On October 8, 2005, our speaker was Julia Miller, a PhD candidate in
the Department of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania,
whose primary research interest is in the field of ancient Maya architecture.
Julie has conducted her dissertation research at the site of
Copan, Honduras. She has worked both in the tunneling project of the
Early Copan Acropolis Program and in surface excavations. She has
also worked at the sites of Xunantunich in Belize, and Palenque, Mexico.
While at Palenque, Julie worked with Alfonso Morales in the Cross
Group Project, which, in 1998, excavated Temple 19. She and Dr. Morales
were involved in the discovery and preservation of four new
inscribed monuments: the well preserved carved stone panel, a stucco
panel found in pieces and later restored, a throne and a balustrade.
Ms. Miller presented her approach to the study of ancient Maya
architecture, which focuses on patterns seen in the construction,
modification, and destruction of buildings. Ms. Miller feels
that changes in different architectural factors, such as construction material,
scope of construction projects, and type and location of decoration,
can reflect changes in the greater society of an ancient civilization.
Julie’s talk particularly concerned patterns of change
seen in all levels of the construction, modification, and destruction of
the elite
buildings of the Copan Acropolis, and how they reflect change in Copan
society over time. After first delineating the different styles of
archaeological analysis: classic stratigraphy, site plan analysis,
economic, or energetic analysis, symbolic analysis of form and decoration,
archaeoastronomical analysis, and epigraphic analysis of inscriptions,
Julie explained that her work needed to reach beyond these to reveal
the changes that she sought. Her intention was to discover the time
span of different “construction events� at Copan.
Before
embarking on this analysis, Ms. Miller had to posit the following assumptions:
that structural modifications were intentional and significant;
that changes in architecture signify changes within the society, and
that the uses of various buildings are not immediately apparent to later
viewers. For example, structures may have been used by different groups
within the community in differing manners, and the primary use
area of the building may, at times, have been its exterior, or
even its surrounding space, rather than the interior.
Julie's initial searches for patterns in the buildings of Copan's Acropolis,
especially in the much eroded Structure 21, were stymied,
as construction patterns were not immediately evident. Focusing on
the different levels, or divisions, of construction, Ms. Miller found that
there were four "break points" in construction seen in the East
Court area of the Acropolis: the change from adobe to stone
construction, the move from modeled stucco to carved stone ornamentation,
the apparent removal of administrative buildings from the
Acropolis, and the modifications of the East Court into a sunken plaza
which later was surrounded by increasingly elevated buildings.
Beginning with the earliest stone constructions, Julie found that the
builders relied upon thick layers of stucco to cover fairly irregularly
cut
volcanic tuff blocks. Later construction, often reusing the prior construction
as fill, evidenced much more finished stone work, increasingly
thinner layers of stucco and more reliance on carved stone, as opposed
to carved stucco ornamentation. These changes imply changes in
the availability of lime and firewood and a concomitant increased number
of man-hours required to decorate a building with carved stone. The
closing off of entrances to the East Court, followed by the terracing
and elevation of the latest structures raised and isolated the Court
from
the rest of Copan's ceremonial areas. The height and distance from
the nearest source of water may have caused the drier quality of later
construction. It also would have further increased the number of man-hours
required, which could well be the cause of the slower rate of
construction in later levels. The ceremonial use of the court
probably changed with its gradual isolation from the general populace;
its
increased elevation would have removed it from their view.
Julie notes that following this period of increasing isolation and elevation,
the 13th king, Waxaklahun Ubah K'awiil (or "18 Rabbit",
as he is nicknamed) and his successors returned to the Great Plaza
area, filling it with stelae, the ball court and the great Hieroglyphic
Stairway. Was this an attempt to reinvolve the general populace of
Greater Copan in the affairs of the elite? Did administrative structures
move out to areas like Las Sepulturas? We shall have to wait for the
completion of her dissertation, and perhaps beyond, for the answers to
these, and other, questions!