Prehistoric and Ancient Historic Interactions
23
thought to represent marine turtles (evidently hawksbills), are also known from the
Calusa area. Historic accounts indicate that the Calusa of Key Marco, southwest
Florida, carved and painted masks representing “Hawksbill Man” (or at least “Turtleman”) and “Hawksbill Spirit” (or at least “turtle spirit”) (Schaffer and Ashley, in
press; Schaffer and Thunen, in press, and citations therein).
The turtle has been of great importance in Maya and other Mesoamerican
cultures, and occurs frequently in diverse media including stone, ceramic, stucco,
cliff carvings, and parchment (Taube, 1988). However, it is not always clear if the
animal depicted was meant to be a marine turtle. For example, the most frequent
animal image at Mayapan was the turtle, but not one of the 18 carved limestone
artifacts illustrated (Proskouriakoff, 1962: 331–333, Figures 1 and 2) can be identified as portraying a marine species: although Mayapan is not on the coast, a variety
of marine artifacts were found (e.g., Proskouriakoff, 1962), indicating that
exchange/trade in marine products — and knowledge of them — did not limit the
ability to depict marine turtles.
There are several depictions in ceramics, figurines, stone altars, and other media
where the carapace of a turtle appears to represent the earth. This includes the muchreproduced vessel number 117 (Robicsek and Hales, 1981: 91) showing a youthful
Maize God being reborn out of a cracked turtle carapace, not to mention a number
of stone altars interpreted as depicting a turtle that seems to symbolize the earth
(Taube, 1988: 189, 193–198).
Analyses of painted and carved capstones found in corbelled vaults of Chenes
and Puuc buildings of Yucatán, as well as ancient and contemporary Maya houses,
added further evidence of the importance of turtles in the cosmology of the Maya
(Carrasco and Hull, 2002; Hull and Carrasco, in preparation). It was concluded that
the roof of some Maya structures was symbolically regarded as the shell of the
cosmic turtle. Structurally redundant crossbeams in Maya houses are named capaac and chan cap-aac (“turtle arm” and “little turtle arm,” respectively), and this
was concluded to be “part of the zoomorphic symbolism of the Maya house.”
God N 6 (phonetically “Pauahtun”) was one of the major gods of the ancient Maya,
the sky-bearer or world-bearer. A contemporary name is Mam, and the Nahuatl
(“Aztec”) counterpart was Tzitzimitl. God N is often depicted as wearing a carapace;
he also seems to be the god of thunder, mountains, and the interior of the Earth (Taube,
1992: 92 ff., table; Miller and Taube, 1993: 132, 175). By the same token, the god
Yahul of the Mixtecs and Zapotecs is often portrayed wearing a turtle shell, and this
supernatural being may be related to thunder and lightning (Miller and Taube, 1993:
175, 191).
The turtle was used to depict the “earth platform,” for example, in showing the
passage of a deceased figure into the underworld (Stone, 1995: 22, Figure 3.8). In
Maya cosmology, the “main event of Creation was the appearance of this turtle
shell” (Freidel et al., 1993: 65). It has been concluded that there is a symbolism of
a circular earth, “a form apparently conceptualised as a great turtle surrounded by
6 The use of letters from the Roman alphabet to name Maya gods was developed by Schellhas, who
previously referred to God N as the “God of the End of the Year” because of the hieroglyphic symbols
denoting the end of the year that are associated with this representation (Schellhas, 1904: 37).
1123_C01.fm Page 23 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM
23
thought to represent marine turtles (evidently hawksbills), are also known from the
Calusa area. Historic accounts indicate that the Calusa of Key Marco, southwest
Florida, carved and painted masks representing “Hawksbill Man” (or at least “Turtleman”) and “Hawksbill Spirit” (or at least “turtle spirit”) (Schaffer and Ashley, in
press; Schaffer and Thunen, in press, and citations therein).
The turtle has been of great importance in Maya and other Mesoamerican
cultures, and occurs frequently in diverse media including stone, ceramic, stucco,
cliff carvings, and parchment (Taube, 1988). However, it is not always clear if the
animal depicted was meant to be a marine turtle. For example, the most frequent
animal image at Mayapan was the turtle, but not one of the 18 carved limestone
artifacts illustrated (Proskouriakoff, 1962: 331–333, Figures 1 and 2) can be identified as portraying a marine species: although Mayapan is not on the coast, a variety
of marine artifacts were found (e.g., Proskouriakoff, 1962), indicating that
exchange/trade in marine products — and knowledge of them — did not limit the
ability to depict marine turtles.
There are several depictions in ceramics, figurines, stone altars, and other media
where the carapace of a turtle appears to represent the earth. This includes the muchreproduced vessel number 117 (Robicsek and Hales, 1981: 91) showing a youthful
Maize God being reborn out of a cracked turtle carapace, not to mention a number
of stone altars interpreted as depicting a turtle that seems to symbolize the earth
(Taube, 1988: 189, 193–198).
Analyses of painted and carved capstones found in corbelled vaults of Chenes
and Puuc buildings of Yucatán, as well as ancient and contemporary Maya houses,
added further evidence of the importance of turtles in the cosmology of the Maya
(Carrasco and Hull, 2002; Hull and Carrasco, in preparation). It was concluded that
the roof of some Maya structures was symbolically regarded as the shell of the
cosmic turtle. Structurally redundant crossbeams in Maya houses are named capaac and chan cap-aac (“turtle arm” and “little turtle arm,” respectively), and this
was concluded to be “part of the zoomorphic symbolism of the Maya house.”
God N 6 (phonetically “Pauahtun”) was one of the major gods of the ancient Maya,
the sky-bearer or world-bearer. A contemporary name is Mam, and the Nahuatl
(“Aztec”) counterpart was Tzitzimitl. God N is often depicted as wearing a carapace;
he also seems to be the god of thunder, mountains, and the interior of the Earth (Taube,
1992: 92 ff., table; Miller and Taube, 1993: 132, 175). By the same token, the god
Yahul of the Mixtecs and Zapotecs is often portrayed wearing a turtle shell, and this
supernatural being may be related to thunder and lightning (Miller and Taube, 1993:
175, 191).
The turtle was used to depict the “earth platform,” for example, in showing the
passage of a deceased figure into the underworld (Stone, 1995: 22, Figure 3.8). In
Maya cosmology, the “main event of Creation was the appearance of this turtle
shell” (Freidel et al., 1993: 65). It has been concluded that there is a symbolism of
a circular earth, “a form apparently conceptualised as a great turtle surrounded by
6 The use of letters from the Roman alphabet to name Maya gods was developed by Schellhas, who
previously referred to God N as the “God of the End of the Year” because of the hieroglyphic symbols
denoting the end of the year that are associated with this representation (Schellhas, 1904: 37).
1123_C01.fm Page 23 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM