Between death and divinity. Rethinking the significance of Triadic Groups in ancient Maya culture

Abstract

Resumen: En este artículo se intenta reunir una lista lo más completa posible de los grupos triádicos registrados en el área maya para, posteriormente, analizar diversos aspectos de su presencia y cronología, su arquitectura, contextos urbanos e iconografía, a fin de poder re-evaluar las dos teorías existentes y proponer una nueva. La conclusión final establece que ambas propuestas, a saber, la concepción de los grupos triádicos como réplicas terrenales del "hogar cósmico" o como escenarios arquitectónicos de ritos de adhesión al trono, no pueden descartarse por completo. Sin embargo, estas teorías demuestran posibles funciones y significados secundarios de los grupos triádicos, limitados a cierto número de los conjuntos conocidos actualmente. Se presenta una interpretación más general según la cual los grupos triádicos pueden ser percibidos como escenarios arquitectónicos y réplicas de la mítica "montaña florida" en el preciso momento de la resurrección del dios del maíz.

Community Resilience and Urban Planning during the Ninth-Century Maya Collapse: A Case Study from Actuncan, Belize

“…El Tajín: Reese-Taylor & Koontz 2001). These events took (Szymanśki 2014). Furthermore, the triadic arrangement of structures has been viewed as a metaphor for the place of creation or the place of the Maize God's resurrection (Freidel et al 1993, 140;Hansen 1998, 80;Szymanśki 2014).…”

“…Structure 1 is the tallest pyramid in Actuncan's site core, rising 27 m above the plaza surface. Actuncan South consists of two nested triadic arrangements of temples forming a ‘fractal-type’ triadic group (Szymański 2014). Three small pyramids, including the vaulted Structure 1, are located on top of the monumental pyramidal platform, Structure 4.…”

“…Structures 4 and 5 were adorned with monumental stucco masks (McGovern 2004), which would have placed events within the triadic group in a vivid supernatural context. Though the mask programs of different triadic groups vary, they often represent themes that can be related to Maya myths of creation and rebirth (Szymański 2014). Furthermore, the triadic arrangement of structures has been viewed as a metaphor for the place of creation or the place of the Maize God’s resurrection (Freidel et al 1993, 140; Hansen 1998, 80; Szymański 2014).…”

“…Though the mask programs of different triadic groups vary, they often represent themes that can be related to Maya myths of creation and rebirth (Szymański 2014). Furthermore, the triadic arrangement of structures has been viewed as a metaphor for the place of creation or the place of the Maize God’s resurrection (Freidel et al 1993, 140; Hansen 1998, 80; Szymański 2014). As such, the triadic group symbolized the ruler’s divine power by placing performances within a sacred space filled with cosmological references (Freidel & Schele 1988).…”

David A. Freidel, Arlen F. Chase, Anne S. Dowd & Jerry Murdock (ed.). Maya E groups: calendars, astronomy, and urbanism in the early lowlands. 2017. Gainesville: University Press of Florida; 978-0-8130-5435-3 $125.

“…There are further connections with places in Belize including Xunantunich (Brown) and its tiny satellite Chan (Robin), while the complex question of E-Groups and ‘Eastern Triadic Assemblages’ in the Belize Valley (Awe et al ) is also discussed. These last not to be confused with the notable Late Preclassic public-architecture complex, the Triadic Group (Szymanski 2013). Reese-Taylor covers the karstic region north of Petén into Campeche, and Stanton claims that in Yucatan, E-Groups mark Preclassic trade routes from the south.…”