[English] Excavation of a small Maya ceremonial structure at the site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala, has revealed a Late Classic period (ca. A.D. 600-900) vaulted tomb containing the remains of a young member of the royal family whom we identify as "Night-time Turtle." The artifact assemblage from the burial included a modest quantity of carved jade jewelry (38 pieces), an incised vessel dating to the early Yaxché (ca. A.D. 630-680) ceramic phase, and a ceremonial "bundle" of bloodletting implements. Although the sex of this adolescent was not determined during osteological examination, hieroglyphic evidence from a recovered stingray spine suggests that this was a prince, probably the son of Ruler 2 or 3. Placed at an entrance to the royal precinct atop its monumental staircase, his funerary structure was an integral part of the sacred landscape, accessed by visitors to the precinct or to the palace beyond. Following a description of the site, tomb, osteology, and artifacts, we discuss the nature of this landscape and the role in it played by this "guardian" of the Acropolis. // [Spanish] La excavación de una pequeña estructura ceremonial en el sitio Maya Piedras Negras, Guatemala, ha revelado una tumba del Clásico Tardío (ca. d.C. 600-900) que tenía los restos de un miembro de la familia real. Los artefactos del entierro-incluyendo joyas de jade, unplato tallado en su base en la forma de un sobrenatural, y un bulto ceremonial de materiales para tomar sangre-estaban enterrado con los huesos de un adolescente que identificamos como "Noche Tortuga," un individual que vivía durante el reino del Gobernante 2 o 3 de Piedras Negras. Aunque el sexo de este adolescente no fue determinado durante el análisis osteológico, podemos proponer que este individual fue una persona real y probablemente masculina: las inscripciones sobre una espina de raya en la tumba describen el dueño de la raya como un ch'ok (adolescente) ajaw (señor), posiblemente el hijo de un gobernante. Ubicado cerca de la entrada mayor de la Plaza del Grupo Oeste y el Acrópolis más allá, la estructura funeraria de "Noche Tortuga" era una parte crítica del paisaje sagrada, pasado por visitadores a la plaza y el palacio también.
Latin American Antiquity is a quarterly journal devoted to special reports on archaeology, prehistory, and ethnohistory in Mesoamerica, Central America, South America, and culturally related areas.
Cambridge University Press (www.cambridge.org) is the publishing division of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research institutions and winner of 81 Nobel Prizes. Cambridge University Press is committed by its charter to disseminate knowledge as widely as possible across the globe. It publishes over 2,500 books a year for distribution in more than 200 countries. Cambridge Journals publishes over 250 peer-reviewed academic journals across a wide range of subject areas, in print and online. Many of these journals are the leading academic publications in their fields and together they form one of the most valuable and comprehensive bodies of research available today. For more information, visit http://journals.cambridge.org.
This item is part of a JSTOR Collection.
For terms and use, please refer to our Terms and Conditions
Latin American Antiquity
© 2003 Cambridge University Press
Request Permissions
