Patron Gods and Patron Lords : The Semiotics of Classic Maya Community Cults

In the first comprehensive treatment of Classic Maya patron deity veneration, Joanne P. Baron demonstrates the central importance of patron deity cults in political relationships between both rulers and their subjects and among different Maya kingdoms. Weaving together evidence from inscriptions, images, and artifacts, __Patron Gods and Patron Lords__ provides new insights into how the Classic Maya polity was organized and maintained. Using semiotic theory, Baron draws on three bodies of evidence: ethnographies and manuscripts from Postclassic, Colonial, and modern Maya communities that connect patron saints to pre-Columbian patron gods; hieroglyphic texts from the Classic period that discuss patron deity veneration; and excavations from four patron deity temples at the site of La Corona, Guatemala. She shows how the Classic Maya used patron deity effigies, temples, and acts of devotion to negotiate group membership, social entitlements, and obligations between individuals and communities. She also explores the wider role of these processes in politics, arguing that rituals and discourses related to patron deities ultimately formulated Maya rulership as a locally oriented institution, which limited the ability of powerful kingdoms to create wider religious communities. Applying a new theoretical approach for the archaeological study of ideology and power dynamics, __Patron Gods and Patron Lords__ reveals an overlooked aspect of the belief system of Maya communities. Contents 8 List of Figures 10 List of Tables 14 Acknowledgments 16 1. The Classic Maya and Their Political System 20 2. Words and Things: Semiotics and the Archaeological Record 36 3. Semantics: Defining Patron Deities 62 4. Pragmatics: Using Patron Deities 92 5. Patron Deity Introduction at La Corona, Guatemala 134 6. The Classic Maya Polity 182 Appendix: Patron Deities of Classic Maya Sites 190 References Cited 206 Index 236