Astronomy, Ritual, and the Interpretation of Maya “E-Group” Architectural Assemblages

Abstract

E-group architectural assemblages, constructed and used for more than a millennium in the Maya Lowlands, are among the most distinctive and enduring forms in Mesoamerican monumental architecture. Since the 1920s, E-groups have been thought to mark the solstices and equinoxes, but more recent investigations have shown that these alignments were rarely accurate. We argue that accurate solar alignment was probably only a minor element, and primarily an early one, of a larger set of metaphorically linked design considerations that included concepts of sacred geography, ritual performance in reference to yearly solar and agricultural cycles, and longer cycles of time, especially katuns, that played a role in Lowland Maya geopolitical structuring.

5 Maintaining Social Bonds during the Preclassic: An Incipient Urban Landscape

“…During much of the Preclassic, monumental constructions were designed for communal rituals that focused on the natural world (Barber and Joyce , 230; Grove ; Marcus and Flannery , 57). For example, central plazas were large, flat, and open‐air in order to accommodate large gatherings (Aimers and Rice ; Aylesworth ; Doyle ). These constructions were often oriented in relation toward ritually significant landmarks, like mountains and caves (Brady ; Halperin ; Prufer and Kindon ).…”

5 Defining Community in the Upper Belize River Valley during the Late Classic Period: A Micro‐regional Bioarchaeological Approach

“…The E‐group complex, a tripartite structure marking the eastern side of the main plaza and facing a single pyramid on the western side, was constructed on the highest point of the Chan settlement in the Late Preclassic (Figure ). E‐groups are found across the Maya lowlands and served a ritual purpose associated with agricultural cycles (Aimers and Rice ). A series of rituals, beginning before the construction of the E‐group and continuing until the abandonment of the Chan site, established this hilltop as an important and ritually charged place (Robin et al.…”

Middle Preclassic Interregional Interaction and the Maya Lowlands

“…Rituals likely included integrative or life-cycle ceremonies (initiations, rites of passage), ancestor veneration (Awe 2013;Kosakowsky and Robin 2010;Marcus, in press;Robin et al 2012, p. 122), astrocalendric observations (Aimers and Rice 2006;Aveni et al 2003), and subsistence-based celebrations (propitiation of supernatural forces controlling rain, maize growth, and solar movements), accompanied by story telling, singing and dancing, and masked pageantry.…”