Prehistoric and Ancient Historic Interactions
25
secondary deposits in all levels from the Preclassic to the Postclassic, from about
300 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E., led to the conclusion that these animals were consistently
an important source of food over a period of approximately two millennia. But a
turtle effigy censer found at the site prompted the suggestion that the turtles were
not simply killed and eaten. It was hypothesized that the seasonal appearance of
nesting marine turtles on the easternmost coast of the Yucatán peninsula that emerged
from the east (a sacred direction for the Maya) to complete their reproductive cycle
may have been incorporated into a cult. Miller (1982: 7, 61, 62) suggested that in
addition to being a food source that had been exploited for millennia, marine turtles
were also a symbol used by the Maya to celebrate the cycle of life, rebirth, and
renewal, and also to revere the sacred east.
In this light, it is interesting to note that a literary interpretation of the Popol
Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiche Maya of the Guatemalan highlands, suggests
that the wife of one of the four founding fathers of the human race was named
“Red Sea Turtle,” and that these fundamental people in Maya cosmology arrived
from the east (Tedlock, 1993: 1, 234). However, other than this story, there seems
to be little supporting evidence for Red Sea Turtle Mother’s being part of the Maya
creation myth.
Numerous ceramic pieces from various periods of Maya culture clearly depict
turtles (e.g., Robicsek and Hales, 1981), but there are no clear representations of
marine turtles. For example, incensario supports from Palenque showing realistic
human figures standing on realistic turtles have been given considerable attention
(Rands et al., 1979: Figures 3, 4, and 5; Taube, 1988: 193), yet from the form of
their appendages and shell, the turtles depicted are clearly freshwater species.
There are at least three Moche (200 B.C.E.–700 C.E.) ceramics, from coastal
Peru, that unquestionably depict marine turtles (Frazier and Bonavia, 2000; in
preparation).
Petroglyphs that appear to represent marine turtles have been recorded from
El Yunque, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica (Schaffer and Ashley, in press). At Quebrada
El Médano, south of Antofagasta, Chile, there are clear petroglyph scenes of turtles
being harpooned from small boats (Frazier and Bonavia, in preparation).
1.3.3 SUMMARY OF CULTURAL ARTIFACTS OF MARINE TURTLES
Marine turtles have been represented in a wide variety of media by numerous
cultures around the world. In some cases there appears to be a religious, mythical,
or spiritual context, but in many cases the “cultural motivations” that prompted
the peoples of bygone times to depict marine turtles are not at all clear. One may
need look no further than the fulfillment of human curiosity and the omnipresent
drive to create and manipulate, while at the same time adorning one’s immediate
environment. Postmodern societies do not have the exclusive claim to appreciate
cultural artifacts as works of art. There is no reasonable justification in negating
the possibility that the crafters of Dilmun seals, Calusa hairpins, Maya ceramics,
Moche vases, or Chilean petroglyphs, who incorporated marine turtles in their
creations, were striving to fulfill basic human emotions. How marine turtles relate
to that is, however, not at all clear.
1123_C01.fm Page 25 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM
25
secondary deposits in all levels from the Preclassic to the Postclassic, from about
300 B.C.E. to 1500 C.E., led to the conclusion that these animals were consistently
an important source of food over a period of approximately two millennia. But a
turtle effigy censer found at the site prompted the suggestion that the turtles were
not simply killed and eaten. It was hypothesized that the seasonal appearance of
nesting marine turtles on the easternmost coast of the Yucatán peninsula that emerged
from the east (a sacred direction for the Maya) to complete their reproductive cycle
may have been incorporated into a cult. Miller (1982: 7, 61, 62) suggested that in
addition to being a food source that had been exploited for millennia, marine turtles
were also a symbol used by the Maya to celebrate the cycle of life, rebirth, and
renewal, and also to revere the sacred east.
In this light, it is interesting to note that a literary interpretation of the Popol
Vuh, the sacred book of the Quiche Maya of the Guatemalan highlands, suggests
that the wife of one of the four founding fathers of the human race was named
“Red Sea Turtle,” and that these fundamental people in Maya cosmology arrived
from the east (Tedlock, 1993: 1, 234). However, other than this story, there seems
to be little supporting evidence for Red Sea Turtle Mother’s being part of the Maya
creation myth.
Numerous ceramic pieces from various periods of Maya culture clearly depict
turtles (e.g., Robicsek and Hales, 1981), but there are no clear representations of
marine turtles. For example, incensario supports from Palenque showing realistic
human figures standing on realistic turtles have been given considerable attention
(Rands et al., 1979: Figures 3, 4, and 5; Taube, 1988: 193), yet from the form of
their appendages and shell, the turtles depicted are clearly freshwater species.
There are at least three Moche (200 B.C.E.–700 C.E.) ceramics, from coastal
Peru, that unquestionably depict marine turtles (Frazier and Bonavia, 2000; in
preparation).
Petroglyphs that appear to represent marine turtles have been recorded from
El Yunque, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica (Schaffer and Ashley, in press). At Quebrada
El Médano, south of Antofagasta, Chile, there are clear petroglyph scenes of turtles
being harpooned from small boats (Frazier and Bonavia, in preparation).
1.3.3 SUMMARY OF CULTURAL ARTIFACTS OF MARINE TURTLES
Marine turtles have been represented in a wide variety of media by numerous
cultures around the world. In some cases there appears to be a religious, mythical,
or spiritual context, but in many cases the “cultural motivations” that prompted
the peoples of bygone times to depict marine turtles are not at all clear. One may
need look no further than the fulfillment of human curiosity and the omnipresent
drive to create and manipulate, while at the same time adorning one’s immediate
environment. Postmodern societies do not have the exclusive claim to appreciate
cultural artifacts as works of art. There is no reasonable justification in negating
the possibility that the crafters of Dilmun seals, Calusa hairpins, Maya ceramics,
Moche vases, or Chilean petroglyphs, who incorporated marine turtles in their
creations, were striving to fulfill basic human emotions. How marine turtles relate
to that is, however, not at all clear.
1123_C01.fm Page 25 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM