Ancient Mesoamerica, 16 (2005), 23–50

Copyright © 2005 Cambridge University Press. Printed in the U.S.A.

DOI: 10.1017/S0956536105050017

THE SYMBOLISM OF JADE IN CLASSIC

MAYA RELIGION

Karl A. Taube
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0418, USA

Abstract
The Classic Maya esteemed jadeite not only for its preciousness and beauty but also as stone of great symbolic import. This paper
examines the religious significance of jade and certain types of jade artifacts among the Classic Maya. In this study, I note that the
Classic Maya ascribed a number of meanings to jade, including maize, centrality, and rulership, as well as a material embodiment
of wind and the vitalizing breath soul. Because of its close relationship to the breath spirit, jade was an important component of
funerary rites and the ritual conjuring of gods and ancestors. Carved in floral form, jade earspools were considered supernatural
sources or passageways for the breath spirit, frequently portrayed as a bead or a serpent emerging from the center of the jade flare.
A common Classic Maya death expression, och b’ih, pertains directly to resurrection of the soul through the symbolism of
earspools. Many of the symbolic meanings and imagery found with Classic Maya jade also appears with other cultures of ancient
Mesoamerica, including Teotihuacan, Xochicalco, and the contact-period Aztec. Rather than being wholly of Classic Maya origin,
many aspects of this jade symbolism and related artifacts can be also found among the earlier Middle Formative Olmec.

In Classic Maya art, jade is so inextricably linked to images of JADE AND THE FORMATIVE OLMEC
Maya rulers that it is difficult to conceive of them without this
The use of jadeite is of considerable antiquity in the Olmec re-
precious stone. In fact, one of the more common ways of portray-
gion, and excavations at the site of El Manatí, Veracruz, have
ing the abject and pathetic state of captive elites is to have them
yielded jadeite beads and polished celts dating to approximately
stripped of their jade finery. Perhaps because of its ubiquity in
1500 b.c, well before the Olmec apogee at San Lorenzo (Ortiz and
Maya art, discussions of Maya jade have been largely descriptive.
Rodríguez 2000:79). Although jade celts continued to be offered
Although a great deal of attention has been paid to jade accoutre-
at El Manatí during the San Lorenzo phase (1150–900 b.c.), this
ments, such as “Jester God” diadems, belt celts, and beaded skirts,
stone is notably rare at San Lorenzo (in this study, all dates are
research regarding the symbolic qualities ascribed to jade is not
uncalibrated). During the Middle Formative period of La Venta
extensive. In volumes devoted to Mesoamerican jade, discussions
(ca. 900–500 b.c.) jade becomes far more common in the Olmec
of its symbolic meaning are generally limited to several para-
heartland and other regions of Mesoamerica. For the Olmecs of
graphs (e.g., Digby 1972; Lange 1993; Proskouriakoff 1974). One
La Venta, jade was manufactured into a wide variety of items,
noteworthy exception is a work by Gutierre Tibón (1983), al-
including headdress plaques, earspools, beads, belt celts, pecto-
though it focuses primarily on the symbolism of jade in Late Post-
rals, and figurines. The celt, however, continued to be a dominant
classic central Mexico. This also holds true of the detailed study
form in Olmec jade carving. Vast quantities of greenstone celts of
by Marc Thouvenot (1982), which concerns jade in sixteenth-
jadeite or softer serpentine are found in La Venta caches as well as
century documents pertaining to the Aztecs.
at the recently excavated site of La Merced, Veracruz (Rodríguez
In Maya studies, jade is often related to rulership and authority,
and Ortiz 2000). Charlotte Thomson (1975:98) suggested that celts
wealth, water, maize, and centrality, themes that will be further
served as the basic form in Olmec jade exchange, with figurines,
discussed in this study (Fields 1991; Freidel 1990; Miller and
pendants and other jewelry being cut from celt “pre-forms.”
Samayoa 1998; Taube 2000a, 2004b). In addition, it will be noted
Aside from their economic importance, greenstone celts also
that jade embodies ancient Maya conceptions of wind and the
had profound cosmological significance in Olmec thought by de-
breath soul. Much of the Classic Maya symbolism regarding jade
fining the four directions and world center. In ancient Mesoamer-
has considerable time depth and can be readily traced to the earlier
ica, one of the most basic and widespread cosmological models is
Olmecs. In fact, the Mayas seem to have identified jade with an-
the four-sided world, with the intercardinal corners framing the
tiquity, both in terms of precious heirlooms passed down through
central and pivotal axis mundi (Taube 1998:429– 432, 2003a).
generations and by the ritual use of the stone to communicate with
This model can be readily documented for the Middle Formative
the ancestors.
period (900–500 b.c.), when maize agriculture became a central
component of Mesoamerican subsistence and economy. In Olmec
iconography, the four-sided world is portrayed by the bar-and-four-
E-mail correspondence to: taube@ucr.edu dots motif, formed of a central vertical bar with four elements

23
24 Taube

delineating the corners. As Kent Reilly (1994:257) notes, this sign
constitutes a two-dimensional form of a three-dimensional model,
with the central bar being the vertical axis surrounded by elements
marking the four quarters (for a diagram, see Reilly 1994:
Figure 15.29). A number of incised jade celts portray the Olmec
maize god as the central world tree, and these scenes probably
constitute early versions of the Mesoamerican conception of the
four-sided world as a maize field (Taube 2000a:303). For one
example, the corner elements are celtiform maize ears (Fig-
ure 1a). It has been widely noted that among peoples of ancient
Mesoamerica, jade served as a basic symbol of maize and agricul-
tural wealth, a concept that probably originated during the Forma-

Figure 1. Formative Olmec and Classic Maya celt symbolism. (a) Incised jadeite celt portraying Olmec maize god surrounded by four
celtiform maize ears (drawing by the author after Porter 1996:Figure 2). (b) Monument 25/26, La Venta (drawing by the author after
Porter 1996:Figure 8). (c) Middle Formative celt and earspool cache, Mound 20, San Isidro, Chiapas (drawing courtesy of the New
World Archaeological Foundation). (d) Detail of Late Classic Maya text describing “celt image” of stela, Copan Stela 4 (after Stuart
1996:Figure 17). (e) Detail of text from Copan Stela A describing vertical sky celt and horizontal earth celt (after Schele and Mathews
1998:Figure 4.28).
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion
tive period (e.g., Coe 1988:225; Joralemon 1988:38; Miller and
Samayoa 1998; Taube 1996:71, 2000a, 2004b; Tibón 1983:20;
Wagner 2001).
CONCEPTS OF CENTRALITY, MAIZE,
AND RULERSHIP
James Porter (1996) notes that the Olmecs of La Venta carved
certain stelae in the form of giant celts (Figure 1b). Fashioned of
green stone, La Venta Monuments 25/26, 27, 58, and 66 portray
the maize god as a celtiform world tree (Taube 1996:50–51). Por-
ter (1996) also mentions that Classic Maya stelae are commonly
celtiform, a convention probably derived from the earlier Olmecs
(Figure 1b). Copan stelae texts provide epigraphic evidence for
the Classic Maya identification of stelae with celts (Figure 1d).
David Stuart (1996:162) notes that at Copan, stelae are frequently
described as “celt stones.” The text of Copan Stela A provides a
contrast between a vertical sky celt and a horizontal earth celt,
suggesting that an upright celt alludes to the heavens and a flat
lying celt, the surface of the earth (Figure 1e). Maya stelae may
have been considered vertical “sky celts.” According to Postclas-
sic Mixtec mythology, a vertical copper ax supported the heavens
(Taube 1996:54).The form of the Maya celt sign is similar not
only to flint ax blades but also to the jade belt celts appearing in
Classic Maya art, including examples from Copan stelae. For the
Leiden Plaque and other Early Classic examples, the belt celts can
display incised images closely resembling portrayals of rulers on
stelae, much as if they were miniature monuments (Proskouria-
koff 1950:105).
Middle Formative caches excavated at La Venta, San Isidro,
Seibal, and Cival contained celts oriented to the cardinal direc-
tions (Estrada-Belli et al. 2004:77, Figures 8, 9; Taube 2000a:
301). The offering from San Isidro, Chiapas, had jade earspools as
well as celts at the four directions. Whereas most of the celts were
placed flat, two on the east and west axis were bit upward, much
like miniature stelae (Figure 1c). As in the case of the Copan Stela
A text, vertical and horizontal celts appear in symbolic opposi-
tion. The carefully placed earspools recall an Early Classic cache
discovered within Structure 10L-26 at Copan. This offering in-
cluded six roughly cut earspool “blanks,” four at the corners and
two near the center, the latter probably alluding to zenith and nadir
(Figure 2a). The central area contained a jade statuette of the
maize god as a contortionist arching his legs up over his head
(Figure 2b). Portrayals of the maize god in this position are fairly
common in Classic Maya art, including other examples from Co-
pan (Figures 2c–f, 3). A number of examples have a curl at the
back of the head, an important trait of the maize god during the
Early Classic period (Figure 2b,c,e,f ). One Early Classic jade has
a cross with foliage sprouting from the top of the maize god’s
head, delineating the world tree (Figure 2d). The contortionist
position alludes to a growing tree and is found both with depic-
tions of the maize god as a cacao plant and the well-known croc-
odilian ceiba axis mundi (Figure 2f,g). The Copan cache portrays
the maize god as the pivotal world tree in the center of the four
directions. At Copan, a similar composition recently was discov-
ered by Seiichi Nakamura (2000, 2003:130–131) in Offering 7 of
Quadrant 10J, which contained a central jade image in a shell
symmetrically surrounded by four jades and four shells. Wearing a
zoomorphic headdress topped by a maize ear and foliage, this
figure is also the pivotal maize god framed by the four directions
(Figure 6c).
25
For the Mayas, the radial placement of four jades around a
central image appears as early as the Late Preclassic period at
Cerros and probably at Nohmul, as well (Hammond 1987). As in
the case of the Olmec examples, such placements delineate the
center surrounded by the world directions. At the eastern periph-
ery of Mesoamerica, the Classic-period site of Salitrón Viejo, Hon-
duras, possessed large quantities of carved jade, including a maize
god contortionist (Figure 2d). Jade earspool fragments were placed
as dedicatory caches at the corners of Structure 21, thereby mark-
ing the four world quarters (Hirth and Hirth 1993:176–177). The
quadripartite directional placement of jade in dedicatory caches
continued among the Late Postclassic Aztec and their early colo-
nial Nahua descendants. Writing in 1569, Pedro Ponce de León
noted that during the ritual dedication of houses, the Nahua would
place small idols or “stones of good color” at the four corners of
the structure (Garibay 1979:129). Building L in the Aztec Templo
Mayor precinct contained Offerings 16 and 16-A, two adjoining,
stone-lined cysts, each with five jade beads forming a quincunx
oriented to the four quarters and world center (López Luján 1994:
173, 191, 428– 430). A two-horned statue, possibly an aspect of
the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli, was also placed on the central axis of
Offering 16. This composition is notably similar to the interior of
the Aztec stone box from Tizapan. The painted interior lid of this
square vessel depicts four directional Tlalocs surrounding a jade
disk. Below, inside the lower half of the box, there is a greenstone
image of the Aztec maize goddess atop another jade sign. In this
box, the maize deity is portrayed once again as precious jade in
the center of the four directions (Taube 2000a:319, Figure 23).
At Late Classic Palenque, the great ruler K’inich Janaab’ Pakal
was buried with jades oriented to the four quarters and world
center. It is widely recognized that the Sarcophagus Lid from his
burial chamber portrays Pakal as the maize god at the base of the
world tree (Freidel et al. 1993:276; Ruz Lhuiller 1973:225; Schele
and Mathews 1998:115–117; Taube 1992b:48–50). Within the sar-
cophagus, Pakal was arrayed with one of the richest offerings of
jade known in the Maya region. Four large jade beads were placed
at the hands and feet, framing Pakal as the world axis (Ruz Lhuiller
1973:Figures 205–206, 234a–d). In addition, a fifth, central jade
lay in his groin region, making a pattern strikingly similar the
Olmec bar-and-four-dots motif (Figure 4a). Linda Schele and Pe-
ter Mathews (1998:Figure 3.29G) tentatively identify the upper
portion of the central jade as the head of the maize god (Fig-
ure 4b). Given the coiffure and projecting vegetal element atop the
head, this seems a likely interpretation, although the curious, spi-
raling lower portion of this jewel remains to be identified. It is a
crocodile snout, complete with the widely spaced curving teeth
and the conch element at the tip of the nose. This snout is very
similar to crocodile examples appearing in texts from the North-
east Court at Palenque (Figure 4c,d). This jade conflates two be-
ings identified with the pivotal world tree, the crocodile as the
lower trunk and the maize god, the upper foliation.
One well-known codex-style bowl portrays the reborn maize
god sprouting as the world tree out the center of the turtle earth
(Taube 1993:77). The accompanying text explicitly describes him
as the maize god crocodile (Figure 4e). Supplied with a phonetic
ya for the ayiin (crocodile) reading, the crocodile logograph has
the conch-tipped nose and the widely spaced, curving teeth found
with the Palenque jade. The crocodile epithet probably again re-
fers to the corn god as the cosmic tree in the world center. In the
vessel scene, the maize deity wears a jade pendant on the central
axis of his body (Figure 4f ). The lower portion of the pendant is
26 Taube

Figure 2. The Early Classic Maya maize-god contortionist as the world tree. (a) Early Classic cache excavated within Structure 10L-26,
Copan (after Fash 1988:Figure 1b). (b) Detail of jade contortionist maize god from cache (after Fash 1988:Figure 1c). (c) Early Classic
jade of maize-god contortionist, Museo Barbier-Mueller de Arte Precolombino (after Muñoz Cosme et al. 1999:Number 81). (d) Early
Classic jade pendant of maize god with world tree atop head, Salitrón Viejo, Honduras (after Hirth and Hirth 1993:Figure 13.8a).
(e) Jade of acrobatic maize god, Dumbarton Oaks collection (after Bliss 1957:Plate 64). (f) Maize god in acrobatic position as a cacao
tree, detail of Early Classic incised vase (after Kerr 2000:972). (g) Late Classic Maya crocodilian world tree in acrobatic position,
detail of Late Classic codex-style vase (from Taube 1992b:Figure 12h).
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 27

Figure 3. Classic Maya portrayals of maize god as a contortionist. (a) Maize god contortionist, detail of Early Classic incised vessel
(after Berjonneau et al. 1985:Plate 329). (b) Late Classic maize-god contortionist, fragmentary monument from Isla El Bellote, Laguna
Mecoacan, Tabasco (after Navarrete et al. 1993:Figure 74). (c) Late Classic pectoral of Maya maize god, Tikal Burial 196 (after
Gallenkamp and Johnson 1985:Number 105).

the fanged snout of the crocodile with a nose plug projecting from
the nostril region. Along with the snout, the jade also has a human
face on its upper portion. This carving is the same type of jewel
found between the legs of Pakal, a crocodilian maize god as the
axis mundi. The placement of this jade in the groin area recalls the
iconography of Classic Maya loincloths, which frequently portray
the world tree (Schele and Miller 1986:77). In the case of Copan
Stela C, an entire crocodile head hangs atop the central pendant
loincloth (Fash 2001:Figure 68). The five jades within the sar-
cophagus portray Pakal, the maize-god world tree, as the pivotal
axis of the four quarters.
A long jade bead from Burial 196 of Tikal displays four images
of the contortionist maize god as the world tree, possibly alluding
to maize plants of the cardinal directions (Figure 3c). Its propor-
tions recall long, tubular beads bearing a related world-tree motif,
although in this case not the corn god but, rather, the deity serving
as the Classic-period patron of the month Pax (Figure 5c–e). A
large and elaborate Early Classic bead of this type was recently
excavated by Nakamura (2003:124–125) in Quadrant 10J at Co-
pan (Figure 5c). A jade plaque portraying the same being was also
cached at the base of the stairway of Copan Structure 10L-26
(Figure 5d). However, the tubular form of the Quadrant 10J piece
more closely resembles a Pax God jade discovered near Nohmul,
Belize, which is also a long bead (Figure 5e). An aspect of the sun
deity, the Pax God lacks a lower jaw. In Maya art, he often appears
as a personified world tree, an identification corroborated by Maya
epigraphy (Figure 5a,b). In Long Count texts, the Pax God can
display foliation or the te sign signifying wood or tree (Figure 5a).
Moreover, this head can serve epigraphically as a variant of the te
glyph (Schele and Mathews 1998:127; Stuart and Houston 1994:
39). Just as the maize-god contortionist represents the pivotal axis
mundi, the Pax God carvings are also world trees of precious jade.
It is surely no coincidence that, along with the maize-god croco-
dilian world tree, a small Pax God jade statuette was placed at the
28 Taube

Figure 4. K’inich Janaab’ Pakal buried as the maize god. (a) Schematic outline of Pakal with five jades placed in the areas of the hands,
feet and groin (after Ruz Lhuiller 1973:Figures 205, 206). (b) Two views of central jade from groin area (after Ruz Lhuiller
1973:Figure 242). (c, d) Examples of crocodile glyphs from Palenque (after Greene Roberston 1985:Figures 319, 333b). (e) Glyphic
epithet of maize-god crocodile from codex-style bowl illustrating resurrection of corn god out of the earth (from Taube 1993:77).
(f) Comparison of pectoral worn by crocodilian maize god in resurrection scene with central jade from Pakal’s sarcophagus (upper,
from Taube 1993:77).

feet of Pakal, once again placing him at the central axis of the
world tree (Ruz Lhuillier 1973:Figures 205, 242, 244; Schele and
Mathews 1998:127).
The theme of the cosmic tree is reiterated by the foliated Ajaw
element topping the Pax God jades from Copan Quadrant 10J and
Nohmul (Figure 6a,b). This device is a schematic form of the jade
“Jester God” as the world tree, a symbol of centrality and ruler-
ship (Taube 1998:454). Such foliated Jester Gods frequently cap
the headdresses of stelae at Copan and other Classic Maya sites
(Figure 6d). In fact, the central jade maize god in the aforemen-
tioned cache from Copan Quadrant 10J wears the foliated Jester
God as his headdress (Figure 6c). Virginia Fields (1991) noted
that the vegetal, trefoil form of the Maya Jester God derives from
an Olmec prototype of a foliated ear of corn. A number of massive
Early Classic jades portray the maize deity as the Jester God,
thereby conflating the concepts of centrality, jade, and corn as the
world tree (Figure 6e). An especially massive Jester God jade was
discovered in Tomb B-4/7 at Altun Ha, Belize (Figure 6f; Pender-
gast 1982:56–59). However, rather than the maize god, this carv-
ing portrays the avian head of the Principal Bird Deity with foliage
and an Ajaw sign on the brow. This foliated bird head is an im-
portant variant of the Jester God jewel and appears in Late Pre-
classic as well as Classic Maya iconography (Taube 1998:454–
458). As with the large Pax God jades, these foliated Jester Gods
denote the symbolic role of the ruler as the pivotal world tree.
The themes of rulership and centrality are also expressed by
the Classic Maya linkage of jade to thrones. Tubular beads often
display the woven mat design denoting royal thrones, concisely
conflating the concepts of kingship and jade (Kidder et al. 1946:
Figure 146h; Laporte and Fialko 1995:Figure 28; Proskouriakoff
1974:Plates 44f,5, 45,5,7; Sharer 1999:Figure 6; Shook and Kid-
der 1961:6). Throne borders of mat signs and jade disks appear in
Classic Maya art and in the murals at Tetitla, a Teotihuacan apart-
ment compound containing many references to the Classic Maya,
including Maya glyphic texts (Figures 7a–c; Taube 2003c). At
times, Classic Maya jaguar-cushion thrones are rimmed with four
jade-mask and pendant-celt assemblages, thereby framing and de-
lineating the center (Figure 7d). Altar 1 at Tonala, Chiapas, is a
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 29

Figure 5. The Classic Maya Pax God in epigraphy and jade carving. (a) Pax God appearing in Initial Series Introductory Glyph, Copan
Stela 9; note wood marking on cheek (after Maudslay 1889–1902:I:Plate 110). (b) Pax God appearing in Initial Series Introductory
Glyph, Zoomporph B, Quirigua; note foliage emerging from mouth (after Maudslay 1889–1902:II:Plate 14). (c) Roll-out drawing of
large jade Pax God pectoral, Burial 36, Quadrant 10J, Copan (drawing by the author from photographs courtesy of Seiichi
Nakamura). (d) Pax God pectoral from Hieroglyphic Stairway cache, Copan (after Fash 2001:Plate 9). (e) Pax God pectoral from
vicinity of Nohmul, Belize (after Digby 1972:Plate 3).

three-dimensional portrayal of a jaguar-headed throne surrounded
by three pendant-mask assemblages bound by knots (Ferdon 1953:
Plate 21b). Classic Maya stelae also portray kings wearing four
sets of mask-and-belt-celt assemblages on their belts, quite prob-
ably portraying them as the world axis surrounded by jade celts of
the four directions. There was probably considerable thematic over-
lap between jade-ornamented thrones and the belt assemblages
worn by Maya kings. Dos Pilas Stela 9 portrays the belt of B’alaj
Chan K’awiil as a massive element projecting out sharply from
the back, strongly suggesting the appearance of a throne (Fig-
30 Taube

Figure 6. The foliated jade Jester God. (a, b) Foliated Ahau Jester Gods atop Pax God pectorals (Figure 4d, 4e). (c) Maize God
wearing headdress of foliated Jester God, central jade figure from Offering 7, Quadrant 10J, Copan (after photograph courtesy of
Seiichi Nakamura). (d) Foliated Jester God, Copan Stela P; note Ahau sign on brow, (from Taube 1998:Figure 15g). (e) Large Early
Classic jade portraying maize god as foliated Jester God; note foliated Ahau sign atop head (from Taube 1998:Figure 17d). (f) Roll-out
drawing of jade Jester God boulder sculpture, Altun Ha (from Taube 1998:Figure 17b).

ure 7e). Wearing jaguar-pelt kilts and elaborate jade-belt assem-
blages, Maya kings may have been considered living embodiments
of royal thrones in ritual performances.
JADE AND WIND
Along with relating to maize, centrality, and rulership, jade em-
bodies the concept of life essence in Mesoamerican thought: “[j]ade
is the stone with life that gives life, because it is identified with the
sun, water, blood, sacrifice, sustenance” (Tibón 1983:147; my trans-
lation). In his discussion, Gutierre Tibón (1983:14, 26) focused on
jade in respect to the life-giving qualities of water, an association
also proposed J. Eric S. Thompson (1950:78) for the pre-Hispanic
Maya. Nevertheless, the ancient Mayas identified jade more closely
with wind, carrier of rain, and the essence of the life spirit. Mi-
chael Coe (1988:225) suggested that the Classic Maya burial prac-
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 31

Figure 7. Jade elements appearing on mat thrones in Classic-period Mesoamerica. (a) Maya-style throne with pendant tassels and
green jade disks on mat, Tetitla, Teotihuacan (from Taube 2003c:Figure 11.12a). (b) Mat throne with jade elements, detail of Early
Classic Maya stucco facade in the Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City (from Taube 2003c:Figure 11.12d). (c) Jaguar-pelt-
cushion throne with jade signs on horizontal mat element, Naranjo Stela 22 (from Taube 2003c:Figure 11.12e). (d) Probable
jaguar-pelt-cushion throne with jade plaques on horizontal mat elements and jade-mask and belt-celt assemblages, Lintel 2 of Tikal
Temple III (after Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 72). (e) Ruler wearing heavy belt in form of jaguar-pelt-cushion throne with
jade-mask and belt-celt assemblages, Dos Pilas Stela 17 (detail of drawing after Schele and Miller 1986:Figure 1.4d).

tice of placing jade in the mouth relates to a sixteenth-century
funerary ritual performed at the death of Pokom Maya lords:
“[w]hen it appears then that some lord is dying, they had ready a
precious stone which they placed at his mouth when he appeared
to expire, in which they believe that they took the spirit, and on
expiring, they very lightly rubbed his face with it. It takes the
breath, soul or spirit” (translation in Miles 1957:749; for the orig-
inal Spanish text, see Las Casas 1967:II:525–526). As Coe (1988:
225) noted, this account indicates that the jade bead was regarded
as the breath spirit essence of the deceased.
Early Formative burials from the Valley of Oaxaca at times
contain a jade bead in the mouth, suggesting that the concept of
jade as the breath spirit may of great antiquity in Mesoamerica
(Marcus 1999:Figures 4, 5). In addition, the breath bead appears
in Mesoamerican art from the Middle Formative Olmec to the
Late Postclassic period, commonly portrayed as an element pro-
jecting from or hovering in front on the nose (Houston and Taube
2000:267). The Aztec also related jade to moist breath. According
to the Florentine Codex, precious stones are discovered by the
humid, smoke-like vapor that they “exhale”: “[i]n this manner
[they see,] they know where it is: they can see it is breathing,
[smoking], giving off vapor” (Sahagún 1950–1982:Book 11:221).
Although this portion of the account only mentions “piedras pre-
ciosas,” prospecting for jade, or chalchihuitl, is also specifically
described: “[a]nd thus do they know that this precious stone is
there: [the herbs] always grow fresh; they grow green. They say
that this is the breath of the green stone, and its breath is very
fresh” (Sahagún 1950–1982:Book 11:222). The same source adds
32
that the finest translucent green jade attracts water: “[i]t attracts
moisture, becomes wet, has dew (Sahagún 1950–1982:Book 11:
222).” This may well relate to the collection of moisture by breath-
ing on the surface of highly polished jade, as occurred in the
Pokom Maya death rites.
For the ancient Mayas, jade both exhaled and inhaled breath
and moisture. Recent iconographic and epigraphic research has
determined that the breath soul was personified by the Classic
Maya wind god, a handsome, youthful being also identified with
flowers and music—aroma and sound being phenomena carried
by air and wind (Houston and Taube 2000; Taube 2001, 2004a).
Appearing as God H of the Postclassic codices and epigraphically
as the patron of the month Mak and the personified form of the
number 3, the wind god typically has long, unbound hair and
wears a flower or jade jewel on his woven headband (Figure 8;
Taube 1992b:56– 60, 2004a:72–74). Quite frequently, this brow
ornament emits a pair of symmetrical volutes denoting breath or
aroma (Figure 8a, e; Houston and Taube 2000:270). One of the
more common death expressions in Classic Maya inscriptions con-
cerns the expiration of the white flower wind—that is, the breath
soul (Houston and Taube 2000:267). In one death phrase from
Palenque, the wind god substitutes directly for the ik’ wind sign as
the personified form of the breath spirit, the same soul captured by
jade during death rites (Figure 8b).
The well-known jade mosaic funerary masks of Palenque and
Calakmul probably concern the preservation of the vital breath
soul. One Calakmul example has breath volutes of white shell
Figure 8. The Classic Maya wind god. (a) Early Classic wind god appearing
as patron of the month Mak (from Taube 1992b:Figure 26e). (b) Wind god
substituting for ik’ breath sign in death expression, Palenque (from Hous-
ton and Taube 2000:Figure 4e). (c) Jade pendant of wind god, Cenote of
Sacrifice, Chichen Itza (after Proskouriakoff 1974:Plate 62a.5). (d) Detail of
jade wind god pendant, Cenote of Sacrifice, Chichen Itza (after Pros-
kouriakoff 1974:Plate 68.2). (e) Early Classic pendant of wind god, Quad-
rant 10J, Copan (drawn after photograph courtesy of Seiichi Nakamura).
Taube
emerging from the nostrils and corners of the mouth (Houston and
Taube 2000:Figure 5d). The jade mosaic masks are probably more
developed forms of the jade bead placed in the mouth, a means of
holding and sustaining the living soul of the dead king.
Along with the Calakmul jade mask portraying the breathing,
vital face of the king, the personification of the breath spirit, the
wind god, also appears in jade, including examples from the Sa-
cred Cenote at Chichen Itza (Figure 8c,d). The excavations by
Nakamura in Quadrant 10J at Copan have uncovered a jadeite
statuette of the wind god, complete with a floral headband emit-
ting a pair of aroma elements and long hair cascading down the
back of the figure (Figure 8e). Although few specialists have noted
the fact, Maya jade objects and portrayals of jade jewelry fre-
quently display breath and wind signs (Figures 8a, 9, 10). Jade
pectorals portraying the ik’ wind sign appear both in Classic Maya
art and as actual objects, including a pectoral from Calakmul (Fig-
ure 9a,b; Schmidt et al. 1999:Number 144). The aforementioned
jade belt celts, typically hanging as tinklers in sets of three, often
display the ik’ sign (Figure 9c). Aside from alluding to jade, the
ik’ sign on celts may refer to music, as rattles, drums, and other
musical instruments are frequently marked with this element (Hous-
ton and Taube 2000:273). A very dense and hard stone, jadeite has
striking acoustical qualities, particularly when the surface is highly
polished. In replicative research, I have found that a set of three
jadeite belt celts emits high and sharp clinking sounds, something
that must have especially impressive to the non-metal-using Clas-
sic Mayas.
Along with being ornamented with ik’ wind signs, jades exhale
the same symmetrical breath volutes that emerge from flowers
and the mouths of serpents in Maya art (Figures 8a, 9d–g). Ac-
cording to Stuart (1992), earspools were symbolic flowers among
the Classic Mayas. As symbols of wind and breath, they also often
exhale pairs of breath volutes. Late Classic zoomorphic facades
from the northern Maya Lowlands frequently depict earspools
with pairs of symmetrical breath volutes (Gendrop 1983:
Figures 38f, 52f, 65c, 79d, 82a, 92d). These earspool emanations
can be extremely large and elaborate. For the roof comb of the
Casa Colorada at Chichen Itza, the earspools and breath elements
accompanying the three masks constitute more than half of the
sculptural facade. At Chichen Itza, the outwardly curling volute
pairs often emerge simultaneously from the earspools and mouth
corners of zoomorphs, clearly indicating that they are breath
(Schmidt 1999:37). Jade flares worn on the brow or as earspools
commonly exhale breath volutes, including an example from the
Early Classic Leiden Plaque (Figure 9e,f ). An emerald green jade
portrays the maize god with a pair of large volutes denoting the
breath essence of the precious stone (Figure 9g). The smoking or
exhaling jade flare on the brow denotes this figure god as an
ancestor, a motif commonly found on Late Classic carved jades as
well as in scenes of conjuring (Proskouriakoff 1974:Plate 71, c1;
Yaxchilan Lintel 55).
CLASSIC MAYA EARSPOOL SYMBOLISM
Of the various jade ornaments worn by Classic Maya elites, the
earspool appears to have been most closely related to the symbol-
ism of breath and wind. At times, the aforementioned breath bead
appears as an earspool (Figure 19g). In Classic Maya art, ear-
spools are even portrayed in profile as versions of the ik’ sign
(Figures 8a, 10a). The Classic wind god frequently has earspools
of this form, and in the Postclassic codices the glyph of the wind
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 33

Figure 9. Classic-period portrayals of jade with wind and breath signs. (a) Jade pectoral with ik’ sign, Temple of the Inscriptions,
Palenque (after Greene Robertson 1983:Figure 189). (b) Pectoral with serpents and ik’ sign, Structure 10L-11, Copan (after Schele and
Miller 1986:Plate 36). (c) Jade belt celts with ik’ signs, Caracol Stela 5 (after Beetz and Satterthwaite 1981:Figure 6). (d) Serpent exhaling
symmetrical breath volutes, detail of Blom Plate, Late Classic (after Hellmuth 1987:Figure 409). (e) Jade flare with breath volutes,
detail of Leiden Plaque (after Schele and Miller 1986:Plate 33b). (f) Jade flare with bifurcated breath element, Caracol Stela 4 (after
Beetz and Satterthwaite 1981:Figure 5). (g) Jade pendant of maize god and bifurcated breath element (after Stierlin 1998:Plate 247).

god has a brow jewel element in the form of a earspool assem-
blage (Taube 1992b:Figure 25a, e). A Naranjo text portrays four
ik’ signs surrounding a sky glyph (Figure 10b). The form of these
wind signs are identical to earspools portrayed in profile (Fig-
ure 10a). Zachary Hruby (personal communication 2001) has called
my attention to a similar quadripartite program on a Late Classic
polychrome (Figure 10c). Portraying four earspool wind signs
placed to the cardinal directions within a floral form, this sign
probably refers to the winds of the four directions. Both the Naranjo
glyph and the vessel motif recall the directional earspools from
Middle Formative and Early Classic caches from San Isidro and
Copan (Figures 1c, 2a). In addition, three-dimensional ceramic
earspools appear on three sides of an Early Classic, Teotihuacan-
style rectangular cache vessel or censer from the Escuintla area of
Guatemala (Schmidt et al. 1998:Figure 252). A similar program
appears on the lid of a Tepeu 1, Naranjo-style vessel in the British
Museum (Figure 10d). The lid portrays four equidistantly placed
jade and breathing floral elements surrounding the handle in the
form of a jade disk. Caches featuring four jades placed around a
central element may concern not only the cardinal world direc-
tions and center but directional winds, as well.
In Late Classic Maya art, Teotihuacan-style supernaturals fre-
quently breathe rain clouds from the corners of their mouths (Fig-
ure 11d, f). For these breath volutes, raindrops fall from a cloud
scroll. Late Classic Maya scenes portray the same Teotihuacan-
derived cloud-and-rain element emerging out of earspools, much
as if they were breathing clouds of rain (Figure 11b,c, e). In fact,
Early Classic murals from the Tepantitla compound at Teotihua-
can portray the rain god with an undulating stream of water falling
from his earspool (Figure 11a). The concept of jade earspools
exhaling rain clouds immediately recalls the Florentine Codex
description of jade breathing fresh moisture onto growing plants.
However, the concept of earspools exhaling moist breath is by no
means limited to central Mexico. The same curving breath ele-
ment can be seen in Early Classic and Late Preclassic Maya por-
trayals of earspools, including a figure from the recently discovered
murals at San Bartolo (Figure 12c). Tipped with a raindrop, the
breath volute on the Late Preclassic San Bartolo example is very
similar to Late Classic Maya portrayals of Teotihuacan earspools
(Figures 11b,c,e, 12c).
In Classic Maya art, the most common way of denoting earspool
breath is neither the curving rain cloud nor pairs of breath volutes.
34 Taube

Figure 10. Classic Maya earspools and the winds of the four directions. (a) Late Classic portrait glyph of wind god with ik’ sign
earspool, detail of carved bone text, Tikal Burial 116. (b) Sky glyph surrounded by four ik’ elements in the form of earspools, Naranjo
Altar 1 (after Graham 1978:103). (c) Four ik’ sign earspools within floral motif, detail of Late Classic vessel, Museo Popol Vuh (after
photograph courtesy of Zachary Hruby). (d) Four jade and breathing flower elements framing central disk, detail of Late Classic
vessel lid, British Museum (after Coe 1973:86).

Rather, it is the virtually ubiquitous tube and spherical bead pro-
jecting from the center of the jade flare (Figures 7e, 15b, 19g).
This bar and bead is clearly a part of actual earspool assemblages
and is well documented in archaeological excavations (Kidder
et al. 1946:Figures 45f, 145b; Ruz Lhuiller 1973:249, Fig-
ure 226). But the jade bar and bead also represents moist breath
and commonly projects out of the nostrils of serpents and other
creatures, denoting the breath soul of these zoomorphic beings
(Figures 4f [ left], 7e, 15a, 17e,f, 18a; Baudez 1999:56; Houston
and Taube 2000:265). The bar and bead closely resembles Meso-
american depictions of falling rain, including examples from Mid-
dle Formative Chalcatzingo to the Late Postclassic Aztec. This
convention also recalls the stream of water falling from the earspool
at Tepantitla, Teotihuacan (Figure 11a). Late Classic Maya por-
trayals of “wind jewel” jades often have pendant bar-and-bead
assemblages, quite probably depicting drops falling from cloud-
making wind (Figure 9a,b). The elements projecting from Classic
Maya earspools indicate that they are living, flower-like entities
breathing moisture and life.
The concept of earspools exhaling water and rain is very an-
cient and was already present among the Preclassic Maya. Men-
tion has been made of the San Bartolo mural portraying an earspool
with the curving cloud element tipped by a raindrop (Figure 12c).
Simpler examples appear in the exterior murals of Structure 5D-
Sub-10-1st of Late Preclassic Tikal, which are earspools backed
by prominent raindrops (Figure 12a). Another figure from the San
Bartolo murals has an earspool emanation with a pair of beads or
drops (Figure 12b). Protoclassic figures from La Lagunita, Gua-
temala, display breath elements similarly tipped with a pair of
beads, a convention that can also be seen on the earlier, Olmec-
style Shook Panel (Figure 12f,g). An especially elaborate earspool
element appears on the Late Preclassic Stela 5 from Kaminaljuyu
(Figure 12e). In this case, the breath element with its two beads
appears as the lower face of a zoomorphic being, quite possibly
the Maya rain god, Chaak. In addition to this being, earspool
breath elements can also appear as serpent heads. The well-known
facades from Structure 5C-2nd at Cerros depict earspools with
profile serpent heads exhaling raindrops from their mouths and
nostrils (Figure 12d). Aside from the Cerros facades, Late Prelas-
sic earspools with serpent heads appear on the incised Olmec heir-
loom plaque at Dumbarton Oaks, the stucco facades of Structure
5D-Sub.3 at Tikal, and Stela 1 of Nakbe (Coe 1990:Figure 43a,
Miller 1996:61; Schele and Miller 1986:119). The Late Preclassic
earspool elements portray the same concept of moist breath but in
different levels of complexity, from a simple drop, to a curving
cloud and raindrop, to, finally, serpent and other zoomorphic heads
as the embodiment of the exhalation.
In Late Classic Maya iconography, serpent heads continue to
represent the symbolic breath of earspools (Figures 13, 14, 16f ).
The West Building at Uxmal supports a series of stacked zoomor-
phic mountain masks, each having earspools with plumed serpent
heads exhaling prominent breath scrolls from the corners of their
mouths (Figure 13a). Quite probably, these serpents are simplified
forms of the great Quetzalcoatl serpents extending across the en-
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 35

Figure 11. Rain-breath elements at Early Classic Teotihuacan and in Teotihuacan-style Late Classic Maya art. (a) Teotihuacan Tlaloc with
water stream falling from mural, detail of Early Classic mural from Tepantitla, Teotihuacan (drawn after image courtesy of Jennifer
Browder). (b) Ruler 3 with schematic Tlaloc mask and rain-breathing earspools, Dos Pilas Stela 16 (after Graham 1967:Figure 7).
(c) Tlaloc figure with earspool breathing rain element, detail of text from Temple 26, Copan (after Stuart 2000:Figure 15.24). (d) Skull
breathing rain cloud from corner of mouth, detail of temple text from Structure 10L-26, Copan (after Stuart 2000:Figure 15.24).
(e) Tikal ruler Jasaw Chan K’awiil with brow goggles and earspools breathing rain clouds, Lintel 2 of Tikal Temple 1 (after Jones and
Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 69). (f) Schematic drawing of War Serpent breathing rain cloud from corner of mouth, Lintel 2 of Tikal
Temple I (after Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 69).
36 Taube

Figure 12. Late Preclassic Maya earspool iconography. (a) Earspool with raindrop, detail of Late Preclassic mural, Stucture 5D-Sub.10-
1st, Tikal (after Coe 1990:Figure 32a). (b) Male figure with earspool emanation with pair of drops, West Wall mural, San Bartolo,
Guatemala (detail of drawing courtesy of Heather Hurst). (c) Goddess with cloud and raindrop element projecting from side of
earspool, detail of North Wall Mural, San Bartolo (after drawing courtesy of Heather Hurst). (d) Earspool with serpent exhaling
raindrops, detail of Late Preclassic stucco facade, Cerros (after Freidel 1985:Figure 6b). (e) Figure with earspool emanation with drops
personified by deity head, possibly Chaak, detail of Kaminaljuyu Stela 5 (after Parsons 1986:Figure 53). (f) Figure with pair of beaded
breath elements, detail of stone sarcophagus from La Lagunita, Protoclassic period (after Ichon 1977:Figure 49). (g) Olmec-style
figure with pair of breath beads, detail of Shook Panel, Middle Formative period, Guatemala (after Taube 2004b:Figure 9f).
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 37

Figure 13. Late Classic and Postclassic Maya earspool iconography. (a) Earspool with plumed serpent exhaling volutes at corners of
mouth, detail of facade from West Building of Nunnery Quadrangle, Uxmal (after Schele and Mathews 1998:Figure 7.36). (b) Jade
flare and serpent breath element, Stela 5, Caracol (after Beetz and Satterthwaite 1981:Figure 6). (c) Serpent as smoke or breath of jade
brow flare, Lintel 1, Itzimte (after von Euw 1977:31). (d) Four earspools with emergent breath serpents, east side of Copan Stela C
(after Fash 2001:Figure 68). (e) Serpent emerging as central breath element of earspool, Stela 3, Machaquila (after Graham
1967:Figure 49). (f) Late Postclassic Chaak with serpent emerging from central breath element of earspool, Dresden Codex, page 35b.
(g) K’awiil with serpent in earspool, detail of mural from Santa Rita, Belize (after Taube 1992b:Figure 32f).

tire facade. It is widely known that in central Mexico, Quetzal-
coatl is the embodiment of rain-bringing wind, and it subsequently
will be noted that Quetzalcoatl can be found emerging from ear-
spools in Late Postclassic Aztec art (Figure 19b,c). In Classic
Maya iconography, serpents are not only presented in profile against
the earspool but can emerge directly from the center of the device,
a convention that appears with other jade flares. On Caracol Stela 5,
the aforementioned breath element in the nostrils of zoomorphic
beings is a serpent emerging from a jade flare (Figure 13b). In
another example, a serpent head in profile embodies the smoke or
breath exhaled from the brow flare (Figure 13c). The stacked
headdresses on the eastern side of Copan Stela C have four ear-
spools with serpents displaying probable cloud volutes on their
bodies (Figure 13d). Breathing-serpent earspools continue to ap-
pear in Late Postclassic Maya art, including in the Dresden Codex
(Thompson 1972), as well as on the murals at Santa Rita, Belize
(Figure 13f,g). In the Dresden Codex example, the serpent emerges
from the central projecting bar of the earspool.
In concept, the Dresden Codex earspool is very similar to an
example from Late Classic Machaquila Stela 3, which depicts a
fret-nosed serpent as the projecting bar and bead of the earspool
assemblage (Figure 13e). But in contrast to the central bar and
bead of actual Maya earspools, this serpent is usually not a solid,
carved jade object. Instead, it is an idealized portrayal of breath.
Thus, the Maya sun god and other beings often exhale this same
breath serpent from their noses (Figure 14a,b). An incised alabas-
ter vessel portrays a fret-nosed serpent head emerging from an
earspool in the form of the ik’ sign (Figure 14c). The fret-nosed
serpent probably denotes warm, living breath, as this creature
also emerges from solar disks and burning censers. Although
heat and warmth may seem to oppose the concept of water, warm
summer breezes bring the fructifying rain. Moreover, in the Flo-
rentine Codex account of finding precious stone mentioned ear-
lier, Aztec prospectors would watch for the breathing mist at the
dawn rising of the sun. A very dense silicate, jadeite strongly
absorbs solar heat. Left in tropical sun, a polished piece of jade
is both burning to the touch and fully capable of producing vapor
if moistened.
For the Classic Maya, the most grandiose forms of breathing
earspools occur on a particular form of the ceremonial bar wreathed
in flowers and the mat design at both ends (Figure 15). This bar
appears to be a rolled mat with flaring stoppers at both ends.
38 Taube

Figure 14. The fret-nosed breath serpent emerging from faces and earspools. (a) Fret-nosed serpent emerging from nasal area, detail
of Late Classic jade plaque (after Schele and Miller 1986:Plate 34). (b) Sun god breathing serpent from nose, Quirigua Stela D (after
Maudslay 1889–1902:II:Plate 26). (c) Ruler with breath serpent emerging from earspool, Seibal Stela 10 (after Graham 1996:32).
(d) Ik’ sign earspool with breath serpent, detail of carved alabaster vase (after Bliss 1957:Plate 86). (e) Breath serpent emerging from
earspool, Dos Pilas Stela 8 (after Mathews 2001:Figure 40.2). (f) Breath serpent emerging from floral earspool, Yaxchilan Lintel 25
(after Graham and von Euw 1977:55).

Stuart (personal communication 1999) suggests that these end
pieces are giant jade earspools, with the Pomona Flare being an
example of such an object. Kenneth Hirth and Susan Hirth (1993:
185) call attention to particularly massive earspools, or “biconical
earflares,” that are far too heavy and large to be worn through the
ear. The Hirths note the presence of these earflares in central
Honduras, Copan, and Quirigua (Hirth and Hirth 1993). In addi-
tion, many of these jade flares were found in the Early Classic
jade cache from Cerro de las Mesas, Veracruz (Drucker 1955:51–
52, Plate 41). Philip Drucker (1955:51–52) also expresses the opin-
ion that they were not worn as earpieces: “a number of earspool
flares from the cache, in fact a considerable number, are so large
and heavy that I am inclined to doubt that they could have been
actually worn in the ears.” Hirth and Hirth (1993:185) suggest
that the large flares could have been worn as belt plaques or as
headdress ornaments, but it is also possible that many served as
stopper-like endpieces on ceremonial bars.
Many Early Classic figures holding ceremonial bars wear large
earspools edged with the same mat and floral devices found on the
bars, much as if their heads—the space between the pair of spools—
constituted a personified form of the bar (Figure 15a [upper cen-
ter]). In addition, on the Early Classic Stelae 1 and 2 of Tikal and
Stela 6 of Caracol, rulers wear long necklace chains of earspools
while wielding the ceremonial bar (Figure 15a [lower center];
Beetz 1981:Figure 7; Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figures 1, 2).
At Late Classic Coba, rulers holding ceremonial bars invariably
have long earspool chain necklaces (Graham and von Euw 1997).
For Stelae 2 and P at Copan, earspool necklaces with pairs of
symbolic serpent heads substitute directly for the ceremonial bar
(Fash 2001:Figures 50, 51, 58). The southern side of Quirigua
Stela F portrays a pair of long earspool chains ending with serpent
heads hanging from the headdress to below the arms of the ruler.
As Herbert Spinden (1913:58) noted long ago, the pair of descend-
ing chains and serpent heads substitutes directly for the ceremo-
nial bar. Quite frequently, Early Classic figures adopt the ceremonial
bar arm pose—but without the bar—over their pendant jade neck-
laces, as if the jades serve as substitute ceremonial bars (Fig-
ures 5c–e, 6e). In Classic Maya costume and regalia, the ceremonial
bar was clearly related to the symbolism of earspools and jade.
Along with jade earspool chains, the ceremonial bar is por-
trayed in the form of jade pectorals, items worn in the same chest
region where the bar would be held. An excellent example was
recently discovered by Nakamura in Copan Quadrant 10J; it por-
trays a miniature ceremonial bar in the form of a mat tube with
stylized flowers and flares at the ends (Figure 16a). The Early
Classic Burial 48 at Tikal, the tomb of Siyah Chan K’awiil, also
contained a jade in the form of a rolled mat with ends resembling
earflares (Figure 16b). A markedly similar jade pectoral, attrib-
uted to the Atlantic Watershed of Costa Rica, depicts the rolled
mat as well as serpent heads projecting from the ends of the ear-
flares, recalling portrayals of ceremonial bars in Classic Maya art
(Figures 15, 16c). As with other Early Classic jades known from
Costa Rica, this pectoral was probably imported from the Maya
region.
Late Classic sculptures from the recently excavated Temple
XIX at Palenque portray the ruler K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nab’ wear-
ing a ceremonial bar pectoral, complete with serpent heads pro-
jecting from the earflare ends (Figure 16d,e).The many specific
traits shared among the Temple XIX examples suggest that they
portray the same pectoral, a specific jade assemblage worn by
K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nab. A fragmentary looted panel from the
region of Pomona portrays yet another example of a ceremonial
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 39

Figure 15. The ceremonial bar in Classic Maya iconography. (a) Detail of Early Classic ceremonial bar from Tikal Stela 2; note also
earspool assemblage and earspool necklace in upper and lower center respectively (after Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 2).
(b) Codex-style vessel portraying K’awiil being conjured out of ceremonial bar by probable wind god wearing crocodilian headdress
(after Kerr 1992:389).

bar serpent pectoral (Figure 16f ). In this case, a virtually identical
serpent head emerges out of the earspool, once again linking the
symbolism of the ceremonial bar to earspools.
The ceremonial bars portrayed on Classic monuments and as
jade pectorals are idealized portrayals of supernaturally charged
but also physically inert items. Rather than actual carved objects,
the serpent heads emerging from the ends of ceremonial bars are
probably symbolic, breath-like emanations, massive versions of
the serpents exhaled from jade earspools. One Late Classic vessel
scene portrays a youthful, long-haired male—probably the wind
god—holding the rolled mat bar, complete with large earspool
ends wreathed in mat and floral designs (Figure 15b). The writh-
ing serpent passing through this item is clearly not part of the
static ceremonial bar. Often known as the Bearded Dragon, this
serpent is a creature of breath and wind and frequently rises out of
burning bowls as swirling convection currents or is exhaled out of
the mouths of zoomorphic mountains (Figure 17f; Taube 2003c:
295–296). As with many ceremonial bars, the serpent exhales a
god—in this case, K’awiil—from its open maw. The accompany-
ing vessel text describes the birth of K’awiil, denoting the scene
as an act of conjuring. The serpent heads and gods at the ends of
ceremonial bars portray supernatural beings breathed and con-
jured into existence.
Along with the Classic Maya phrase referring to the expiration
of the breath soul, another common death expression is och b’ih,
meaning “enters the road.” Typically, the glyphic compound for
this phrase is a rattlesnake tail, och, followed by an earspool, read
b’ih (Figure 17b). However, the snake tail and earspool compos-
40 Taube

Figure 16. Jade pectorals in the form of ceremonial bars. (a) Early Classic ceremonial bar pectoral of rolled mat with four-lobed
flowers and earspools at ends, from Burial 36, Quadrant 10J, Copan (drawing by the author from photograph courtesy of Seiichi
Nakamura). (b) Jade pectoral from Burial 48, Tikal (after Shook and Kidder 1961:6). (c) Jade pectoral of rolled mat with earspools and
emergent serpent heads at both heads, attributed to Atlantic Watershed, Costa Rica (after Jones 1988:Plate 83). (d) Jade pectoral
portrayed on carved bench, Temple XIX, Palenque (drawing by the author after field drawing by David Stuart). (e) Jade pectoral
depicted on carved panel, Temple XIX, Palenque (drawing by the author after field drawing by David Stuart). (f) Figure with ser-
pents emerging from bar pectoral and earspool, fragmentary bas-relief from vicinity of Pomona (after field drawing courtesy of Ian
Graham).

ing the sign are not simply phonetic; they also relate to the con- serpent penetrating an earspool (Figure 17a). Simon Martin (per-
cept of the breath serpent passing through the jade earspool “road,” sonal communication 1999) notes that the hand och variant, as can
or b’ih. On the Early Classic vessel commonly referred to as the occur in a version of the och b’ih phrase, appears in the brow of
Death Vase, the och b’ih expression is explicitly rendered as a four small supernaturals on the sides of Tikal Stela 1 (Fig-
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 41

Figure 17. The och b’ih expression in Classic Maya epigraphy and art. (a) Och b’ih glyph portraying serpent penetrating earspool, detail
of Early Classic Death Vase (after Kerr 2000:972). (b) Och b’ih compound, Sarcophagus Lid, Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque.
(c) Och b’ih variant with hand substituting for och rattlesnake tail, Tikal Stela 31, G28. (d) Piscine figure with och hand sign on brow,
Tikal Stela 1 (after Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 1). (e) One of pair of snakes passing through probable earspools, Tikal Stela 1
(after Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Figure 1). (f) Zoomorphic witz mountain breathing snakes through earspools, Tonina Monument
106 (partly reconstructed by the author after Becquelin and Baudez 1982:Figure 175). (g) Breath element emerging out of ik’ sign
earspool, detail of upper portion of Pier C, Palenque (after Maudslay 1889–1902:IV:Plate 55).
42 Taube

ure 17c,d). Aside from the serpent conjuring bar and earspool
necklace, Stela 1 portrays a pair of descending serpents passing
through a pair of disks, quite possibly earspools (Figure 17e). The
scene of the conjured birth of God K described earlier is a graphic
portrayal of och b’ih, here in the context of conjuring as symbolic
birth (Figure 15b).
Early Classic witz monsters frequently exhale snakes through
their earspools. Excellent examples occur on Tikal Structure 5D-
33-2nd and D5-1 at Tonina (Figure 17f ). Both were obviously
extremely important and revered buildings; in the case of the Ti-
kal structure, this was the mortuary monument for Siyah Chan
K’awiil. Quite probably, the serpent earspools portray these witz
mountains as places of och b’ih for conjuring revered ancestors
into the sky. Whereas the death expression och ha’, or “enters the
water,” refers to expiration and netherworld descent, och b’ih ap-
parently concerns rebirth and resurrection related to fire, flowers,
and the celestial road of the sun (Taube 2003b). On the Early
Classic Death Vase, the och b’ih expression appears in a scene
where a solar disk rises above the bundled corpse of the maize god
(Kerr 2000:972). The Sarcophagus Lid text of Pakal of Palenque
contains many och b’ih phrases, including explicit reference to the
buried king (Figure 17b). From the sarcophagus, a hollow ma-
sonry “psychoduct” snakes its way up the interior steps to end at
Pier C. The upper portion of the stucco facade of Pier C, and only
this pier, features the date 1 Ik’, or 1 Wind, as well as an ik’-sign
earspool with smoking breath pouring onto a solar sign, quite
probably depicting the celestial resurrection of Pakal’s breath soul
(Figure 17g).
The relationship of och b’ih to celestial solar ascent can be
traced to Stela 4 of Late Preclassic Takalik Abaj (Figure 18a). The
monument portrays an undulating and burning serpent rising out
of a form described by Julia Guernsey Kappelman (2002:77) as a
“medallion-decorated portal.” This device is an earspool, quite
like an example that appears on Takalik Abaj Stela 2 (Figure 18c).
The serpent has a solar k’in sign in its coils and is apparently being
breathed out of the watery depths of Flower Mountain, marked by

Figure 18. The och b’ih event in the art of Late Preclassic Takalik Abaj. (a) Serpent with solar sign and probable ancestral head in mouth
rising out of earspool in water; note zoomorphic witz heads with flowers on brows flanking pool of water, Takalik Abaj Stela 4
(partially reconstructed drawing by the author). (b) Detail of earspool in pool of water, Takalik Abaj Stela 4. (c) Figure with earspool
assemblage, Takalik Abaj Stela 2 (after drawing courtesy of James Porter).
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion
a pair of zoomorphic witz heads with flowers atop their brows.
Along with transporting the sun, the serpent bears a human face in
its mouth. Guernsey Kappelman (2002:77) notes that this figure
wears a jade bead in front of the nose. This is the breath bead,
which apparently was accompanied by a pair of large breath vo-
lutes extending beyond the length of the face. A Late Preclassic
form of och b’ih, the Takalik Abaj scene depicts a serpent rising
out of an earspool to carry an ancestor or god upward into the
celestial road of the sun.
JADE AND EARSPOOL SYMBOLISM IN CLASSIC
AND POSTCLASSIC HIGHLAND MEXICO
The relationship of jade earspools to breath, wind, and super-
natural serpents was not limited to the Classic Maya. It was also
present in Postclassic Central Mexico. As with the Classic Maya,
the Aztecs commonly portrayed earspools as disks with a central
projecting bar and bead, a device that also serves as a basic Aztec
sign for jade and preciousness (Pasztory 1983:Plate 45). How-
ever, two massive Tlaloc censers attributed to Late Postclassic
Oaxaca or Veracruz display earspools with explicit serpents emerg-
ing in place of the central bar and bead, a convention strikingly
similar to the Maya rain god in the Dresden Codex (Figures 13f,
19a; for Tlaloc censers, see Brettell 1993:8; Matos Moctezuma
1995:31). Leonardo López Luján (personal communication 2001)
has called my attention to an Aztec silver mask pendant that has
earspools in the form of disks with penetrating serpents (Fig-
ure 19c). With their rattlesnake tails and plumed crests, these ser-
pents probably portray Quetzalcoatl as the embodiment of wind.
A small Aztec stone sculpture in the collections of the Frieda
Kahlo Museum portrays Quetzalcoatl surging out from the center
of an earspool, probably to denote the breath essence of the orna-
ment (Figure 19b). Such an earspool may have been a specific
costume element of Quetzalcoatl. In the Telleriano-Remensis Codex
(Quiñones-Keber 1995), Quetzalcoatl wears a serpent earspool in
the thirteen-day trecena of 1 Wind, and this is the only example of
such an earspool in the entire manuscript (Figure 19f ).
The identification of earspools with Quetzalcoatl and breath
was clearly present during the Early Postclassic period. The mag-
nificent gold mask discovered in the Cenote of Sacrifice at Chi-
chen Itza portrays a pair of undulating plumed serpents above the
eye orbits (Figure 19d). Each of the serpents carries a pair of
earspools emitting long quetzal plumes (Figure 19e). In Classic
Maya iconography, floral or jade breath elements frequently ap-
pear with quetzal feathers. A Chochola-style carved vase depicts
this breath device as an earspool with quetzal plumes emerging
from the center of the jade, a concept identical to the examples
that appear on the Chichen Itza plumed serpents (Figure 19g).
Moreover, stone almenas from roughly contemporaneous Tula de-
pict earspools in profile with prominent breath volutes (Figure 19h).
The Pyramid of the Plumed Serpents at Xochicalco constitutes
one of the most elaborate, monumental portrayals of Quetzalcoatl
known in ancient Mesoamerica. The Terminal Classic facades also
portray a great deal of imagery pertaining to Classic Maya jade
symbolism. Many researchers have noted that the seated nobles
on the northern, eastern, and southern facades of the lower plat-
form Xochicalco are based on the format of Late Classic Maya
jade plaques (Coe 1984:106; Nagao 1989:94–95; Ringle et al.
1998:205). In fact, the entire tableaux of these facades concerns
the symbolism of jade, breath, and wind in the context of royal
Maya ancestors (for entire scenes of facades, see Smith 2000:
43
Figure 4.2). All of the seated Maya figures wear breathing spools
in their headdresses, denoting them as conjured supernaturals (Fig-
ure 20a). The form of these brow pieces resembles not only Clas-
sic Maya examples but also the breathing earspools at Early
Postclassic Tula (Figures 9e, 19h). Similar breath volutes cap the
speech scrolls of the Xochicalco figures, speech and breath being
closely related phenomena in Mesoamerican thought (Houston
and Taube 2000:274–276). Along with breath volutes, the quetzal
plumes hanging from these speech scrolls probably also denote
breath and wind (Figure 20a).
The breathing-jade-spool motif appears again in far larger form
on the three Xochicalco facades, here atop Reptile Eye glyphs
with the coefficient of 9 (Smith 2000:Figure 4.2). According to
Alfonso Caso (1962:53), the Reptile Eye sign probably corre-
sponds to the day name Wind, equivalent to the Maya day Ik’, an
identification also favored by other researchers (Coe 1984:106;
Ringle et al. 1998:209). Supported by flame volutes, the breathing
spools are virtually identical to the examples ornamenting the
brows of the seated Maya lords (Figure 20b).
On the Pyramid of the Plumed Serpents, a massive vertical bar
with a mat motif marks the center of all three facades (Fig-
ure 20c). I suspect that this device portrays the ceremonial bar of
Maya kings, commonly in the form of a rolled mat with flaring
spools at both ends (Figures 15a,b, 16a–c). In the roughly con-
temporaneous Terminal Classic murals of Structure A at Cacaxtla,
the Maya eagle warrior carries such a bar with mat designs while
standing on a plumed and bearded serpent (Coe 1984:105). How-
ever, although the Xochicalco examples lack the pair of spool
ends, there are two of these with each facade, these being the
large, breathing spools atop the pair of Reptile Eye Glyphs appear-
ing on all three sides of the building. In the case of the north and
south facades, the pairs of breathing spools and Reptile Eye signs
flank the sides of the vertical bar (Smith 2000:Figure 4.2). It is
thus readily possible to place the pairs of breathing spools with
each of the three bars (Figure 20d). However, aside from the breath
volutes, these facades contain far larger portrayals of breath and
wind, these being the pairs of massive, bearded plumed serpents
extending out from both sides of the central bars (Figure 20e).
These serpents display cut conch “wind jewels” on their bodies
and exhale quetzal plumes from their nostrils, indicating that their
feathered bodies and essence is breath and wind (Taube 2001:111,
121, 2003c:291).
Extending outward from both sides of the central bar, the pairs
of bearded plumed serpents at Xochicalco are quite like the Bearded
Dragon heads emerging as symbolic breath out of the ends of
Maya ceremonial bars (Figure 15a). However, whereas conjured
beings typically appear in the mouths of the Maya Bearded Drag-
ons, the Xochicalco facade portrays the Maya lords floating in the
coils of the plumed serpents. The lower facades of the Pyramid of
the Plumed Serpents portrays the Maya figures not as living kings
but as ancestors embodied in jade and conjured and carried by
breath and wind.
The references to elite Maya jade lore on the Pyramid of the
Plumed Serpents could suggest that many of the aspects of jade
symbolism noted for Postclassic highland Mexico may have been
derived from the Classic Maya by way of Xochicalco. However,
although jadeite is notably rare at Teotihuacan, there was never-
theless an elaborate symbolic complex concerning earspools. At
Teotihuacan, earspools were commonly portrayed as flowers, of-
ten with four-petaled forms (Figure 21b; Berrin and Pasztory 1993:
Numbers 70, 75, 104; Sejourné 1966:Figures 54 –59). In the
44 Taube

Figure 19. Plumed serpents, breath, and earspools in Postclassic Mesoamerica. (a) Serpent emerging from earspool, detail of Late
Postclassic Tlaloc censer (after Bretell 1993:8). (b) Aztec stone sculpture of Quetzalcoatl emerging out of large earspool (drawing by
author of item on display in Museo Frida Kahlo, Mexico City). (c) Aztec feathered serpent in earspool, detail of silver Yacatecuhtli
mask from Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan (after Bonifaz Nuño 1981:Number 83). (d) One of pair of plumed serpents on eyes of gold
mask from the Cenote of Sacrifice, Chichen Itza (after Coggins and Shane 1984:Number 32). (e) Detail of pair of earspools with
quetzal feathers on body of plumed serpent (after Coggins and Shane 1984:Number 32). (f) Quetzalcoatl with serpent earspool,
Telleriano-Remensis Codex, Folio 22r. (g) Earspool and quetzal feather breath element, detail of Late Classic Maya vase (after Kerr
1997:837). (h) Early Postclassic portrayals of breathing earspools, Tula, Hidalgo (after de la Fuente et al. 1988:Figures 140–41).
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion 45

Figure 20. Imagery pertaining to jade, breath, and wind from the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpents, Xochicalco. (a) Seated lord with
bifurcated breath element atop speech scroll and emerging from jade flare on brow (drawing from photograph by the author).
(b) Profile rendering of earspool with flames and bifurcated breath element (drawing from photograph by the author). (c) Mat motif
in center of north, east, and south facades (drawing from photograph by the author). (d) Mat form placed with pair of breathing
earspools (composite drawing from the author). (e) Pairs of bearded plumed serpents and earspools with mat form (composite
drawing by the author).

Teotihuacan-derived Early Classic art of Escuintla, Guatemala, a
number of censer lids have central chimneys in the form of hollow
earspools (Figure 21a; Hellmuth 1975:Plates 23, 36, 39). At times,
the rim is beaded, a common trait of both Classic Maya and Teo-
tihuacan earspools (Figures 13e, 21a; Berrin and Pasztory 1993:
Number 102; Sejourné 1966:Figures 54–55, 57–59). A Teotihuacan-
style censer lid from Early Classic Kaminaljuyu depicts a seated
drummer within such an earspool displaying the beaded rim (Kid-
der et al. 1946:Figures 87, 201i). Vents under the arm and in the
open mouth of the singing figure served as the exit holes and
smoking “breath” of the censer. Like the Classic Maya concept of
och b’ih, the smoke passing up through these symbolic earspools
46 Taube

Figure 21. Early Classic Teotihuacan earspool iconography. (a) Censer lid with chimney in form of earspool atop quetzal, Escuintla
region, Guatemala (after Hellmuth 1975:Plate 39c). (b) Earspool with four-lobed flower and petaled rim, detail of fragmentary
Teotihuacan censer (after Easby and Scott 1970:Number 123). (c) Quetzalcoatl with War Serpent headdress on body passing through
petaled rim, detail of facade of Temple of Quetzalcoatl, Teotihuacan (drawing by the author).

constitutes the conjured soul essence rising into the sky. In addi-
tion, these censers vividly recall the breathing spools placed di-
rectly atop pairs of flames at Xochicalco (Figure 20b).
As circular, flower-like stone objects, mirrors and earspools
are closely related in Teotihuacan symbolic thought. Both are con-
sidered cave-like, supernatural passageways (on mirrors as sym-
bolic caves, see Taube 1992a:194–197). A number of earspools
from the Early Classic Esperanza phase burials at Kaminaljuyu
were encrusted with iron-ore mosaic, thereby conflating earspools
with mirrors (Kidder et al. 1946:109). Teotihuacan murals fre-
quently portray mirrors having an earspool in the center of the
reflective face (Miller 1973:Figures 149, 315, 366). This mirror
type was found in an Esperanza phase tomb at Kaminaljuyu, with
the central jade earspool containing a jade face carved in profile
(Kidder et al. 1946:Figures 26, 143b). The Teotihuacan examples
of figures within earspools may not be simply decorative fancy;
they may depict conjured beings (Berrin and Pasztory 1993:
Number 184). The Early Classic Burial A-31 at Uaxactun con-
tained a pair of earspools with mosaic faces of Tlaloc in their
centers, recalling the depictions of clouds and rain emerging from
Teotihuacan-style earspools, including the Early Classic example
from Tepantitla (Kidder 1947:44, Figure 79g).
At Teotihuacan, one structure in particular appears to evoke
the concept of och b’ih and the celestial ascent of the soul. Con-
structed near the beginning of the third century a.d., the Temple of
Quetzalcoatl featured images of Quetzalcoatl, the rain-bringing
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion
god of wind, writhing through great rings rimmed with apparent
feathers (Figure 21c). The serpents emerge from giant, three-
dimensional flowers in the center of the rings, suggesting that
they are breathlike emanations of the blossoms. Although I have
identified the outer feathered rings as the rims of mirrors (Taube
1992a:197), it is quite possible that they are earspools, as there
are examples with similar rims at Teotihuacan, including one
with a four-petaled flower in the center (Figure 21b). Of course,
the earspool identification would be very consistent with the
breath serpent and floral earspool imagery noted for the Classic
Maya. In addition, although there are portrayals of serpents emerg-
ing from mirrors in Postclassic Central Mexico (Taube 1992a:
Figure 21e), serpents also pass through earspools, including the
explicit Aztec portrayal of Quetzalcoatl exiting from such a de-
vice (Figure 19b).
As creatures of life-giving breath and wind, the plumed ser-
pents from the Temple of Quetzalcoatl are being exhaled into the
sky as a massive Teotihuacan version of the Classic Maya och b’ih
(Taube 2003b:433– 435, 2004a:88–91). Whereas the feathered ser-
pents at Xochicalco carry conjured Maya rulers on their bodies,
the Teotihuacan examples bear the War Serpent helmet denoting
an office of war (Taube 1992c:59– 61). The dedicatory mass buri-
als within the Temple of Quetzalcoatl contained many individuals
dressed and armed as warriors (Sugiyama 1992). It is becoming
increasingly evident that, as with the later Aztec, the souls of dead
warriors at Teotihuacan were transformed into celestial butterflies
(Berlo 1983; Taube 2000b). Carrying war helmets on their bodies,
the plumed serpents on the Temple of Quetzalcoatl may portray
the ascent of such heroic warriors into the sky and the celestial
paradise of the sun (Taube 2003b, 2004a).
CONCLUSIONS
Among the ancient Mayas, jade was esteemed for its beauty and
preciousness and as a rarefied embodiment of life essence, not
only as maize and life-giving water, but also as a physical mani-
festation of the breath spirit. The fleeting and ethereal breath soul
was commonly portrayed in jade, one of the hardest and most
durable materials in ancient Mesoamerica. This breath soul the-
matically relates to music and flowers, and the importance of
sound is reflected in the jade belt celts often suspended from an-
cestor masks. The tinkling celts may well have denoted the breath
and speech of the jade mask. The belt celts also recall floral Aztec
gold jewelry, which, when worn or handled, emits a sweet, deli-
cate sound. Clearly, individuals wearing such items had a special
RESUMEN
Los mayas del período clásico estimaron la jadeita, no solamente por su
valor como materia preciosa y su belleza, sino también por ser una piedra
de gran importancia simbólica. Este trabajo examina el significado reli-
gioso del jade y varios tipos de artefactos de jade entre los mayas del
clásico. En este estudio, notaré que los mayas del clásico atribuyeron un
número de significados al jade, incluyendo el maíz, centralidad y gobi-
erno, así como un personificación del viento y la vitalidad del espíritu o
aliento sagrado. Debido a la cercana relación al aliento sagrado, el jade
fue un componente importante de ritos funerarios y de la aparación ritual
de los dioses y ancestros. Talladas en forma floral, orejeras de jade
fueron consideradas como fuentes supernaturales o conductos para el
47
and direct link to the gods and ancestors. Among the Classic Ma-
yas, jade earspools symbolized rain-making wind and the breath
spirit, and in their hollow, flared form, both evoked flowers and
supernatural, cave-like portals. The four-petaled form of many
earspools represented the quatrefoil cave motif as well as flowers.
Elites wearing such jade devices probably were conceived as be-
ing in continuous sonic contact with numinous beings. In Classic
Maya rituals of conjuring, gods and ancestors were symbolically
exhaled and conjured from pairs of massive earspools placed at
the ends of ceremonial bars.
Much of the Classic Maya breath symbolism found with jade,
including earspools, was also present in highland Mexico. Aside
from the explicit portrayals of serpents emerging from earspools,
massive architectural facades and Xochicalco and Teotihuacan por-
tray earspool and jade symbolism in relation to the plumed serpent
Quetzalcoatl, the embodiment of life-giving breath and wind. Al-
though it may appear strange to lavish such monumental attention
on a relatively simple item of adornment, this is also clearly the
case with many Classic Maya facades, which are filled with elab-
orate portrayals of earspools and their breath-like emanations.
In the Maya region, the relationship of earspools to breath and
celestial serpents can be traced to the Late Preclassic period, in-
cluding the elaborate scene on Takalik Abaj Stela 4. However,
much of this symbolism was already present among the Middle
Formative Olmecs, including the portrayal of breath beads before
the face (Houston and Taube 2000). Mention has been made of the
San Isidro cache containing earspools oriented to the four direc-
tions, an antecedent of the later Classic Maya placement of ear-
spools as the winds of the four directions. In addition, a pair of
jade earspools from La Venta bear incised miniature breath ele-
ments in the form of a disk, possibly a miniature earspool, with
pairs of outcurving breath volutes (Taube 2001:Figure 81). Two of
the more ancient jade forms appearing among the Formative
Olmecs, earspools and belt celts were both related to antiquity and
ancestor veneration among the Classic Maya. In part, the relation-
ship of jade to the ancient past concerns the tough and durable
nature of this stone, which allows objects to be used and reused
for hundreds of years as heirlooms and material testimony to past
events (Joyce 2000:13–15). However, jade also symbolized the
immaterial breath essence of the soul, allowing for ritual contact
with otherwise remote gods and ancestors. In Classic Maya thought,
jade was a stone of beauty and ancient tradition, a living material
that, through heirlooms and rituals of conjuring, linked the living
to generations of the dead.
aliento sagrado, frecuentemente representado como una cuenta o serpi-
ente surgiendo del centro de la orejera. Una expresión común de la
muerte entre los mayas del clásico, och b’ih, tiene que ver directamente
con el renacimiento del espíritu a través el simbolismo de las orejeras.
Muchos de los significados e imagines encontrados con el jade de los
mayas del clásico también aparecen en otras culturas del Mesoamérica
antiguo, que incluye Teotihuacan, Xochicalco y los aztecas del período
de contacto. En lugar de ser completamente de origen maya, muchos
aspectos del simbolismo del jade artefactos relacionados al mismo tam-
bién se pueden encontrar entre los olmecas tempranos del formativo
medio.
48
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A version of the paper was first presented during the 2001 Congreso In-
ternacional de Copán. I am grateful to Ricardo Agurcia Fascquelle and
others of the organizing committee for allowing me to participate in this
session. I thank Seiichi Nakamura for generously sharing his detailed
descriptions of the excavations and finds from Quadrant 10J at Copan.
Takeshi Inomata and Shuji Araki kindly assisted with Japanese biblio-
graphic information. Virginia Fields provided a number of useful sugges-
tions and comments. Jennifer Browder and Claudia Garcia des Lauriers
REFERENCES
Baudez, Claude F.
1999 Los templos enmascarados de Yucatan. Arqueología Mexicana
7(37):54–59.
Becquelin, Pierre, and Claude F. Baudez
1982 Tonina: Une Cité Maya du Chiapas (Mexique), vol. 2. Mission
Archéologique et Ethnologique Française au Mexique, Paris.
Beetz, Carl P., and Linton Satterthwaite
1981 The Monuments and Inscriptions of Caracol, Belize. University
Museum Monograph 45. University Museum, University of Pennsyl-
vania, Philadelphia.
Berjonneau, Gerald, Emile Deletaille, and Jean-Louis Sonnery
1985 Rediscovered Masterpieces of Mesoamerica: Mexico–Guatemala–
Honduras. Editions Arts, Bologne.
Berlo, Janet
1983 The Warrior and the Butterfly: Central Mexican Ideologies of
Sacred Warfare and Teotihuacan Iconography. In Text and Image in
Pre-Columbian Art: Essays on the Interrelationship of the Visual and
Verbal Arts, edited by Janet Berlo, pp. 79–117. BAR International
Series 180. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford.
Berrin, Kathleen, and Esther Pasztory (editors)
1993 Teotihuacan: Art from the City of the Gods. Thames and Hud-
son, London and New York.
Bliss, Robert Woods
1957 Pre-Columbian Art: The Robert Woods Bliss Collection. Phai-
don Publishers, London.
Bonifaz Nuño, Rubén
1981 The Art in the Great Temple: México-Tenochtitlan. Instituto Na-
cional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.
Brettell, Richard
1993 The Museum of the Americas: Dallas Museum of Art. Apollo
Magazine, London.
Caso, Alfonso
1962 Calendario y escritura en Xochicalco. Revista Mexicana de Estu-
dios Antropologicos 18(1):49–80.
Coe, Michael D.
1973 The Maya Scribe and His World. Grolier Club, New York.
1984 Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs. 3rd ed. Thames and
Hudson, London.
1988 Ideology of the Maya Tomb. In Maya Iconography, edited by
Elizabeth P. Benson and Gillett G. Griffin, pp. 222–235. Princeton
University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Coe, William R.
1990 Excavations in the Great Plaza, North Terrace, and North Acrop-
olis of Tikal. 6 vols. Tikal Report No. 14. University Museum, Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Coggins, Clemency, and Orrin Shane III
1984 Cenote of Sacrifice: Maya Treasures from the Sacred Well at
Chichen Itza. University of Texas Press, Austin.
De la Fuente, Beatriz, Silvia Trejo, and Nelly Gutierrez Solana
1988 Escultura en piedra de Tula. Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México, Mexico City.
Digby, Adrian
1972 Maya Jades. British Museum, London.
Drucker, Philip
1955 The Cerro de las Mesas Offering of Jade and Other Materials.
Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 157:25– 68.
Easby, Elizabeth Kennedy, and John F. Scott
1970 Before Cortes: Sculpture of Middle America. Metropolitan Mu-
seum of Art, New York.
Taube
were of great help in translating Nahuatl texts concerning jade. Thanks
also to William Saturno and Heather Hurst for kindly sharing their unpub-
lished material concerning the murals of San Bartolo, Guatemala. Stephen
Houston and David Stuart were a steady source of information and inspi-
ration during the preparation of this manuscript. Finally, I thank William
Fowler and a reviewer, William Ringle, for their many thoughtful com-
ments and suggestions for the final published version of this paper.
Estrada-Belli, Francisco, Judith Valle, Chris Hewitson, Marc Wolf, Jer-
emy Bauer, Molly Morgan, Juan Carlos Pérez, James Doyle, Edy Barrios,
Angel Chávez, and Niña Nievens
2004 Teledetección, patrón de asentamiento e historia en Holmul, Petén.
In XVII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala,
edited by Juan Pedro Laporte, Bárbara Arroyo, Héctor L. Escobedo,
and Héctor E. Mejía, pp. 73–83. Instituto de Antropología e Historia,
Guatemala City.
Fash, William
1988 A New Look at Maya Statecraft from Copán, Honduras. Antiq-
uity 62:157–169.
2001 Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copán and the Ancient
Maya, rev. ed. Thames and Hudson, London.
Ferdon, Edwin N., Jr.
1953 Tonala, Mexico: An Archaeological Survey. Monographs of the
School of American Research 16. School of American Research, Santa
Fe, NM.
Fields, Virginia
1991 The Iconographic Heritage of the Maya Jester God. In Sixth
Palenque Round Table, 1986, edited by Merle Greene Roberston and
Virginia Fields, pp. 167–174. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Freidel, David
1985 Polychrome Facades of the Lowland Maya Preclassic. In Painted
Architecture and Polychrome Monumental Sculpture in Mesoamer-
ica, edited by Elizabeth Boone, pp. 5–27. Dumbarton Oaks, Wash-
ington, DC.
1990 The Jester God: The Beginning and End of a Maya Royal Sym-
bol. In Vision and Revision in Maya Studies, edited by Flora Clancy
and Peter Harrison, pp. 67–78. University of New Mexico Press,
Albuquerque.
Friedel, David, Linda Schele, and Joy Parker
1994 Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path.
William Morrow and Company, New York.
Gallenkamp, Charles, and Regina Elise Johnson (editors)
1985 Maya: Treasures of an Ancient Civilization. Harry N. Abrams,
New York.
Garibay, Angel
1979 Teogonía e historia de los mexicanos: Tres opúsculos del siglo
XVI. Editorial Porrúa, Mexico City.
Gendrop, Paul
1983 Los estilos Rio Bec, Chenes y Puuc en la arquitectura Maya.
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.
Graham, Ian
1967 Archaeological Explorations in El Petén, Guatemala. Middle
American Research Institute Publication 33. Tulane University, New
Orleans.
1978 Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions 2, 2: Naranjo, Chun-
huitz, and Xunantunich. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Eth-
nology. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
1996 Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions 7, 1: Seibal. Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Harvard University, Cam-
bridge, MA.
Graham, Ian, and Eric von Euw
1977 Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions 3, 1: Yaxchilan. Pea-
body Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA.
1997 Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions 7, 1: Coba. Peabody
Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cam-
bridge, MA.
Jade symbolism in Classic Maya religion
Greene Robertson, Merle
1983 The Sculpture of Palenque, Vol. 1: The Temple of the Inscrip-
tions. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
1985 The Sculpture of Palenque, Vol. 3: The Late Buildings of the
Palace. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Guernsey Kappelman, Julia
2002 Carved in Stone: The Cosmological Narratives of Late Preclas-
sic Izapan-style Monuments from the Pacific Slope. In Heart of Cre-
ation: The Mesoamerican World and the Legacy of Linda Schele,
edited by Andrea Stone, pp. 66–82. University of Alabama Press,
Tuscaloosa.
Hammond, Norman
1987 The Sun Also Rises: Iconographic Syntax on the Pomona Flare.
Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing 7:11–24.
Hellmuth, Nicholas
1975 The Escuintla Hoards: Teotihuacan Art in Guatemala. FLAAR
Progress Reports, Vol. 1, No. 2. Foundation for Latin American An-
thropological Research, Guatemala City.
1997 Monster und Menschen in der Maya Kunst. Akademische Druck
-u., Graz, Austria.
Hirth, Kenneth G., and Susan Grant Hirth
1993 Ancient Currency: The Style and Use of Jade and Marble Carv-
ings in Central Honduras. In Pre-Colombian Jade: New Geological
and Cultural Interpretations, edited by Frederick W. Lange, pp. 173–
190. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
Houston, Stephen D., and Karl Taube
2000 An Archeology of the Senses: Perception and Cultural Expres-
sion in Ancient Mesoamerica. Cambridge Archaeological Journal
10(2):261–294.
Ichon, Alain
1977 Les Sculptures de La Lagunita, El Quiché, Guatemala. Centre
National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut d’Ethnologie, Guate-
mala City.
Jones, Christopher, and Linton Satterthwaite
1982 The Monuments and Inscriptions of Tikal: The Carved Monu-
ments. University Museum Monograph 44. University Museum, Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Jones, Julie (editor)
1998 Jade in Ancient Costa Rica. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Wash-
ington, DC.
Joralemon, Peter David
1988 The Olmec. In The Face of Ancient Mesoamerica: The Wally
and Brenda Zollman Collection of Precolumbian Art, edited by Lee
Parsons, John B. Carlson, and Peter David Joralemon, pp. 9–50. In-
diana University Press, Bloomington.
Joyce, Rosmary A.
2000 Gender and Power in Prehispanic Mesoamerica. University of
Texas Press, Austin.
Kerr, Justin
1992 The Maya Vase Book, vol. 3. Kerr Associates, New York.
1997 The Maya Vase Book, vol. 5. Kerr Associates, New York.
2000 The Maya Vase Book, vol. 6. Kerr Associates, New York.
Kidder, Alfred V.
1947 The Artifacts of Uaxactun, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution of
Washington, Publication 576. Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Washington, DC.
Kidder, Alfred V., Jesse D. Jennings, and Edwin M. Shook
1946 Excavations at Kaminaljuyu, Guatemala. Carnegie Institution
of Washington, Publication 561. Carnegie Institution of Washington,
Washington, DC.
Lange, Frederick W.
1993 Precolumbian Jade: New Geological and Cultural Interpreta-
tions. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
Laporte, Juan Pedro, and Vilma Fialko
1995 Un reencuentro con Mundo Perdido, Tikal, Guatemala. Ancient
Mesoamerica 6:41–94.
Las Casas, Bartolomé
1967 Apologética historia sumaria. Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México, Mexico City.
López Luján, Leondardo
1994 The Offerings of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan. University
Press of Colorado, Niwot.
Marcus, Joyce
1999 Men’s and Women’s Ritual in Formative Oaxaca. In Social Pat-
49
terns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica, edited by David C. Grove and
Rosemary A. Joyce, pp. 67–96. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.
Mathews, Peter
2001 Notes on the Inscriptions on the Back of Dos Pilas 8. In The
Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing, edited by Stephen Houston,
Oswaldo Chichilla Mazariegos, and David Stuart, pp. 394– 415. Uni-
versity of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo (editor)
1995 Dioses del Mexico antiguo. Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso,
Mexico City.
Maudslay, Alfred P.
1889–1902 Biologia Centrali-Americana: Archaeology, 5 vols. R.H.
Porter and Dalau, London.
Miles, Susan W.
1957 The Sixteenth-Century Pokom Maya: A Documentary Analysis
of Social Structure. Transactions of the American Philosophical So-
ciety, n.s. 47:735–781.
Miller, Arthur
1973 The Mural Painting of Teotihuacan. Dumbarton Oaks, Washing-
ton, DC.
Miller, Mary
1996 The Art of Mesoamerica: From Olmec to Aztec. Thames and
Hudson, London.
Miller, Mary, and Marco Samayoa
1998 Where Maize Grows: Jade, Chacmools, and the Maize God.
RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 33:54–72.
Muñoz Cosme, Gaspar, Cristina Vidal Lorenzo, and Juan Antonio Valdés
Gómez
1999 Los Maya: Ciudades Milenaris de Guatemala. Edelvives,
Zaragoza.
Nagao, Debra
1989 Public Proclamation in the Art of Cacaxtla and Xochicalco. In
Mesoamerica after the Decline of Teotihuacan, edited by Richard A.
Diehl and Janet C. Berlo, pp. 83–104. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington,
DC.
Nakamura, Seiichi
2000 Las excavaciones de rescate en el Cuadrante 10J, al sur de las
Estelas 5 y 6, Copán: Informe Preliminar. Unpublished manuscript
in possession of author.
2003 The Rise and Fall of the Copan Dynasty. In Shipono ocho maya
bunmeiten (Dynasties of Mistery: Maya Exhibit Catalog, edited by
Masahiro Ono and Hisao Baba, pp. 89–104. TBS, Tokyo.
Navarrete, Carlos, Thomas A. Lee, and Carlos Silva Rhoads
1993 Un catalogo de frontera. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México, Mexico City.
Ortiz, Ponciano, and María del Carmen Rodríguez
2000 The Sacred Hill of El Manatí: A Preliminary Discussion of the
Site’s Ritual Paraphernalia. In Olmec Art and Archaeology: Social
Complexity in the Formative Period, edited by John E. Clark and
Mary Pye, pp. 74–93. Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 58. National
Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Parsons, Lee Allen
1986 The Origins of Maya Art: Monumental Stone Sculpture of Kam-
inaljuyu, Guatemala, and the Southern Pacific Coast. Studies in Pre-
Columbian Art and Archaeology 28. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington,
DC.
Pasztory, Esther
1983 Aztec Art. Harry N. Abrams, New York.
Pendergast, David M.
1982 Excavations at Altun Ha, Belize, 1964–1970, vol. 2. Royal On-
tario Museum, Toronto.
Porter, James B.
1996 Celtiform Stelae: A New Olmec Sculpture Type and Its Implica-
tion for Epigraphers. In Beyond Indigenous Voices: L AIL A/ALIL A
11th International Symposium on Latin American Indian Literatures
(1994), edited by Mary H. Preus, pp. 65–72. Labyrinthos, Lancaster,
CA.
Proskouriakoff, Tatiana
1950 A Study of Classic Maya Sculpture. Carnegie Institution of Wash-
ington, Publication 593. Washington, DC.
1974 Jades from the Cenote of Sacrifice, Chichen Itza, Yucatan. Mem-
oirs of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 10,
No. 1. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
50
Quiñones-Keber, Eloise
1995 Codex Telleriano-Remensis: Ritual, Divination and History in a
Pictorial Aztec Manuscript. University of Texas, Austin.
Reilly, Frank Kent III
1994 Cosmología, soberanismo y espacio ritual en la Mesoamérica
del Formativo. In Los Olmecas en Mesoamérica, edited by John Clark,
pp. 238–259. El Equilibrista, Mexico City.
Ringle, William M., Tomás Gallareta Negrón, and George Bey III
1998 The Return of Quetzalcoatl: Evidence for the Spread of a World
Religion During the Epiclassic Period. Ancient Mesoamerica
9:183–232.
Rodríguez, María del Carmen, and Ponciano Ortiz
2000 A Massive Offering of Axes at La Merced, Hidalgotitlán, Vera-
cruz, Mexico. In Olmec Art and Archaeology: Social Complexity in
the Formative Period, edited by John E. Clark and Mary Pye, pp. 154–
67. Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 58. National Gallery of Art,
Washington, DC.
Ruz Lhuiller, Alberto
1973 El Templo de las Inscripctiones, Palenque. Instituto Nacional de
Antropología e Historia, Mexico City.
Sahagún, Fray Bernardino
1950–1982 Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New
Spain, translated by Arthur J.O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble.
School of American Research, Santa Fe, NM.
Schele, Linda, and Peter Mathews
1998 The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Tem-
ples and Tombs. Scribner, New York.
Schele, Linda, and Mary Ellen Miller
1986 The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. George
Braziller, New York.
Schmidt, Peter
1999 Chichen Itza: Resultados y proyectos nuevos (1992–1999). Ar-
queología Mexicana 7(37):32–39.
Schmidt, Peter, Mercedes de la Garza, and Enrique Nalda (editors)
1998 Maya. Rizzoli, New York.
Sejourné, Laurette
1966 El lenguaje de las formas en Teotihuacan. Gabriel Mancera 65,
Mexico City.
Sharer, Robert
1999 Archaeology and History in the Royal Acropolis, Copán, Hon-
duras. Expedition 41(2):8–15.
Shook, Edwin M., and Alfred Kidder
1961 The Painted Tomb at Tikal. Expedition 4(1):2–7.
Smith, Virginia
2000 The Iconography of Power at Xochicalco: The Pyramid of the
Plumed Serpents. In Archaeological Research at Xochicalco, vol. 2,
edited by Kenneth G. Hirth, pp. 57–82. University of Utah Press, Salt
Lake City.
Spinden, Herbert
1913 A Study of Maya Art. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of Amer-
ican Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 6. Harvard University, Cam-
bridge, MA.
Stierlin, Henri (editor)
1998 Mexique Terre de Dieux: Trésors de l’art Précolombien. Musée
Rath, Geneva.
Stuart, David
1992 Flower Symbolism in Maya Iconography. Paper presented at the
8th Symposium of the Maya Meetings at Texas, Origins: Creation
and Continuity, Mythology and History in Mesoamerica, March 11,
Austin.
1996 Kings of Stone: A Consideration of Stelae in Ancient and
Maya Ritual and Representation. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics
29–30:148–171.
2000 “The Arrival of Strangers”: Teotihuacan and Tollan in Classic
Maya History. In Mesoamerica’s Classic Heritage: From Teotihua-
can to the Aztecs, edited by Davíd Carrasco, Lindsay Jones, and Scott
Sessions, pp. 465–513. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
Stuart, David, and Stephen D. Houston
1994 Classic Maya Place Names. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and
Archaeology 33. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.
Sugiyama, Saburo
1992 Rulership, Warfare, and Human Sacrifice at the Ciudadela, Te-
otihuacan: An Iconographic Study of Feathered Serpent Representa-
Taube
tions. In Art, Ideology, and the Ancient City of Teotihuacan, edited by
Janet C. Berlo, pp. 205–230. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.
Taube, Karl A.
1992a The Iconography of Mirrors at Teotihuacan. In Art, Ideology,
and the City of Teotihuacan, edited by Janet C. Berlo, pp. 169–204.
Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC.
1992b The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan. Studies in Pre-Columbian
Art and Archaeology, Number 32. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington,
DC.
1992c The Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Cult of Sacred War at
Teotihuacan. Res 21:53–87.
1993 Aztec and Maya Myths. British Museum Press, London.
1996 The Olmec Maize God: The Face of Corn in Formative Meso-
america, Res 29/30:39–81.
1998 The Jade Hearth: Centrality, Rulership, and the Classic Maya
Temple. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture, ed-
ited by Stephen D. Houston, pp. 427– 478. Dumbarton Oaks, Wash-
ington, DC.
2000a Lightning Celts and Corn Fetishes: The Formative Olmec and
the Development of Maize Symbolism in Mesoamerica and the Amer-
ican Southwest. In Olmec Art and Archaeology: Social Complexity in
the Formative Period, edited by John E. Clark and Mary Pye, pp. 296–
337. Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 58. National Gallery of Art,
Washington, DC.
2000b The Turquoise Hearth: Fire, Self-Sacrifice, and the Central Mex-
ican Cult of War. In Mesoamerica’s Classic Heritage: From Teotihua-
can to the Great Aztec Temple, edited by Davíd Carrasco, Lindsay
Jones, and Scott Sessions, pp. 269–340. University Press of Colo-
rado, Niwot.
2001 The Breath of Life: The Symbolism of Wind in Mesoamerica
and the American Southwest. In The Road to Aztlan: Art from a
Mythic Homeland, edited by Virginia M. Fields and Victor Zamudio-
Taylor, pp. 102–123. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles.
2003a Ancient and Contemporary Maya Conceptions about Field and
Forest. In Lowland Maya Area: Three Millenia at the Human–
Wildland Interface, edited by Arturo Gómez-Pompa, Michael F. Allen,
Scott L. Fedick and José J. Jiménez-Osornio, pp. 461– 492. Haworth
Press, New York.
2003b Maws of Heaven and Hell: The Symbolism of the Centipede
and Serpent in Classic Maya Religion. In Antropología de la eter-
nidad: La muerte en la cultura Maya, edited by Andrés Ciudad Ruiz,
Mario Humberto Ruz Sosa, and Maria Josefa Iglesias Ponce de León,
pp. 405– 442. Sociedad Española de Estudios Mayas and El Centro
de la Cultura Maya, Madrid.
2003c Tetitla and the Maya Presence at Teotihuacan. In Teotihuacan
and the Maya: Reinterpreting Early Classic Maya Interaction, edited
by Geoffrey Braswell, pp. 273–313. University of Texas Press, Austin.
2004a Flower Mountain: Concepts of Life, Beauty and Paradise among
the Classic Maya. RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 45:69–98.
2004b Olmec Art at Dumbarton Oaks. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington,
DC.
Thompson, J. Eric S.
1950 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: An Introduction. Carnegie Institu-
tion of Washington, Publication 589. Carnegie Institution of Wash-
ington, Washington, DC.
1972 A Commentary on the Dresden Codex. American Philosophical
Society, Philadelphia.
Thomson, Charlotte
1975 A Study of Olmec Art. Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthro-
pology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Thouvenot, Marc
1982 Chalchihuitl: Le jade les Azteques. Mémoirs National de l’Institut
d’Ethnologie. Musée de l’Homme, Paris.
Tibón, Gutierre
1983 El jade en México. Panorama Editorial, Mexico City.
von Euw, Eric
1977 Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions 4, 1: Itzimte, Pixoy,
Tzum. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Harvard Uni-
versity, Cambridge, MA.
Wagner, Elizabeth
2001 Jade—The Green Gold of the Maya. In Maya: Divine Kings of
the Rain Forest. Koenemann, Cologne.