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{weaverH.jpg} Women in Maya society held important roles as equals to their husband counterparts. They held the responsibility of the weaver and the harvester (Arden 2002). Women's ability to give birth and create new life tied them closer to the spiritual world and gave them a view of having a very special power and capability. {maya Drawing.jpg} Later on in the Bloodletting section I will discuss how many archaeologists believe that by men piercing their penises they were modeling the menstrual cycle of a woman, attempting to further attach themselves to the spiritual world (Hughes).Although women did not participate in warfare, their actions in the home through ritual behavior was believed to directly correlate with their husband's success (Reece-Taylor 2009). Marriage was viewed much the same as many others, a political and social alliance not a match of love. Young women were separated from males and resided with their mother to hold them to strict purity until marriage (Arden 2002).
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of women isin political power
Palenque
{vol1_fig198.jpg} The first female ruler recorded was Yohl Ik'nal of Palenque (Martin and Grube 2000). She succeeded Kan B'alam I after his death; it is believed he had no male heirs so the throne passed to her. It is believed that she is buried in a vaulted tomb under Temple 20. At Waka' an unnamed queen was found buried in a tomb filled with over 1,000 artifacts. Among these artifacts was found a jade helmet and jade deity carving, only worn by Maya rulers. {portrait-first-qyeen.jpg} While her skull and leg bones are not present the rest of her bones remained intact and are able to pin point her age between 30 and 45 (Martin and Grube 2000). Stingray spines, used in the bloodletting ceremony, are placed on her pelvic bones. Because of their placement it suggests her position as having aspects of both male and female. I will later discuss reasoning behind this in the Bloodletting section.

also have any records of political contexts.
CONTENTS:
WOMEN
CONTENTS:WOMEN AND GENDER ANCIENT MAYA WORLD
WOMEN'SWORLDWOMEN'S DYNASTY AND RULING
WOMENRULINGWOMEN AND WARFARE
GODDESSES
BLOODLETTINGWARFAREGODDESSESBLOODLETTING AND THE THIRD GENDER
CONCLUSION
SOURCESGENDERCONCLUSIONSOURCES
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{ixchel.jpg} There is little known about the Maya pantheon because of how many written records were destroyed during the Spanish conquests. What information we do have can be confusing since the Maya gods and goddesses are often displayed in different sex counterparts or as young and old versions of themselves. One of the most important goddesses in the Maya pantheon is the moon goddess Ixchel. She has control over weaving, motherhood, fertility, womanhood, and childbirth (Coe 1977). Landa refers to her as the goddess who makes children. During the month of Zip physicians and shamans celebrate a feast in her honor and sacrifice divination stones and medicinal bundles. It is thought that she may represent the waning of the moon, or one of the moon phases, since it is often referred to as the grandmother and Ixchel is most often depicted as an older woman (Coe 1977). Rather than the goddess of fertility she may instead represent the safe birthing of a child along with that, almost as a midwife goddess. Midwives were usually older women in the village who had a great deal of life experience, this would correlate with her being called the grandmother, her older appearance, and being represented with the waning stage of the moon. {ixchel blah.jpg} Ixchel is also represented as the goddess of war when she is depicted with a serpent headdress, cross bone skirt, and claws. Her gaping mouth in these instances often represents cannibalism, much like the war women Cihuacoatl, and many have made the connection that her hunger in this form for captives gives rise to new life in her midwife form (Thompson 1970). Ixchel is also the goddess of rain which gives rise to new crops and the harvest. This manifestation of her powers ties in to fertility of not only Maya women but also of the fields they tend to (Thompson 1970). I would like to argue the correlation between Ixchel's powers and the beliefs toward Maya women's gender roles in society. She oversees birthing, weaving, and the harvest; all of these are the main roles that common Maya women play is society. {ixchel2_phixr.jpg} However, it seems as when necessary she rises to the occasion of war to aid in battle. Ixchel is a strong goddess whose power is subtle yet influential. She is looked at to bring new life and provide the necessary items that the Maya people need to survive such as food. She is also a healer and giver of medicine, all encompassing the role of compassion a woman is thought to possess. The Maya revered her powers that we very much modeled after the women in their lives who served as providers and life givers.
Ixchel in many Maya legends is married to the lord of the heavens, Itzamna. I found while reading about Egyptian religion the cosmology can be similar. I found it interesting that the religious views of the gods or their personas changed with each new ruler. I wonder if that is why the Maya pantheon is constructed as such that the gods have many different forms. Another correlation I found was that the Maya and the ancient Egyptians believe that their rulers were descendants or relatives of the gods, helping to legitimize their power.
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Lady Xoc is regarded as one of the most prominent and well known women in the Maya world; she was queen consort to her husband and nephew, Itzamnaaj B'alam II who rules over Yaxchilan during the Classic Era (Martin and Grube 2000). She, unlike any other woman in Maya history, is recorded on 3 lintels of structure 23 performing religious rituals. She plays the central role in all 3 lintels; she is performing the bloodletting ceremony, communicating with the ancestors, and preparing the warrior king Shield Jaguar for battle. In the last lintel she is also shown wearing an elaborate headdress usually depicted only being worn by kings on other pictures throughout the site (Bruhns and Stothert 1999). Lady Xoc's house has also been established through the multiple lintels adoring it displaying her taking part in numerous political, social, and religious roles.
{Yaxchilán_lintel.jpg} {lintel 25.jpg} {lintel-26-yaxchilan.jpg}
I would like to note the similarities in the art styles between the Maya and people in the Andes. While looking for images of stelae I often ran into similar art forms in the Andes, the location of the ancient Inca. There is a particular part that seems to resignate rituals of communing with the ancestors in some of these stelae from the Andes, much like we see the the stelae above of Lady Xoc perfoming the bloodletting ceremony.
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{IMG0095.jpg} 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 (Looper 2002). 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 equally important (Hughes). 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 (Geller 2005). {maya_ss10_storyslide_image.jpg} 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 (Geller 2005). {dpl-pan19-lores.jpg} 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. For example in the first picture, we see depicted the ruler of Copan, 18 Rabbit, wearing what is considered women's clothing. If we approach the bloodletting ceremony this way we see that women have a much greater importance to the Maya people that previously thought.
In other societies gender was not as fluid and males and females had distinct categories where it was outlined how they should act and what their responsibilities were. The ancient Minoans and Mycenaeans are one example of a more rigid gender system.
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or Central America. My interests outside of school are hiking, kayaking, reading, and painting.
My dream place to visit is Machu Picchu and my goal is to travel to every country in the world. For my project I wanted to study gender in Maya societies, particularly focusing on the role of women in religious and political context.
Module Assignments!!!
ENTER PROJECT!!!

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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