Incised ceramics from Nakum, Guatemala

multas per gentes et multa per saecula Paweł Valde-Nowak, Krzysztof Sobczyk Marek Nowak, Jarosław Źrałka (EDITORS) multas per gentes et multa per saecula JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY IN KRAKÓW FACULTY OF HISTORY INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY ALTER PUBLISHING HOUSE amici magistro et collegae suo ioanni christopho kozłowski dedicant MULTAS PER GENTES ET MULTA PER SAECULA MULTAS PER GENTES ET MULTA PER SAECULA AMICI MAGISTRO ET COLLEGAE SUO IOANNI CHRISTOPHO KOZŁOWSKI DEDICANT Paweł Valde-Nowak, Krzysztof Sobczyk Marek Nowak, Jarosław Źrałka (editors) KRAKÓW 2018 The edition and publication of this book was funded by the Faculty of History at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków Reviewers: Peter Bogucki, Jiří Svoboda Editors: Paweł Valde-Nowak, Krzysztof Sobczyk, Marek Nowak, Jarosław Źrałka Technical editors: Anna Kraszewska, Michał Wasilewski Assistant editors: Agnieszka Brzeska-Pasek, Magda Cieśla, Adriana Drabik, Robert Kenig, Julia Kościuk, Paulina Kowalczyk-Matys, Tomasz Oberc, Krzysztof E. Rak, Jakub Skłucki, Anna Słupianek, Magdalena Więckowska, Albert Wydrzycki, Justyna Zakrzeńska Cover design: Michał Znamirowski Photograph on the cover: Unfinished pendant made from a wolf (Canis lupus) third upper incisor with notches (Kraków Spadzista C2) found by J.K. Kozłowski in 1980 (photo by Piotr Wojtal) Photograph on the page 10: Prof. Janusz K. Kozłowski (photo by Anna Wojnar) Proofreading: Steven Jones and authors Translation of the Latin text on the cover: Tomasz Polański Typesetting and layout: Elżbieta Fidler-Źrałka Correction of figures: Urszula Bąk Copyright © Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków Copyright © Alter Publishing House and Authors Kraków 2018, Edition I ISBN 978-83-948382-3-2 (Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University in Kraków) ISBN 978-83-64449-68-0 (Alter Publishing House) Institute of Archaeology Jagiellonian University in Kraków Gołębia 11 Street 31-007 Kraków Poland http://www.archeo.uj.edu.pl E-mail: archeo.sekretariat@uj.edu.pl Printed in Poland Alter Radosław Palonka (Publisher) Śliczna 30B/43 Street 31-444 Kraków Poland Phone: +48 606-781-823 http://www.wydawnictwoalter.pl E-mail: alter@wyd-alter.pl CONTENTS 11 It is my honour... Paweł Valde-Nowak 13 Tabula gratulatoria 17 Everythingness Stefan Karol Kozłowski 21 Janusz Kozłowski, la finesse et l’érudition Marcel Otte 25 Keilmesser with tranchet blow from Grotte de la Verpillière I (Germolles, Saône-et-Loire, France) Jens Axel Frick, Klaus Herkert, Christian Thomas Hoyer, Harald Floss 37 The mystery of the bifacial knife from Osełków in the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland Małgorzata Kot, Michał Przeździecki 47 More scraper reduction sequences identified in Okiennik, Ciemna (Poland) and Samuilitsa II (Bulgaria) Middle Palaeolithic assemblages Tsoni Tsonev 55 Technology and typology of Szeletian leaf-shaped tools: Theoretical and methodological considerations Zsolt Mester 63 The Early Upper Palaeolithic assemblage of arch-backed points from Kraków-Zwierzyniec site 1 Damian Stefański 71 The Uluzzian 50 years later Annamaria Ronchitelli, Adriana Moroni, Paolo Boscato, Paolo Gambassini 77 The role of the Northern Adriatic region in the Protoaurignacian spread towards Mediterranean Europe Alberto Broglio, Stefano Bertola, Fabio Negrino 85 European perspectives of the East European LGM Epi-Aurignacian with Sagaidak-Muralovka-type microliths Yuri E. Demidenko, Petr Škrdla, Joseba Rios-Garaizar 93 The new Upper-Palaeolithic cave site in the Polish Jura (Ogrodzieniec-Podzamcze, shelter Birów IV) Krzysztof Cyrek 109 The dead, the shaman – and the chief? Status and prestige during the Gravettian Thorsten Uthmeier 115 Kraków Spadzista – A Gravettian site of mammoth hunters Piotr Wojtal, Jarosław Wilczyński, Krzysztof Sobczyk 123 Upper Palaeolithic settlement in Iberia: 20 years of research in the Côa Valley (Portugal) Thierry Aubry 131 Les constructions en os de mammouths de l’habitat Paleolithique de Gontsy (Ukraine): etude preliminaire Lioudmila Iakovleva, François Djindjian 145 Early Magdalenian microliths from Mirande 1 (Nègrepelisse, Tarn-et-Garonne, France) Gerhard Bosinski 157 A possible structure in the Lower Magdalenian horizon of El Mirón Cave (Cantabria, Spain) Lawrence Guy Straus, Manuel R. González-Morales 167 An essay on the archaeostratigraphy of the Magdalenian and the Final Palaeolithic in Central Germany Clemens Pasda 175 Late Magdalenian campsite in a rock shelter at the Obłazowa Rock Paweł Valde-Nowak, Anna Kraszewska, Magda Cieśla, Adam Nadachowski 185 Versions mobilières et pariétales d’un motif géométrique non figuratif dans la grotte Gazel (Aude, France). Implications chrono-culturelles Dominique Sacchi 191 A note on the Upper Palaeolithic industrial sequence in the lower Louros river valley, district of Preveza, Epirus, northwest Greece Eugenia Adam 199 Working together on the origins of voyaging in the Eastern Mediterranean Albert J. Ammerman, Jay S. Noller 205 Traces of presence of the Late Palaeolithic hunters in Toruń and its surroundings Beata Bielińska-Majewska 213 Fire striker from Federmesser campsite Nowa Biała 1 (Poland) Jakub Skłucki, Anna Kraszewska, Mateusz Biborski, Paweł Valde-Nowak 219 The oldest strike-a-lights in Poland. The preliminary results of microwear and chemical analysis Grzegorz Osipowicz, Iwona Sobkowiak-Tabaka, Mariusz Bosiak 229 The microlithisation of chipped stones in the Old World: Case-studies from the Crimea and northern Italy Paolo Biagi, Elisabetta Starnini 243 The Mesolithic raw stone materials in the Tyrol and the adjacent area Albert Wydrzycki 249 Mapping the Mesolithic Erwin Cziesla 257 At the edge of two worlds: Hunter-gatherers and early farmers in the Polish Lowlands Jacek Kabaciński, Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny, Thomas Terberger 267 Mesolithic materials from sites 3 and 4 in Kraków-Kobierzyn Justyna Zakrzeńska 277 The Neolithic stove and the artefacts inside it from Ayakagytma ‘The Site’, Kyzyl-kums, Central Asia Karol Szymczak, Mukhiddin Khudzhanazarov 281 Bridging up Anatolia. Çatalhöyük and northwestern Anatolia in the Late Neolithic Arkadiusz Marciniak 291 The architecture of Gilgal I revisited Olivier Aurenche, Stefan Karol Kozłowski 295 A new hypothesis on the emergence of the Early Neolithic Cardial culture Jean Guilaine 301 Bullet core pendants from South Marmara region Ivan Gatsov, Petranka Nedelcheva 307 The Neolithic house in the Eastern Balkans Vassil Nikolov 311 A retrospect on yellow spotted flint Barbara Voytek 317 The woman, the pots, and the cattle figurine. New materiality of an early ALP burial from Polgár-Ferenci-hát Pál Raczky, Alexandra Anders 329 A short report on the research of the earliest Alföld Linear Pottery culture in Hernád Valley, North-eastern Hungary Piroska Csengeri 337 The contribution of finds from feature no. 1/12 at Ražňany (distr. Sabinov, Slovakia) for the problem of foreign influences in the area of the Bükk culture Anton Karabinoš, Marek Nowak, Marián Vizdal, Adriána Voľanská 351 Colorants used to decorate the Bükk culture vessels Agnieszka Czekaj-Zastawny, Anna Rauba-Bukowska, Rastislav Hreha 361 Preliminary data on the house structures of the LBK settlement at Apc-Berekalja (NE-Hungary) László Domboróczki 369 The possible participation of autochthonous Mesolithic inhabitants in the Neolithisation of Upper Silesia Vratislav Janák, Kateřina Papáková 375 Flint raw material economy among the earliest Danubian communities from the Sandomierz Upland area (south-central Poland) Marcin Szeliga 385 Šárka in Volhynia Andrij B. Bardec’kyj, Maciej Dębiec, Thomas Saile 389 North-eastern periphery of Neolithic Europe Stanisław Kukawka, Jolanta Małecka-Kukawka 401 Is length significant? LBK longhouses and the social context in central-eastern Europe Lech Czerniak 411 The importance of obsidian distribution during the Neolithic in the Circum-Carpathian Area Małgorzata Kaczanowska 419 A unique early Neolithic pendant of the Linear Pottery culture from site 10 at Kruszyn, Włocławek commune Dominik Kacper Płaza, Piotr Papiernik, Wojciech Siciński 425 Nicolaevca V – preliminary information on the 2016 excavations of a Neolithic and Copper Age settlement in Northern Moldova Stanislav Țerna, Maciej Dębiec, Andreea Vornicu-Țerna, Mariana Vasilache-Curoșu, Thomas Saile 435 A note to the origins of the idea of rondels Jaromír Kovárník 443 Analysis of the placement strategy of rondelsin the cultural landscape Jaromír Kovárník, Štěpán Kravciv 451 Chipped stone inventories of the Malice culture from southern Poland Jarosław Wilczyński 459 Research on the Neolithic flint workshop at the Bębło-Zachruście Site, Lesser Poland: Description of cores in the Pleszów-Modlnica group of the Lengyel culture Elżbieta Trela-Kieferling 475 The mainstream of Eneolithic flint-working of the Balkan-Danubian cultures Anna Zakościelna 485 Can we talk about the Copper Age in Lesser Poland? Contribution to the discussion Stanisław Wilk 495 Pre-Baden cultural horizon in the Eneolithic of western Lesser Poland Albert Zastawny 503 The new features of the Baden culture from the Kraków-Cło site Janusz Bober 511 The current state of research on the flint industry in the Pre-Baden and Classic Baden horizons in western Lesser Poland Agnieszka Brzeska-Pasek 521 'Defence construction' of the 4th/3rd millennium BC on the Vistula and Odra: Inspirations from the Baden culture Aleksander Kośko, Marzena Szmyt 531 Traces of the Bell Beakers’ contacts with the Funnel Beaker communities in Central Pomerania Jacek Wierzbicki 537 The erratic stone raw material reservoir in the Polish Lowland and its procurement and selection within the local late Neolithic societies. Choices between the ‘gift’ from the glacial past and the Earth’s natural resources of the ‘south’ Piotr Chachlikowski 547 New perspectives on the Battle Axe culture of southern Sweden Lars Larsson 555 Can the study of flint assemblages say something about the political relations in the early history of Egypt? Michał Kobusiewicz 561 Tell el-Farkha as a trade centre between Egypt and the Levant in the 4th millennium BC Krzysztof M. Ciałowicz 567 HLC Project. New polish archaeological activity in At-Tafileh micro-region (south Jordan) Piotr Kołodziejczyk, Michał Wasilewski, Marcin Czarnowicz, Jacek Karmowski, Julia Kościuk, Aleksandra Węgrzynek 577 On the beginnings of prehistory and on chipped flints in the Late Bronze Age Jacek Lech, Dagmara H. Werra 585 Caves in the Post-medieval landscape of the Polish Jura Chain Michał Wojenka 593 Palaeolithic and Neolithic wood charcoal remains as important tools for chronological, ethnographic and environmental studies Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo, María Ntinou, Yolanda Carrión Marco, Paloma Vidal-Matutano, Ernestina Badal 601 Traces of supposed Neolithic plant husbandry in the multicultural site 3 at Miechów, southern Poland Aldona Mueller-Bieniek, Magdalena Moskal-del Hoyo, Magda Kapcia, Marcin M. Przybyła 609 Vegetation history of the surrounding environment of Sarakenos Cave, Central Greece: A palaeoecological perspective Chrysanthi Ioakim, Adamantios Sampson, Antonia Tsourouni 621 From Clovis hunters to Pueblo farmers: The pre-Columbian period in the Mesa Verde region of the North American Southwest Radosław Palonka 635 Incised ceramics from Nakum, Guatemala Jarosław Źrałka, Christophe Helmke, Bernard Hermes, Wiesław Koszkul 647 Landscape in flux: Geopolitics among Classic Maya societies in Petén, Guatemala. An example from the Poza Maya Research Project Magdalena H. Rusek-Karska 655 The “Bird Lot Style”: Its characteristics, and power garments in Chimu culture (Peru) Victòria Solanilla Demestre 661 A garden in the desert: Lima agriculture and environment in Lomas de Lachay, Peru Piotr Kalicki, Tomasz Kalicki, Piotr Kittel 669 Debating lithics from pre-colonial sites in Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela (AD 1000-1500) Andrzej T. Antczak, Ma. Magdalena Antczak, Arturo Jaimes Incised ceramics from Nakum, Guatemala Jarosław Źrałka, Christophe Helmke, Bernard Hermes, Wiesław Koszkul Abstract: Recent research at the Maya site of Nakum, located in north-eastern Guatemala, and conducted by the Jagiellonian University of Kraków has led to the discovery of various incised sherds dating to different periods of Maya history and featuring diverse iconographic themes, from simple lines and geometric designs to more complex scenes of mythological character. Here we present a brief outline of the most important incised sherds found by the Nakum Archaeological Project and emphasising a large sherd that has been found in the core of talud-tablero platform and may depict a set of patron deities. Ceramic graffiti constitute an understudied topic in the scientific discourse of Maya studies and this is one of the first articles to be dedicated to this topic. Keywords: pre-Columbian Maya, Guatemala, ceramic graffiti, incised sherds, talud-tablero Introduction Ceramic graffiti constitute a very interesting, though completely understudied phenomenon in the field of Maya and Mesoamerican studies. To date, only short and sporadic mentions concerning incised sherds or whole vessels have appeared in the scientific literature (e.g. Culbert 1993; Smith 1955, 1977). This contrasts a great deal with the Mediterranean cultures of the Old Word, such as ancient Egypt and Greece, where ostraca—secondarily decorated ceramic sherds (and stone flakes), bearing predominantly incised or painted texts—hold a distinctive place in epigraphic studies and figure prominently in the literature (e.g. Forsdyke 2005; McDowell 2002; Lang 1974, 1976; Vanhove 2006). Although the comparable tradition of secondarily decorating ceramics in Mesoamerica is widespread, it is dealt with only haphazardly—and this despite the fact that incised ceramics are found in large numbers at a variety of archaeological sites across Mesoamerica. The ancient inhabitants of Mesoamerica must have re-used both small and large ceramic fragments for many different reasons, usually as pendants and expedient spindle whorls, as well as net weights, but also for possible ritual purposes, as the scenes that cover them imply. One example from Calakmul, for instance, shows a personified maize plant, the mature cob rendered as none other than the head of the animate Maize god, peering through the swaying leaves (Fig. 1). At times, whole vessels are covered by very complex narratives, involving several characters and evoking historical or mythological scenes or activities of daily life (see Fig. 2). We call these incisions graffiti (pl.) or graffito (sing.) since they constitute secondary additions to the vessels and sherds, which were not part of original decoration of such ceramics. In this paper, we would like to describe some of the recently discovered and secondarily incised sherds from the Maya site of Nakum located in north-eastern Guatemala as part of the research of the Nakum Archaeological Project of the Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland. Whereas these sherds are found in a variety of contexts, one large fragment—covered by a very complex and rare scene of mythological character—has been found in the architectural core of a talud-tablero platform dating to the Early Classic period (c. AD 300-550). This ceramic artefact is the focus of this paper. Nevertheless, as we will show, the tradition of re-using and incising fragments of broken vessels is a long one, spanning the entirety of Maya history. │ 635 Jarosław Źrałka et al. The Maya site of Nakum Fig. 1. Detail of a Balanza Black vessel from Calakmul bearing an incised design representing a personified maize plant as the Maize God (drawing by Ch. Helmke). Nakum is a secondary Maya centre situated in the area of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park in the north-eastern part of department of El Peten, in Guatemala (Fig. 3). Following up on initial investigations conducted by the Proyecto Triángulo or Proyecto Protección de Sitios Arqueológicos del Petén [PROSIAPETEN], the Nakum Archaeological Project has undertaken intensive research at the site since 2006, thanks to permission granted by the Guatemalan Institute of Anthropology and History (IDAEH) and Ministry of Sports and Culture of Guatemala. Nakum was discovered in 1905 by a French count and explorer, Maurice de Périgny (Périgny 1911). Subsequently, the site was investigated by several American scholars such as Alfred Tozzer, Raymond Merwin and Sylvanus Morley between the 1910s and 1930s (Tozzer 1913; Morley 1937-38). In the 1970s it was visited twice, by Nicholas Hellmuth (1992), who at the time was conducting investigations at Yaxha, an important Maya city situated 11 km to the south of Nakum (Fig. 3). In the 1980s the Guatemalan Institute of Anthropology and History started a crucial program of restoration and salvage works of the most deteriorated monumental structures at Nakum. These activities were followed by archaeological excavations started in the 1990s which continued until 2008 (Calderón et al. 2008; Hermes, Calderón 2003; Hermes et al. 1996; Noriega, Hermes 2000; Quintana 2014; Quintana, Wurster 2002). In 2006, a new program of investigations begun at the site, under the auspices of the Jagiellonian University. One of the most important aims of our project was to study, in greater detail, the growth of Nakum during Fig. 2. Polychrome vessel of unknown provenience (in private collection) covered by a set of complex narrative scenes incised to its surface (photo by J.L. Velásquez Muñoz, drawing by J.L. Velásquez Izaguirre and K. Radnicka). 636 │ Incised ceramics from Nakum, Guatemala Fig. 3. Map showing the location of the archaeological site of Nakum in relation to other nearby sites of the Triangle National Park in north-eastern Guatemala (map by P. Kołodziejczyk). the Early Classic, especially in light of Teotihuacan contacts that appear throughout much of the central Maya lowlands, possibly as part of Teotihuacan incursions, known in the literature as entradas (e.g. Braswell 2003; Nielsen 2003; Stuart 2000). Incised sherds from Nakum: An overview of the corpus Among the incised sherds from Nakum we have at least one early example dated to the Middle Preclassic period (c. 700-300 BC). It has been found in the construction core of a large pyramidal temple: Structure 104 (or X) located in the Northern Sector of Nakum (Fig. 4). In the course of our investigations we excavated one tunnel at the base of this construction (on its major E-W axis) penetrating its core. The tunnel exposed a very early substructure denominated Sub-1 dated to the A’yim or Mamom phase at Nakum (c. 700-300 bc). The fragment in question has been found in the core of this early building. It is an orange ware sherd (of Savana Orange type) that has been trimmed and cut to a roughly circular shape, thereby forming a disk, which was then only embellished by a series of two roughly concentric incisions (Fig. 5:a). Several incised ceramic fragments dating to the subsequent period, the Late Preclassic (c. 300-100 bc/ad 1), are found in different archaeological contexts at Nakum. One of these incisions was added to the centre of a flanged Sierra Red dish, excavated by the Triangle Project and found cached within a chultun (No. 20). That graffito represents a stylized │ 637 Jarosław Źrałka et al. Fig. 4. Map of Nakum showing the various contexts where incised sherds have been found as well as Patio 1 where the taludtablero architecture has been discovered (map after Quintana, Wurster 2002 with corrections by DECORSIAP, IDAEH). 638 │ Incised ceramics from Nakum, Guatemala Fig. 5. A selection of incised sherds from Nakum: a – ceramic disc of Savana Orange type, Middle Preclassic; b – fragment that may feature a real or supernatural animal, Sierra Red, Late Preclassic; c – sherd with an unclear, albeit snout-like element; d – stylized human skull incised into a Sierra Red flanged dish; e – sherd with graffito representing what may be a caricature of a human head, Protoclassic or Early Classic; f, g – two incised sherds dated to the Protoclassic period (photo by R. Słaboński and drawing by Ch. Helmke). although elegantly rendered human cranium (Fig. 5:d). In addition to this vessel there are relatively small sherds with simple (Fig. 5:c) or more complex designs that are very difficult to interpret (Fig. 5:b). One of these sherds that may represent an animal (Fig. 5:b) has been found below a carved monument (Stela 4) of Terminal Classic date in south-western corner of the Northern Sector. This Late Preclassic sherd of Sierra Group was discovered in a secondary context in a stratum that also contained ceramics of Late and Terminal Classic date. Another sherd (Fig. 5:c) was found in the core of Patio 1 courtyard (the core of Floor 5 in the south-eastern corner of the patio) and it depicts an elongated, perhaps snoutlike element. An interesting collection of incised sherds from Nakum is associated with the Terminal Preclassic or Protoclassic period (denominated Ajkok phase at Nakum and dated between the first century bc and the third century ad). In this group, we have one interesting example of an incised ceramic graffito that comes from a fragment of the base of a polychromatic basal flanged plate (PANFC 007; Fig. 6:a). This fragment belongs to Batellos Black-on-red ceramic type (see Smith, Gifford 1966: 155). It was found in the core of a large platform (Structure 99) constructed during the Protoclassic period on top of the Northern Group of Nakum – a large architectural complex that forms the northernmost monumental compound of the epicentre of Nakum (Fig. 4). The artefact in question was recovered in the core of the terrace (representing some remodelling effort to the lowermost terrace of Structure 99). The interior of the vessel features a conch shell, which in this case may have aquatic connotations (Fig. 6:b). Another ceramic sherd covered with incised graffito is a very small fragment of Protoclassic or Early Classic date (see Fig. 5:e). This artefact has been dis│ 639 Jarosław Źrałka et al. Fig. 7. Ceramic sherd incised with a depiction of an unidentified quadruped (photo by R. Słaboński). Fig. 6. Ceramic fragment of Batellos Black-on-red covered by incision depicting conch shell. Protoclassic period (photo by R. Słaboński). covered in the construction core of Structure 14 located in the Acropolis complex, to the south of Structure 15. Underlying the later mounded structure, are several Protoclassic and Early Classic constructions, which during the Late Classic period were covered by a larger pyramidal structure. One of these early substructures is the so-called Red Building and it is in the core of the platform of this construction where the above-described fragment was found. Its graffito seems to represent a caricature of human face that finds counterparts in the rich corpus of architectural graffiti in the Maya area (see Źrałka 2014). More examples of ceramic graffiti date to the Classic period. Apart of one beautifully rendered scene from the Early Classic vessel fragment found in talud-tablero structure that will be described in the following section, there is another incised ceramic sherd dated to the same period (it bears No. PANFC 038 according to the numeration of large ceramic fragments found by NAP). It is a large sherd that has been trimmed to form a disc 10.4 x 9 cm that had a small hole (its vestiges are seen on the edge of the artefact). It is part of a black ware vessel (of Balanza Black type) that was embellished with well-executed and finely incised iconography (Fig. 7) which represents a quadruped animal, with an elongated snout and pointed ears, possibly a canid or a species 640 │ of Didelphis. Atop of its head is a small flame-shaped element and from its mouth is a partial emission that may qualify this as a supernatural entity that hovers above a rectangular element that is subdivided by rectilinear divisions and cross-hatching. A Late Classic fragment covered by incised graffiti has been found within the core of Structure 15 (the pyramidal platform delimiting the eastern side of Patio 1). On the exterior of a polychromatic vase of Zacatel Cream-polychrome type (see Smith, Gifford 1966: 164; Gifford 1976: 251) we can see a stylised human face, to which is added a highly simple body and bent lines as flailing arms (Fig. 8). This depiction is remarkable, not the least since the face is a conventionalised depiction of a particular hieroglyph that, whereas it does resemble a simple human face, is used variously as a logogram for saak ‘seed’ and when it is used in calendrical notations as ajaw ‘king’—the name of the twentieth day of the ritual Tzolk’in calendar (see Thompson 1960:150151; Grube 1992; David Stuart pers. comm. 2010). When this same sign is seen with curving volutes above, it represents a germinating seed (known in the technical literature as the “flaming ajaw”) functions as a logogram, read mihin, which serves as the basis for a metaphorical expression that describes the relationship between a father and his son (see Schele et al. 1977). Despite the use and function of this hieroglyph, the individual who incised this sherd clearly took its appearance as a depiction of a human face and thereby added the schematic outline of the body, to complete the appearance. Incised ceramics from Nakum, Guatemala Fig. 8. Late Classic, Zacatel Cream-polychrome sherd featuring a stylized human face and body (photo by R. Słaboński). An incised sherd from the talud-tablero platform A large ceramic fragment, which is the focus of this paper, has been found in the construction core of a talud-tablero platform situated in the Southern Sector of Nakum, in the so-called Acropolis complex (Fig. 4). The Acropolis is a large architectural platform 170 m (N-S) x 150 m (E-W) at its base that is surmounted by more than forty structures arranged around 16 courtyards or patios (Quintana 2014: 176). The largest and the most important of them is Patio 1 measuring c. 40 × 40 m, and is contiguous with the primary entrance to the palatial complex at the north. Previous Triangle Project research discovered talud-tablero architecture at several points around Patio 1 (Hermes et al. 2006). These constitute a significant find, since architecture exhibiting terraces that are decorated with mouldings and reset panels that conform to the features of talud-tablero are typical of the architecture of the great central metropolis, Teotihuacan (e.g. Cash 2005). The discovery by the Triangle Project of taludtablero architecture along with green obsidian artefacts that find their source in the obsidian mines to the north of Teotihuacan, in the core of one of the talud-tablero platforms indicate that Nakum was under significant Teotihuacan contact, possibly via networks connected to Tikal and/or Yaxha (Hermes et al. 2006; Koszkul et al. 2006; Koszkul 2010). During our recent research, carried out in the framework of the Nakum Archaeological Project, we wanted to further study the talud-tablero platforms that previously had been only the subject of preliminary research. The investigations revealed that the talud-tablero style platforms existed at the southern, western, northern and north-eastern part of Patio 1 and joined together at their corners forming a sunken courtyard (Koszkul et al. 2006; Koszkul 2010). Based on associated materials and architectural stratigraphy, the talud-tablero architecture at Nakum can be dated to the Tzakol 3 phase. Our investigations were especially focused on the building, designated as Structure G Sub-2, a taludtablero structure measuring c. 1.8-2.0 m in height, which defines the southern perimeter of Patio 1. Structure G Sub-2 was determined to measure more than 40 m long, and exhibited a 0.28-0.35 m high talud, and tablero with lower and upper moulding. In the course of our investigations, which included tunnelling of the core of this building, we found a very rich collection of artefacts made of ceramics, obsidian, chert and other materials, including Thin Orange ceramics and green obsidian artefacts from Teotihuacan. Among this material, there were several incised sherds of which one merits particular attention here. The incised sherd (PANFC 030) found in the core of Structure G Sub-2 measures 23 x 17 cm and has been identified as belonging to the Aguila Orange type (see Smith, Gifford 1966: 154; Gifford 1979: 182) dated to Tzakol 3 phase. It bears orange slip and its form indicates that it was most probably part of a large globular jar, presumably intended to contain fluids, such as water or beverages (Fig. 9:a). The exterior part of the artefact was secondarily incised with a very interesting and complex scene (Fig. 9:b). The scene may be framed by a built edifice as is suggested by the two, superimposed, rectangular forms at the base, presumably representing an architectural platform, embellished by some banded bulbous elements. In addition, the left part of the scene is delineated by what may be a wall, which is only partly preserved at the right. What may be within this structure are three triangular forms that point │ 641 Jarosław Źrałka et al. Fig. 9. a – photograph of a large ceramic sherd found in the core of the talud-tablero structure and covered by incised scene (photo by R. Słaboński); b – scene incised on the surface of the same ceramic fragment (drawing by Ch. Helmke). upwards, set side-by-side. Based on what remains of these three forms we may conclude that these were identical, or nearly so. Based on the shape of these forms and the expressionless faces that topped these, we might conclude that these represent funerary bundles, or bundled effigies at the very least. Alternatively, these shapes may represent stylised mountains or trees that may be personified, hence 642 │ the addition of faces. At the base of each of these bundles or mounded features, we see human heads in profile, peering to the left, and streaming from their heads are what may be vegetal elements that terminate in crescent-forms that are embellished by small dashes. These distinctive profiles, the plantlike elements and the representation of heads in isolation of bodies suggest that we may be looking Incised ceramics from Nakum, Guatemala at the head of the decapitated Maize god, who in a well-known mythological episode is decapitated at the hands of underworld deities (see Taube 1992). As a whole, the scene may thereby be a grouping of three deity effigies contained within a ritual structure, such as the sacred precinct of a temple. Based on this interpretation we can go on the speculate that these represent three local deities, since patron deities of particular sites preferentially occur in sets of three. This is known from the hieroglyphic texts at Tikal, Caracol and most notably at Palenque (see Stuart 2005)—although more exceptional examples are known from sites in the Petexbatun area, where patron deities occur in pairs and at Copan the patron deities (referred to as ‘guardians’) are quadripartite (Stuart et al. 1999: 57-59). Synthesis and concluding ideas This paper constitutes an initial attempt to present and analyse the incised ceramics from Nakum showing the importance of this category of artefacts. It seems that many broken vessel fragments had a “second life” or episodes of use upon receiving incised elements and/or decorations. They served as a kind of media that conveyed special themes, sometimes of a very complex mythological character. As we have shown here not only small ceramic sherds could be reused, receiving incised graffiti but there were also whole vessels that were covered by complex scenes as the finds from Nakum and other sites may indicate. We call the incised motifs described in this paper as graffiti since there is a distinction between vessels which originally received incisions as part of their original external decoration (added at the stage of manufacture of such pieces and constituting their original ornamentation) and ceramic fragments or whole vessels to which incisions were added after these vessels were created. As such, much of the distinction rests with the identity of the creator of such incisions. Was it ceramicist and potter, or the user and owner of the ceramics? The latter designs and representations can be called graffiti since they constitute post-firing, secondary additions to the whole vessels or to ceramic fragments that come from fractured vessels. Based on present evidence, the tradition of reusing and incising ceramic sherds is as old as the appearance of ceramics in the Maya Lowlands. The earliest examples from Nakum can be dated to the Middle Preclassic period and are represented by rather simple incisions. More sophisticated and very numerous are examples dating to the transition between the Preclassic and Classic periods (the Protoclassic), leading on into the Early Classic. The Protoclassic as well as the subsequent, Early Classic, period are represented by the most beautiful and complex examples of incised graffiti from Nakum. A large ceramic fragment discovered in the core of Structure G Sub-2 merits special attention as it may represent the heads of mythological figures and the bundled effigies of patron deities. Another artefact from the same period – a ceramic disc of Balanza Black type – features a beautifully rendered quadruped shown in a very dynamic position. Together, as a set, these sherds demonstrate that the practice of decorating ceramics, during the latter phase of their usage, as well as the very act of decorating isolated sherds with designs, was well-established and prevalent during the Protoclassic through to the Early Classic. This is a feature that is widespread during the same time period, both at other sites in the Maya lowlands (e.g. Río Azul, see Adams 1999) as well as at Teotihuacan in the central Mexican highlands (e.g. Spence 2015). This tradition clearly continues during the following Late Classic, traditionally considered to be the apogee of Classic Maya civilization. The archaeological context of the discovery of incised sherds also warrants continued attention since most of them come from the core of important public buildings (Structures 14, 15 and 104). Two of these, Structures 15 and 104, functioned as funerary pyramids and places for the veneration of ancestors as our investigations indicate (see Źrałka et al. 2011, 2017). Besides, Structure 104 was part on an E-Group which also constituted an important ceremonial complex associated with observation of the sun, the commemoration of important period endings, and related rituals (Aimers, Rice 2006; Aveni et al. 2003; Aylesworth 2004, 2015). At least some of these sherds might have been deposited into the core of buildings in a ceremonial act that might have involved the ritual placement, breaking or ‘killing’ of larger fragments or whole vessels. In the course of our investigations we found many fragments of polychrome vessels that were intentionally scattered into various parts of the core of excavated buildings during the process of construction (especially in the case of Structures 14 and 104). Sometimes the distance separating fragments stemming from one and the same vessel is very large and only detailed and large scale excavations can bring to light most parts of such ritually deposited vessels. The iconography, and in some cases quality of style of ceramic graffiti, indicate that these must have │ 643 Jarosław Źrałka et al. been made by people familiar with canons of formal regal art and/or had knowledge about ancient Maya writing and mythology. It is therefore tempting to think that many, if not most, of the more complex and achieved scenes were created by artists and scribes attached to the royal court. Yet, given the diversity of the collection of incised ceramics we can see that these constitute a wide kaleidoscope of motifs with varying degrees of refinement, accomplishment and symbolic weight. 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From E-Group to Funerary Pyramid: Mortuary Cults and Ancestor veneration in the Maya Centre of Nakum, Peten, Guatemala, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 27 (3): 451-478. Jarosław Źrałka Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland j.zralka@uj.edu.pl Christophe Helmke Institute of Cross-cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark cgbh@hum.ku.dk Bernard Hermes The Nakum Archaeological Project, Guatemala bernardhermes26@gmail.com Wiesław Koszkul Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland wkoszkul@wp.pl │ 645