This website shows how the gender system is broken down by examining evidence in the archaeological record such as: stele, vases, figurines, burials, skeletons, and living spaces.
Module 5
de-young-stela-P1010013.jpg
This stela depicts a female ruler, showing us that women were allowed to hold powerful positions in politics, whether it was ruling or the establishment of lineage they were deemed important. The style of this stela leads us to believe it was from the southern Maya lowlands; what site it is from is unknown.
what job men and women were expected to do in society (skeletal remains)
were men and women looked at equally on a political and religious level (stelae, pictures on ceramics, ceremonial site)
women as political leaders and establishing royal lineage
matrilineal or patrilineal
Idea Paragraph: I am very interested in how the Maya viewed gender as a whole and what importance males and females held in society. On some stelae we see representations of women weilding political power and establishing royal lineage. I would like to explore how much power wome were allowed to have and how they were viewed in society. Since the Maya kings were closely identifed with the gods it would also be of interest to see if women rulers were also identified this way. Ina religious sense, I would like to study if their are female deities and if so what power did they have and if this ties in with the power Maya women had in society.
Module 8 The floodplains along the Nile constitute an important but as yet little utilized series of laboratories for the comparative studies of the origins and interaction of ancient civilizations.
Module 9
Skeletal Analysis and Theoretical Complications
World Archaeology, Volume 37, Number 4, Debates in "World Archaeology" (Dec, 2005) (pp. 597-609)
Archaeologists- feminists or otherwise- use biologically sexed human remains to make inferences about cultures' conceptions of gender. Creating an easy link between "sex" and "gender", however, is not without problems. Recent debates within the social sciences have revolved around the evolving, historical definition and cultural relevance of both these terms. Interestingly, skeletal analysts' voices tend to remain silent on this debate. What do paradigmatic twists and turns in feminist theory and queer theorizing mean for burial analysis? To answer this question, I advocate a bioarchaeological approach that facilitates reconciliation of biological classifications, cultural constructs of gender and feminist theories that complicate "sex" and "gender". As an example, I look to the pre-Columbian Maya.
Module 10 & 11 The Maya have given us evidence for a 3rd gender category based on or expressed through religious, occupational, or sexual identity. One example is of elite women-men and men-women who acted as mediators between the supernatural people and the Maya. However this behavior like the opposite sex carried out by high ranking members in society, elite and priests, was often only done during religious ceremonies; thus, not constituting a unique 3rd gender category. This does show us though that elite men and women saw importance in accessing specific feminine and masculine traits, giving us the idea that the Maya viewed both sexes as somewhat equally important. In northwestern Belize the excavation of a mass burial site where commoners and elite are found gives us another important clue. Individual 22 displayed the pelvic morphology of a female but with rounded orbit rims that indicate male. Buried in a place used for domestic ritual and being buried along with the unique grave good of a string ray spine which is not normally found in the region, we are lead to associate this individual as someone who participated in the bloodletting ceremony. The bloodletting ceremony was an important ritual ceremony that allowed someone to connect with the supernatural and it is assumed that participants engaged in gender-bending for the ceremony. Like this individual, many Maya queens were buried with stingray spines on their pelvic region which is translated as their role as both a man and woman. When a woman completed the bloodletting ceremony she ran the spine though her tongue; while a man through his penis. Many believe that bringing blood from the penis was a man’s way of recreating the menstruation of a woman and acknowledging her important life giving capabilities. While the Maya might not have had a 3rd gender category they did not see the gender as an-either-or social construction; gender was fluid and the characteristic associated with men and women were important to society and religious function. However, Barbara Hughes research shows that instead of men and women both gender bending it was more so men. Her paper "It's Good to be Queen: The Roles of Maya Women in Ritual Practices" makes the argument that bloodletting is a womanly ritual with the materials being needed made by women and also were used as the connection to the gods. A woman's menstrual cycle, a process seen as difficult and a form of discomfort, was possibly believed to make women more connected with the supernatural realm. When a man performed the bloodletting ceremony he was attempting to imitate a woman's powers to be better connected with the gods. It would then make sense for a man to also come appearing as a woman in dress for the ceremony to thus tap into more feminine aspects and be better suited to connect with the gods. If we approach the bloodletting ceremony this way we see that women have a much greater importance to the Maya people that previously thought.
250px-Yaxchilán_lintel.jpg
8f005bbf438e9e1354c1a5349cf3.jpeg
The two above images are stelae displaying the bloodletting ceremony. The first is a male and the second a female; however you see they are wearing similar clothing and headdress styles. This is an example of gender-bending for religious purposes.
This map shows the Olmec region, highlighted in green, in which bloodletting originated in and one of the sites in which stela depicts the bloodletting ceremony. The Maya region, highlighted in pink, displays some sites in which bloodletting is depicted on stela. We have proof from finding bloodletting tools at other sites that this ceremony occurred at most Maya sites. This map however gives us a good idea of how the Olmec influenced Maya through religious and ceremonial ways.
Module 13 At Copan,a large untouched tomb was uncovered to show that a woman was buried there. Known as the Margarita Tomb, it has an upper and lower level with the royal woman buried on the lower level with the funerary slab. The largest cache vessel was found under the funerary slab holding over 2,000 offerings. The remnants of food and textiles along with two pyrite mirrors, bone needles, jade and shell beads, two grinding stones, pearl ear flares, and gourds filled with cinnabar. On one of the poly-chrome vessels recovered from the burial displays a figure wearing a decorated headdress. This helps in recognizing this woman as royalty of some sort. Also on one of the pyrite mirrors is decorated the image of a serpent who is usually associated with religious ceremonies and a connection to the underworld. A multitude of colored needles were also found that indicate a burial costume that depicts the woman as the Moon Goddess. This could indicate that the woman held an important role as a religious communicator. Whether this woman served as a ruler, royal priest, or founder of a dynastic line, she is considered through the elaboration of her burial as someone of great importance that wielded much power during her life over the people of Copan.
Module 14
At Waka', also known as El Peru, on Stela 34, queen Ix K'ab'el is named as the kaloomte' after solidifying a political alliance through marriage. She was considered one of the greatest rulers of Waka'. It is amazing that she, after marrying into the royal lineage, held the title of kaloomte' meaning "supreme warrior" above her husband for approximately 20 years during their joint rule. K'ab'el also served as military governor for her family's Wak kingdom.
The Maya Gender System
This website shows how the gender system is broken down by examining evidence in the archaeological record such as: stele, vases, figurines, burials, skeletons, and living spaces.
Module 5
This stela depicts a female ruler, showing us that women were allowed to hold powerful positions in politics, whether it was ruling or the establishment of lineage they were deemed important. The style of this stela leads us to believe it was from the southern Maya lowlands; what site it is from is unknown.
http://www.buriedmirror.com/latest/art/maya-stela/
Module 6
relevant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gender_in_Maya_society&action=history
controversial:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gender_identity_disorder&action=history
Module 7
Brainstorm Ideas:
- gender system
- what job men and women were expected to do in society (skeletal remains)
- were men and women looked at equally on a political and religious level (stelae, pictures on ceramics, ceremonial site)
- women as political leaders and establishing royal lineage
- matrilineal or patrilineal
Idea Paragraph:I am very interested in how the Maya viewed gender as a whole and what importance males and females held in society. On some stelae we see representations of women weilding political power and establishing royal lineage. I would like to explore how much power wome were allowed to have and how they were viewed in society. Since the Maya kings were closely identifed with the gods it would also be of interest to see if women rulers were also identified this way. Ina religious sense, I would like to study if their are female deities and if so what power did they have and if this ties in with the power Maya women had in society.
Module 8
The floodplains along the Nile constitute an important but as yet little utilized series of laboratories for the comparative studies of the origins and interaction of ancient civilizations.
Module 9
Skeletal Analysis and Theoretical Complications
World Archaeology, Volume 37, Number 4, Debates in "World Archaeology" (Dec, 2005) (pp. 597-609)
Archaeologists- feminists or otherwise- use biologically sexed human remains to make inferences about cultures' conceptions of gender. Creating an easy link between "sex" and "gender", however, is not without problems. Recent debates within the social sciences have revolved around the evolving, historical definition and cultural relevance of both these terms. Interestingly, skeletal analysts' voices tend to remain silent on this debate. What do paradigmatic twists and turns in feminist theory and queer theorizing mean for burial analysis? To answer this question, I advocate a bioarchaeological approach that facilitates reconciliation of biological classifications, cultural constructs of gender and feminist theories that complicate "sex" and "gender". As an example, I look to the pre-Columbian Maya.
JSTOR
Module 10 & 11
The Maya have given us evidence for a 3rd gender category based on or expressed through religious, occupational, or sexual identity. One example is of elite women-men and men-women who acted as mediators between the supernatural people and the Maya. However this behavior like the opposite sex carried out by high ranking members in society, elite and priests, was often only done during religious ceremonies; thus, not constituting a unique 3rd gender category. This does show us though that elite men and women saw importance in accessing specific feminine and masculine traits, giving us the idea that the Maya viewed both sexes as somewhat equally important. In northwestern Belize the excavation of a mass burial site where commoners and elite are found gives us another important clue. Individual 22 displayed the pelvic morphology of a female but with rounded orbit rims that indicate male. Buried in a place used for domestic ritual and being buried along with the unique grave good of a string ray spine which is not normally found in the region, we are lead to associate this individual as someone who participated in the bloodletting ceremony. The bloodletting ceremony was an important ritual ceremony that allowed someone to connect with the supernatural and it is assumed that participants engaged in gender-bending for the ceremony. Like this individual, many Maya queens were buried with stingray spines on their pelvic region which is translated as their role as both a man and woman. When a woman completed the bloodletting ceremony she ran the spine though her tongue; while a man through his penis. Many believe that bringing blood from the penis was a man’s way of recreating the menstruation of a woman and acknowledging her important life giving capabilities. While the Maya might not have had a 3rd gender category they did not see the gender as an-either-or social construction; gender was fluid and the characteristic associated with men and women were important to society and religious function. However, Barbara Hughes research shows that instead of men and women both gender bending it was more so men. Her paper "It's Good to be Queen: The Roles of Maya Women in Ritual Practices" makes the argument that bloodletting is a womanly ritual with the materials being needed made by women and also were used as the connection to the gods. A woman's menstrual cycle, a process seen as difficult and a form of discomfort, was possibly believed to make women more connected with the supernatural realm. When a man performed the bloodletting ceremony he was attempting to imitate a woman's powers to be better connected with the gods. It would then make sense for a man to also come appearing as a woman in dress for the ceremony to thus tap into more feminine aspects and be better suited to connect with the gods. If we approach the bloodletting ceremony this way we see that women have a much greater importance to the Maya people that previously thought.
The two above images are stelae displaying the bloodletting ceremony. The first is a male and the second a female; however you see they are wearing
similar clothing and headdress styles. This is an example of gender-bending for religious purposes.
Module 12
Bloodletting Influence.kmz
This map shows the Olmec region, highlighted in green, in which bloodletting originated in and one of the sites in which stela depicts the bloodletting ceremony. The Maya region, highlighted in pink, displays some sites in which bloodletting is depicted on stela. We have proof from finding bloodletting tools at other sites that this ceremony occurred at most Maya sites. This map however gives us a good idea of how the Olmec influenced Maya through religious and ceremonial ways.
Module 13
At Copan,a large untouched tomb was uncovered to show that a woman was buried there. Known as the Margarita Tomb, it has an upper and lower level with the royal woman buried on the lower level with the funerary slab. The largest cache vessel was found under the funerary slab holding over 2,000 offerings. The remnants of food and textiles along with two pyrite mirrors, bone needles, jade and shell beads, two grinding stones, pearl ear flares, and gourds filled with cinnabar. On one of the poly-chrome vessels recovered from the burial displays a figure wearing a decorated headdress. This helps in recognizing this woman as royalty of some sort. Also on one of the pyrite mirrors is decorated the image of a serpent who is usually associated with religious ceremonies and a connection to the underworld. A multitude of colored needles were also found that indicate a burial costume that depicts the woman as the Moon Goddess. This could indicate that the woman held an important role as a religious communicator. Whether this woman served as a ruler, royal priest, or founder of a dynastic line, she is considered through the elaboration of her burial as someone of great importance that wielded much power during her life over the people of Copan.
Tomb of Maya Queen K'abel Discovered in Guatemal. ScienceDaily. October 3rd, 2012. Accessed Nov. 22nd, 2012. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121003141408.htm
Module 14
At Waka', also known as El Peru, on Stela 34, queen Ix K'ab'el is named as the kaloomte' after solidifying a political alliance through marriage. She was considered one of the greatest rulers of Waka'. It is amazing that she, after marrying into the royal lineage, held the title of kaloomte' meaning "supreme warrior" above her husband for approximately 20 years during their joint rule. K'ab'el also served as military governor for her family's Wak kingdom.
Reese-Taylor, Kathryn. Warrior Queens Among the Ancient Maya. Blood and Beauty: Organized Violence in the Art and Archaeology. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. 2009. Accessed Nov. 22nd, 2012. http://www.academia.edu/412809/Warrior_Queens_Among_the_Ancient_Maya