2005 Exploring the Roles of Temples at Yalbac. Research Reports ...

Exploring the Role Yalbac TemplesWere all Maya temples built the same, or dotemples show variability? In either case, didthey serve varied functions? Were templesbuilt for different gods, or did they all havesimilar functions? Were they funded bydifferent groups of people, not just kings?Different groups could include wealthyfamilies or elites, lesser royals or nobles, oreven community members. The fundamentalquestion is: Why did the Maya build somany temples? Before we can address thesequestions, we need more concreteinformation about temple histories. In thispaper, I present preliminary data fromtemple looters trenches at Yalbac that showpromising results regarding variability.Since the majority of secondary centerslike Yalbac do not have written records, Iexplore whether or not temple attributes canreveal histories indicating that temples werecrucial in daily social, religious, andpolitical life. Attributes explored includefrequency of temples within centers, sizedifferences, location with regard to othermonumental architecture, layout andaccessibility (private or restricted), historyof use, and construction patterns includingstyle, labor, materials, decorative features,and ritual deposits.YalbacYalbac site is located under junglecanopy, near pockets of good agriculturalland, along Yalbac Creek, a perennialstream, on the eastern border of the southernlowlands (Graebner 2002a, 2002b; Lucero2004; Lucero et al. 2004). J. Eric Thompsonmade brief mention of an eastern group ofYalbac in the 1930’s (1939:2, 282), butappeared to have inadvertently missed thesite core (Figure 1). Plaza test pits yieldedceramics dating from c. 300 B.C. throughA.D. 900, or the Late Preclassic through theTerminal Classic period.The six pyramid temples at Yalbacrange from 8 to 16m in height of which fiveexhibited looters trenches (LTs). Thelooters trenches were recorded in profilesduring the 2002-2004 seasons and yieldedimportant clues as to constructionsequences. At present, the temples allappear to lack summit structures and plasterfloors; some have cut-stone terraced facadesand dry and mortared boulder and cobblecore fill. Surface ceramics indicate thetemples were used through the Late Classicperiod (A.D. 550-850), even though theMaya began building some much earlier inthe Late Preclassic (300-100 B.C.) (e.g.Plaza 3 temples).All temples are located on large openplazas, though Plaza 3 is slightly morerestricted than Plaza 2. These two plazascontain the two tallest temples, Str. 2A (40 x36 m, 16 m tall) and Str. 3A (45 x 25 m, 11m tall), and Plaza 2 has the only ballcourt.Interestingly, the western structure of theballcourt is attached to the front of thetemple rather than at the back as one finds atXunantunich and Cahal Pech; either theMaya no longer used the temple or movedthe staircase to the side, or they built thetemple after the ballcourt, perhaps to enclosethe plaza (John Morris, pers. comm., 2004).Str. 3A and Str. 3D (45 x 25, 8 m tall) arethe only temples with wings on the northand south sides, which likely contain tombs(Jaime Awe, pers. comm. 2004).Plaza 2 temples are on averagebigger than Plaza 3 temples (15,960 cm 3 vs.7,792 cm 3 ). Plaza 2 temples have morefaced stones on average (19% vs. 12%) andare thrice the average size of the Plaza 3temples (1,318 cm 2 vs. 435 cm 2 ). Shapedstone blocks are faced on all exposed sides,especially on the front sides of temples. Theback or sidewall blocks appear to be facedonly on one side (e.g. LT 7 and LT 29, Str.3A). The exposed core fills at Str. 2E (40 x36 m, 8 m tall) and Str. 2F (30 x 30 m, 10 mtall) have mortar, usually of marl, plaster,gravel, or sand. In contrast, Str. 3A and Str.350