A rock, a human, a tree: All were persons to the classic Maya


Detail from a Mayan Codex-style vase,  
c7th or 8th century. PHOTO/The Met Museum, New York

For the Maya of the Classic period, who lived in southern Mexico and Central America between 250 and 900 CE, the category of ‘persons’ was not coincident with human beings, as it is for us. That is, human beings were persons – but other, nonhuman entities could be persons, too. Scholars of Maya culture have been aware of this inclusive concept of personhood for some time, recognising that persons could include all sorts of entities: some of these look personish – a clay figurine, for example – while some, such as a rock, do not. 

While the social category of ‘persons’ is found in multiple cultural contexts, who or what is recognised as a person can differ. But it’s not enough to just acknowledge the possibility or presence of nonhuman personhood. I want to understand how personhood actually operates in these settings. How does personhood work when it includes such a range of entities? How was it to be part of a world inhabited by many types of persons, including nonhumans? Were the Maya just bumping into people right and left?

This is a tricky topic to investigate. We don’t have the luxury of interviewing or observing ancient Maya individuals. But fortunately, the Classic Maya had complex hieroglyphic writing and artistic traditions. These give us insight into ancient Maya understanding of the world, and can be contextualised by critical comparison with colonial-era documentation of Maya beliefs and practices, as well as modern Maya traditional practices. All of these sources indicate that the ancient Maya experienced a world peopled by a variety of types of beings, who figured large in stories, imagery, social and ritual obligations, and community identities.

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