Ucanal Stela 29 and the Cosmopolitanism of Terminal Classic Maya Stone Monuments

Bibliographic Data

ID4374445
AuthorsC T Halperin (0000-0001-9490-1966, Université de Montréal, corresponding author), Simon Martins (0000-0002-0000-3290), Simon Martin (0000-0002-9732-9608, University of Pennsylvania)
Year2020
Volume31
Issue4
Pages817-837
Publication date2020-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-6635 • E-ISSN: 2325-5080
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/laq.2020.70
OpenAlexW3096760481
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited48

The Terminal Classic period (ca. AD 800-1000) in the Southern Maya Lowlands witnessed a precipitous decline in the erection of carved stone monuments, a decline that corresponds to shifts in political ideologies and the disappearance of many prominent royal dynasties. Although Southern Lowland sites are often considered peripheral to the events and innovations occurring elsewhere in Mesoamerica during this time, a recently discovered stela, Stela 29, at the site of Ucanal in Peten, Guatemala, underscores the active role of the site in broader political movements in the ninth century. Our iconographic, textual, and stylistic analysis of this stela, in concert with other Terminal Classic monuments from the site, reveals a vernacular cosmopolitan aesthetic whereby local Classic Maya styles were infused with images and elements that referenced connections with peoples from northern Yucatan, the Gulf Coast, and Central Mexico

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Epigraphy · Geography · Literature · Maya · Mesoamerica · Politics · Vernacular · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · History · Latin American history and culture · Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

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