The Case of the Quiriguá Vase (original) (raw)
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The Bedrock Vase: Iconography of a Classic Period Maya Vase from Northern Belize
In 1996 an unusual vessel was discovered at the site of Bedrock in North-Western Belize. Referred to as the Bedrock Vase, it is tentatively dated to the transition period between the Early Classic period (i.e. Tzakol 3 ca. AD 450-600) and Late Classic periods (i.e. Tepeu 1 ca. AD 600-700). The vase is divided into four panels. The two key panels portray scenes of supernatural beings engaged in making sacrificial offerings while the two smaller panels contain six head-images. This paper is intended to present a description of the imagery on the Bedrock Vase and thereby add to the extant corpus of Maya iconography.
This paper examines the production and exchange of a particular type of ceramic vase designated ‘Ahk'utu' moulded-carved’, by using thin-section petrography, INAA, and SEM-EDS. These vases were produced and circulated in the eastern Maya lowlands during a transitional period known as ‘Terminal Classic’, ca. A.D. 800–950. Significant changes, generally referred to as the Classic Maya Collapse, occurred in the socio-political order in the Maya lowlands at this time, although the pace and events leading to such changes remain poorly understood. By studying a selection of 62 Ahk'utu' moulded-carved vases from various sites across Belize, we seek to offer a new perspective on the nature of this important transitional period. Our findings reveal that two main ceramic traditions – one employing calcite and the other volcanic ash temper – are represented by the vases. These traditions guided the selection of raw materials, surface finish, and firing methods. Vases of the calcite tradition were mostly used at or around the sites where they were produced, whereas those of the volcanic ash tradition appear to have been circulated over a wider region. The co-existence of multiple production groups and distribution spheres of the Ahk'utu' vases, along with their style and decoration, is interpreted as indicating a proliferation of an ascending social segment and greater flexibility and fluidity in how the social hierarchy and political structure were maintained in the eastern Maya lowlands from the 9th century and onwards.
Some Initial Comments on the Komkom Vase Discovered at Baking Pot, Belize
Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology, 2017
In 2015 and 2016 the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance (BVAR) project recovered a remarkable polychrome vase through its excavations of artifact-rich deposits besides stairside outsets and within corners of courtyards and plazas, both within the royal palace and adjoining plaza of Group B, at the site of Baking Pot in western Belize. Whereas many questions still surround the nature of these deposits, their formation appears to coincide with peri-abandonment events and the materials they contain shed light on the last inhabitants of these palaces. Here we describe the fragmentary vase that bears a long glyphic text found in one of these deposits, which we have named the Komkom Vase. This vase and its context have a bearing on the nature and formation of these artifactual deposits as well as broader processes of the Terminal Classic period across the central Maya lowlands.