Twin-pyramid complex
A twin-pyramid complex or twin-pyramid group was an
The basic layout of a twin-pyramid complex consists of identical pyramids on the east and west sides of a small plaza, with a walled enclosure to the north housing a sculpted stela-altar pair and a range building to the south. Plain monuments were generally raised at the foot of the east pyramid. The term "twin-pyramid complex" was first used in 1956 by Edwin M. Shook when he recognised that five such groups conformed to a similar architectural pattern.
Design
Twin-pyramid complexes had identical radial pyramids on the east and the west sides of a small plaza;
The walled northern enclosure faced southwards onto the plaza.[7] Access was via a single doorway sporting a corbel arch; the enclosure was not roofed.[11]
Group descriptions
The earliest twin-pyramid complex was built in Tikal's East Plaza early in the 6th century AD.[4] This first example was used to celebrate several kʼatun endings. In the Late Classic Period (c. AD 600–900) a new twin-pyramid complex was built for each kʼatun-ending ceremony, with six complexes built between 692 and 790.[4] A total of nine such complexes have been discovered at Tikal,[12] although one was completely demolished in antiquity and others were partially dismantled.[13]
Later twin-pyramid complexes tended to be larger than their predecessors, with two examples being much larger than earlier versions.[12]
Site | Group | Date (AD) | Kʼatun |
---|---|---|---|
Ixlu | North Plaza | Classic | |
Tikal | Group L (Group 5B-1) | 672 | 9.12.0.0.0[14] |
Tikal | Group M (Group 3D-1) | 692 | 9.13.0.0.0[15] |
Tikal | Group N (Group 5C-1) | 711 | 9.14.0.0.0[7] |
Tikal | Group O (Group 4D-1) | 731 | 9.15.0.0.0[16] |
Tikal | Group P (Group 3D-2) | 751 | 9.16.0.0.0[15] |
Tikal | Group Q (Group 4E-4) | 771 | 9.17.0.0.0[16] |
Tikal | Group R (Group 4E-3) | 790 | 9.18.0.0.0[17] |
Tikal | Group 4D-2[18] | ||
Tikal | Group 5E-Sub.1[18] | ||
Yaxha | Plaza A | 793 | |
Zacpeten | Group A[19] | Late–Terminal Classic[19] | |
Zacpeten | Group B[20] | Late–Terminal Classic[20] |
This article is part of a series on the |
Maya civilization |
---|
History |
Spanish conquest of the Maya |
|
Tikal
Five of the nine twin-pyramid complexes at Tikal had been recorded prior to the
Tikal Group L (also known as Group 5B-1)[18] was situated to the south of Tikal Temple IV but was demolished in antiquity. Site archaeologists believe that the complex was demolished around 740 in order to provide construction material for Temple IV. The visible remains are a number of plain monuments scattered on the surface; the northern enclosure no longer stands but contained a plain stela-altar pair (Stela P-41 and Altar P-43). The complex was probably built in 672.[14]
Tikal Group M (also known as Group 3D-1)[18] is west of the twin-pyramid Group P, on the north side of the Maudslay Causeway, near its northern extreme.[23] The west pyramid (Structure 3D-98) was largely dismantled in ancient times.[15] Three plain stelae were erected in front of the east pyramid (Structure 3D-100).[15] The north enclosure is badly preserved,[15] although it still contains Stela 30, paired with Altar 14; these monuments are dated to 692.[24] Group M was discovered during mapping by the Tikal Project in 1959; it was confirmed as a twin-pyramid group by excavations that uncovered its northern enclosure in 1961.[25]
Tikal Group N (also known as Group 5C-1)
Tikal Group O (also known as Group 4D-1)[18] is on the west side of the Maler Causeway, due west from the twin-pyramid groups Q and R.[23] It differs in size from the twin-pyramid groups to the east. Unusually, the stela-altar pair in the northern enclosure are plain monuments, lacking sculpture and hieroglyphic text. This group is likely to have been dedicated in 731.[16]
Tikal Group P (also known as Group 3D-2)[18] is at the northern extreme of the site core, where the Maudsley Causeway meets the Maler Causeway.[23] The pyramids have been excavated and are partially restored.[15] The northern enclosure housed Stela 20, paired with Altar 8; it was dedicated in 751.[15] Both monuments are now in the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología in Guatemala City.[13]
Tikal Group Q (also known as Group 4E-4)
Tikal Group R (also known as Group 4E-3)[18] is on the east side of the Maler Causeway about half way between the East Plaza and the North Group.[23] Stela 19 and Altar 6 are situated in the northern enclosure; the text on the stela dates the complex to 790.[17] One of the plain stelae that was erected in front of the east pyramid is missing and the altar that was once paired with it has been moved away from its original position.[17] Excavations indicate that the stela and altar were moved by inhabitants of the area during the Postclassic period (AD 900–1525).[16]
Tikal Group 4D-2 possessed two monuments that were suggestive of a badly damaged twin-pyramid group.[25]
Tikal Group 5E-Sub.1 was discovered during excavations of an overlying ballcourt in 1965 by Christopher Jones.[25] The style and locations of the two pyramids in the group included it among Tikal's twin-pyramid complexes.[25]
Ixlu
Ixlu possesses a twin-pyramid complex in its North Plaza.[30] The complex has been dated to the Classic Period.[31]
Yaxha
Yaxha Plaza A is a twin-pyramid complex located immediately north of its East Acropolis.[32] A sculpted stela was erected at the base of the West Pyramid of the complex; Stela 13 was sculpted but has been broken into fragments, although much of the sculpture is preserved. The text on the stela includes a date in 793, the latest recorded date at the city.[33] Stela 13 bears the image of a king of Yaxha together with a text describing the celebration of an equinox.[34]
Zacpeten
Zacpeten Group A has been identified as having a possible twin-pyramid complex dating to the Late to Terminal Classic Period. It was built upon an earlier basal platform dating back to the Middle Preclassic, with later Postclassic modifications.[19] Group A included some plain stelae and a sculpted stela-altar pair such as those typically found in a twin-pyramid complex.[35] Although the stelae may have been moved from nearby Group B, the investigating archaeologists consider that it is more likely that Group A was itself once a twin-pyramid complex.[36]
Zacpeten Group B was dominated by a rough twin-pyramid complex dating to the Late to Terminal Classic Period. The twin-pyramids in the group differed in size and neither stood higher than 4 metres (13 ft). A plain stela was raised before the eastern pyramid and a sculpted stela was found buried in this complex. Structures representing the north and south structures of a regular twin-pyramid complex were also present although they were not aligned symmetrically.[20]
Notes
- ^ Rice and Rice 2005, p.134.
- ^ Demarest et al. 2005, p.553.
- ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p.375.
- ^ a b c d e Martin and Grube 2000, p.51.
- ^ Pugh and Rice 2009, pp.92, 97–98.
- ^ Miller 1999, p.34. Martin and Grube 2000, p.51.
- ^ a b c d Coe 1967, 1988, p.77.
- ^ a b c Miller 1999, p.34.
- ^ Coe 1967, 1988, p.77. Miller 1999, p.34.
- ^ Hellmuth 1967, p.1.
- ^ Coe 1967, 1988, pp.77–78.
- ^ a b Jones 1969, p.3.
- ^ a b Kelly 1996, p.138.
- ^ a b Coe 1967, 1988, p.87.
- ^ a b c d e f g Coe 1967, 1988, p.82.
- ^ a b c d e f g Coe 1967, 1988, p.85.
- ^ a b c Coe 1967, 1988, p.84.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Jones 1969, p.144.
- ^ a b c Rice 2009, p.82.
- ^ a b c Pugh and Rice 2009, pp.97–98.
- ^ Adams 2000, p.30. Jones 1969, p.5.
- ^ a b c Jones 1969, p.5.
- ^ a b c d e Martin and Grube 2000, p.24.
- ^ Coe 1967, 1988, p.83.
- ^ a b c d Jones 1969, p.6.
- ^ Coe 1967, 1988, p.78.
- ^ Webster 2002, pl.14.
- ^ Miller 1999, p.129. Coe 1967, 1988, p.78.
- ^ Sharer and Traxler 2006, p.305.
- ^ Aguilar 2001, p.259.
- ^ Sánchez Polo et al. 1995, p.593.
- ^ Kelly 1996, p.115. Morales and Valiente 2006, p.1010.
- ^ Kelly 1996, p.117.
- ^ Morales and Valiente 2006, p.1016.
- ^ Pugh and Rice 2009, p.97.
- ^ Pugh and Rice 2009, p.98.
References
- Adams, Richard E.W. (2000). "Introduction to a Survey of the Native Prehistoric Cultures of Mesoamerica". In Richard E.W. Adams; Murdo J. Macleod (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Vol. II: Mesoamerica, part 1. Cambridge, UK: OCLC 33359444.
- Aguilar, Boris A. (2001). J.P. Laporte; A.C. Suasnávar; B. Arroyo (eds.). "Las excavaciones en el Templo de las Vasijas Escondidas en Ixlu, Flores, Petén" [The excavations in the Temple of the Hidden Jars in Ixlu, Flores, Peten] (PDF). XIV Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2000 (in Spanish). Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología: 259–274. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
- OCLC 21460472.
- OCLC 61719499.
- Jones, Christopher (1969). "The Twin-Pyramid Group Pattern: A classic Maya architectural assemblage at Tikal, Guatemala" (Document). ProQuest 302444428.
- Hellmuth, Nicholas Matthew (1967). "Structure 5D-73, Burial 196, Tikal, Peten, Guatemala: A preliminary report" (PDF). Guatemala City, Guatemala: Foundation for Latin American Anthropological Research. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
- Kelly, Joyce (1996). An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Norman: OCLC 34658843.
- OCLC 47358325.
- OCLC 41659173.
- Morales, Paulino I.; Erwin Franciné Valiente (2006). "Secuencia de construcción y presentación del Edificio 218 en la Acrópolis Este de Yaxha" [Sequence of construction and presentation of Structure 218 in the East Acropolis of Yaxha] (PDF). XIX Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2005 (Edited J.P. Laporte, B. Arroyo and H. Mejía) (in Spanish). Guatemala City, Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología: 1010–1017. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
- Rice, Prudence M. (2009). "The Archaeology of the Kowoj: Settlement and Architecture at Zacpetén". In Prudence M. Rice; Don S. Rice (eds.). The Kowoj: Identity, migration, and geopolitics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala. Boulder: OCLC 225875268.
- Pugh, Timothy W.; Rice, Prudence M. (2009). "Zacpatén and the Kowoj: Field Methods and Chronologies". In Prudence M. Rice; Don S. Rice (eds.). The Kowoj: Identity, migration, and geopolitics in Late Postclassic Petén, Guatemala. Boulder: OCLC 225875268.
- Rice, Prudence M.; Rice, Don S. (2005). "Late Classic to Postclassic Transformations in the Petén Lakes Region, Guatemala". In Arthur A. Demarest; Prudence M. Rice; Don S. Rice (eds.). The Terminal Classic in the Maya lowlands: Collapse, transition, and transformation. Boulder: OCLC 61719499.
- Sánchez Polo, Rómulo; Don S. Rice; Prudence M. Rice; Anna McNair; Timothy Pugh; Grant D. Jones (1995). J.P. Laporte; H. Escobedo (eds.). "La investigación de la geografía política del siglo XVII en Petén central: La primera temporada" [Investigation of the 17th century political geography of central Peten: First season] (PDF). VIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1994 (in Spanish). Guatemala City, Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología: 589–602. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2012-02-19.
- OCLC 57577446.
- Webster, David L. (2002). The Fall of the Ancient Maya: Solving the Mystery of the Maya Collapse. London: OCLC 48753878.