Crowned in Stone: Legacy of the Ancient Maya Queens
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Terry Powis
Department
RCHSS – Geography & Anthropology
Abstract
The Maya civilization was an impressive Mesoamerican culture that is still one of the most well-known pre-contact societies amongst people today. They are known for several of their developments and achievements within astronomy, mathematics, and architecture. They also notably created one of the most advanced writing systems in the Americas. While much is known about their civilization, there remains some mystery and avenues that have yet to be explored, and I will be expanding into one of those avenues. We know of their society and how they were organized into powerful city-states that were ruled by kings; however, they were also ruled by the occasional queen. While there were significantly more kings, there is still archaeological evidence of female rulers that haven’t been investigated or researched just as thoroughly. This preliminary project will be looking into these neglected queens by analyzing artistic renderings of them and comparing them to the Maya kings to see if there is any difference in representation between the two, as well as investigating just how much power they held within the Maya society.
Disciplines
Archaeological Anthropology
Crowned in Stone: Legacy of the Ancient Maya Queens
The Maya civilization was an impressive Mesoamerican culture that is still one of the most well-known pre-contact societies amongst people today. They are known for several of their developments and achievements within astronomy, mathematics, and architecture. They also notably created one of the most advanced writing systems in the Americas. While much is known about their civilization, there remains some mystery and avenues that have yet to be explored, and I will be expanding into one of those avenues. We know of their society and how they were organized into powerful city-states that were ruled by kings; however, they were also ruled by the occasional queen. While there were significantly more kings, there is still archaeological evidence of female rulers that haven’t been investigated or researched just as thoroughly. This preliminary project will be looking into these neglected queens by analyzing artistic renderings of them and comparing them to the Maya kings to see if there is any difference in representation between the two, as well as investigating just how much power they held within the Maya society.