| This thesis investigates the importance of a single animal, the crocodile, to the ancient Maya. Although there have been numerous studies focusing on the relationships other animals have had with the Precolumbian Maya (i.e., jaguars, bats, stingrays, etc.) little to no work has been done to assess the significance of this formidable reptilian predator. In an attempt to rectify this scholastic shortcoming, this study examines the crocodile as it appears in Maya iconography, ranging from large scale monumental art to small scale portable items, and zooarchaeological assemblages such as middens, caches and burials, in addition to ethnographic accounts and ethnohistoric records. Through this assessment, it was possible to identify the crocodile as an important symbol for the ancient Maya, representing the fertile surface of the earth, the heavens, and creation/destruction of the world. Zooarchaeologically, crocodiles appear most frequently in ritual-oriented contexts, which likely represent the physical manifestation of the animal's cosmological associations. The abundance of crocodile imagery and skeletal remains, which have extraordinary antiquity and longevity (ca. 2500 years), as well as its broad geographical distribution, demonstrates irrevocably that this saurian was a revered creature and a key symbol in the Maya cosmos.;Keywords: ancient Maya, crocodiles, archaeology, iconography, zooarchaeology, cosmology, ritual, symbolism... |
