A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. / Yaeger, Jason; Helmke, Christophe; Brown, M. Kathryn; Zender, Marc; Cap, Bernadette; Freiwald, Carolyn.

In: Mexicon, Vol. 45, No. 2, 2023, p. 30-41.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Yaeger, J, Helmke, C, Brown, MK, Zender, M, Cap, B & Freiwald, C 2023, 'A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize', Mexicon, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 30-41.

APA

Yaeger, J., Helmke, C., Brown, M. K., Zender, M., Cap, B., & Freiwald, C. (2023). A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. Mexicon, 45(2), 30-41.

Vancouver

Yaeger J, Helmke C, Brown MK, Zender M, Cap B, Freiwald C. A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. Mexicon. 2023;45(2):30-41.

Author

Yaeger, Jason ; Helmke, Christophe ; Brown, M. Kathryn ; Zender, Marc ; Cap, Bernadette ; Freiwald, Carolyn. / A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. In: Mexicon. 2023 ; Vol. 45, No. 2. pp. 30-41.

Bibtex

@article{fb32385a693743299223c44c56df8e61,
title = "A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize",
abstract = "In 2014, a marine shell gorget was discovered in an elaborate, Early Classic crypt burial at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. We present a de- tailed analysis of the gorget{\textquoteright}s text and imagery. The short, incised inscription provides a new gloss for k{\textquoteright}an as {\textquoteleft}shell gorget or pendant{\textquoteright} and identifies the gorget{\textquoteright}s owner as the ajaw of the {\textquoteleft}dotted-ko place,{\textquoteright} which we read as Kom-kom. The carved iconography depicts the downward-facing profile of a deified ancestor, similar to those on Tikal Stelae 29 and 31. These data suggest that Buenavista del Cayo was ruled by an ajaw by at least ca. AD 450, and that the site was within the Komkom polity, possibly its capital. More broadly, the gorget supports the model that the Mopan Valley was ruled by a series of sequential political capitals. A comparative analysis of similar gorgets permits us to suggest that these objects were instrumental in the founding or re-founding of Early Classic royal lines with links to Teotihuacan, whether they were direct or mediated through polities with stronger ties, like Tikal.",
author = "Jason Yaeger and Christophe Helmke and Brown, {M. Kathryn} and Marc Zender and Bernadette Cap and Carolyn Freiwald",
year = "2023",
language = "English",
volume = "45",
pages = "30--41",
journal = "Mexicon",
issn = "0720-5988",
publisher = "Verlag AntonSaurwein",
number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - A Shell Gorget from Feature 384-2 at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize

AU - Yaeger, Jason

AU - Helmke, Christophe

AU - Brown, M. Kathryn

AU - Zender, Marc

AU - Cap, Bernadette

AU - Freiwald, Carolyn

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - In 2014, a marine shell gorget was discovered in an elaborate, Early Classic crypt burial at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. We present a de- tailed analysis of the gorget’s text and imagery. The short, incised inscription provides a new gloss for k’an as ‘shell gorget or pendant’ and identifies the gorget’s owner as the ajaw of the ‘dotted-ko place,’ which we read as Kom-kom. The carved iconography depicts the downward-facing profile of a deified ancestor, similar to those on Tikal Stelae 29 and 31. These data suggest that Buenavista del Cayo was ruled by an ajaw by at least ca. AD 450, and that the site was within the Komkom polity, possibly its capital. More broadly, the gorget supports the model that the Mopan Valley was ruled by a series of sequential political capitals. A comparative analysis of similar gorgets permits us to suggest that these objects were instrumental in the founding or re-founding of Early Classic royal lines with links to Teotihuacan, whether they were direct or mediated through polities with stronger ties, like Tikal.

AB - In 2014, a marine shell gorget was discovered in an elaborate, Early Classic crypt burial at Buenavista del Cayo, Belize. We present a de- tailed analysis of the gorget’s text and imagery. The short, incised inscription provides a new gloss for k’an as ‘shell gorget or pendant’ and identifies the gorget’s owner as the ajaw of the ‘dotted-ko place,’ which we read as Kom-kom. The carved iconography depicts the downward-facing profile of a deified ancestor, similar to those on Tikal Stelae 29 and 31. These data suggest that Buenavista del Cayo was ruled by an ajaw by at least ca. AD 450, and that the site was within the Komkom polity, possibly its capital. More broadly, the gorget supports the model that the Mopan Valley was ruled by a series of sequential political capitals. A comparative analysis of similar gorgets permits us to suggest that these objects were instrumental in the founding or re-founding of Early Classic royal lines with links to Teotihuacan, whether they were direct or mediated through polities with stronger ties, like Tikal.

M3 - Journal article

VL - 45

SP - 30

EP - 41

JO - Mexicon

JF - Mexicon

SN - 0720-5988

IS - 2

ER -

ID: 346267219