THE LINKED EARFLARE ASSEMBLAGE
THE DISTRIBUTION OF A MAYA COSTUME ELEMENT IN EASTERN AND CENTRAL MESOAMERICA.
BY JAMES B. PORTER
JANUARY 25, 1989
585a T'up, Bik, Ear Ornament
INTRODUCTION
Ornamental flares made of various materials are found in the remains of all major Mesoamerican civilizations and throughout the region's Precolumbian history. Most eminent Mesoamericans accessorized formal costumes by adorning their earlobes with flares. Among eminent Maya accessorization of formal costumes with flares t'up-ob, was not so restricted. Formal portraits of eminent Maya show flares adorning not only earlobes, but also anklets, wristlets, belts, pectorals, headdresses, hair and headbands as well as strung like beads on necklaces and belt hangings. A natural outgrowth of such arrangements of ornamental flares is the assembly of a series of linked flares suspended from the earlobe.
Linked earflare assemblages have a long history and a broad distribution in Eastern and Central Mesoamerica with forms varying according to chronological period and geographic region. Examples of this distinctive ear ornament occur in all three geographic divisions of the Maya area, in Veracruz, in Central Mexico, and throughout the history of Precolumbian Mesoamerican civilizations. At least twenty six examples of the linked earflare complex are known; three from the Pacific Piedmont; fourteen, possibly fifteen, from the Central and Southern Lowlands; four from Central Mexico; thirteen from Central Veracruz and at least two from the Northern Lowlands.
EXAMPLES BY CHRONOLOGY REGION AND STYLE
Figure 1: Abaj Takalik Altar 13, Retalhuleu 6.15.0.0.0-8.5.0.0.0
Earliest Examples of the linked earflare complex are found in the Pacific Piedmont during Cycles 6 or 7 of the Maya calendar. Early Pacific Piedmont treatment of the feature is represented by Abaj Takalik Altar 13 (Graham, Heizer and Shook 1978). In this early Pacific Piedmont example a band passes over each flare and through the central hole to form a chain which may be bound to the belt and belt head assemblage (Figure 1).
Figure 2: Abaj Takalik Stela 1, Retalhuleu 7.10.0.0.0-9.0.0.0.0
Cycle 8, 9 Pacific Piedmont treatment of the linked earflare complex is represented by Abaj Takalik Stela 1 (Thompson 1943). This example duplicates the features found earlier on Abaj Takalik Altar 13 where a band passes over each flare and through the central hole to form a chain
which is bound to the belt and belt head assemblage (Figure 2).
Figure 3: Bilbao Monument 3, Esquintla 9.10.0.0.0-10.10.0.0.0
Cycle 9 Pacific Piedmont treatment of the theme is represented by the severed trophy head on Bilbao Monument 3 (Parsons 1969). In the Bilbao example no band links the earflares, the central holes are open and the flares form a chain which swings freely and sustains a small leaf shaped final (Figure 3).
Figure 4: Polol Altar 1, Peten 7.0.0.0.0-8.10.0.0.0
Cycle 7, Early Cycle 8 the earliest Central and Southern Lowlands treatments of this trait complex are exemplified by Polol Altar 1 (Morely 1937-8) and a stucco figure examples from Polol a band passes over each flare and through the central hole to form a chain which swings freely
and sustains a serpent head final.
Figure 5: Tikal Group 6C_XVI Structure Sub-75, Stucco 8.0.0.0.0-8.10.0.0.0
Preclassic in the examples from the Mundo Perdido at Tikal, stucco the binding is not visible. The Mundo Perdido example also has 'U' elements filling each earflare's central hole.
Figure 6: Ludwig Stela. Unknown, Peten?
Late Cycle 8, Early Cycle 9 the earflare complex is exemplified by an unprovenienced wooden sculpture now in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, said to be from the border region of Tabasco and Guatemala (Ekholm 1964), an unprovenienced limestone stela in the Ludwig collection of the Rautentrauch-Joest museum, Cologne (Mayer 1978), Tikal Stela 31, Tikal Miscellaneous Stone 110 and possibly Tikal Miscellaneous Stone 69 (Jones and Satterthwait 1982), and a censer fragment from Altar de Sacrificios (Adams 1971). Most of these examples follow the pattern of Polol Altar 1 where a band passes over each flare and through the central hole to form a chain which swings freely and sustains a serpent head final. The Ludwig Stela example follows the pattern of the Tikal Structure Sub-75 stucco, where the binding is not visible.
Figure 7: Yaxchilan Stela 18, Peten. 9.16.10.0.0
Late Cycle 9 the linked earflare assemblage enjoys a revival in the Central and Southern Lowlands at Yax-ch(i)-il-an where examples appear on Lintels 17, 32, 39 and 46, and Stelae 9, 10 and 18 (Maler 1903). In these later Central and Southern Lowlands examples no visible band links the earflares and a bead fills the central holes. In all of these examples a profile earflare passes through the earlobe and the linked earflare assemblage is suspended from a separate cord which passes through the earlobe below the profile earflare. The flares thus form a separate chain swinging freely with a single bead at the bottom and additional beads on the horizontal axis of each flare.
Figure 8: Yaxchilan Stela 9. Peten 9.15.0.0.0
Late Cycle 9 on Stela 9 there are no beads on the horizontal axis of the individual earflares and the chain sustains a 'T' element with a bead at the end of each of its three members.
Figure 9: Chalcatzingo Monument 1. Morelos
Chalcatzingo there are three early examples of the linked earflare assemblage, Monuments 1, 3 and 28 (Grove 1987). In these examples a band passes out of the central hole of the upper flare and disappears behind the lower flare. The linked earflares swing freely and sustain an inverted open triangular final (Figure 9).
Figure 10: El Tajin Niches Pyramid, Panel 2. Veracruz
Classic Gulf Coast treatment of the theme is represented by thirteen examples from El Tajin. The Niches Pyramid Panel 2, Vertical Frieze 10a, Horizontal Frieze 11i, Sculptures 1 and 7 and a slab from Structure 4 are from the site's early period; South Ball Court Panels 2, 3, 4 and 6 are from the site's middle period; Columns Building Sculptures 2 and 8 and Columns Building Fragment 35a are from the site's late period (Kampen 1972, GarciaPayon 1976). In the Tajin examples a band passes through the central holes of the upper two flares and emerges from the lower edge of the second, and succeeding flares, disappearing through the central holes of the flares below. The overlapping linked earflares swing freely and without a final.
Figure 11: Tula Stucco. Hidalgo 10.5.0.0.0-11.0.0.0.0
Cycle 10 one clear example and one probable example of the theme, said to be from Tula, appear on stucco tablets in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History (Von Winning 1968). In the Tula examples a band passes from the earlobe to the upper flare, no band links the earflares and the flares form a chain which swings freely and without a final.
Figure 12: Chichen Itza Great Ballcourt, Panel 2.
Cycle 10 at Chi-chen Itz'-ah four examples of the linked earflare assemblage are found in the midline panels of the great ballcourt. Other examples are found in associated structures and on the columns of the temple of the
warriors. In these examples a profile earflare passes through the earlobe and the linked earflare assemblage is suspended below the profile earflare. The linked earflares swing freely and without a final.
DISCUSSION
The forms and the distribution of the linked earflare assemblage both testify to important links between the early Maya of the Pacific Piedmont and the Central and Southern Lowlands. Distinctive treatment of the linked earflare assemblage in the early Central and Southern Lowlands examples and the early Pacific Piedmont examples demonstrates the early development of independent sculptural traditions in these two regions of the Maya area.
The appearance of such independent sculptural traditions on the earliest known examples of lowland sculpture suggests the existence of a still earlier tradition of sculptural art in the Central and Southern Lowlands which
has eluded earlier explorers due to unfamiliarity with early Maya art and to obscuration by the intensity of Classic Maya activity in the Central Area.
The coincidence of the linked earflare assemblage on Olmec sculpture at Chalcatzingo and on Maya sculpture in the Maya area proper provides additional evidence for the contemporaneity of fully developed Olmec and Maya cultures, rather than a developmental historical sequence from Olmec to Maya.
The late Cycle 9 distribution of the linked earflare assemblage constitutes an additional link between the traditional 'Maya Area' and the Central Veracruz Culture. This iconographic coincidence gains increased
interest in light of Wilkerson's argument for the Huastec Maya ethnicity of the Classic Central Veracruz Culture centered at El Tajin (Wilkerson 1972).
The Cycle 10 appearance of the linked earflare assemblage at Tula evinces fascinating links between 'Toltec' Tula and the Classic Central Veracruz Culture. The composition, the pose of the figure, the bag, the wall-scroll and the presence and type of the linked earflare assemblage form strong artistic links between the Tula tablet and the earlier Tajin tablet. These artistic links, combined with the contact period distribution of the Huastec and the theorized Huastec ethnicity of Classic Central Veracruz Culture, support the frequently argued position that there was either a Huastec component or strong Huastec influence on Tula 'Toltec'.
The appearance of the linked earflare assemblage in the sculpture of Chi-chen Itz'-ah provides further evidence for the diverse Maya traditions underlying the Maya renaissance represented by the site's 'New Chi-chen' phase. The linked earflare assemblage type is most similar to late Cycle 9 examples from Yax-ch(i)-il-an. However, the six panel format and sacrifice theme of the Ballcourt examples suggest Classic Central Veracruz influence on Chi-chen Maya during the 'New Chi-chen' phase.
CONCLUSIONS
The forms of the linked earflare assemblage are a characteristically Maya elaboration of a simple feature common to the formal costume of eminent Mesoamericans. The great number, variety and complexity of examples and of forms found in the Maya Area reaches its apex in the appearance of multiple forms at the sites of Yax-ch(i)-il-an and Tikal. The creative diversity of Maya forms contrasts starkly with the relatively simple and clearly derivative forms found outside the 'Maya Area' proper. These distribution patterns support previous suggestions that Gulf Coast and Central Mexican civilizations looked to the Maya for cultural leadership. Indeed, the linked earflare complex is only one of many features pointing to a significant Maya presence in the Gulf Coast and Central Mexico during the early k'atunob of Cycles 8 and 10.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
RETURN TO MAYA GLYPHS