This fascinating exploration of the treatment of ancient Maya monumental stone sculptures, particularly those depicting rulers and other elite figures, presents an insightful perspective on ways the Maya engaged with their history through time when these sculptures and monuments, especially stelae, were frequently moved, reset, burned, broken, re-carved, and buried. Rather than interpreting their inscriptions, O’Neil examines how the ancient Maya used, repurposed, and experienced these monuments over centuries, presenting important insights into their role in Maya culture. As seen in modern times with Confederate monuments, ancient Maya monuments could be contested as perceptions of them changed through time, highlighting their role as a “critical medium for the ancient Maya to act in the present and connect with the past.”
The Maya flourished from 2,000 B.C. to A.D. 1521 in the lowlands of southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and western Honduras. This study compares stone sculptures at multiple Maya sites in the southern lowlands from the 5th through the 9th centuries, encompassing the Early and Late Classic periods and the beginning of the Terminal Classic. Using evidence from excavations, fieldnotes, photographs from 1930s to current archaeological projects, and from analyses of sculptures and architecture in situ and in museums, O’Neil explores the often-complex life histories of stone sculptures/monuments from prehistoric to modern times. Years in the making, this thoroughly researched book focuses on Tikal and Uaxactun in Petén, Calakmul in Campeche, Yaxchilan in the Usmacinta River Valley, and Copán in western Honduras, among other sites, drawing on Maya perspectives for conceiving the world as well as using approaches from art history, anthropology, religious studies, and other fields to theorize about the many meanings and life histories of ancient Maya sculptures. Beautifully illustrated, with hundreds of color and black-and-white plates, the book is organized into three sections that explore aspects of the creation, modification, and reuse of ancient Maya sculptures, clearly demonstrating that they were not static, inanimate objects, but remained dynamic entities.
The University of Texas Press, 2024; 280 pp; illus., $65 hardcover, $35 e-book; utpress.utexas.edu)
