January 12, 2008: Charles Golden, PhD Assistant Professor of
Anthropology, Brandeis
University,
Precolumbian Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library
"Seeing is Controlling: Vistas and Politics in the Piedras Negras and
Yaxchilan Kingdoms"
Throughout the Classic period, the rulers of the Maya kingdoms of
Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan vied with one another for political
domination of the middle Usumacinta River valley. This was a contest
waged not only in the urban centers of Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan,
but across the landscape and in the borderlands between the two
kingdoms. In this competition the natural form of the land – a rugged
terrain of steep hills, cliffs, sink holes, swamps and lakes – was not
merely a passive canvas for the expansion of dynastic authority;
instead, movement through and vistas across this landscape helped to
shape the form of political action even as they were
themselves transformed. In his presentation, Dr Golden
discussed the results of recent archaeological investigations of the
landscape between Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan, and particularly
explored how these vistas offered by the natural and man-made
landscapes of the political capitals shaped the practice of ruling
dynasties and royal courts, as well as forming local notions of
political space that were extended out across the entire polity. Vistas
of these urban landscapes and the surrounding countryside participated
in the construction and expression of political relationships linking
rulers to their subordinate nobles, and in so doing played a
significant role in defining architectural arrangements, the
composition of dynastic monuments, the distribution of these monuments,
and the distribution of political centers across the classic period
landscape. In investigation, it was observed that the location of
Yaxchilan and its subordinate sites, as well as the actually physical
topography allowed for almost line of sight views between Yaxchilan and
its vassal cities. Piedras Negras, on the other hand, is in a narrowed
valley, very well protected, and cannot see, nor be seen from any
of its dependencies.
Charles Golden graduated with an AB in History and Anthropology from
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a PhD in
Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. He is an Assistant
Professor of Anthropology at Brandeis University, and currently a
Precolumbian Fellow at Dumbarton Oaks Research Library. Since
1993, he has conducted archaeological research in Mesoamerica, working
at sites in Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala. From 1997 to 2000 he
conducted doctoral research at the Classic Maya capital of Piedras
Negras, Guatemala, located in the Sierra del Lacandón National
Park. After completing his dissertation on the results of excavations
in the royal palace of Piedras Negras, Charles, together with
colleagues Andrew Scherer, and René Muñoz, began the
Sierra del Lacandón Regional Archaeology project in 2003. This
ongoing research is a regional survey intended to develop a better
understanding of the ancient settlement between Piedras Negras and its
great Classic period rival Yaxchilan. The North American and Guatemalan
researchers of the SLRAP work in close collaboration with the
Defensores de la Naturaleza, which administers the Sierra del
Lacandón, to contribute to the protection of the Sierra del
Lacandón through the completion of an inventory of the national
park’s cultural patrimony, participation in the development of
archaeo-touristic infrastructure, and the development of community
interest projects.
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