Los señores mayas y la recreación de episodios míticos en los programas escultóricos integrados en la arquitectura

Abstract

salazar / los señores mayas y la recreación de episodios míticos 165 estudios de cultura maya xlix: 165-199 (2017) Los señores mayas y la recreación de episodios míticos en los programas escultóricos integrados en la arquitectura 1 Maya Lords and the Recreation of Mythical Episodes on Sculptural Programs Integrated in ArchitectureDaniel Salazar lama Posgrado en Estudios Mesoamericanos, UNAM Centro de Estudios Mexicanos y CentroamericanosResumen: La progresiva incorporación de la figura real a los programas escultóricos integrados en la arquitectura en espacios públicos muestra la recurrente adopción de ciertas características conductuales de los dioses por parte de los gobernantes, quienes recrean ocasionalmente episodios míticos/cosmogónicos. Los casos de estudio de esta investigación, el friso de Balamkú (Campeche) y los relieves de la Gran Acrópolis Central en El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala), arrojan importante información sobre los recursos utilizados en la configuración de este tipo de escenas. Los resultados indican que, en ausencia de textos, recursos como el uso de un código visual de alto contenido simbólico y la adecuada construcción de la imagen son capaces de transmitir mensajes con sólidos trasfondos ideológicos que responden a las funciones sociales de los gobernantes.PalabRas clave: escultura integrada a la arquitectura, episodios míticos, dioses, gobernantes, ideología. abstRact:The progressive incorporation of royal potraits into sculptural programs integrated in architecture shows that rulers frequently adopted certain behavioral characteristics related to the gods by reenacting mythical/cosmological events. This study focuses on the Balamkú frieze (Campeche) and the stucco reliefs of the Great Central Acropolis in El Mirador (Petén, Guatemala). Both monuments provide important information about the compositional strategies employed in such scenes. The results suggest that in the absence of texts, the use of a visual code with a high degree of symbolic expression and the proper construction of the image are capable of conveying messages with a strong ideological backgrounds that reflect to the social functions of the Maya rulers.

Chromatic palette studies in sculptural architectonical elements of Maya buildings in the south of Campeche, Mexico

“…The lighter red tones were used to color specific zone representing materials such a bone, wood, or skin. The Maya artisan led the black color (product of combustion of organic material) only to emphasize certain details like the eyes, teeth, and gums (Salazar Lama 2015, 2017, 2019. In two examples: the zoomorphic facade of Becán (Structure X) and in the gum of Calakmul Masks (substructure II), the artisan used lime to light the red color.…”

“…Later in the Balamkú Frieze (Figure 2 and 3), it was painted totally in red, and a darker red was used as a light-dark (chiaroscuro) method to enhance the sculpture's volume and also to paint and foreground details such as the spot of the jaguar skin, lines in the snakeskin, circles on the flog leg and also as a representation of corporal painting in the feline characters. At Balamkú and Becán Friezes, the effects of dimensional paint and three-dimensional sculpture was used (Salazar Lama 2015, 2017, 2019. During the Classic period, the use of blue was disseminated in the Maya highlands.…”

“…The representation is related to deities such as K'inich, the solar and corn deity, the great celestial bird, Chaahk the rain god, and the zoomorphic mountain (Hansen, Hansen, and Derrick 1995;Salazar Lama 2015). For instance, the Calakmul masks (Substructure II) represent the corn god; the Becán frieze (Structure X) corresponds to the anthropomorphic representation of a possible ruler and at Balamkú frieze (Substructure 1a) shows the representation of four rulers that are sitting on a throne of zoomorphic creatures and over zoomorphic masks (Salazar Lama 2017, 2019.…”

Crocodiles, Sharks, and Some Speculations on Central Peten Preclassic History

“…For the Maya inhabiting Nixtun-Ch'ich’, these sacrosanct surroundings communicated vivid, enduring messages underwriting and legitimizing earthly political power by vesting it in an ancient mythical narrative of deep time and its cycles (Salazar Lama 2017). The residents would have experienced the awesomeness of this setting as they walked through their city but they could not have seen and appreciated the complete image of the mythological creature.…”