Gracie Ray

BA Art History and Criticism

Cyclicality of the Cosmos in Early to Late Classic Mayan Pottery

In the Maya lowlands during the Early Classic to Late Classic period, artisans produced vessels and pottery with scenes of what appeared to be metaphors for erotic sexuality. These included acts of penetration and fluid exchange; naked women bore their breasts to anthropomorphic mosquitoes and hummingbirds, and rod-wielding men pierced conch shells while they bled profusely. Mayan narratives involving these scenes usually resolved with the birth of a child. Therefore, scenes such as this were thought to be metaphors for sexual acts and were therefore assumed to be sensual and erotic. Today, these pieces are oftentimes interpreted as eroticism. However, I will examine these scenes through the analysis of Early to Late Classic Mayan beliefs and metaphysical understanding, such as the idea of cyclicality, materiality, and the significance of fluids and the making of holes. Drawing on critical analyses presented by scholars including Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos and Andrew Finegold, this paper presents evidence that these pottery scenes embody the idea of cyclicality and Mayan cosmology rather than eroticism.