingold, Tim, 4, 5, 7, 78
Inka, 100
inscriptions, 6–7, 8, 10, 23–24
inspiration, 49
intercessory objects and places, 79–80, 151n10
invention, 51
Isidore of Seville, 137n.14
Itzaj Maya, 98
Itzam (deity), 108, 109
itz’in taaj (younger brother), 28
Ixi’m. See Maize God
jade, 47, 48, 49, 66, 96–97, 133, 139n2, 153nn23, 26, 27
animation of, 93–94, 94
earspool, 86
glyphs for, 22–23, 23
hardness of, 130
incised, 16
masks, 130, 131
polishing of, 126
replication of, 46
uses for, 126
valuation of, 93–94, 126–27
jaguar, 14, 15
bone, 19–20
hide, 39, 39
kilt, 36
James, William, 56, 146n31
Janahb Pakal I, jade mask, 131
Japanese belief, 160n13
nightmarish transformation of objects, 151n11
Scroll of the Nine Aspects of Decay, 132–33
spirituality of garden stones, 100, 101
jewels and jewelry, 22–23, 29, 93, 126
from cacao pods, 12, 13
green polished stone, 126
“white paper,” 48, 49. See also jade
Jimbal Stela I, non-Maya day sign, 121
kab (wax/earth), 19
k’ahk’ (fire), 157n53
k’al (binding), 94
k’an (yellow/precious/ripe), 87, 89, 91, 153n21
Kant, Immanuel, 125, 126, 158n1, 159n1
k’ante’ (yellow tree), 15
k’antuun Chahk (version of Chahk), 89, 91
k’ex (cyclic replacement), 72
K’iche’ Maya, 10–11, 97
personhood concept, 80
k’ik’ (tree sap/blood), 40
kings. See royalty
ki’oltsil (polish/smoothness), 126
Klemm, Gustav, 50, 54, 62
knives, 24
Kockelman, Paul, 7
Kovacevich, Brigitte, 159n4
kow (hard), 97
Kubler, George, 143n18
k’uh (god), 81, 85, 86
meaning variants of, 81–87, 92, 97, 98
spillage of, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 152n16
k’uhul (holy/godly), 81, 83
kul (classifier), 8
kux (life), 78
Lacandon Maya, 40, 154n33
lak (fired clay), 20
Lakoff, George, 63, 65
Landa, Diego de, 41, 159n9
language; Colonial period, 5, 126, 130
skeuomorphs and, 58, 62–65
word-signs, 108, 110, 112, 114, 122–23. See also glyphs; Mayan languages; writing
La Pasadita (Guatemala), 83, 159n9
lapidary stone, 81
Las Casas, Bartolomé de, 153n21
Late Classic period (A.D. 550 to 850), 27, 29
acacia tree image, 12
armadillo hide edge marks, 47–48
basket-surface ceramics, 35
building facades, 45
building monolith, 70
cavern depiction, 87
cross-media transfer, 45
cross-media transfer abatement, 48
cylinder vases, 43
El Zotz glyphs, 109, 110
hybrid forms, 48
Maize God jade jewelry, 23
obsidian, 25, 97
play of materials, 72
plumbate trade ware, 46
“resist” ceramic designs, 38
“sak lak” stone incense burners, 48, 48
skeleton images, 20
squash or pumpkin-shaped ceramic bowl, 41, 42
stony materials, 97
tanned leather bowl, 39
tz’it term, 8
Late Preclassic period, 33, 40
Latin language, 6
Laugier, Marc-Antoine, 144n21
leather, 9, 39, 39, 98, 130
leaves, 98
Leiden plaque, 154n30
infixation, 103
lekil (polished), 126
Lentz, David, 142n13
lids, basket-simulated ceramic, 35, 36
life, 132
Maya names for, 78
ligatures, 155n42
lightning, 25, 153n23
lime dust, 19
limestone, 16, 22, 22, 24, 91
bowl, 13–14, 13
cave earth sign, 20
lintel, 18
sarcophagus, 12
line, quality of, 127, 129
linguistics. See language
Little Colorado White Ware, 63
lizard glyph, 122
logographs. See word-signs
López Austin, Alfredo, 150n8
Lord Aberdeen’s Black Stone, 105
Lubbock, John (Lord Avebury), 145n23
ludic wit, 58, 72
Luwian hieroglyphic script (Anatolia), 104
macaw-quetzal entwined glyph, 108, 157n49
Machaquila (Guatemala), stone “thatched” buildings, 19, 45, 61
magic, 79, 80, 94, 96, 98, 133
magical mimesis, 66, 148–49
maguey, 16
maize, 11, 13, 14, 78, 83, 127, 129, 130, 132
Maize God, 13, 14, 23, 98, 127, 152n19, 159n6
attributes of, 127
glyph for, 109, 110
watery journey/death of, 129
Maltrata (Mexico), 121
mammiform spikes (ceiba), 40, 41, 142n13
Mam speakers, 152n14
mana (Polynesian concept), 152n15
Maori jade-working, 159n4
Marett, Robert, 149n4
Margarita structure (Copan, Honduras), 23, 23, 110
marking, features of, 58, 64–67
Marshall, John, 147n39
Martin, Simon, 13–14, 97, 140n7, 143n16
Marx, Karl, 77
mask: jade, 93–94, 130, 131
Olmec, 158n1
masonry, 19
Matrícula de Tributos, 139n4
matter and materials, 1–29
as animate, 9, 75 (see also animacy)
categories of, 9–10
copying of (see copying); “despiritualisation” of, 9
energies in, 5, 78, 80–81, 86–87, 99, 102
etymology of “matter” and, 9
form vs., 8
humans and, 27–28, 29
innovation and, 66
intentional smashing of, 27
as interchangeable, 5
Mayan languages and, 5–10, 80–81, 83
mental image reproduced in, 59
mythic origins of, 97
naming and classifying of, 28–29
nonanimate types of, 98
permanence and, 32, 58, 60–61
play of, 49–56, 72–73, 125
positionals and, 6
potential of, 28–29
properties of, 8
prototype and second-order (see cross-media transfer; skeuomorphs); royal titles and, 27–28
shift from original to secondary form of, 54–56, 55
transformations of, 32. See also specific materials
Mauryan temples (Buddhist Sanchi), 61, 62
Mauss, Marcel, 9
Maya: ancient geography of, 20–21
animate matter and, 75
counting devices of, 22
metalwork advent and, 45
periods of civilization of, 2–3
personhood concept of, 80
sacred energies and, 86
textiles collection of, 140n8. See also Classic Maya
Maya blue. See green-blue
Mayan languages, 5–10
associations and, 6–7, 81
classifiers and, 7–8
ethnography and, 80–81
for human occupations, 27
matter and materials and, 5–10, 80–81, 83
names for life and, 78
nouns and, 6
sentience and, 101
“snake”-“sky” homophone and, 39
syllable creation and, 16
words for “goodness” and, 126. See also glyphs; writing; specific language groups
memento mori, 132
memory, 58
menstrual flow, 43
mental image, material reproduction of, 59
metal: aesthetic sheen of, 127
ceramics transfer of, 45–48, 46
metaphors, 58, 62–64, 66, 70, 72, 97, 130
methodological atheism, 66, 148n49
Mexico, 133, 160n13
day signs, 120–22. See also specific place names
Michelangelo, 154n31
Middle Ages, 132, 135n6
midwife, 38, 137n25
Milman, Miriam, 61
mimesis, 54, 58, 72
Benjamin on, 73
meaning of, 55
as unconscious urge, 66. See also copying
mimetic aptitude, 148n49
miracles, 3, 133, 135n6
Mitla oracular center (Oaxaca, Mexico), “textile” stone mosaics, 45, 52, 53
Mixtec, 83, 100
Moche iconography, 151n11
Mohegan baskets, 35
Mohs scale of hardness, 130
Monaghan, John, 83
monarchs. See royalty
monoliths. See stelae
Mopan Maya, 101
Moral-La Reforma (Mexico), 108
Morelli, Giovanni, 56
mosaics, 21
“textile” building facades, 45, 45, 52, 53
Motagua River valley (Guatemala), 23, 126
mother rock, 100
Mundo Perdido complex (Tikal, Guatemala), 157n49, 159n3
muscle memory, 59
Museo Diego Rivera (Anahuacalli, Mexico), 121
Museo Popol Vuh (Guatemala), 140n8
mushrooms, 10
musical instruments, animacy in, 78, 79, 150–51n8
mutilation of sculpture, 99–100, 99
muut (bird), 108, 109
Myres, Sir John, 145n25
mythic figures, 10–13, 88–89, 122, 152n19, 157n49
ceiba ceramic vase, 14, 15, 40
eagle, 153n26
first people, 11–12
k’uh and, 86, 87
midwife and healer, 38
plants, 11–14, 16
toad, 16
trees, 13–14, 14, 15, 40, 97, 98
twins, 18. See also deities
mythic origins, 97–98
mythic scenes, 126
Nahuatl language, 83, 139n4, 151n9
Naj tunich (Guatemala), limestone cave earth sign, 20
nal (maize), 109
name glyphs, 120
natural selection, 2, 4
Nebaj-area vessel (Alta Verapaz, Guatemala), 34
needles (vegetal), 98
nephrite, 159n4
net objects, shift to clay of, 55
neurology, 68
New World, 53, 54. See also American Southwest
Nezahualcoyōtl (Texcoco ruler), 133
nobility: aesthetic concerns of, 3, 130
belts of, 36
cacao pods as food for, 12
Classic period terms for, 14
paper headbands of, 19. See also royalty
Nocuchich stela (Campeche, Mexico), 70, 71
nok’ (cloth/cotton), 15, 108
nostalgic emotion, 58, 68
nouns, 6
numeral classifiers (counting), 7–9, 10, 137n16
Oaxaca (Mexico): building facade
cross-media transfer, 45, 45, 52, 53
day signs, 121
writing, 122
objects: evolution of, 50
forces in, 79
hazardous relations with, 80, 151n11
intercessionary, 79–80, 151n10
“personhood” of, 80
obsidian, 23–25, 27, 28, 29, 96
animacy of, 98
blades, 13, 24, 25, 27, 97
functions of, 25
glyph for, 97
panel, 24
polished, 96, 96
occult technician, 66, 102, 148n49
Ojibwa belief (Canada), 77, 78
Old-New World debates, 53, 54
Olmec: Maize God, 159n6
mask, 158n1
orality, 118
Orlan (French artist), 158n1
Orman, Scott, 70
ornament, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 57
Ortman, Scott, 62–65, 72
“Other Within” (non-Maya day signs), 120–22
otoot (dwelling), 19
Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1
owl plume, 44
Oxford University, Pitt-Rivers Museum, 51, 145nn23, 24
painting, 19, 25, 31, 38, 41, 43, 43, 132
textile-inspired designs, 140n8
Pakal limestone sarcophagus (Palenque, Mexico), 12
Palace of the Columns (Mitla), 53
palaces, 3
Palace Tablet (Chiapas), 114
Palace Tablet (Palenque), 111, 112, 114
Palenque (Mexico), 3, 8, 12, 94, 97
jade and spirit within, 93, 94
royal buildings, 45
series of full-figure glyphs, 111, 112, 114
Tablets of the Cross and Foliated Cross, 97
Temple of the Inscriptions, 137n21
Temple XVIII general animation, 106
Temple XVIII Tablet, 20
palm, 19
Palmar Orange Polychrome bowl (Tikal Burial, Guatemala), 38
palm nut, 46
paper, 18, 19
“white paper” jewel, 48, 49
Parrhasius, 61
particle (general), 10, 81
pat (modeling), 19
patah (guava), 15
Pedersen, Morten, 150n6
pelts, 19, 72, 98
ceramic transfer, 39, 39, 47, 48
perception theory, 61
Perikles, 2
permanence, 32, 58, 60–61, 139n2
personhood concepts, 80
blood tied to, 152n14
personification, 76
Peru, Pre-Columbian, 62
pet (made round), 7–8, 8, 27, 136n13
Piaget, Jean, 77
pictorialism, 81, 102, 103–7, 110, 118, 123
animated glyphs and, 105–6. See also full-figure glyphs; hieroglyphic systems
Piedra Labrada (Guerrero, Mexico), 121
Piedras Negras (Guatemala), 8, 25, 152n19
Burial 5 tomb clay replicas of greenstone and Spondylus, 46
“resist” ceramics designs, 38–39
Stela 1, 136n13
Stela 8, limestone, 24
pihk (skirt/back rack), 27
pine, 15–16, 16, 108
pis (classifier), 8
Pitt-Rivers, Augustus Lane-Fox, 51–52, 54, 145nn23, 24
pit vipers, 39
places, intercessory, 79–80, 151n10
plaiting, 35
Plan de Ayutla (Mexico), stone “thatch” roofs, 18, 19
plangi, 38, 38
plants, 10–19, 129, 132
ancestors as, 12, 12, 13, 98
animacy of, 79, 98
anthropomorphism of, 98
mythic, 11–14, 16
umbrella term for, 10
uses for, 10. See also trees; vegetal growth
plaster wall, 20
plate, greca and weaving design (Calakmul Tomb 1), 37
Plato, 55, 125
playfulness, 51, 54, 58, 61–62, 114
of Classic Maya crafts, 69–70
urge to copy and, 66
plectogenic, 143n18
plumbate, 45–46
vessel, 46
plumes, 44, 127, 129, 133
pok-baijel (cleansed/purified), 126
Pokom Maya, 139n1
polish, qualities of, 126
polychrome vase and bowl (Guatemala), 38
Polynesia, 152n15
polytheism, 152n15. See also deities
pom (incense), 117
Pomo gift baskets (California), 44
Pomona (Tabasco, Mexico): jamb conflation, 103
stairway slabs, 93, 95
Popol Vuh, 10–11, 80
Poqom Maya, 93
portraits, 99, 99, 112, 130
positionals (verb class), 6
possessions, 129–30
possessives, 7
Postclassic period, 45, 52, 114, 126, 127
pottery. See ceramic objects
Prague-school semantics, 64–65
Preclassic period, 16, 44, 45
preservation, 32, 139n2
primordialism, 65, 68
procreation, 64
profane objects, 79
prototypes/progenitors, 49–56
psychological anthropology, 77
psychology, 56, 59
Pueblo (American Southwest), 53, 60, 62–63, 63
Revolt of 1680, 66
pulque, 16
puma, 39
pumpkin-shaped ceramic bowl, 41, 42
Pusilha (Belize), jade, 153n26
Puuc region, 45
pyroengraving, 41, 142n14
Q’eqchi’ Maya, 79
quetzal bird: cottony nest of, 16
green-blue plumes of, 127, 129, 133
macaw entwined glyph, 108, 157n49
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, Finca el Paraíso tomb, 46, 47
Quirigua (Guatemala): Altars O and P, 111, 118, 119, 120, 121
full-figure glyphs, 111, 112, 114, 117–19
ruler name glyphs, 120
Stela D, 111, 114, 116
Zoömorph B, 111, 114
Zoömorphs O and P, 118, 119, 120, 121
rabbit scribe, 39
rattles, 151n9
reading, left-to-right flow of, 106
real, unreal vs., 55
red, 9, 38, 127
Reisner, George, 135n4
Renaissance art, 3, 66
Renfrew, Colin, 136n7
replication. See copying
representation, 54, 73
cross-media ceramic bowls, 33–48
meaning of, 55, 67
paradox of, 31. See also copying; pictorialism
reproduction, 64
reptile glyphs, 110, 111, 120, 122
resist design ceramics, 38–39, 38
respect, 101
Río Azul (Guatemala): mask, spirit in polished stone, 92
Tomb 25 plaster wall, 20
vessel conflation, 103
wooden bowl, 17
Río Bec region (Campeche, Mexico), 45, 70
Rio Frio Cave E (Belize), 43
ritual: cleansing, 27
gourd vessels and, 40–41
practitioners of, 79
shells and, 81
skeuomorphic-type objects and, 66–67. See also sacrifice
Robertson, John, 137n16
roca madre (mother rock), 100
rock: animacy of, 88, 91, 100
energies in, 80
in Maya imagery, 87–88, 8889, 91. See also limestone; stone
rodents, 108
Rongorongo hieroglyphic script (Easter Island), 104
rope, 17, 19
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 144n21
royalty, 15, 23, 103, 130, 152n19
aesthetics and, 3
ancestral emergence from plants and, 12, 12
burial jewelry for, 46
cacao pods as food for, 12
cross-media transfer and, 72
full-figure glyphs of, 112, 114, 114, 118, 120, 122
headband jewel of, 48
imagery for, 72
jade and, 93–94, 96–97
k’uh and, 81, 82, 83–84, 87, 152n16
material-related titles and, 27–28, 28
pelt kilts/skirts of, 39
precious goods of, 3, 130
quetzal plumes worn by, 127, 129
time signs linked with, 112
Ruskin, John, 3
Stones of Venice, 3
saat (obsidian visage), 23
sacrality, 66, 67, 102
animacy and, 79, 102
energies and, 86–87
term k’uh and, 81. See also ritual
sacrifice, 27, 28, 67, 84, 86
ceramic vessels for, 40, 45
obsidian blades for, 25, 27
Sacul (Guatemala), 22
sak hu’n (white paper”), 48, 49
sak lak (stone incense burner), 48, 48
sakun taaj (older brother), 28
Sámi (Scandinavian people), 76
San Bartolo murals (Guatemala): cave mouth, 91
full-figured bird glyphs, 108, 109
West Wall k’uh effusions, 84, 85, 86–87, 91, 152n19
West Wall sign for wood, 17
sandstone, 22
Santa Rita Corozal (Belize), “composite” pots, 69, 69, 70
sarcophagus, 12
scaffolds, 152n19
scale, 70, 72, 92–93
Schiller, Friedrich, 51, 145n22
screenfold books, jaguar-hide covers, 39, 39
script. See hieroglyphic systems
sculptures, 27, 91, 112, 154n31
Aztec, 122
mutilation of, 99–100, 99
rare reworking of, 152n16
reuse of, 91
slate, 22
as surrogates, 99. See also stone carvings
seashells. See shells
semantics, 58, 62, 64–65
Semper, Gottfried, 50–51, 52, 53, 54
sentience, 101
Sepulturas bench, atlantean stone being (Honduras), 21–22, 21
serpent glyph, 88, 112, 113
sexuality, 114, 116
shells, 19, 46, 47, 81, 94, 127
shields, 140n7
Shintoism, 100, 101, 151n11
Shipibo (Ecuadoran people), 62
Shuar (Ecuadoran people), 76
simple signs, 104
simulacrum, 54, 146n30
meaning of, 55
sjol (hair/corn silk), 11
skeletons, 20, 24
skeuomorphs, 52–73, 129, 139n2
cognition and, 58–59, 69
definition and usage of, 52–53
doctrine of unilateral transfer and, 56
etymology of, 52
examples of, 53
explanations of, 58–59
identification of, 57–58
marking concept and, 64–65
motivations for, 67–73
properties of, 57
scale and, 63–64, 92
schools of, 58–67, 68
social change as trigger of, 66
transfer of essence by, 58
transformation/transubstantiation and, 66–67
skulls, 25
sky-snake homophone, 39
slate, 22
smoothness, qualities of, 126
snake: glyph, 122
sky homophone, 39
social disparity, 3, 106. See also nobility; royalty
sociology, 125
souls, 79, 93, 100, 152n14
Spanish language, 5
specific glyphs, 106, 106
speech, 75
speleothems, 91
spelling rule, 108
Spencer, Herbert, 145n23
Spinoza, Baruch, 8
spirit essence, 93–94, 94
recyclable, 78
spirits, 9, 75, 76
dwellings of, 13, 25, 79–80, 91, 151n10
harnessing of, 79, 101
polished stone sculpture, 92, 95. See also animacy; energies
Spondylus shell, 46, 127
spotted-cat pelage, 39
squash, 41, 72
stacked belts, 36, 37
stalactite, k’uh flowing into basket (Yaxchilan, Mexico), 83, 84
stalagmite, 91
stelae: act of binding and, 94
animation of stone and, 88, 91, 94
Calakmul, 22, 120, 120
Cancuen, 16
Caracol, 22, 111, 112, 113
concept of celts and, 92
day signs, 121
Dos Pilas, 99, 106
full-figure glyphs, 111, 112, 113, 114, 116
godly animation of rock and, 91
Jimbal, 121
mutilation of, 99
Nocuchich, 70, 71
Piedras Negras, 24, 136n13
Tikal Burial, 91
Uaxactun, 91
Yaxchilan spillage of k’uh depiction, 82, 83, 84, 87, 152n16
step-frets (greca), 33, 33, 35–36, 36, 37, 139n4, 141n9
still-life paintings, 160n13
stone, 3, 20–27, 21, 87–101
animacy of, 75, 77, 78, 88–89, 91, 92, 94, 96–101, 102
carving of (see stone carvings); culture of, 100
energies in, 80
glyph for (see tuun)
green-blue, 126, 127, 129 (see also jade)
imagery and, 72, 88–89, 91
incense burners, 48, 48
limestone bowl, 13–14, 13
permanence of, 93, 132
polished, 22, 79, 81, 92–93, 92, 95, 96, 97, 98
scale of hardness, 130
spirits within, 79, 91, 100
textile cross-media transfer to, 45, 45, 52, 53
“thatch” roof of, 18, 19, 45, 61
tools made from, 3, 144–45n22
wearing away of, 132
wooden originals and, 61, 144n21. See also limestone; obsidian; rock; stelae
Stone, Andrea, 91
stone carvings, 3, 20, 21, 90, 91–92
atlantean being, 21–22, 21
face, 92, 92, 93
heads, 90, 91
longevity of, 130
mosaics, 36, 45, 45, 52, 53
reuse of, 91
Stone-Miller, Rebecca, 141n9
“Stone of the Five Suns” day sign, 168n62
Stones of Venice (Ruskin), 3
stone tools, 3, 144–45n22
stony heads (Caracol, Belize), 90, 91
storm god. See Chahk
strangler fig, 132, 132
straw, 98
strength, 130, 159n9
Stuart, David, 19, 20, 23, 81, 84, 86, 88, 91–92, 112, 136n13, 152n19, 155n42, 156n48
Stumpel, Jeroen, 66–67
substance: form over, 8
Maya meanings of, 5, 9
substantive transfer, 72
Sun God, 153n26
superimposition of glyphs, 103–4, 103
supernatural, 12–15, 25, 66, 120, 137n21
sus (slicing), 27
syllables, 16, 110, 112
symmetry, 158n1
taaj (obsidian), 97
t’ab (to raise/rise), 114
Tabasco (Mexico): Chontal language, 6
Emiliano Zapata panel, 89, 90, 91
jamb conflation, 103
slab with spirit of polished stone, 93, 95
Tablets of the Cross and Foliated Cross (Palenque, Mexico), 97
taj (pine), 15–16, 16, 108
Takalik Abaj, Altar 12 full-figure glyphs (Guatemala), 109
“talking saints,” 151n10
Taube, Karl, 24, 96, 140n7, 142n14, 156–57nn49, 50, 159n6
Taylor, Timothy, 59, 68
te’ (wood/tree), 8, 10–11, 14–17, 97
meaning shifts over time of, 16–17, 17, 137n16
te’baah (wood-images), 25
technology, 1–2, 3
skeuomorphic qualities and, 59–60
Te Heu Heu, jade mere (club) of, 159n4
Temple of the Inscriptions (Palenque, Mexico), 137n21
Temple of the Jaguars (Chichen Itza, Mexico), 15
Temple of the Warriors (Chichen Itza, Mexico), 15
Teotihuacan (Mexico), 25, 151n13, 156–57n49
glyphs at, 108–9
Tepoztlan plaque, 158n62
Terminal Classic period, drinking vessels, 40
Texcoco (Mexico), 133
textiles, 35–39, 47, 48, 72, 130
batik/plangi design, 38, 38, 63
ceramic design transfers, 35–39, 36, 37, 38, 53, 63, 63, 133
Chichen Itza collection of, 140n8
design for mosaic stone building facades, 45, 45, 52, 53
glyph for, 15, 108
woven bands, 35–36, 36
texture, skeuomorph shifts in, 57
thatch roofs: grass or palm, 19
stone evocations of, 18, 19, 45, 61
things. See objects
Thompson, Eric, 137n16, 156n48
Tikal Burial (Guatemala): ceramic plate, 23
feather-ringed bowl, Zacatal Cream Polychrome, 44
Palmar Orange Polychrome bowl, 38
stacked belt, 36, 37
stelae, 91
wooden canoe, 16
Tiloom, 152n16
time units: glyphs for, 112
non-Maya day signs for, 121
toad, mythic, 16
Tohono O’odham (American Southwest), 139n4
Tonina (Mexico), 24–25, 108, 109
took’ (flint), 23, 97
took’baah (flint-images), 25
tool-making, 1–2, 3, 139n4
gradual shifts over time of, 51
for woodworking, 13
torch, 8, 16
Tortuguero Monument, 103
totemic societies, 78
transference, 76
transience, 72, 130, 132, 133
transubstantiation, 3, 58, 66–67, 100
trees, 12–16
animacy of, 98
cyclic renewal of, 130, 132
fruit-bearing, 12, 12, 98
imagery for, 15
incense-producing, 142n13
mythic, 14, 15, 40, 97, 98
origins tale, 98
paper product of, 18, 19
sap of, 27, 40
spirits in, 79
strangler fig, 132, 132
supernatural, 12–15, 137n21. See also ceiba tree; wood
trompe l’oeil, 61, 62
trumpets, functions of, 150–51n8
truth, beauty allied with, 158n
t’ujum (clear/without sediment), 126
turquoise, 127
tuun (stone), 20, 21, 22, 23, 88, 89, 97, 153n23, 157n53
Tylor, Edward, 76–77, 145n23, 150n4
typology (as term), 51
tzatz (hardness), 159n9
Tzeltal Maya, 7–8, 137n16, 153n23
plant-related products, 10
tz’ih (painting), 27
tzik (respect), 101
tz’i’lel (plant), 10
tz’it (counting/torch), 8, 136n13
Tzotzil language, 6, 70, 126, 130, 137n16
glyph for blood denizen, 81
many terms for “hardening,” 130
Tzotzil Maya, 6, 10–12
animism and, 78, 79–80
goodness and, 126
“talking saints” among, 151n10
wood stories of, 10–11
Uaxactun (Guatemala): armadillo-design effigy vessels, 43
basket-surface ceramic bowls, 33–34, 33
ceramic near-belt effects, 36
“composite” pots, 69–70, 69
jaguar hide/Maya screenfold book bowl, 39
stelae, 91
u baah (his forehead), 6
Ucanal (Guatemala), 153n24, 158n60
unconscious, 51, 54, 56, 66, 68
uniformitarian principles, 51–52
unilateral transfer, doctrine of, 56
unity, 83
universals, 5
utz (goodness), 126
Uxmal (Yucatan, Mexico), 61
West Building, “textiles” in building mosaics, 45
Vaillant, George, 135n4
value, 65–66, 72
vanitas paintings, 132
vegetal growth, 10–19, 81, 132
animacy and, 79, 98
glyph for, 10. See also plants; trees
vengeance, 80
Vickers, Michael, 65
vitality. See animacy
Vitruvius, 49, 52
Viveiros de Castro, Eduardo, 150n6
volcanic tuff, 22
walnut black-on-white bowl, Little Colorado White Ware (Arizona), 63
war captives, 27, 72, 112, 140n7
water, 21, 129
armadillo-design jars for, 41
water snake, 116
weaponry, 24–25, 35, 151n11
weave, high-density, 36
Webster, John, The Devil’s Law Case, 125
Wengrow, David, 59
Western art, 3, 132
Western philosophy, 54–55, 125, 159n3
“white paper” jewel, 48, 49
wicker objects, 17, 98
shift to clay from, 55
wit, 58, 61, 72, 114
Wittgenstein, Ludwig, 107
witz (hill/rim plateau), 20, 91
wol (making round), 27
wood, 3, 10–19, 130
animacy of, 88, 91, 100
as architectural prototype, 144n21
carved dugout canoe, 15, 16
carved servant, 10, 11
ceramic evocations of, 30, 43–44, 44
evolving sign for, 8, 16–17, 17
spirits in, 13, 25. See also ceiba tree
woodworking, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 30
word-signs (logographs), 108, 110, 112, 114, 122
Maya glyphs differing from, 122–23
“world trees,” (Mesoamerican belief), 13–14
writing: animacy in, 75, 102, 105–23
oral dimensions of, 118. See also glyphs; hieroglyphic systems
wuut (obsidian visage), 23
Xcalumkin (Mexico), glyphs, 8, 108, 136n13
Xenophanes, 149n3
xicalcoliuhqui (step-fret), 139n4
Xochicalco (Mexico), 121
Xpuhil (Campeche, Mexico), 70
Xultun murals (Guatemala), 28
Yagul oracular center (Oaxaca, Mexico), 45
yajawte’ (tree’s lord), 14
yax (first/first growth/green-blue/new), 23, 93, 127, 130
yaxal chauk (green lightning), 153n23
Yaxchilan (Mexico): Bird Jaguar IV, 152n16
bowls, 19
k’uh spillage depiction, 82, 83, 84, 87
Lintel 15, 18
Lintel 23, 106
Miscellaneous Text, 114
series of full-figure glyphs, 111, 112, 114, 115
Stela 1, 82
Stela 31, 84
Stelae 1, 4, and 7, 83
Throne 2, 114, 115
yaxjal (becoming green-blue), 9
yaxte’. See ceiba tree
yaxtuun (jade), 22–23, 23
year-bearers (day signs), 121
yellow, 81, 87, 89, 127, 129, 153n21
yijub (heightened strength), 130
Yucatan (Mexico), 8, 41, 48, 157n48
buildings with cross-media transfers, 45, 45
Chochola vessels, 43, 44
forest cyclic renewal, 130, 132
limestone resource, 22
plumbate vessel, 46
Yukatek Maya, 70, 81, 88, 101
animism and, 78, 79
Colonial language of, 5, 126, 130, 159n3
words for “hardening,” 130
yutzil (goodness), 126
Zacatal Cream Polychrome bowl (Tikal Burial, Guatemala), 44
Zender, Marc, 25, 137n22
Zeuxis, 61
zoömorphs, 111, 114, 118, 119, 120, 121
Index
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