The Classic Maya period was an age of profound
intellectual and artistic achievements, when the
Maya built monumental pyramids and
magnificent urban centers in homage to their
gods. At a time when the Western world
languished after the fall of the Roman Empire,
the New World experienced an age of imperial
grandeur, when great city-states like Tikal and
Copán proclaimed Mayan hegemony over the
emerald forests of Mexico and Guatemala. Theirs
was a sophisticated but startlingly brutal
civilization— wars were waged not for land or
prestige, but for blood, for slaves sacrificed atop
the great pyramids to appease the god’s
insatiable lust for human flesh. The Mayan world
was an arcane realm where the earth was
contiguous with the heavens and the underworld.
It was a society infused with spiritualism, a
society that reflected both the majesty and
savagery of the rain forests. Like the ancient
societies of the Mediterranean, ceramic forms
were vital to the Mayan economy and traded
alongside coveted resources such as Jade,
obsidian, flint, and shells.
The Maya believed the universe was divided into
three parts: the Over world (heaven), the Middle
world (the world of humankind), and the
Underworld (hell). All three were considered
interconnected and accessible through
"doorways", or through Shamanic ritual. It was
believed the Underworld could be entered
through a cave or through bodies of standing
water, such as a lake or ocean. To comprehend
the nature of these three worlds and the beings
that inhabit them was important to daily life of
Maya society.
Mayan art was composed of a complex symbolic
language with deeply important social functions.
Mainly commissioned by kings and other elite
figures, works of Mayan art fulfilled both political
and social purposes. Because the art functioned
as a type of language, to be understood by the
entire population, a certain consistency in
subject matter and its portrayal was necessary.
Whether on a cylinder vessel or a great mural,
Maya art essentially depicts ritual. The impressive
Maya ceremonies, recorded for posterity in their
art, were crucial events in the lives of the kings,
and consequently important to society as a
whole. In Maya believe, an actual ritual ceremony
is directly connected with the art which
represents it; both conceived of as a power
process that transformed spiritual beings into
corporeal beings on the human level, and allowed
people and objects to become the sacred beings
they represented.
In the 9th and 10th centuries AD, the productivity
of the southern regions went into decline for
reasons that are still uncertain (although
ecological causes are the likeliest option),
although the northern areas continued to flourish
on a reduced scale until the arrival of European
forces and the subsequent decimation of Native
American cultures across both continents. What
is left, however – particularly dating to the Classic
Period – includes art and other achievements that
many consider to be the most refined and
beautiful of the ancient New World. Stucco, mural
painting (notably with the use of “Maya Blue”, the
secret of which has been lost since the 16th
century) and sculpture were all of an astounding
quality and naturalism, with some sophisticated
expressionistic tendencies.
Originally, scholars once believed that such whistles were essentially toys.
Perhaps their figural quality reinforced this misconception. Once such
whistles were believed to be simple signaling objects or items for children
to play with. However, recently, scholars have begun to realize the true
importance of these whistles. When tombs were excavated containing over
a dozen such whistles buried next to a ruler, suddenly historians
confronted the fact that they were not dealing with playthings. In fact the
various whistling implements of the Pre- Columbian Americas are as
diverse as they are technically advanced. This whistle is essentially a
sculpture with a whistling leg attached onto the back. Today, Mayan
scholars believe that whistles, and music for that matter, played an integral
part of Mayan religious ceremonies. This whistle might have sounded its
tone in order to commemorate the deceased during a funeral procession.
Thus, the work would have been buried alongside the body upon arriving
at the grave. This is just one of the theories that attempts to explain the
significance of such musical devices. Although no written records survive
detailing the significance of these whistles, the works themselves are an
ample testimony to the craftsmanship and technical mastery of ancient
Mayan sculptors and instrument makers.
