Leiden University Student Repository

Jansen, Roelof (2014)

Aguateca in 3D: Ritual Performance of Maya Kings

Master thesis | Archaeology (MA/MSc)

In this thesis the Classic Maya city of Aguateca is reconstructed using Unity3D. This city, which had a very short lifespan, was nevertheless the home to a royal family which came from the nearby city of Dos Pilas when the situation for them appeared to have become more hostile. The walls that were later built in Aguateca and are also shown in the 3D model are evidence of the hostility in the area. The main features in the 3D model are the Main Plaza, the Palace Group and the Causeway that connects the two. The Main Plaza is separated from the Causeway and Palace Group by a deep chasm. This model was created to serve as a scene in which kingship ritual was probably performed to bind the populace of the city to the reigning king. This thesis follows the article on ritual performance by Inomata (2006) in regards to this theory. While the ritual itself is not given form in the scene, various preliminary conclusions based on the visibility in the scene indicate a high probability for...Show moreIn this thesis the Classic Maya city of Aguateca is reconstructed using Unity3D. This city, which had a very short lifespan, was nevertheless the home to a royal family which came from the nearby city of Dos Pilas when the situation for them appeared to have become more hostile. The walls that were later built in Aguateca and are also shown in the 3D model are evidence of the hostility in the area. The main features in the 3D model are the Main Plaza, the Palace Group and the Causeway that connects the two. The Main Plaza is separated from the Causeway and Palace Group by a deep chasm. This model was created to serve as a scene in which kingship ritual was probably performed to bind the populace of the city to the reigning king. This thesis follows the article on ritual performance by Inomata (2006) in regards to this theory. While the ritual itself is not given form in the scene, various preliminary conclusions based on the visibility in the scene indicate a high probability for such rituals to have taken place.Show less

Aguateca

3D

Maya

Kingship

Performance

Ritual

Unity

Author

Jansen, Roelof

Faculty

Faculty of Archaeology

Specialisation

MA: Archaeology and Anthropology of the Americas (Focus: Mesoamerica and the Andes)

Supervisors

Rojas Martínez Gracida, Araceli

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en