This paper argues that what we and others have termed a "cult of Quetzalcoatl" is more properly viewed as a set of imagery, beliefs, and practices associated with an ideology of leadership. Examination of the architecture and iconography of Chichen Itza and related sites with feathered serpent iconography suggests that these practices were similarly structured and played a similar role in many of Mesoamerica's Tollans, specifically in the investiture of client elites. Many of the structures of the Gran Nivelación of Chichen Itza, particularly the Great Ballcourt, were the loci of such rituals of investiture, especially its military aspect. This common ritual structure supports the idea that Quetzalcoatl may have been central to institutions unifying Mesoamerica from the time of Teotihuacan onward, if not earlier. And when they arrived/Before the lord/Nacxit was the name of the great lord/The sole judge/Of a huge jurisdiction/And it was he who gave out the signs of authority/All the insignia [Edmonson 1971:LL:7280-7285]. The whole alleged story of the Toltecs is merely an euhemerized myth, and they are as pure creations of the fancy as the giants and fairies of mediaeval romance. They have no business in the pages of sober history [Brinton 1885:11]. Like the conqueror kings in the southern lowlands, the Itza lords sought to break out of the limitations imposed by many small, competing realms. The way they accomplished this was to forge a conquest state and hegemonic empire with its capital, Chichen Itza, in the center of the north. This city witnessed the birth of a social and political order based upon a new principle of governance, mul tepal, "joint rule" [Schele and Freidel 1990:348].

Since 1984, the Ek

This paper reexamines the art and architecture of the Upper Temple of the Jaguars, Chichen Itza, in light of new unpublished digital images of Adela Breton's copies of the murals. Following discussion of the construction date of the building and previous interpretations of the murals, examination of costume, setting, and house form suggests that rather than depicting mythic or symbolic episodes, these murals illustrate actual military encounters between Chichen and its enemies. The occasion for their production seems to be the utilization of the Upper Temple of the Jaguars by a specific sector of Chichen Itza's military, perhaps for rites of investiture. This sector is argued to have been associated with the Cloud Serpent, either as the title of its leader or as a patron deity, and the structure itself is perhaps related to later Nahua buildings associated with penitential rites involving warfare and investiture.2 Line drawings of the murals were produced by Santiago Bolio (for Edward Thompson [McVicker 2005:72]), Augustus and Alice Le Plongeon, and Teobert Maler (cited by Seler 1998:109). With the exception of a tracing of the southwest panel and a portion of the northeast panel by Maler (in Willard 1926:217, 220), the others are unpublished. I have seen no indication that Thompson's copy survived.3 Martínez de la Luna (2005) summarizes the current state of the murals and some of the results of a recent Brigham Young multispectral investigation of the UTJ murals.

Continuing analysis of the site of Chichen Itza suggests that its construction dates primarily to the Late Classic period, ca. a.d. 700–1000, rather than the Early Postclassic. This paper examines the implications of this redating for the well-known “Toltec” problem. Since Chichen largely antedated Tollan-phase Tula, we conclude that what is usually identified as Toltec imagery in fact dates to an earlier Epiclassic horizon extending from Morelos and Puebla to the Gulf Coast and Yucatan. Chichen Itza, we suggest, was the eastern node in a network of shrine centers dedicated primarily to Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan. This network transcended political boundaries and included such sites as Cholula, Cacaxtla, El TajIn, Xochicalco, and ultimately Tula. The Quetzalcoatl cult is manifested by a specific complex of traits and seems to have expanded militarily with messianic vigor. Pilgrimage was also an important activity at these centers. This cult axis apparently continued into the Postclassic period, and was responsible for the distribution of the Mixteca-Puebla art style. In Yucatan, Mayapan would seem to have assumed Chichen's position as the major Yucatecan node, although accompanied by several new shrines along the Caribbean coast.

The application of lidar remote-sensing technology has revolutionized the practice of settlement and landscape archaeology, perhaps nowhere more so than in the Maya lowlands. This contribution presents a substantial lidar dataset from the Puuc region of Yucatan, Mexico, a cultural subregion of the ancient Maya and a distinct physiographic zone within the Yucatan peninsula. Despite the high density of known sites, no large site has been fully surveyed, and little is known about intersite demography. Lidar technology allows determination of settlement distribution for the first time, showing that population was elevated but nucleated, although without any evidence of defensive features. Population estimates suggest a region among the most densely settled within the Maya lowlands, though hinterland levels are modest. Lacking natural bodies of surface water, the ancient Puuc inhabitants relied upon various storage technologies, primarily chultuns (cisterns) and aguadas (natural or modified reservoirs for potable water). Both are visible in the lidar imagery, allowing calculation of aguada capacities by means of GIS software. The imagery also demonstrates an intensive and widespread stone working industry. Ovens visible in the imagery were probably used for the production of lime, used for construction purposes and perhaps also as a softening agent for maize. Quarries can also be discerned, including in some cases substantial portions of entire hills. With respect to agriculture, terrain classification permits identification of patches of prime cultivable land and calculation of their extents. Lidar imagery also provides the first unequivocal evidence for terracing in the Puuc, indeed in all northern Yucatan. Finally, several types of civic architecture and architectural complexes are visible, including four large acropolises probably dating to the Middle Formative period (700–450 B.C.). Later instances of civic architecture include numerous Early Puuc Civic Complexes, suggesting a common form of civic organization at the beginning of the Late Classic demographic surge, (A.D. 600–750).