Censer lid with portrait of a King One of 12 ceramic lids to a censer, or incense burner, that features portraits of Copan kings. Dated to circa 695 CE, it originally sat atop a large clay vessel used for burning incense. (27” tall x 16” wide x 15” diameter) Photo courtesy: Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History.
Did the Maya believe the world would end in December 2012? With MAYA 2012: Lords of Time – opening on the 5 May – the Penn Museum confronts the current fascination with the year 2012, comparing predictions of a world-transforming apocalypse with their supposed origins in the ancient Maya civilization.
Figurine of Maize God This jade figurine (2” x 4.25” x 1”), circa 541-42 CE, is from Copan, Honduras. The figurine rises from a shell, and represents the rebirth of the god of maize (corn). The story of the Maize God mirrors the cyclical planting and harvesting of maize, an essential food within Maya society. Photo courtesy: Kenneth Garrett.
MAYA 2012 leads visitors on a journey through the Maya’s time-ordered universe, expressed through their intricate calendar systems, and the power wielded by their divine kings, the astounding “lords of time.” Visitors explore the Maya world through a range of interactive experiences and walk among sculptures and full-sized replicas of major monuments while uncovering the truth behind these apocalyptic predictions.
The exhibition is presented in partnership with the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia of the Republic of Honduras. MAYA 2012 features more than 100 remarkable objects, including artefacts recently excavated by Penn Museum archaeologists at the site of Copan, Honduras, and on loan from the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia. Visitors follow the rise and fall of Copan, moving across the centuries to discover how Maya ideas about time and the calendar have changed up to the present day. Contemporary Maya speak of their own heritage and concerns for the future.
“MAYA 2012 offers visitors a rare opportunity to view spectacular examples of Classic Maya art—some of which have never before been seen outside Honduras—and delve into the Maya people’s extraordinary, layered, and shifting concepts about time,” noted Exhibition Curator Dr. Loa Traxler. “MAYA 2012: Lords of Time uncovers a history and culture far richer and more surprising than commonly supposed.”
Deer effigy vessel This ceramic vessel, circa 437 CE from the Hunal Tomb, Copan, Honduras, once held a food offering made with cacao beans, the main ingredient in chocolate. (15.5” x 18” x 10.25”) Photo courtesy: Kenneth Garrett.
Dr. Traxler, Mellon Associate Deputy Director of the Penn Museum and co-author of The Ancient Maya, (Sixth Edition, 2006), is an archaeologist who excavated at the site of Copan with Penn Museum’s Early Copan Acropolis Program (1989 through 2003). Simon Martin, Associate Curator of the Museum’s American Section and a leading Maya epigrapher, is co-curator of the exhibition.
What is the 2012 Phenomenon?
In recent years, the media have been filled with claims that the ancient Maya predicted a cataclysmic event at the end of their calendar. Some believe that a celestial alignment will bring a series of devastating natural disasters. Others argue that this event will bring enlightenment and a new age of peace. As December 2012 draws closer, new predictions continue to emerge. But what did the Maya really believe?
The Maya and their Calendar
The ancient Maya civilization has long fascinated scholars and the public alike. For 2,000 years, the Maya flourished in southern Mexico and parts of Central America, their grand cities featuring temple pyramids, palaces, ball courts, and intricately carved stone monuments bearing royal portraits and a complex hieroglyphic script. They excelled in art, architecture, astronomy, and mathematics—developing a calendar system that amazes and intrigues to this day.
The Margarita Panel, a grand, modeled-stucco building panel, measures almost 9 feet high by 12 feet wide. Discovered by a Penn Museum excavation team in the 1990s, it features the emblematic name of Copan's royal founder, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'. The king's name is shown as two entwined birds: a quetzal bird (k'uk') and scarlet macaw (mo'), with crest elements that spell the initial part of the name yax meaning 'first' or 'green.' Carved around 450 CE it is in remarkable condition buried deep within the Copan Acropolis. MAYA 2012 features a replica of this monumental piece in its full-colour splendour. Photo courtesy: Early Copan Acropolis Project, Penn Museum.
The exhibition invites the visitor to explore the ancient Maya’s complex, interlocking calendar systems, which were based on an advanced understanding of astronomy and the night sky. Their most elaborate system, the Long Count, encompasses trillions of years, and one of its important cycles comes to a close on 23 December, 2012 (some scholars say 21 December, 2012). This is the origin of the Maya 2012 “end of the world” phenomenon.
Copan and the Lords of Time
The ancient Maya believed that their kings were embodiments of time. At the site of Copan, Honduras, a dynasty of 16 kings ruled for nearly four centuries, from 426 to after 800 CE. Discoveries from recent excavations—including work by Penn Museum archaeologists—provide new insights and remarkable artefacts to tell the story of these lords and their unique understanding, and use, of time. Tunnelling deep under the pyramids of Copan, archaeologists uncovered the tomb of the founder of the Copan dynasty, “Radiant First Quetzal Macaw.” The exhibition features jade jewellery and sophisticated ceramic vessels that accompanied the king on his journey into the Underworld.
Teotihuacan style Vessels with Carved Decoration This pair of colourful painted vessels combines the decorative style of Central Mexico and the Maya kingdoms. Ceramic with stucco and paint (each 4.75” diameter x 11.25” tall), circa 551 CE, they come from the Sub-Jaguar Tomb at Copan, Honduras. Photo courtesy: Kenneth Garrett.
Several important artefacts too massive to travel outside Honduras have been reproduced at full scale using state-of-the-art 3D scanning technology. These include the historically significant Altar Q, the ultimate symbol of the Copan dynasty that carries portraits of all 16 kings, and the Margarita Panel, a vibrantly painted architectural panel featuring the emblematic name of Copan’s first ruler, shown as two elegantly entwined birds.
In all, 75 Classic period Maya artefacts excavated at Copan are featured. An interactive multimedia touchtable allows visitors to explore the extraordinary tunnels and tombs under the pyramids at Copan, using the actual drawings and images from the archaeologists who first uncovered them.
The massive stone monument called Altar Q presents the royal succession of 16 kings from the Classic dynasty of Copan. This view of Altar Q shows (at centre left) the founder K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' symbolically handing a staff of office to the last successor in the Copan dynasty, a king called Yax Pahsaj Chan Yopaat. The large square altar, or throne, was commissioned by the 16th king in 776 CE. MAYA 2012 features a replica of the altar. Photo courtesy: Kenneth Garrett.
The “Lost” History of the Maya
The fall of divine kings and the abandonment of a great number of Maya cities are referred to as the Maya “Collapse.” This exhibition connects the missing pieces of the Maya story following its still mysterious decline, taking visitors to the present day. The Maya did not disappear. Today, more than seven million Maya, speaking a variety of Mayan languages, live in Central America and Mexico, with more Maya people living around the globe.
Many aspects of Maya culture were lost during the Spanish Conquest. Only four Maya books remain from this period. Two reproductions, the Dresden and Madrid Codices, are partnered with an extremely rare manuscript written just after the Conquest, revealing the extent to which Maya concepts of time were altered. Fine ethnographic textiles and 20th century folk art masks from the Penn Museum’s own collection lead the visitor to meet the Maya in the contemporary world.
Throughout the exhibition, visitors are able to “meet” experts on the ancient Maya to hear their perspectives through a series of interviews. In the final section of the exhibition, several Maya people speak for themselves, sharing their perspectives on the end of the world predictions—and on the contemporary concerns of the Maya.
TICKET AND TOUR INFORMATION for MAYA 2012: Lords of Time:
General admission timed tickets (includes admission to the rest of the Museum) for individuals are available for purchase beginning February 1, 2012.
* Adult: $22.50
* Senior (65+)/Military: $18.50
* Students (full-time with ID)/Children (6 to 17 years): $16.50
Special exhibition timed tickets may be purchased online: www.penn.museum/maya2012, or by phone: 1.888.695.0888
Source: Penn Museum
More information:
Early Copan Acropolis Program: http://www.penn.museum/research-american-section/392-early-copan-acropolis-program.html
UNESCO page for Copan: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/129