Triadic pyramid

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Section of stucco frieze with a prominent human face in the centre, surrounded by elaborate decoration.
Maya civilization
History
Preclassic Maya
Classic Maya collapse
Spanish conquest of Yucatán
Spanish conquest of Guatemala
Spanish conquest of Petén

Triadic pyramids are a Preclassic Maya civilization innovation consisting of a dominant structure flanked by two smaller inward-facing buildings, all mounted upon a single basal platform.[1] The largest known triadic pyramid was built at El Mirador in the Petén Basin of Guatemala; it covers an area six times as large as that covered by Tikal Temple IV, which is the largest pyramid at that city.[2] The three superstructures all have stairways leading up from the central plaza on top of the basal platform.[3] Triadic pyramid structures are found at early cities in the Maya lowlands.[4]

Triadic pyramid complexes were most frequently oriented towards the west, although other orientations were common, particularly at those cities that possessed more than one triadic pyramid.[5]

There are no known Middle Preclassic forerunners of the triadic pyramid complex, although it may have developed from the eastern range building of E-Group observatory complexes.[6] The triadic form was the predominant architectural form in the Petén region during the Late Preclassic.[7] Examples of triadic pyramids are known from Uaxactun.[8] At Nakbe, a sizeable city dating to the Middle Preclassic, there are at least eight examples of triadic complexes and the four largest structures in the city are triadic in nature.[9] At El Mirador there are 15 major triadic structures.[10] Other examples of this architectural form are known at Tikal, Cerros, Wakna, El Tintal and Lamanai.[11] An example of the triadic form is even known from Dzibilchaltun in the far north of the Yucatán Peninsula.[12] El Tintal has a massive triadic pyramid complex that is the second largest after El Mirador.[13]

The triadic pyramid remained a popular architectural form for centuries after the first examples were built.[14] The triadic form continued in use into the Classic Period, with later examples being found at Uaxactun, Caracol, Seibal, Nakum, Tikal and Palenque.[15]

The triple-temple form of the triadic pyramid appears to be related to Maya mythology.[16] The three hearthstones of the Maya creation myth have been associated with three stars in the constellation of Orion and the triadic pyramid complex may be an architectural representation of this.[17]

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See also [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.253.
  2. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, p.253.
  3. ^ Coe 1999, p.77.
  4. ^ Coe 1999, p.77.
  5. ^ Estrada-Belli 2011, p.67.
  6. ^ Hansen 1998, p.78.
  7. ^ Forsyth 1993, p.113.
  8. ^ Valdés 1994, p.101.
  9. ^ Hansen 1991, p.166. Hansen 1998, p.78.
  10. ^ Hansen 1998, p.78.
  11. ^ Hansen 1991, p.166. Hansen 1998, pp.78-80.
  12. ^ Hansen 1998, p.80.
  13. ^ Estrada-Belli 2011, p.52.
  14. ^ Hansen 1998, p.78.
  15. ^ Hansen 1998, p.80.
  16. ^ Hansen 1991, p.166.
  17. ^ Hansen 1998, p.80.

References [edit]

Coe, Michael D. (1999). The Maya. Ancient peoples and places series (6th edition, fully revised and expanded ed.). London and New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28066-5. OCLC 59432778. 
Estrada-Belli, Francisco (2011). The First Maya Civilization: Ritual and Power Before the Classic Period. Abingdon, Oxfordshire and New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-42994-8. 
Forsyth, Donald W. (1993). "La arquitectura Preclásica en Nakbe: Un estudio comparativo de dos periodos." (PDF). VI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1992 (edited by J.P. Laporte, H. Escobedo and S. Villagrán de Brady) (Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología): 113–121. Retrieved 2010-07-21.  (Spanish)
Hansen, Richard D. (1991). "Resultados preliminares de las investigaciones arqueológicas en el sitio Nakbe, Petén, Guatemala" (PDF). II Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1988 (edited by J.P. Laporte, S. Villagrán, H. Escobedo, D. de González y J. Valdés). Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala. pp. 163–178. Retrieved 2010-07-21.  (Spanish)
Hansen, Richard D. (1998). "Continuity and Disjunction: The Pre-Classic Antecedents of Classic Maya Architecture". In Stephen D. Houston (ed.). Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. pp. 49–122. ISBN 978-0-88402-254-1. OCLC 318200121. 
Sharer, Robert J.; with Loa P. Traxler (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th (fully revised) ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4817-9. OCLC 57577446. 
Valdés, Juan Antonio (1994). "El Grupo A de Uaxactun: Manifestaciones arquitectónicas y dinásticas durante el Clásico Temprano." (PDF). I Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1987 (edited by J.P. Laporte, H. Escobedo and S. Villagrán) (Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología): 98–111. Retrieved 2010-07-21.  (Spanish)

References [edit]

Flores Esquivel, Atasta (2010). "Los complejos del Tipo "E" y su asociación con acrópolis o arreglos de tipo Triádico: Esbozos de un posible patrón urbano y sus posibles significados." (PDF). XXIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 2009 (edited by B. Arroyo, A. Linares and L. Paiz) (Guatemala City, Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología): 111–122. Retrieved 2012-11-10.  (Spanish)
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