Maya Ceremonial Specialization: Lithic Tools from the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza, Yucatan by April Kay Sievert (Monographs in World Archaeology)
4to. pp. xiii, 162. illustrated. paperback. Madison: Prehistory Press, 1992.
Monographs in World Archaeology No. 12.
New in publisher's shrink wrap.
ISBN-10: 1881094014 / ISBN-13: 9781881094012
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Highly visible architecture, sculpture and painting meant Maya religion was the focus for much early research and speculation on Mayan civilization. Subtitled `Lithic Tools from the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán' this study evaluates postclassic Maya ceremonialism and addresses three problems in Maya archaeology: assumptions concerning Maya ritual assemblages; the characteristics denoting ceremonial artifacts; the linking of potential indicators of ceremonial functions for stone tools to the purposes for which ceremonies were enacted. Results from this analysis are used to broaden our conception of ritual performance beyond what is seen in Mayan art and architecture.