ANCIENT MAYA ROYAL STRATEGIES: Creating power and identity through art

Abstract

Ancient Maya monumental art was designed to enact the physical, social, and ritual hierarchy. Physically, sculpture created barriers and access patterns that altered movement through sites. Monumental architecture separated ritual participants in buildings from audiences in the plazas below. Access to monuments and portrayals on monuments in part defined social and power hierarchies. Motifs were altered to communicate various forms of power appropriate to each context and audience. Complex supernatural themes and ritual roles demonstrated hierarchical differences among the ruler and other nobles, while more simplistic representations of a powerful ruler demonstrated the separation of the ruler from commoners.