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“IT IS HIS IMAGE WITH PULQUE”: DRINKS, GIFTS, AND POLITICAL NETWORKING IN CLASSIC MAYA
TEXTS AND IMAGES

Alexandre Tokovinine

Ancient Mesoamerica / Volume 27 / Issue 01 / March 2016, pp 13 - 29

DOI: 10.1017/S0956536116000043, Published online: 03 June 2016

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0956536116000043

How to cite this article:

Alexandre Tokovinine (2016). “IT IS HIS IMAGE WITH PULQUE”: DRINKS, GIFTS, AND POLITICAL NETWORKING IN
CLASSIC MAYA TEXTS AND IMAGES. Ancient Mesoamerica, 27, pp 13-29 doi:10.1017/S0956536116000043

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Ancient Mesoamerica, 27 (2016), 13–29
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2016
doi:10.1017/S0956536116000043

“IT IS HIS IMAGE WITH PULQUE”: DRINKS, GIFTS,

AND POLITICAL NETWORKING IN CLASSIC MAYA
TEXTS AND IMAGES

Alexandre Tokovinine
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Abstract
Despite a widespread notion that feasting played a major role in the workings of Classic Maya polities, the very concept of feasting in the
context of its textual and visual representations remains poorly defined and understood. The present paper reviews the ancient narratives in
order to present a more nuanced interpretation of the consumption and display of exquisite food and drinks at the courts of Maya lords and
nobles. It also considers some tangible evidence of the sociopolitical networks created through feasting by looking at the spatial
distributions of signed serving vessels which changed hands as gifts.

INTRODUCING CLASSIC MAYA FEASTING asymmetrical relationship between the sponsor of the feast and its
participants to reification of group’s social rank through the use of
This paper addresses the problem of feasting among the ruling fam-
special foods and wares. As we shall see, the diacritical mode
ilies of Classic Maya polities and how practices such as sharing ex-
offers the most productive theoretical framework for understanding
quisite foods and drinks and exchanging gifts might have played out
Classic Maya elite feasting representations.
in the establishment of regional networks centered on individual po-
The Classic Maya culture is usually placed in the region of
litical actors and entire royal dynasties. The discussion considers
southern and northern Maya Lowlands (the present-day Mexico,
two kinds of data—textual references on monuments and other
Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras) between fourth and ninth centu-
media and pictorial scenes, which are primarily known from
ries a.d. (Figure 1). The most distinguishing feature of the Classic
painted pottery but are also occasionally found on monuments
Maya culture is the use of hieroglyphic writing and the underlying
and painted murals. It begins with outlining the challenges in iden-
lingua franca known as Epigraphic Mayan, Hieroglyphic Mayan, or
tifying feasting references in Classic Maya texts and images. The
Classic Ch’olti’an (Houston et al. 2000; Kaufman 2002:28–34).
diacritical nature of feasting events is linked to certain properties
There is still some disagreement between several groups of epigra-
of food containers and their contents. Finally, possible political net-
phers and linguists on the precise identification of the language in
works generated by shared consumption of diacritically significant
relation to the Ch’olan family and on the degree of diglossia in dif-
ingestibles are traced through the spatial distribution of royal
ferent scribal communities (Law et al. 2009; Mora-Marín et al.
eating and drinking utensils originating from the archaeological
2009; Wichmann 2006). The relative abundance of surviving
sites of Naranjo and Motul de San José in Guatemala.
textual records on monuments and various personal items from
A discussion of feasting necessitates a brief clarification of the
this time period sets Classic Maya apart from all other
term itself. The definition adopted here largely follows a compara-
pre-Columbian indigenous cultures because Mayanists sometimes
tive approach to feasting behavior as outlined by Hayden (2001:
have direct access to the precontact emic representations of time,
27–28) with an emphasis on form and function rather than on any
landscape, history, and sociopolitical organization, which are not af-
particular emic system of categories and symbolic explanations.
fected by the sociopolitical and cultural contexts of the contact with
From this perspective, feasting is always commensal (involving
the Spaniards and the colonial transformations.
two or more participants) and is distinguished from other forms of
Classic Maya feasting practices are well-attested in the archaeo-
food consumption by its extraordinary nature which may include
logical record. Different approaches and methodologies have pro-
special food and special timing or purpose. With respect to the po-
duced evidence of feasting events and enabled scholars to discern
litical dimension of feasting behavior, I borrow a functional classi-
the modes of commensal politics discussed above. Studies of soil
fication of feasts suggested by Dietler (2001:75–88) who
chemistry were used to successively identify potential areas of
distinguishes between three modes of commensal politics—empow-
large-scale food consumption (Bair and Terry 2012; Dahlin et al.
ering, patron-client, and diacritical, the latter two differing in that
2009). The analysis of ceramic assemblages was employed to distin-
the focus of diacritical feasting shifts from reasserting the
guish feasting deposits from the discards of everyday cooking and
eating (Clayton et al. 2005; Moriarty 2012) or to discern the prevail-
E-mail correspondence to: tokovin@fas.harvard.edu ing modes of feasting at different social levels within a given

13
14
Figure 1. Major Classic Maya archaeological sites with inscriptions (drawing
by the author).
community (LeCount 2001). Similar research questions have been
addressed by looking at faunal (Emery 2003) and botanical
(Goldstein and Hageman 2009) remains.
Compared to other fields of research, the contribution of epigra-
phy and iconography to our understanding of Classic Maya feasting
has been modest and its engagement with other kinds of data
remains limited. Many archaeological studies including the crucial
contributions by LeCount (1999, 2001, 2010) rely on selected eth-
nohistoric and iconographic sources in building a broader view of
Classic Maya feasting practices, and yet there are no comparable ep-
igraphic surveys which also consider archaeological data. For
example, LeCount argues that Late and Terminal Classic
Xunantunich lords had no inscribed serving vessels despite epi-
graphic evidence of their political dependence upon the rulers of
Naranjo during the eighth century (Helmke et al. 2010; LeCount
and Yaeger 2010), which is marked by the presence of such ceram-
ics at nearby subordinate centers like Buenavista del Cayo
(Reents-Budet et al. 2000). The absence of Late Classic fine drink-
ing cups at Xunantunich is particularly enigmatic given the discov-
ery of sixth century inscribed serving vessel fragments in the royal
palace construction fill including two sherds with a possible
Naranjo emblem glyph (LeCount and Yaeger 2010:340). It
appears that if the diacritical feasting was present at Xunantunich,
its Late and Terminal Classic material record was more restricted
in comparison to other local modes of commensal politics,
perhaps due to the site’s subordinate political status as a small pro-
vincial capital of Naranjo (LeCount 2001). It is also possible that the
royal midden corresponding to that time period was not found, but
given the fact that the site has sustained major excavations since the
1960s, it is likely that large middens will not be found. According to
LeCount (LeCount and Yaeger 2010:353), the lack of fine pottery at
Xunantunich indicates that rulers had few interregional relations
with Peten overlords other than Naranjo, a relationship which under-
went considerable and rapid change throughout the Early to
Terminal Classic periods. Archaeological investigations also tend
to concentrate on the role of feasting within a given political com-
munity (usually identified as a major archaeological site and its hin-
terland). Classic Maya elites clearly operated on a much larger
Tokovinine
spatial scale as revealed in the written and visual records of visits,
marriages, warfare, as well as the spatial distribution of inscribed
personal possessions. The success or failure of a given ruling
family depended not only on its ability to engage with the local po-
litical community, but on its skills in dealing with countless other
ruling families. Evidence of political interactions at that scale is pro-
vided mostly by epigraphic studies. The present paper attempts to
address some of these questions and points to potential zones of en-
gagement between archaeological and textual approaches.
Political Context of Classic Maya Feasting
After the last three decades of advancements in the reading and
translation of the inscriptions, there is a consensus among scholars
that the Classic Maya political landscape consisted of multiple small
polities or city-states, as some would prefer to call them, which were
connected by webs of alliances, allegiances, marriages, and mutual
interests, as well as a notion of the common prestige culture and lan-
guage, which set the ruling nobility of royal and non-royal descent
apart from the commoners (Houston 1992, 1993, 2000; Houston
and Inomata 2009; Marcus 2003; Martin and Grube 1995,
2008[2000]; Mathews 1991; Stuart 1993; Wichmann 2006).
Several polities and the royal dynasties in charge consistently
played a greater role in shaping the Classic-period political land-
scape, but in the end, no dynasty prevailed in extending its patron-
age over the entire region. Instead, there is strong evidence of
increasing political balkanization before the collapse of the whole
system in the early ninth century.
The transformations of the Classic Maya political landscape con-
stitute one of the most pressing and fascinating research questions,
but the present paper considers only one significant aspect. Most po-
tential references to feasting in texts and imagery appear no earlier
than the second half of the seventh century, about the same time as
the decline in the explicit statements of subordination between rulers
of different polities and the surge in the visibility of non-royal
members of the court on monuments and other media.
The meaning of “statements of subordination” has to be clarified
here. For example, recent study by Munson and Macri (2009) sug-
gests that subordination statements peaked in the Early Classic
period, reached the lowest frequencies in the early eighth century
and were once again on the rise in the Terminal Classic.
However, the authors do not distinguish between interpolity and
intrapolity statements, therefore ignoring differences in spatial and
social distances involved. It seems more reasonable to consider re-
lations between “holy lords” (k’uhul ajawtaak) of different
city-states and relations between a “holy lord” and holders of
various courtly titles such as ajk’uhuun “priests” or “keepers”
(Jackson and Stuart 2001; Zender 2004), sajal governors (Jackson
2005), and lakam officials (Lacadena García-Gallo 2008) as two
separate cases. Holders of courtly titles never appointed themselves
and were subordinate by default unless they claimed the ajaw rank
(Houston and Stuart 2001:61–64; Tokovinine 2012:65–67). The in-
creased presence of non-ajaw individuals in the monumental record
in the last decades of the eighth century may just as well point to a
weakening authority of the old royal dynasties.
Munson and Macri also make no distinction between explicit ref-
erences to one’s subordinate status and potentially ambiguous ex-
pressions of one’s agency and authoritative presence. Events
happening in the “sight area” (ichnal) of a lord or a deity may
imply patronage and superior, central status of the witness
(Houston et al. 2006:173–175; Stone and Zender 2011:58–59),
Feasting in Classic Maya Texts
but do not entail a continuous (future) state of political subordina-
tion of everyone within the ichnal. The enigmatic expression
ukabij/ukabjiiy, which is usually translated as “on the orders of
X,” highlights one’s agency, but the range of its contexts is not re-
stricted to reports of a ruler acceding to kingship through the agency
of his patron from another polity and its actual translation is closer to
“toiling” (Houston et al. 2006:225). The ambiguous nature of such
statements could be intentional. The narrative on Stela 4 at
Moral-Reforma, for instance, reports three accessions of a local
king: once on his own, in the ichnal of the Calakmul ruler one
year later, and in the ichnal of the Palenque king nearly thirty
years after the original accession (Martin 2003). These sequential
investitures imply shifts in the status of the Moral-Reforma lord,
but the narrative does not clarify if he was still subordinate to the
Palenque dynasty when the monument was dedicated.
The possessed form of ajaw ( yajaw, “her/his lord”) constitutes
the only explicit statement of subordination of one ruler by another
that implies a continuous status: one lord is owed fealty by the other
lord even after death. Such statements often appear in the narratives
on monuments dedicated by subordinate rulers or by their own
vassals. It is unclear if these public declarations of loyalty are
forced acknowledgements of political subjugation or a strategy
aimed at boosting one’s prestige by claiming patronage of a power-
ful royal house. References to the rulers’ overlords in subordinates’
narratives as in the inscriptions on the Stendahl and K’an Xook
panels (Biró 2004:8–11; Tokovinine 2006a:Figures 1, 2) point to
the second explanation. Why else would a sajal of a Piedras
Negras king emphasize the latter’s ties to Calakmul or why would
a sajal of a Lacanha ruler mention Sak Tz’i’ patrons of his king?
Whatever the motives might have been, there is a clear decline in
self-reported vassals in the eighth century inscriptions. The last
known yajaw of Tikal rulers was Yeh Te’ K’inich I of Motul de
San José whose subordinate status was mentioned in the inscription
on Motul de San José Stela 1 dedicated in a.d. 711 (Tokovinine and
Zender 2012:Figure 2.2, Table 2.1). The last vassal of Tikal’s arch-
enemies at Calakmul was K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan Chahk of Naranjo
whose last statement of subordination was on Naranjo Stela 1
(Graham 1975:12; Martin and Grube 2008[2000]:75–76) placed
into the ground in a.d. 702. The last reference to K’ahk’ Tiliw’s
own vassals is on Naranjo Stela 2 dated to a.d. 713 (Graham
1975:15; Martin and Grube 2008[2000]:77). An inscription on
Tonina Monument 65 (Graham and Mathews 1996:102) mentions
the last known royal subordinate of Palenque rulers in a.d. 699.
The last vassal of Tonina lords themselves is cited on the hiero-
glyphic column, now in the collection of the Saint Louis Art
Museum, in a.d. 715 (Miller and Martin 2004:141, Plate 72).
The Stendahl panel dedicated in a.d. 726 records the last vassal
of the Sak Tz’i’ lords (Biró 2004:10–11). The inscription on
Arroyo de Piedra Stela 2 states that the local king owed his fealty
to the then-dead Dos Pilas ruler in a.d. 731 (Houston 1993:114;
Houston and Mathews 1985:Figure 11). It appears, therefore, that
the vassal-liege bonds between Classic Maya rulers were largely
gone by the mid-eighth century. Even highly successful kings
such as Yik’in Chan K’awiil of Tikal and K’awiil Chan K’inich of
Dos Pilas had no royal vassals even though they clearly extended
their influence over other dynasties.
Those changes coincided with or directly encouraged new kinds
of visual and textual narratives in which the inner workings of
Classic Maya courts were exposed. Just as the plural made appear-
ance in the inscriptions with references to groups of “lords”, ajaw-
taak (Tokovinine 2013:113–115), the imagery and narratives began
15
to shift from individual rulers to scenes of courtly life with multiple
participants (Houston and Stuart 2001:73–76). The thematic range
also expanded. For example, scenes on the Late Classic vessels
painted by the prolific artists of Motul de San José showed royal
dressing, presentation of tribute and payments, dancing, drinking,
playing ball, and visiting other courts (Just 2012; Reents-Budet
2000a; Tokovinine and Zender 2012).
Some of these new references involve food and drinks, but there
have been rather divergent interpretations of these representations of
Classic Maya food consumption practices. One trend exemplified in
the publications by Reents-Budet (2000a, 2000b) effectively classi-
fies nearly every courtly scene with food as feasting. The other,
somewhat more skeptical line of argument questions our knowledge
of the social and political contexts of food consumption events,
number of participants, and function (Houston et al. 2006:
127–130). As I argue below, the small scale of the potential feasting
events depicted in Classic Maya art in terms of the amount of food
on the display and the number of actors poses the greatest challenge
for the classification of such events as feasts.
Classic Maya Elite Feasting as Diacritical Feasting
One of the most unequivocal textual and visual references to feast-
ing on Classic Maya monuments comes from Panel 3 at Piedras
Negras in Guatemala (Figure 2). This monument, discussed in
great detail by Houston and Stuart (2001:69–73) and Martin and
Grube (2008[2000]:149), was carved in a.d. 782, but its narrative
centered on the life of the grandfather of the current ruler, particu-
larly a.d. 749 when he celebrated the completion of the first
twenty years of his reign. The anniversary took place in the presence
of the former archrivals from the site of Yaxchilan (Martin and
Grube 2008[2000]:127, 149). According to the panel’s main text,
two days after the anniversary, the ruler of Piedras Negras danced
at midnight and then drank “hot” or “inebriating” cacao. The spell-
ing UK’-ni ti-ka-la ka2-wa allows two alternative readings: uk’uun
ti kal kakaw (“he drank with inebriating cacao”) and uk’uun tikal
kakaw (“he hot-chocolate-drank”). Both reading are grammatically
possible with the antipassive form of the verb “to drink”
(Lacadena García-Gallo 2000). The comparable glosses for “inebri-
ating” and “hot” may be found in Ch’olti’ (Robertson et al. 2010:
305, 320). This example, however, remains the only reference to
this type of drink in the entire corpus, so it is clearly a very
special beverage.
The scene on the panel shows the enthroned ruler lecturing his
Yaxchilan guests standing to the left (the speech text is poorly un-
derstood, but it evokes the accession of the guest’s ancestor as a
vassal of Piedras Negras rulers). A group of local princes, relatives,
and their overseers witness the speech behind the throne on the
right. A lager assembly of seated nobles occupies the area one
step below the royalty. There are several sajal governors, a ti’ sak
huun crown-keeper or speaker, a “banded bird” official, and an
anaab (a common courtly title of unclear significance). One of
them proclaims his loyalty to the ruler (a-wi-na-ke-na
yo-?ki-CHAN awinakeen yook chan, “I am your man, Support of
the Sky”). The vessels in the scene suggest that it corresponds to
the midnight drinking mentioned in the main inscription. One
large (and virtually invisible because of the damage to the panel)
lidded vase sits directly on the throne between the ruler and the vis-
itors. A plate might have been once depicted at its side, but it is also
largely gone. A slightly smaller lidded vessel is placed on the step
16
Figure 2. Panel 3, Piedras Negras (3D scan rendering by the author).
below among the seated Piedras Negras nobles. One of them is
holding an even smaller cup.
The event depicted and described on Panel 3 conforms to the def-
inition of a feast as suggested by Dietler (2001) and Hayden (2001).
It includes consumption of a special drink. It is part of a larger set of
rituals including dancing. Its timing at “midnight” ( yihk’in) or the
time when the new tzolk’in divinatory day has seated but the new
haab solar day is yet to arrive (Martin and Skidmore 2012;
Mathews 2001[1977]; Stuart 2004; Tokovinine 2010) also implies
its ritual nature. The political context involves attempts to restore
ties with former enemies and vassals at Yaxchilan (a point made in
the ruler’s speech in the scene) and to ensure political cohesion
within the kingdom. The male-only gender of participants also
points to the special character of the event. The retrospective nature
of the narrative implies that all presences and absences and all the
words and titles have some measure of correspondence to the politi-
cal realities of a.d. 782. As it has been suggested before, the true pro-
tagonists of the scene are the young prince T’ul Chiik and his son’s
future strongman, Ahk’ Mo’ Chahk of La Mar (Beliaev and
Safronov 2013). That makes the choice of the special cacao drinking
scene even more significant in terms of our understanding of the role
of feasting in the fabric of the Classic Maya political life.
The scene, nevertheless, reveals problems with identifying feast-
ing in Classic Maya texts and images. As viewers of the panel, we
assume the role of witnesses placed outside the palace structure
where the event took place. Houston (1998:345–347; see also
Jackson 2009) argues that this is a typical way of presenting
scenes of courtly life. But were there any actual witnesses and did
they also participate in one way or another? The text mentions drink-
ing, but there is no ingestion going on in the actual scene. The drinks
are just displayed and held. The main narrative only mentions the
ruler and his equally regal witness from Yaxchilan but not the
other participants in the scene. The only person shown holding
the cup is one of the subordinates. The quantity of the beverage
on display is rather small.
In the absence of visual clues and wider context, the other four
references to drinking in the corpus of Classic Maya inscriptions
are even harder to interpret. The ingestible is pulque (fermented
sap of the agave plant), a potentially exotic drink for the southern
lowlands, although, such interpretation may be due to the lack of pa-
leobotanical evidence (Houston et al. 2006:116–117). Two such
texts are carved on the altars at the archaeological site of Copan in
Tokovinine
Honduras (Houston et al. 2006:120–122). One simply states that
the penultimate ruler of the site, Yax Pahsaj Chan Yopaat, “drank
pulque” (Figure 3a): yu-UK’-ji chi-hi yuk’ij chih. The other inscrip-
tion (Altar U) mentions that the same lord impersonated the god of
drinking, Akan, in the act of drinking pulque (Figure 3b):
u-BAAH-AAN-nu AKAN-na ti u-UK’ chi-hi ubaah[il] aan
Akan ti uk’-chih (Grube 2004:62–63). The third example, also a
Copan altar (Altar K, Figure 3c), reports pulque-drinking by the
twelfth king of Copan, K’ahk’ Uti’ Witz’ K’awiil, that followed the
dedication of a building by a high-level courtly official and a pro-
nouncement by “four youths,” possibly patron gods in this case
because the four guardian deities of Copan were sometimes called
“four lords” (chante’ ajawtaak) and “four youths” (chante’ ch’ok-
taak) (Beliaev et al. 2009:266–267; Biró 2010). While these three in-
stances of pulque consumption are clearly rituals of some kind, it is
not clear if they had participants other than the king, although the
text on Altar K implies some human and divine audience.
In this respect, the last textual reference on the recently recovered
stairway blocks detailing the life of Yook Akan from the site of La
Corona in Guatemala (Martin 2008; Stuart 2008; Stuart and
Martin 2009:30) is potentially more informative (Figure 4). The
drinking takes place seventeen days after an unknown event at the
court of the protagonist’s overlord, the ruler of Calakmul, so it is
unclear if it also happened at Calakmul or after Yook Akan’s
return home. According to the text, “Yook Akan drank; he gave
pulque” (u-k’u-ni yo-OOK-?AKAN ya-k’a-wa chi-hi uk’uun
Yook Akan yak’aw chih). The latter sentence implies some sharing
or gifting as well as the presence of other participants (human or
divine) who received the gift of pulque. Archaeological evidence
from La Coronitas Group at La Corona (Baron 2013:241, 323,
341, 354–355) suggests that this inscribed block might have origi-
nated from the stairway in front of the local elite residence and
that different kinds of feasting events took place there and before
the temples of the ruler’s patron gods in La Coronitas, so the inscrip-
tion might refer to one of such occasions.
With the exception of one Copan inscription, all textual referenc-
es to drinking discussed so far employ the antipassive form of the
verb “to drink” (uk’), intransitivizing it and moving the focus
from the object (the drink) to the agent who is usually the king.
Such use of antipassive is uncommon but where it is present, the
sentences with the antipassive highlight the principal event such
as the acts of seeing and conjuring deities by the king in the
Feasting in Classic Maya Texts
Figure 3. Drinking events at Copan: a) detail of the unnamed altar, b) detail of Altar U, c) detail of Altar K (drawings by the author).
narratives on Copan Stela E and Stela 6 (Lacadena García-Gallo
2000:169–170, 174–175). The implication is that drinking rituals
are special, focal points of the narratives.
Other representations of potential food consumption in the
palace setting are equally ambiguous. The scene on a cup from
the area of Motul de San José in Guatemala, now in the collection
of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum (Figure 5), shows a ruler of La
Florida or Itzimte in the presence of visitors, several courtiers,
and servants (Houston 2012b; Tokovinine and Zender 2012:50).
One of them is offering a small plate to the ruler. An official seem-
ingly passes a cup of something, probably cacao, to a visiting Ahkul
Figure 4. Hieroglyphic Stairway fragment, La Corona (drawing by the
author).
17
lord. However, the main caption classifies the scene as the ruler’s
“image in seating” ([u]baah ti chum)—a clause that may be inter-
preted as a reference to an accession event or a mundane execution
of one’s official duties.
Three somewhat more straightforward painted pottery scenes
show Motul de San José lords Tayel Chan K’inich and Sihyaj
K’awiil (Figure 6) and K’awiil Chan K’inich of Dos Pilas
(Figure 7) in the presence of courtiers as well as jars of pulque
and other food containers. According to the captions, each scene
is the “image with pulque” (ubaah ti/ta chih) of the royal protago-
nist. Yet nobody is ingesting except for a dwarf jester (Figure 6b)
(Just 2012:172–174, Figures 112–116), a possible inversion of the
normative behavior in such context. Fragrances and music are
hinted by the presence of flowers and musicians, but the nature of
the events remains ambiguous. It seems as if the emphasis is on
the possession and display of special foods and drinks, rather than
on their actual consumption.
Are we witnessing a form of communal consumption or a mere
diacritical display of exquisite items including special foods and
drinks? Despite archaeological evidence of feasting at Motul de
San José and nearby Trinidad de Nosotros, which likely served as
a port and a market for the Motul polity, the connection between
these images and archaeological data is far from clear. The indoor
setting of the scenes implies that they did not represent the food con-
sumption events in Plaza II at Motul de San José as hinted by the
soil chemistry analysis (Bair and Terry 2012). The extensive
18 Tokovinine

Figure 5. Rollout drawing of a courtly scene on a Late Classic vessel, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (PC.B.564/
K2784) (drawing by the author).

Figure 6. Ik’a’ lords “with pulque”: (a) rollout drawing of the Late Classic vessel, Tamarindito (TA 32A-1-3/K30177); (b) rollout drawing
of the Late Classic vessel, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (82.2292/K1453) (drawings by the author).
Feasting in Classic Maya Texts
Figure 7. Dos Pilas ruler “with pulque” in the scene on a Late Classic vessel, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.2010.115.12/K1599)
(drawing by the author).
feasting deposits associated with the ball court and the nearby plaza
at Trinidad de Nosotros suggested large and lavish events and the
presence of non-local wares implied visitors and gift exchange
(Moriarty 2012:219–220). Yet despite the abundance of poly-
chrome serving vessels, the deposit did not contain fragments of
fine inscribed plates and vessels of the kind shown in the painted
scenes which belonged to Motul de San José rulers and were
found in the royal middens (Foias and Halperin 2012; Halperin
and Foias 2010). Therefore, although it seems very likely that the
ruling dynasty of Motul might have sponsored feasts at Trinidad
de Nosotros (which probably included ball game and other kinds
of performances in the plazas), this is not what we see in the
scenes on the vessels.
The “images with pulque” of Motul de San José lords (Figure 6)
only feature members of their royal court who observe and maybe
even get a taste of royal drinks and food. Yet at least one of these
vessels was given away to an ajaw of Tamarindito, so the scene was
probably meant to be seen by non-local nobles. The Dumbarton
Oaks vessel (Figure 5) reveals one regal or princely guest (a nameless
“Ahkul lord”). The Dos Pilas courtly scene (Figure 7) shows K’awiil
Chan K’inich as a king-to-be in the company of another prince. It is
unclear if the caption “K’inich, youth” refers to one of the two individ-
uals before the throne or both. The person immediately to the left of
the royal protagonist in the scene of the La Florida/Itzimte court
(Figure 5) remains anonymous despite his privileged position next
to the throne. One can speculate that he was the prince-owner of the
vase mentioned in the dedicatory text (Tokovinine and Zender
2012:40). These special witnesses or guests are clearly not shown
as equals to royal protagonists, and yet their participation was
clearly important to the artist or the patron, not unlike the case of
Piedras Negras Panel 3. It seems as if “images with pulque” func-
tioned to highlight the exquisite nature of eating and drinking at a
certain royal court to be appreciated by nobles of other courts (partic-
ularly, royal “youths”) who happened to hold and/or view the drink-
ing cup with such scenes in the context of similar events.
The diacritical function of the food and drinks in the courtly
scenes is revealed in the dedicatory captions on the surviving
food containers as well as by the restricted distribution of inscribed
plates, bowls and vessels (Beliaev et al. 2009). Most inscribed drink
serving vessels (uk’ib) identify the intended contents as a particular
19
kind of “fruity cacao” ( yutal kakaw) with several kinds of flavors.
Bowls may also be used for atole, but not of the common kind:
the fresh maize seems to be the choice ingredient of the special
drink (ul). The term for a generic maize gruel (sa’) is found only
in the names of mixed beverages. The texts on known inscribed
food serving vessels (we’ib) only mention tamales (waah). It has
been argued previously by the author (Beliaev et al. 2009) that
there is some limited evidence of regional preferences in tastes or
in the notion of the acceptable or ideal drinks (Figure 8). For
example, “gruel cacao” (sa’al kakaw) was apparently popular at
Naranjo, but “cacao gruel” (kakawal ul) occurred only in the
Calakmul and Nakbe area. Nodes of greater variation or innovation,
perhaps unsurprisingly, coincided with major geopolitical centers
like Early Classic Tikal.
As markers of elevated social status, inscribed food containers
were subject to imitation and counter-innovation. It is particularly
apparent when fake texts are added to the surface decoration. Late
Classic period saw a sharp rise in these so-called ‘pseudoglyphs’
on fine serving vessels (Calvin 2006) implying that a large
section of mid-level nobility had aspirations for but no access to
certain attributes of higher social rank. It is potentially impossible
to assess to what extent the contents of the serving vessels were
subject to the same processes, but there are some potentially signifi-
cant trends in food presentation modes. A common Early Classic
serving vessel for solid foods was a large lidded dish. Elaborate
lidded dishes in the funeral assemblages in Building B of Group
2 at Holmul in Guatemala (Merwin and Vaillant 1932:20–41,
Figure 12, Plates 10–11, 21–26) are a perfect example of this
vessel form (Figure 9a). The corresponding Late Classic form at
Holmul was a large flat painted plate on tall supports (Figure 9b)
such as those found in the burial of Building F in Group 1
(Merwin and Vaillant 1932:13–15, Figure 7, Plates 2, 29, 31).
Despite elaborate exterior decoration, the Early Classic lidded
dishes were not inscribed in contrast to cylinder vessels and bowls
for cacao. Dedicatory texts on plates and dishes become common
only on Late Classic serving vessels, so we know that the plates
and dishes were called “plates” (lak), “eating utensils” (we’ib),
and “containers” (otoot). The large flat plates on tall supports
were also termed jawte’, which still evades secure translation
(Houston et al. 1989). It is significant that there are no references
20
Figure 8. Regional variation in special drinks: tzah kakaw “sweet cacao”;
suutz kakaw “cherry cacao”; pah ul “sour atole”; sa’al kakaw “gruel
cacao”; kakawal ul “cacao atole” (drawing by the author).
to jawte’ until the seventh century. The emergence of jawte’ plates
likely reflects an innovation in food consumption, and several
authors have previously noticed an increased prominence of plates
in Late Classic deposits. Fierer-Donaldson (2012:254–264), recent-
ly documented the trend in the serving vessels in Copan royal
tombs. Houston makes a similar observation on the relative frequen-
cy of vessels forms at Piedras Negras (Houston 2004:275). These
authors interpret the increased presence of plates as evidence of
more food sharing and larger portions.
At Holmul, however, Early Classic lidded dishes in Building B
of Group 2 were not much smaller in diameter than later plates in the
burial of Building F in Group 1 and could probably contain even
larger portions in terms of their overall volume (compare Figures
9a and 9b). Therefore, the change in food consumption practices
was not necessarily about the overall quantities of food and
numbers of participants, but about a concern with the display of
the food itself and not just the container. It may also imply
changes in the serving temperature and the amount of time the
food could stay edible. Late Classic images show plates loaded
with large tamale-like objects sprinkled with sauce. However, to
my knowledge, there are no images of tamales on plates before
the Late Classic period even in Taube’s extensive discussion of
tamale iconography (Taube 1989). In the earliest (Late Preclassic)
Maya representation of tamales on the murals at San Bartolo
(Figure 10a), a stack of tamales is placed upon a cylinder vessel
(Saturno et al. 2005:31, Figure 5).
Archaeological data also offer some evidence of a connection
between plates and diacritical foods. Baron’s recent investigation
of successive feasting deposits in a temple compound at La
Corona (Structures 13R-1 to 13R-5 in the Coronitas Group)
reveals relative continuity in vessel rim sizes, but a significant con-
trast in vessel forms between the sixth and the seventh century de-
posits (Baron 2013:292, 311–314, Figure 6.35, Table 6.1). The
difference in plates’ frequency—from 55% of the earlier assemblage
to 15% in later deposits despite the faunal evidence of solid foods—
is particularly striking. The researcher attributes these changes to a
shift in temples’ function from ancestral veneration to the cult of the
Tokovinine
Figure 9. Early Classic dish (a) and Late Classic plate (b) at Holmul
(drawings by the author).
local patron deities accompanied by a shift from exclusive, diacrit-
ical mode of feasting to a more inclusive, patron-client mode, in
which the ruling lineage of La Corona offered food and drinks to
the commoners (Baron 2013:315–316, 352–355, 374–377). In con-
trast to the temple middens, the contemporaneous deposits associat-
ed with a possible elite residence in the same architectural group
(Structures 13R-9 and 13R-10) were characterized by the heavy
presence of the fragments of fine serving vessels with dedicatory in-
scriptions consistent with the diacritical mode of feasting (Baron
2013:296–298, Figures 6.24–6.25).
Similar observations have been previously made with respect to
transformations of cacao serving vessels during the Middle
Preclassic period (Joyce and Henderson 2007) and particularly at
the Terminal Preclassic–Early Classic transition (Callaghan 2008:
49–64). The emergence of diacritical feasting markers in the archae-
ological record coincides with the formation of the Classic period
political institutions as we know them from the textual and visual
sources. The renewed emphasis on banquets in the Late Classic
leads to an expansion of diacritically significant foods and corre-
sponding changes in the frequency of certain types of serving
vessels.
An increased concern with food display could be part of a larger
process of constant renegotiation of the markers of royal exclusivity
Feasting in Classic Maya Texts
Figure 10. Maya images of tamale-like food: (a) detail of the North Wall mural, Structure 1, San Bartolo; (b) detail of Late Classic vessel
(K1599), (c) detail of Late Classic vessel (K6059) (drawings by the author).
in the context of diacritical feasts. Just as the food containers were
subject to the constant process of innovation and imitation evi-
denced in the abundance of pseudo-glyphs on Late Classic
serving vessels, the food itself was probably undergoing similar
transformations with an increased emphasis on the visibility of
royal food items in contrast to “pseudo-foods” of subroyal imitators.
The grave goods in the Late Classic burial in Building F in Group
1at Holmul included not only an inscribed plate from the royal
court of Naranjo, but two Holmul-style cylinder vessels—one
with crude imitation of glyphs, and the other with only partially in-
telligible text implicating limited command of the conventions of
Classic Maya writing (Tokovinine 2006b:360–361, Figures 19,
24). The social value of those vessels had to be comparable to
that of the Naranjo plate. If they were gifts from some important
neighbors or subordinates of Holmul rulers, it is significant that
these powerful individuals had aspirations to possess and yet no
real access to serving vessels with hieroglyphic writing. Although
the presence of Late Classic high cuisine imitations at the sub-royal
level has never been investigated archaeologically, it is worth noting
that some vessels with mostly legible texts also feature depictions of
food displays, which resemble those on royal vessels. A representa-
tion of tamales and a plate in the scene of the Dos Pilas court men-
tioned above (Figure 7, 10b) may be contrasted to a much less
sophisticated depiction of the same set on a vessel with a mythical
scene with comments which combine legible characters and imita-
tion of writing (Figure 10c). It is remarkable that either image of
tamales has a similar pattern of dark sauce flavoring, although the
overall execution of the second representation (Figure 10c) is
clearly inferior.
Serving Vessels as Gifts: Classic Maya Feasting Networks
Evidence on the sociopolitical function of Classic Maya banquets
comes from the inscribed serving vessels themselves. Their spatial
distribution potentially reflects the extent of political networks
created through the exchange of gifts and sharing of food. Such
21
networks did not constitute the only means by which Classic
Maya polities interacted with each other, yet their presence high-
lights the alternatives to the more widely cited modes of military
conquest and bride exchange. It is worth mentioning here that
there is no direct textual or visual reference to serving vessels
being given away in relation to food consumption events, although
the presence of such practices at Classic Maya courts is widely
assumed (Foias 2007; Halperin and Foias 2010; LeCount 2001).
The first textual reference of this kind comes from the sixteenth
century Yucatan: Bishop Diego de Landa mentions that the host
of a banquet for the Maya nobles was also expected to “give a
manta to each to wear, and a little stand and vessel, as beautiful
as possible” (Tozzer 1941:92). Yet we know that Classic Period
serving vessels somehow changed hands and moved away from
the original owner. The text on the La Corona stairway block that
has been discussed above mentions the act of giving drinks in the
context of protagonist’s drinking, so some containers for the
drinks must have been involved. As the narrative and imagery on
Piedras Negras Panel 3 suggest, diacritical feasts were part of
larger sets of events during the gatherings of the nobility, so it is rea-
sonable to hypothesize, albeit tentatively, that serving vessels and
other gifts were offered on such occasions.
The discussion of gifts should also include the notion of owner-
ship. We know preciously little about Classic Maya concepts of
ownership, although some objects and entities were owned by
named individuals, whereas others belonged to collectivities of
various kinds: members of a given dynasty or people from a
certain place. Demons of the night (wahyob), for instance, were pos-
sessed by royal dynasties, but not by named individuals (Grube and
Nahm 1994; Houston and Stuart 1989). On the other end of the
spectrum were ownership statements like the one on a Late
Classic plate from Holmul (Figure 9b): according to the text, the
plate belonged to the king or prince of Naranjo when he imperson-
ated a particular form of the Sun God (Tokovinine 2006b:359–360).
The tags on serving vessels imply personal ownership, although
some could be sufficiently generic to allow multiple owners of the
22
same office or rank as in the case of many cups from Eastern Peten
which were owned by unspecified “youths” (chak ch’ok keleem)
(Houston 2009:165). The tags were never modified.
Consequently, the original owner remained (at least nominally) in
possession of the object even when it changed hands if it was
meant to circulate at all (Houston 2012a:96–98). Receiving some-
body’s inscribed food container as a gift presumably did not
entail a full transfer of ownership, but rather a sharing of some
kind, just like food and drink were shared during the feast. It
seems that not all Maya nobles would willingly engage in this
kind of self-sharing (or self-extension if we accept the interpretation
that possessed objects were extensions of one’s self for the Maya).
That potentially explains why networks of royal gifts associated
with food consumption were not as common as one might expect.
One such network was centered on the eighth century royal
dynasty at the site of Naranjo in Guatemala (Figure 11). The earliest
evidence of the practice of giving away drinking utensils as gifts
dates to the reign of “Aj Wosal” Chan K’inich (a.d. 546–615),
the first truly visible ruler at the site, whose tenure was marked by
a switch in allegiances from Mutal lords of Tikal to Kanu’l lords
of Dzibanche and Calakmul (Martin and Grube 2008[2000]:
71–72). Despite the fact that “Aj Wosal” Chan K’inich acknowl-
edged subordination to the Dzibanche dynasty, one of his vessels
ended up as the only grave good in a female Burial 72 in a small
residential group at Tikal (Coggins 1975:329–334; Culbert 1993:
Figure 42c). Either that kakaw drinking cup was initially given to
one of Tikal rulers and subsequently re-gifted to a subordinate, or
it attests to gift networks at the level below the royal families of
either site. Naranjo’s political clients also received drinking cups
as gifts: two fragments of “Aj Wosal” Chan K’inich’s vessels
were found in the Late Classic construction fill of the main palace
at Xunantunich (LeCount and Yaeger 2010:340). The sheer abun-
dance of vessels with dedicatory texts mentioning “Aj Wosal”
Chan K’inich in private collections around the world suggests that
the gift network was much wider, but we may never know its true
extent because of looting.
From the early 690s on, Naranjo rulers initiated a series of suc-
cessful military campaigns, first as vassals of powerful Calakmul
Figure 11. Geographical distribution of Naranjo serving vessels (drawing by
the author).
Tokovinine
rulers, but then likely acting independently after Calakmul’s defeat
by Tikal in a.d. 695 (Houston 1983; Martin and Grube
2008[2000]:74–77). The conquest of Yaxa’ and Tubal put them in
control of the eastern part of the Lakes region extending their domin-
ion within one day’s trip to Tikal and in the vicinity of the Ik’a’ rulers
of Motul de San José. The conquests of Yootz (an unknown location
to the north of Naranjo) and K’an Witz Nal (Ucanal) extended the
hegemony further north and south. According to Naranjo Stela 2
(Graham 1975:15; Martin and Grube 2008[2000]:77), K’ahk’
Tiliw Chan Chahk oversaw the accession of new K’an Witz Nal
and Yootz lords in a.d. 712 and 713. The increasing geopolitical
prominence of Naranjo rulers was reflected in the large scale ceremo-
ny detailed on Stela 30 (Graham and Von Euw 1978:79–80) with a
night-time headband-binding and a dance attended by the members
of major regional political groups—Seven Divisions (Huk Tzuk),
Thirteen Divisions (Huxlajuun Tzuk), and Jo’ T544.501-ni
(Tokovinine 2013:104–105).
The narratives on Stela 30 and other contemporaneous Naranjo
monuments do not mention feasting, but this period sees Naranjo
royal vessels ending up in the hands of subordinate lords. K’ahk’
Tiliw Chan Chahk’s drinking cup was excavated in a rich burial
at the site of Buenavista del Cayo 14 km to the east of Naranjo
(Houston et al. 1992; Reents-Budet et al. 1994:303–305).
Buenavista del Cayo probably corresponds to Kokom that was
“burned” by Naranjo in a.d. 696 and 697 (Houston et al. 1992:
Figures 14, 16). The dedicatory text on a Late Classic vessel
(Kerr 2013:Kerr Maya Vase Database No. K2730) places Kokom
lords to the east of Naranjo in Eastern Seven Divisions
(Tokovinine 2013:99, Figure 54h). There are also drinking cups,
which seem to be painted by Naranjo artists but intended as gifts
to subordinate or allied lords. The owner of one of them (K8622)
is from Thirteen Divisions, a regional group to the west of
Naranjo (Tokovinine 2006b:361–362).
Naranjo’s geopolitical rise was brought to an end when it was
defeated and sacked by Tikal in a.d. 744–748 (Martin 1996;
Martin and Grube 2008[2000]:78–81). However, by the end of
the reign of K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan Chahk’s son, K’ahk’ Kalaw Chan
Chahk, Tikal lords were no longer powerful and Naranjo rulers re-
gained some regional prominence. The resurgence was marked by
another major period–ending ceremony dedicated to the middle of
a k’atun in a.d. 780. The inscription on Naranjo Stela 13 reports
that there was dancing in the presence of visiting lords, although
the list consists of only Seven Divisions and Jo’ T544.501-ni.
K’ahk’ Kalaw Chan Chahk took the title of “Eastern Twenty
Eight” reflecting his geopolitical ambitions in southeastern Peten
(Tokovinine 2013:113).
The political resurgence was accompanied by a new round of
gift-giving. Fragments of vessels which may have originally be-
longed to K’ahk’ Kalaw Chan Chahk and an unidentified Naranjo
lord were discovered in the Buenavista del Cayo palace midden
(Houston et al. 1992:Figure 10; Reents-Budet et al. 2000:
Figure 6b). Another royal Naranjo vessel (PSPA 708) was found
in a burial in Group 26 at Sacul (Laporte and Mejía 2006:
192–198; Laporte et al. 1998:357; Mayer 2003; Tokovinine
2006c:376–377). Although the name of the owner happens to be
in the eroded section of the dedicatory text, the preserved titles of
“holy Sa’aal lord” (k’uh[ul] sa’[aal] ajaw), sak chuwen, and wak
kab [nal winik] leave no doubt that he was the king of Naranjo.
The style of the text and of the imagery on this cup is nearly iden-
tical to a cylinder vessel of unknown provenance tagged as the pos-
session of K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan Chahk of Naranjo (Patterson 1992:
Feasting in Classic Maya Texts
70–73). The painting and text of the Sacul pot appear to be some-
what later in style, so it seems reasonable to assign it to the same
scribal workshop, but a generation after K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan
Chahk. It is also, perhaps, significant that these two vessels do
not look like anything else painted for Naranjo rulers. So, either
we are dealing with a completely different royal workshop at
Naranjo, or the Sacul vessel and its unprovenanced counterpart
were painted elsewhere and were intended as gifts to Naranjo
lords, who received them and subsequently gave at least one of
them away.
Sacul Stela 1 reports a local event in a.d. 760 that was overseen
by the Ucanal ruler “Principal Bird Deity” Bahlam (Escobedo 1993:
15). The latter or his earlier namesake was mentioned as the owner of
a drinking cup (K1698) that was likely painted by Naranjo artists as a
gift to that lord (Houston 1983:Figure 8; Houston et al. 1992;
Tokovinine 2006c:379). Other recipients of inscribed Naranjo-style
pottery included the lord of K’inchil. He was mentioned in a tag
on a vessel (K633) that may be attributed to the Naranjo workshop
because of a highly similar drinking cup signed by a local artist
(Reents-Budet et al. 1994:319). K’inchil was conquered by
Naranjo in a.d. 698 (Martin and Grube 2008[2000]:76). The dedi-
catory text on a roughly contemporaneous atole bowl (K2358)
painted in a similar style possibly mentions a chak tok wayaab of
Holmul (Tokovinine 2006b:362). Moreover, the tag on the above-
mentioned plate from the burial in Building F in Group 1 at
Holmul (Figure 9b) features an otherwise unknown Naranjo ruler,
the son of K’ahk’ Kalaw Chan Chahk (Tokovinine 2006b:
359–360), indicating that Holmul nobles received even more person-
al gifts from Naranjo.
There is some tentative evidence of other bilateral gift links
within the Naranjo sphere of influence. Buenavista del Cayo
midden contained fragments of a vessel (Maya Ceramics Project
No. MSBX76 [Reents-Budet et al. 2000:Figure 6a]) that probably
belonged to the Ixtutz ruler who dedicated Stela 4 in a.d. 780
and was also mentioned on a sculptured fragment from Structure
1 at the site (Escobedo 1993:13; Houston et al. 1992; Laporte and
Escobedo 1992:95–96, Figure 8). One of the Late Classic burials
in Group 1 at Sacul (Laporte and Mejía 2006:151–153) contained
a ‘Holmul-dancer’ cylinder vessel (PSPA 681). Its style is different
from the examples associated with Naranjo and Holmul, but it is re-
markably similar to ‘Holmul-dancer’ vessels made at Buenavista del
Cayo (Reents-Budet et al. 2000:108–110, Figure 10; Reents-Budet
et al. 1994:Figures 7.6, 7.12; Tokovinine 2006c:372–375). This last
observation, of course, remains speculative without the chemical
analysis of the Sacul vessel. It seems plausible, however, that
some form of political subordination to the royal court of Naranjo
and participation in public events sponsored by Naranjo patrons en-
couraged interactions between lesser royal families and that such in-
teractions included feasting and gift exchange.
The inscriptions on Naranjo monuments also mention its kings
receiving precious loads of fine jade jewelry called ikitz or ikaatz
from conquered rulers and subordinates (Stuart 1998:409–417,
2006:128–137). The historical contexts of such events, however,
were different from taking or giving drinking cups. The narrative
on Naranjo Stela 12 mentions the “presentation” (nahwaj) of the
ikaatz of the defeated Yaxha ruler (Stuart 1998:414–416). The
text on Stela 30 details quantities of ikaatz “given” ( yak’aw) by
K’uk’ Bahlam, probably a subordinate of Naranjo kings (Stuart
2006:133). The context is unclear, but it could be a palanquin cer-
emony, because it is the focal event in the narrative on the monu-
ment. Even though neither transaction featured “tribute” ( patan)
23
or “payment” (tojool), it seems unlikely that Stela 12 referred to a
voluntary contribution. The socio-political function of Naranjo
rulers’ gifts to their subordinates was clearly different from the
ikaatz of the vassals.
The other roughly contemporaneous network of potential feast-
ing gifts was centered on the archaeological site of Motul de San
José (Figure 12). Recent archaeological and epigraphic research at
the site confirmed that it was the location where spectacular
painted vessels of Ik’a’ lords were produced (Foias and Halperin
2012; Halperin and Foias 2010). In contrast to Naranjo, the rise
of Motul de San José dynasty was not based on warfare against
its neighbors. The increased prominence of this royal family in
the eighth century inscriptions may rather be explained by its suc-
cessful diplomacy in the context of an intense competition
between more powerful regional rivals including the rulers of
Tikal, Dos Pilas, Naranjo, and Yaxchilan (Tokovinine and Zender
2012:49–56). Motul de San José kings took wives from the royal
families of Xultun, Tikal, and possibly Dos Pilas (Tokovinine and
Zender 2012:50). Ik’a’ princesses married Yaxchilan rulers
(Tokovinine and Zender 2012:52). Vessels and monuments made
by Motul de San José artists show Ik’a’ lords visiting the courts
of their neighbors and local performances attended by rulers of
nearby polities (Tokovinine and Zender 2012:49–55).
One of the most successful Ik’a’ lords, Tayel Chan K’inich,
whose reign may be dated to 720–30s (Tokovinine and Zender
2012:41–43), commissioned several vessels with the scenes of the
life at his court, which were then apparently given away to other
royal families. The drinking cups showing Tayel Chan K’inich (iden-
tifiable by the captions) were found in the burials at El Peru (Eppich
2007:8, Figures 7, 8, 10; Just 2012:118–20, Figures 50–51), Dos
Pilas (Just 2012:122–115, Figures 44–47; Tokovinine and Zender
2012:42–43, Figure 2.5d), and Tamarindito (Just 2012:115–117,
Figures 47–48; Tokovinine and Zender 2012:42–43, Figure 2.5b;
Valdés 1997). A plate with him mentioned as the owner in the ded-
icatory text was discovered in another royal burial at Dos Pilas
(Tokovinine and Zender 2012:42–43, Figure 2.5a).
In addition to the vessels of known provenance, the texts and
images on two drinking cups suggest that Motul de San José
Figure 12. Geographical distribution of Motul de San José serving vessels
(drawing by the author).
24
artists painted them as gifts to lords from other polities. The dedica-
tory text on one late classic vase depicting Tayel Chan K’inich’s
court (K4996) identifies the owner as a princess from Xultun (Just
2012:109–111, Figures 41–43; Prager et al. 2010; Tokovinine and
Zender 2012:50, Figure 2.9b). The other Late Classic drinking cup
(K2295) intended for a lord from the area of Rio Azul ( judging by
his titles) bears the signature of an artist from Motul de San José
(Tokovinine 2013:17–18; Tokovinine and Zender 2012:50,
Figure 2.9c). Two more vessels—one recently described by Boot
(2008) and a vase in the collection of the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts (K1485)—were signed by Ik’a’ painters but their dedicatory
texts mention “youths” who were likely not from Motul de San
José. Both (unless it is the same individual) carry titles, which are
often found in the names from northeastern Peten including
Xultun (e.g., K1547, K4572). According to Houston, such vessels
may have been intended as special gifts for certain age-grade
rituals (Houston 2009:165).
Fewer gifts from later Motul de San José rulers are known. A cyl-
inder vessel with a scene of the court of the Dos Pilas ruler K’awiil
Chan K’inich, now in the collection of the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art (M.2010.115.1:Figure 7) is usually attributed to
the artists at Motul de San José and the date of the depicted event
implies that it could not have been painted before a.d. 735 (Just
2012:174–177, Figures 117–120). A vessel commissioned by
Yajawte’ K’inich in a.d. 754 that was found in Mound A-III of
Altar de Sacrificios (Adams 1963; Tokovinine and Zender 2012:
54) also indicates that the practice continued. A later vase fragment
with a caption identifying Yeh Te’ K’inich II was found in a midden
at Dos Pilas (Foias 1996:555, Figure 6.51; Tokovinine and Zender
2012:55). Unfortunately, the vast majority of vessels commissioned
by the later lords of Motul de San José were discovered not by ar-
chaeologists but by looters, so it remains unknown if these
objects remained at the site or were given away.
No visiting dignitaries are depicted in the two surviving local
pulque drinking scenes on Motul de San José vessels (Figure 6).
The choice event for foreign visitors is dancing (K533, K1439),
but as we have seen in the case of the imagery and narrative on
Piedras Negras Panel 3, dancing and feasting may be part of the
same set of ceremonies. The circumstances of gifting Motul de
San José pottery were probably different from those in the
Naranjo network. Of all ceramic gifts with secure archaeological
contexts, only one plate has a dedicatory text confirming that it be-
longed to Tayel Chan K’inich. All drinking vessels found at other
archaeological sites show scenes of Motul de San José courtly
life, but feature no dedicatory texts and no ownership statements.
It looks as if the intended content and the original owner of these
vessels were intentionally omitted in order to enable multiple uses
and transferable ownership. In other words, these objects were
made to be given. Finally, several vessels were signed by Motul
artists but were tagged as the property of non-local lords. Once
again, these were probably gifts from the start, but with a more re-
stricted range of uses (the intended functions and contents were
stated in the dedicatory inscriptions) and with a single original
owner. It is perhaps significant, that the link to Motul de San José
would be clearly stated in the form of a signature that highlights
the origins of the artist (aj-ik’a’ “man of Ik’a’”, ik’a’ itz’aat
“Ik’a’ wiseman”) or of the object (tahn ha’ Ik’a’ “at the waters of
Ik’a’”). The implication is that the signature was not just about
the identity of the artist, but about the place where the vessel was
made or the royal court that commissioned the work.
Tokovinine
The issue of sub-royal gift networks centered on Motul de San
José is harder to address based on epigraphic data. Archaeological
evidence of feasting at Trinidad de Nosotros does indicate some ex-
change of serving vessels at the sub-royal level (Moriarty 2012:
219–220). It is also worth noting that fine-painted and inscribed
vessels of the “pink glyph” workshop, some of which are signed
by the artist named Tubal Ajaw (Just 2012:177–189; Reents-
Budet et al. 1994:175), coincide with a large amount of drinking
cups painted in a similar style yet of inferior quality and with pseu-
doglyphs instead of actual texts (Just 2012:189–194; Reents-Budet
et al. 1994:178). Archaeological data from Motul de San José
middens provide indications that at least some “pink glyph” ceram-
ics could have been produced locally (Halperin and Foias 2010:
400–405). Consequently, variants with pseudoglyphs may poten-
tially constitute subroyal imitations aimed at appropriating at least
part of the prestige associated with the royal ware. The presence
of whole pseudo-“pink glyph” vessels in the burials at other archae-
ological sites may, therefore, indicate that there were parallel net-
works in which nonroyal members of the Motul de San José court
or subordinate courts were involved. The author is aware of at
least one such case. The painted cylinder vessel (PSPA 886) that
was found at in a burial in one of large residential groups at the pe-
riphery of Ixkun (Laporte and Mejía 2005:141) is a perfect example
of the pseudo-“pink glyph” style. The dance theme, the composition
and some details of the painted scene are remarkably similar to the
finest examples of the “pink glyph” workshop and other Ik’a’ styles
(Tokovinine 2006c:367–372). The protagonist, however, is a female
impersonator of Goddess O, so far the only such image in Classic
Maya art. The inscription is made entirely of pseudoglyphs. No
royal Ik’a’ vessels were found at Ixkun.
There are some similarities between the Naranjo and Motul de
San José gifting networks. Both correspond to periods of political
activity. Both combine rulers’ personal items with items produced
as gifts by their artists. Dances are implicated as a class of events
when gatherings of nobles and the exchange of gifts could have oc-
curred. It is plausible that the nature of the gifts—drinking cups and
plates—implies that food consumption also took place. However,
there are important differences. With the exception of the first
round of gift-giving during “Aj Wosal’s” tenure, the recipients of
Naranjo rulers’ presents were their political clients and subordi-
nates, who probably travelled to Naranjo for the events. For
example, there is no evidence that eighth century Naranjo kings
ever shared drinks and cups with Tikal lords. Motul de San José
rulers gave their drinking cups to allies and peers of equal or
greater standing in the geopolitical landscape. It is not clear if the
recipients ever travelled to Motul de San José. It is just as plausible
that Ik’a’ rulers travelled to the other courts where they shared the
drinks and gave the cups. The scale of the network does not
reflect a political hegemony, but represents the focal points of diplo-
macy. Rather than solidifying conquest, the objective seems to be to
avoid a potentially devastating conflict. There is also no evidence
that the other rulers reciprocated with similar gifts hinting at some
sort of negative reciprocity between Motul de San José and its
more powerful neighbors. I am not aware of any royal Ik’a’
vessels found at the sites of Yaxchilan, La Florida, Zapote Bobal,
and La Joyanca, which were ruled by royal dynasties with the
closest ties to Motul de San José rulers, although that lack of evi-
dence may be due to insufficient archaeological investigation and
the sites and question and, unfortunately, to extensive looting at
some of them.
Feasting in Classic Maya Texts
The gift networks of Naranjo and Motul de San José royal fam-
ilies are also potentially significant in light of the recent discovery of
regional identities in the Classic Maya political landscape (Beliaev
2000; Tokovinine 2013:98–115). With one exception, the recipients
of drinking cups of Naranjo rulers were either from Seven Divisions
(huk tzuk) or Twenty Eight Lords (waxak winik ajawtaak). Naranjo
lords indeed claimed membership in either group. The Thirteen
Gods (huxlajuun k’uh) title of Motul de San José rulers potentially
suggests membership in the Thirteen Divisions (huxlajuun tzuk)
group, although at least one artist from Ik’a’ identified himself
with western Seven Divisions (Tokovinine and Zender 2012:
61–64). It is unclear if Petexbatun royal families belonged to
Thirteen Divisions, but the recipients of Motul gifts to the north
and northeast likely did (Tokovinine 2013:Figure 53). Importantly,
there is no evidence of vessels given as gifts between the members
of the Naranjo and Motul de San José networks and yet there is
also no hint of an open confrontation between the two political
centers. There is no evidence of any kind of contact between the
two despite the fact that these networks were contemporary and
right next to each other. The fact that the first early eighth-century
Motul de San José ruler, Yeh Te K’nich I, was a vassal of Tikal
lords, whereas his Naranjo counterpart, K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan Chahk,
was a vassal of Tikal’s enemies at Calakmul, also fails to explain
this boundary, because later Motul de San José kings had no
problem with giving their vessels to Calakmul’s former vassals at
Dos Pilas. It is possible that this regional boundary was not a
product of specific historical circumstances, but was caused by
some deeper underlying social and maybe even economic factors.
The gift recipients of Motul de San José rulers would provide
access to potential trade routes along the Rio San Pedro, Rio
Pasión, and Rio Hondo basins. Naranjo’s network, on the other
hand, provided access to the Belize River route.
CONCLUSIONS
The formal display and consumption of drinks and food by
members of Classic Maya royalty and nobles is not a frequent
subject of visual and written narratives, yet the available evidence
suggest that some of these events could be described as feasts or
banquets. Their function conforms to Dietler’s notion of diacritical
feasts with the emphasis on the exclusive nature of the comestibles
and their containers to be seen, appreciated and maybe even tasted
by a select few. Archaeological data, on the other hand, indicate
that such diacritical banquets for the eyes were one of several
modes of commensal politics practiced at Classic Maya courts.
The exclusive diacritical mode, therefore, must have pursued a
very specific set of political goals such as establishing links
between the dynasties of different polities or between the ruler
and some key noblemen at the court, which may be contrasted to
more community-oriented feasting events centered on local patron
RESUMEN
Aunque la noción que las fiestas tuvieron un papel importante en el mante-
nimiento de los reinos mayas clásicos fue aceptada por la mayoría de inves-
tigadores, el fenómeno del consumo comensal de las comidas y bebidas en
las representaciones visuales y textuales permanece indefinido y poco enten-
dido. El presente artículo revisa los datos epigráficos hacia una interpretación
más clara de las fiestas de los reyes y nobles mayas. También examina la
25
deities or ball games sponsored by the ruler or other high-ranking
members of the court. As we have seen above, the increased empha-
sis on diacritical feasting coincides with a decline in explicit state-
ments of patronage in Classic Maya regional politics and
potentially reflects the less formal and more horizontal nature of
interpolity ties in the eighth century.
The diacritical nature of some Classic Maya feasting practices is
of direct relevance to understanding the restricted range of contents
mentioned in the dedicatory texts on serving vessels. However, it
does not mean that the actual recipes of the ingestibles stayed cons-
tant. On the contrary, the increased preoccupation with the visibility
of food evidenced in the Late Classic plates as the preferred vessel
form for solid foods implies not only the diacritical function of such
food displays, but also potential challenges to and imitations of the
high-status ingestibles. It is tempting to speculate that such imita-
tions went hand-in-hand with the imitation of the food containers
revealed by the Late Classic serving vessels with illegible or semi-
legible inscriptions.
Late Classic feasting references imply an increased role of food
display and sharing as a way of making a statement about one’s po-
litical and social rank and also of establishing or maintaining one’s
social and political networks. Significantly, the same time period
sees the rise in the practice of giving serving vessels as gifts to
one’s allies and political clients. It is likely that this form of gift-
giving was directly linked to diacritical feasting, although the evi-
dence in support of such link is still conjectural. It appears that in
an increasingly fractious and fluid political landscape of the
eighth century when an outright conquest and a long-lasting patron-
age were no longer a viable option, there was a comparable rise of
attempts at conflict resolution and figuring out common interest
through feasting and gift-giving among the ruling families.
The distribution of serving vessels from the sites of Naranjo and
Motul de San José implies that such gifts and feasts when they
might have been offered could have specific political goals, al-
though the two networks in question clearly differed in spatial
extent and underlying geopolitical contexts. The key question
here is whether the actions of Naranjo and Motul de San José
rulers represented unique strategies or whether they were visible
manifestations of more widespread practices. Some hints of move-
ment of personal serving vessels between sites within Naranjo
and Motul spheres of influence suggest that such gift networks
were common. That said, it is significant that there is no evidence
that Tikal or Calakmul rulers shared their meals and drinking
cups with vassals or peers. Therefore, feasts and gifts probably rep-
resented a strategic alternative to more straightforward models of hi-
erarchical control associated with major political centers. Such
practices simultaneously attest to the crisis of the traditional
power networks and reveal that the Classic Maya political landscape
as whole evolved new strategies aimed at avoiding conflicts and
fragmentation.
evidencia de las redes políticas y sociales mantenidas por los dones de
vasijas que posiblemente ocurrieron en el contexto de las fiestas.
La discusión comienza con la definición de varios modos políticos de
fiestas según la tipología propuesta por Hayden. Las fiestas diacríticas se intro-
ducen como el concepto más adecuado para describir el consumo y
presentación de bebidas y comidas exclusivas en las escenas de la vida de los
26
cortes reales mayas. También se nota que la aparición de las representaciones de
fiestas en el arte maya coincide con el decaimiento de las redes de patronazgo
político directo asociadas con las ciudades mayores como Tikal y Calakmul.
El análisis de las representaciones del consumo de bebidas o comidas
comentadas como tales en los textos acompañantes en el contexto del
corte real sobre las vasijas pintadas y los monumentos sugiere que correspon-
den a solo uno de los modos de fiestas atestiguados en los datos
arqueológicos. El énfasis principal de las fiestas diacríticas de los nobles
mayas era no en cantidad sino en el carácter exclusivo de los ingestibles y
sus contenedores. Esa observación conforme bien a la clasificación de
bebidas en los textos dedicatorios sobre los vasos y a los cambios en la fre-
cuencia de ciertos tipos de cerámica que posiblemente reflejan una
preocupación con la exhibición extendida de la comida hacia los finales
del periodo clásico tardío.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The original version of this manuscript was presented at the session The
“Networked” Feast organized by Janling Fu and Jeffrey Dobereiner at the
77th Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology in
Memphis, April 19, 2012. I would like to thank the organizers and other par-
ticipants of the session for the kind invitation and an opportunity to share my
ideas and receive feedback from many colleagues interested in the same
questions or working with comparable datasets. I also want to express my
gratitude to Juan Pedro Laporte and his team of the Atlas project for offering
me an opportunity to study the project collections. My special thanks go to
Antonia Foias and Brian Just for their collaboration on my study of Motul de
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Finalmente, el artículo ofrece una comparación de las redes de fiestas y
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