Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala: a Middle Preclassic earthen sculpture and its ritual associations

Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala: a Middle Preclassic earthen sculpture and its ritual associations Michael Love1 & Julia Guernsey2 Beside one of the earliest Preclassic pyramids in Guatemala the authors discovered a large basin fashioned in clay and shaped like a quatrefoil. The use of the quatrefoil theme on other carvings reveals its association with water and its symbolic role as the mouth of an underworld. Excavations in an adjacent mound exposed an affluent community, rich in figurines. This juxtaposition of monuments and residence at La Blanca shows a society of 900-600 BC in which ritual and the secular power were well integrated. Keywords: Guatemala, Mesoamerica, Maya, Middle Preclassic, sculpture Introduction Among the many artistic achievements of ancient Mesoamerica, none is more notable than the long-standing sculptural tradition. Ancient Mesoamerican sculptors worked in a variety of media, including stone, wood, stucco and clay. Works of perishable materials are rarely found archaeologically, except in cases of extraordinary preservation, such as at Cerro Manatı́, Veracruz (Ortiz & Rodriguez 1999; 2000). During the 2004 season a remarkable sculpture was discovered at La Blanca, in Pacific Guatemala (Figure 1). Dating to the early Middle Preclassic period (c. 900-400 BC), the work is notable in several respects. First, it is one of only a handful of earthen sculptures from ancient Mesoamerica, and the earliest known example. Second, it provides dramatic evidence of rituals associated with rulership in Middle Preclassic Mesoamerica. Third, it is the earliest known example of the quatrefoil motif in Mesoamerican art. Moreover, Monument 3 provides an opportunity to examine the validity of oppositions such as public/private, ritual/utilitarian and Great Tradition/Little Tradition in the archaeology of Mesoamerica and other regions. Physical characteristics of Monument 3 La Blanca Monument 3 (Figure 2) takes the form of a quatrefoil, clover-leaf or flower with four petals, which was created by sculpting compacted earth, a process observed in other 1 2 Department of Anthropology, California State University, Northridge, CA 91330, USA (Email: [email protected]) Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA (Email: [email protected]) Received: 26 June 2006; Accepted: 18 December 2006; Revised: 12 February 2007 antiquity 81 (2007): 920–932 920 Research Michael Love and Julia Guernsey Figure 1. The Pacific coast of Guatemala and Chiapas, Mexico. artefacts at the site. Once complete, the monument was given a finishing coat of fine, dark (nearly black) clay, and the interior ring was painted red with hematite. The monument is 2.1m in diameter and consists of five parts: two rings, a channel, the interior rim and a basin (Figure 3). Ring 1 was originally a complete circle, 10cm wide; as discovered a small part of the south-eastern part of the outer ring was missing. Ring 2 is also a complete circle, but with four points that incline toward the centre and divide the monument into four parts. The channel, actually four separate channels, lies between Ring 2 and the interior rim. The highest location of each channel lies halfway between the points 921 Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala Figure 2. La Blanca Monument 3. Figure 3. Idealised section of Monument 3. and the lowest locations are at the extremes, where the channels join the basin. The inner rim consists of four arcs that run between the points of Ring 2, forming the interior sides of the channels. The centre of the monument is a slightly concave basin approximately 10cm deep, measured from the top of the inner rim, with the centre 3-5cm deeper than the edges. The archaeological context of La Blanca Monument 3 La Blanca (Figure 4) was one of the largest Middle Preclassic sites of ancient Mesoamerica, arising as a regional centre in 900 BC and maintaining its prominence for over 300 years. That 300-year period is defined as the Conchas phase, which can be divided into four 922 Research Michael Love and Julia Guernsey Figure 4. Central sector of La Blanca, showing location of Mound 9, where Monument 3 was discovered. sub-phases on the basis of stratigraphy and changes in pottery (Love 2002). The site covered over 200ha at its peak and boasted some of the earliest monumental architecture in Mesoamerica. Mound 1, built c. 900 BC was one of the first pyramidal temples in Mesoamerica, standing over 25m tall and measuring 150 × 90m at its base (Love et al. 2005). Monument 3 was found on the western slope of Mound 9, which is part of an elite residential precinct on a ridge east of Mound 1. Between Mound 9 and Mound 1 lies a sunken plaza which measures approximately 40 × 100m. Excavations conducted in Mound 9, designated as Operation 32 (Figure 5), were undertaken as part of a study of household ritual and economy whose goal is to understand the economic and ideological changes that took place during the expansion of social complexity. The domestic refuse, burials and hearths found within Operation 32 indicate that Mound 9 represents the remains of an elite residence (Love et al. 2006). The ceramics from Operation 32 indicate that the monument was built and used during the Conchas C sub-phase, c. 800 BC. 923 Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala The ceramic assemblage of Mound 9 is overwhelmingly Middle Preclassic, with an admixture of Late Classic Plumbate pottery in the upper levels and a small amount of Early Preclassic pottery in a secondary context. The incidence of Alamo ware, the principal cooking ware of the Conchas phase, is 4.2 per cent for the Conchas C sub-phase, the strata above and below the monument. This percentage is comparable to that of other mounds at La Blanca thought to be domestic, suggesting a similar status for Mound 9. Ramirez wares, made from kaolin clay and thought to be linked to elite status, comprise 1.4 per cent of the Figure 5. Plan of Operation 32, showing the excavation pottery rims. In other residences excavated (sub-operations) units placed in Mound 9. to date, the mean for Ramirez wares falls below 1 per cent. These data, along with others detailed below, indicate that Mound 9 is residential, but probably occupied by members of the elite. The non-pottery artefact assemblage of Mound 9 also seems to be purely domestic. It includes high densities of utilitarian groundstone artefacts and faunal remains. The density of stone artefacts (approximately 19 artefacts per cubic metre of excavated matrix) is high, suggesting that grinding grain was a prominent task, as expected of a domestic assemblage. The Conchas C sub-phase assemblage from Operation 32 (Mound 9) ranks first among excavated contexts at La Blanca in terms of the density of animal bone, obsidian and jade ornaments (Figure 6). The density of animal bone suggests that food preparation and consumption were taking place at this locale, perhaps in greater frequency than in others. The high density of bone may indicate feasting, but we must await the full analysis of both pottery and faunal remains before asserting that claim outright. The obsidian tools assemblage indicates domestic activities, with a high incidence of bi-polar manufacture, characteristic of residential assemblages at La Blanca. Mound 9 has a high overall density of obsidian compared to other mounds which may also signal high social status. We take the density of jade to be an indicator of household status. All residences at La Blanca have some jade, mostly as very small (under 5mm) disc-shaped beads. There is a continuum of jade densities among La Blanca households, making it one of the most useful categories of artefact for scaling the socio-economic status of residences. Small jade beads were probably a vital means of preserving household wealth by converting perishable agricultural surplus into durable wealth. The beads, pendants and earspools would also have been an important means of social display. Ritual paraphernalia of many types are found in household assemblages at La Blanca, including hand-made ceramic figurines, small ceramic stands (perhaps used as portable altars) and incense burners. Of these, figurines are the most numerous, as at many other Preclassic sites (Cyphers 1993; Marcus 1998; Joyce 2003). Many interpret figurines as artefacts used in 924 Research Michael Love and Julia Guernsey Figure 6. Density of selected artefact classes in residential excavations at La Blanca. Operation 32C refers to Conchas C sub-phase levels within Operation 32, the locus of Monument 3. Weights are in grams. Jade weights and figurine counts have been multiplied by the factors noted to increase their visibility on the graph. domestic ritual, especially ancestor veneration (Cyphers 1993; Marcus 1998; 1999; Grove & Gillespie 2002). Joyce (2003), however, has proposed that figurines were used in additional contexts, especially in public areas adjacent to residential zones, where they were used to mark important milestones in the life-history of individuals, especially changes in age grades. As shown in Figure 6, figurine density displays a gradient in which Operation 32 (Mound 9) ranks highest among the domestic contexts analysed to date. To determine what kind of rituals were carried out at Mound 9, we analysed 1179 figurine fragments from Operation 32 and compared the results to those of Arroyo (2002) from other contexts at the site. Our results (Love & Guernsey 2006) indicate that although there are some unique figurines found in Operation 32, the corpus is generally similar to those of other residences. For example, the proportions of human and animal figurines in Operation 32 compare closely to other mounds at the site. The principal difference between the ritual assemblages of Mound 9 and other residences is Monument 3 itself. To understand the monument and the rituals associated with it, we turn to a consideration of the iconography of the quatrefoil, which is remarkably consistent throughout Mesoamerican prehistory. 925 Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala The iconography of the quatrefoil in Mesoamerica The inclination of Ring 2, the presence of the channel and the concavity of the basin all suggest that Monument 3 was meant to contain liquid. Fluid introduced onto Ring 2 or into the channel would flow into the centre of the basin. Marcus (1998; 1999) describes the use of water-filled basins in Preclassic-period Oaxaca, where they were employed in rites of divination. We propose a similar function for La Blanca Monument 3 but, more specifically, that it was viewed as a portal to the underworld. Our interpretation is based on three observations. The first, already stated, is that the monument was meant to contain water, a substance frequently associated with the underworld in Mesoamerica. Second, the high density of clay figurines found in the mound is a hallmark of ritual activity. Third, the iconography of the quatrefoil in Mesoamerica suggests that quatrefoils were viewed as portals to the supernatural. The quatrefoil is an ancient and ubiquitous symbol in ancient Mesoamerican iconography, tracing its roots back to Early Preclassic Olmec culture and persisting throughout the Classic period. Despite its use in geographically and culturally diverse regions, however, it appears to have retained a consistent association with expressions of elite power, supernatural communication and watery realms. Its appearance at a number of Preclassic sites confirms its significance as a symbol imbued with political and cosmological associations that became part of a repertoire of elite communication that paid little heed to cultural or linguistic boundaries. The quatrefoil does not appear in the known corpus of Mesoamerican art until the Middle Preclassic period. The symbol traces its antecedents, however, to the themes of caves and animal mouths that appear in the Early Preclassic. Caves were considered portals to the underworld (cf. Heyden 1975; Joralemon 1976: 37-40) and during the Early and Middle Preclassic were often conceptualised as the open mouth of a supernatural animal. For example, Olmec thrones, or altars, frequently depict a male – probably a ruler – seated within the mouth of such a creature, most often a jaguar (Figure 7a). Such imagery placed these rulers within a supernatural context, alluding to their abilities to communicate with the otherworld and the ancestors who dwelt there. No known monumental sculpture in the Gulf Coast Lowlands depicts the quatrefoil motif. However, the monuments of Chalcatzingo, Morelos, Mexico, which date to c. 700500 BC (Grove 1999: 258), give clear expression to the links between quatrefoils, animal mouths, caves and portals. Chalcatzingo Monument 9 (Figure 7b) depicts a frontal version of a creature whose mouth is a hollow quatrefoil opening. Monument 9 was found within the central zone of the site, atop a large earthen platform, Structure 4 (Grove 1999: 262). Monument 9 is large enough that an individual could have crawled in and out of the open quatrefoil mouth (Grove 1984: 50; Angulo 1987: 141). The lower lip shows wear, which suggests that someone – perhaps a ruler – passed through the portal during performances that were staged before audiences assembled within the principal precinct of the site. Chalcatzingo Monument 1 (Figure 7c) was carved onto the face of a large boulder along the talus slope of Cerro Chalcatzingo, adjacent to a drainage that carries most of the rainwater runoff from the north-west slopes of the mountain (Grove & Angulo 1987: 115). The carving depicts an individual, perhaps a ruler (Reilly 1994: 261; Tate 1995: 926 Research Michael Love and Julia Guernsey Figure 7. Examples of quatrefoils and portals in Preclassic Mesoamerican sculpture. A, La Venta Altar 4 (drawing by F. Kent Reilly, III); B, Chalcatzingo Monument 9 (drawing courtesy of David Grove); C, Chalcatzingo Monument 1 (drawing courtesy of David Grove); D, Izapa Stela 8 (drawing by A. Moreno, courtesy of the New World Archaeological Foundation). 55), seated inside a C-shaped motif that represents one-half of a quatrefoil. The imagery may directly reference the rituals performed in conjunction with Monument 9 at the same site. The quatrefoil at Chalcatzingo symbolises the mouth of a cave which was personified 927 Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala as an earth-monster with the addition of an eye, thereby creating an analogy between the open quatrefoil and the mouth of the zoomorphic creature (Grove & Angulo 1987: 115). The imagery of Chalcatzingo Monument 1 is related to agricultural fertility and the arrival of rain (Guzmán 1934: 241-43; Grove 1968: 487), evidenced by the rain-bearing clouds above the quatrefoil portal from which !-shaped droplets of rain fall, the mist scrolls that emanate from the mouth of the quatrefoil and the plants that grow from its exterior corners (Grove 1968: 486; Grove & Angulo 1987: 117). The implication is that rain arrives because the ruler entered the quatrefoil portal and communed with the supernatural realm, thereby demonstrating his abilities to maintain the continued well-being of his people and the agricultural abundance of his region (Reilly 1994: 261; also see Chalcatzingo Monument 13 in Grove & Angulo 1987: 122). The association between rulership and the quatrefoil symbol persisted into the ensuing Late Preclassic period. This is best evidenced at Izapa, located approximately 35km from La Blanca, which rose to prominence following the decline of La Blanca (Lowe et al. 1982; Love 1999: 137). Izapa Stela 8 (Figure 7d), which was located at the base of the Mound 30 acropolis in Group B, depicts a quatrefoil that marks the back of a zoomorphic creature. Like the Chalcatzingo quatrefoils, this one has also been personified by incorporating it into the body of the zoomorph. Within the quatrefoil, as Norman (1976: 105) and Taube (1998: 439) observed, an Izapa ruler sits on a throne whose profile reproduces that of a carved stone throne from the site, Throne 1. When considered as a conceptual unit, the imagery of Throne 1 and Stela 8 directly associates the ruler’s political authority, symbolised by the throne, with his supernatural abilities, symbolised by the quatrefoil portal (Guernsey 2006). A striking parallel exists between the imagery of Chalcatzingo Monument 1 and Izapa Stela 8, both of which feature elite individuals enthroned within a quatrefoil. This imagery was also invoked by the Late Preclassic rulers of San Bartolo, in the Maya Lowlands (Saturno et al. 2005). A quatrefoil appears on the recently discovered west wall of the Pinturas pyramid (Structure 1). Like the quatrefoils at Chalcatzingo and Izapa, individuals are seated within the supernatural portal. At the centre, dances the Maize God while to the left appears Chahk, god of rain and lightning, seated on a throne. The figure to the right represents the god of still or terrestrial water (David Stuart, pers. comm. 2005). Most interesting, however, is the coloration of the San Bartolo quatrefoil, which recalls that of La Blanca, with its outer rim of black and inner rim of red paint. The water bands that emanate from the San Bartolo quatrefoil also recall the watery symbolism of the Chalcatzingo and La Blanca quatrefoils. Likewise, the San Bartolo quatrefoil is personified and appears to substitute for the body of a zoomorphic creature, perhaps a turtle, whose head emerges from the left. Another quatrefoil, from Aguacatal, in Campeche, Mexico, bears an interesting formal relationship to that of La Blanca. The Aguacatal quatrefoil takes the form of a stuccoed altar that was placed at the base of a low mound during the Late Preclassic-Early Classic transition, perhaps AD 200-350 (Houston et al. 2005). As these authors observe, the stucco design around the edges of the Aguacatal quatrefoil contains water imagery, including swirling water motifs, shells, fish and the rain deity Chahk. This imagery recalls that at San Bartolo, where Chahk also appeared within the quatrefoil, and links it to the watery themes 928 at Middle Preclassic La Blanca and Chalcatzingo. Perhaps most intriguing, however, is the similar horizontal configuration of the quatrefoils at Aguacatal and La Blanca, each of which formed an altar and invoked a watery theme. The quatrefoil continued to be invoked throughout the Classic period, as evidenced in the iconography of numerous Classic Maya monuments. One noteworthy example is the altar from El Perú, which features a quatrefoil on the back of a zoomorphic creature in which sits a ruler. While the imagery bears remarkable similarities to that of Izapa Stela 8, the text of the El Perú altar elucidates the significance of the quatrefoil, describing it as tu yol ahk, ‘at the heart of the turtle’ or ‘in the portal of the turtle’ , a reference to the creation narrative of the Maize God’s rebirth (Freidel et al. 1993: 215; Taube 1998: 441). Likewise, the recently discovered panel from Cancuen portrays a beautifully carved quatrefoil portal, sprouting foliation as at Chalcatzingo. In this case, the quatrefoil provides a supernatural frame for the enthroned ruler and attendants contained within its borders. The quatrefoil’s significance as a supernatural portal and its relationship to rulership and watery themes is also reflected on the Creation Tablet from Palenque, in which the god Chahk is featured in one of two quatrefoils that decorated the back of a throne at that site (Miller & Martin 2004: 222). The quatrefoil likewise appears at the site of Copán, as on a series of ballcourt markers, a dynastic monument from the Early Classic Motmot structure, and a carved peccary skull, where it literally provides a supernatural frame for historical rulers and events (Fash 1991: 87, Figures 24, 69; Fash & Fash 1996). As even this brief summary indicates, the quatrefoil’s simple shape belies its complex significance. From at least the Middle Preclassic, the symbol was invoked by elites to express themes of political authority and supernatural contact. The discovery of Monument 3 at La Blanca indicates that elites along the Pacific coast of Guatemala participated within this elite exchange. Perhaps even more remarkably, the symbolism of the quatrefoil continued throughout the ensuing Late Preclassic and Classic periods, during which time it continued to be employed by elites to express notions of political and cosmological authority. Conclusions The physical characteristics of La Blanca Monument 3 indicate that it was used in rituals involving water or liquids and probably associated with supernatural communication. That the quatrefoil was also used in household ritual of some kind is supported by analogy to the basins described by Marcus (1998) for Oaxaca and by the high density of figurines found in Mound 9, a hallmark of domestic ritual during the Middle Preclassic in this region. Although Mound 9 appears to be primarily ‘residential’ in nature, it fronts a plaza and monumental temple that were undoubtedly ‘public’ or ‘ritual’ in function. The location of Monument 3 between a residential structure and a ritual plaza heightens the ambiguity of its context and blurs the distinction between the many dichotomies often employed in archaeological analysis. The artefact assemblage indicates that Mound 9 was residential in the sense that people lived in the building at the centre of the mound and that food preparation, food service and other quotidian activities were carried out. Yet the presence of the quatrefoil monument and the location of the mound adjacent to the sunken plaza challenge any 929 Research Michael Love and Julia Guernsey Monument 3 from La Blanca, Guatemala simple interpretation based on a rigid dichotomy of ritual vs. domestic contexts (Bradley 2003), or in terms of the Great Tradition/Little Tradition paradigm popularised by Redfield (1956). In that model, the Great Tradition concerns cosmology and the ideology of elite power while the Little Tradition concerns divination, life-transition events and the veneration of ancestors. The Great Tradition was ritualised in public places with priests or rulers officiating, while the Little Tradition was performed in household rituals in which elders or lineage heads presided. The dichotomy has been both criticised (McAnany 2002) and defended (Smith 2002) in recent considerations. We believe, however, that our data belie its utility. We have an abundance of ceramic figurines, part of the ‘Little Tradition’, alongside a central icon of the ‘Great Tradition’, the quatrefoil. Thus Mound 9 was not just another household and Monument 3 was not just a cleverlyshaped basin. The iconography of the quatrefoil throughout Mesoamerica makes it clear that Monument 3 was linked to rulership and supernatural communication. At La Blanca, this powerful symbol was placed within the context of an elite residence. So, while domestic ritual in this elite residence clearly had some similarity to domestic ritual in other households at La Blanca and to those in other regions of Mesoamerica – and may have included the veneration of ancestors (represented by figurines) – the rituals in this elite household were also distinctive in their unique emphasis on powers of elite communication with the supernatural. Acknowledgements Investigations at La Blanca were carried out under the auspices of the Instituto de Antropologı́a e Historia de Guatemala (IDAEH). We thank the personnel of the IDAEH, especially Licenciado Salvador López. Financial support for the excavations at La Blanca in 2003 and 2004 came from the New World Archaeological Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, the National Geographic Society and the Mesoamerica Center in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin. A grant from the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. supported analysis of materials. Further work has been supported by the US National Science Foundation, under grant BCS-0451024. The excavation of Monument 3 was begun by Molly Morgan as unit supervisor and continued under the supervision of Sheryl Carcuz. References Cyphers, A. 1993. Women, rituals, and social dynamics at ancient Chalcatzingo. Latin American Antiquity 4: 209-24. Fash, W.L. 1991. Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copán and the Ancient Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. Fash, W.L. & B.W. Fash. 1996. Building a world-view: visual communication in Classic Maya architecture. 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