Discussion 



53 



Diodora cayenensi% (i ) 



Strombus costatus (3) 



Cymatmm parthenopemn (i) 



Ficus communis (i) 



Murex pomum (i) 



Melongena corona (i) 



Busy con contrarium (3) 



Turbinella angulata ( i ) 



OAVfl reticularis ( i ) 



Sz(//a occidcntalis (i) 



Pine tad a radiata (i) 



Atrina seminuda (3) 



Plicatula gibbosa ( i ) 



Anomia simplex ( i ) 



Carditamera ftoridana ( i ) 



Trachycardium isocardta (3) 



Trachycardium muricatum ( i ) 



Dinocardium r. vanhyningi (18) 



Chione cancellata {■),) 



Dosinia elegans (2) 

 Also introduced were 14 gorgonians (sea fans) and 

 a lump of coral (note that gorgonians have also been 

 found at Tikal). It is impossible to tell whether or 

 not the large number of Pomacea flagellata arata 

 found in the cenote were introduced by humans; 

 the species is not found alive there today. 



It is clear from the above data that the amazing 

 quantity of unworked shells found at Maya sites, 

 even far from the sea, must be accounted for, at least 

 in part, by religious or superstitious belief or ritual. 

 Unfortunately no trace of such belief or practice has 

 survived into modern times to give us a springboard 

 for speculation — as Landa's scattered information 

 on the calendar did for epigraphers. Quite beyond 

 aesthetic or utilitarian usages (which did exist), two 

 distinct patterns seem to emerge: (i) Shells (conchs 

 in particular) were closely associated with death, 

 the underworld, water and childbirth — and are de- 

 picted in the codices, architectural and monumental 

 sculpture, and pottery — at least as far back as the 

 Early Classic in the south. These beliefs might 

 account for the occasional occurrence of shells in 

 tombs at a number of sites. The association, at best, 

 is a doubtful one. (2) A large part of the unworked 

 shell from the area seems part of a larger configura- 

 tion of marine life forms and representations, rang- 

 ing from shells to gorgonians, corals, sand dollars, 

 and even clusters of byrozoans, in all an obviously 

 intense preoccupation with the sea. Shells, although 

 the most frequent items, would seem to lose their 

 immediate identity in this broader configuration. 

 The intent was clearly not primarily an aesthetic 

 one. The shells chosen for offerings were not attrac- 



tive species, nor were they usually perfect specimens 

 (both of which would have been so easily available 

 on the beaches near Dzibilchaltun). The larger shells 

 were apparently favored if covered with barnacles 

 or other marine parasites (which often could easily 

 have been removed but were not). These shells were 

 so frequently partly filled with sand and beach drift 

 that they were obviously collected after death, not 

 placed in the offerings as food. Many of the marine 

 forms were broken or fragmentary when intro- 

 duced.* At Dzibilchaltun, at least, there is no evi- 

 dence of any attempt to clean or prepare these 

 offerings as items of beauty or value. To the con- 

 trary, every effort was made to conserve the original 

 identity with the sea. 



We have much other evidence in Yucatan of pre- 

 occupation with the sea. The medial molding of the 

 north facade of Str. i-sub (Temple of the Seven 

 Dolls) at Dzibilchaltun, the side facing the sea, is 

 adorned with a parade of maritime creatures, sting- 

 rays, unidentified fish, aquatic birds (fig. 5). Much 

 later, the Chac Mool Temple (buried beneath the 

 Temple of the Warriors) at Chichen Itza, featured 

 at least two very naturalistically painted murals of 

 seashore life (frontispiece), including charming ren- 

 ditions of various molluscs, horseshoe crabs, aquatic 

 birds, and fish (emphasizing the obviously still 

 important stingray). 



On the basis of our Dzibilchaltun evidence, we 

 would be inclined to surmise that this strong empha- 

 sis on the sea and marine life reflected what must 

 have been a real economic dependence in ancient 

 times. We have suggested elsewhere that control of 

 the coastal salt marshes might have been an impor- 

 tant factor in the support of a population at Dzibil- 

 chaltun which was at times vastly beyond what 

 could have been supported by local agriculture. 

 However, this "cult of the sea" is as strong or 

 stronger at Tikal, where the sea is at a much greater 

 distance and could have had much less direct influ- 

 ence on economic life. 



Use of Shells as Ornaments 



Worked shell is usually divided into two cate- 

 gories by the archaeologist, on the basis of whether 

 it has or has not retained its original form. In the 

 former, for aesthetic or religious purposes, it is still 



** Moholy-Nagy (1963, p. 73) notes that this was the case 

 at Tikal. 



