A short article of mine on the text of Tikal’s Stela 31 has just been posted on Mesoweb as part of the David Stuart’s Notes series. Thanks to Joel Skidmore!
Some Working Notes on the Text of Tikal Stela 31
3 thoughts on “Some Working Notes on the Text of Tikal Stela 31”
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Great paper! Absolutely agree on “28 provinces”. My 2008 diss has all the examples of the 28 title and more arguments that it is an idealized group of dynasties of some kind…
Great work, David.
Regarding the opening passage and the idea of “diminishing,” I see some strong parallels with the post-classic. Landa describes the process of k’atun lords losing their power in the years prior to the end of the k’atun and being replaced by new k’atun lords.
With this model in mind, we might see the role of Siyaj Chan K’awiil as “tending” the transition from one set of k’atun gods to the next. Instead of seeing him as working toward the gods’ ultimate regeneration or renewal at the k’atun ending, we can see him as presiding over the orderly phasing out of the gods, making room for the phasing in of the new patron gods for the upcoming k’atun.
This pattern of gods replacing gods is also found in the new year ceremonies described by Landa and illustrated in the Dresden and Madrid codices (although not at half-periods). At the end of the year, the actual physical gods are moved out of the temples with great ceremony and new ones replace them.
In the Paris Codex we see that each k’atun had a set of deities, so naturally one set would have to phase out for the next set to phase in and much of this may have taken place at the half-k’atun nodes. The king’s calendar priest would consult his codices to prescribe the proper order and hierarchy of gods and the appropriate offerings and ceremonies to accompany their transition.
Bruce
This is a fantastic resource. Thank you!