![[MAYA CUFF TYPES]](cufftype.gif)
William L. Truett, Ph. D.
The establishment of Mayan wrist cuff ornamentation as a badge of rank and family in the Mayan pre-Columbian world has resulted from the examination of several hundred items of statuary, frescoes, paintings, pottery, celts, etc., Ref. 1-4. Concommitant with these finds stylistic differences appear to correlate with the classical and post-classical.
There is a long archaeological history of cuff and bracelet ornamentation, extending from several thousand years B.C. to present time. Early Assyrian kings displayed a characteristic simple bracelet not unlike one of the Mayan designs, a flower design on a broad horizontal band.
Pharoahs are seen in wall paintings with multicolored bracelets consisting of parallel vertical stripes of jewels or glass. Lesser members of the court do not display this ornamentation. Celts commonly wore about the neck a gold torque that indicated a chief or individual of wealth. Although the above cases show rank, they do not indicate family. In the middle ages and before, family coats-of-arms were common and not only indicate a knight of worth, but also the family from which he sprang. Not all knights were kings, and only certain members of the family could wear the coat of arms. The Scots' kilts are a rare example which serves as a mark of the clan to which the individual belongs, but not necessarily of rank. In the pre-Columbian world Aztecs of rank wore crude bracelets, but the Inca wore only a simple red rag tied about the head. Modern military, particularly naval officers' uniforms, display a pattern of horizontal stripes, their multiplicity denoting rank. The Mayan cuff appears to be a singular representation of not only rank but also family.
The analysis of a large number of Mayan cuff designs, collected from the above-noted references, is summarized in Figure 1, appended. An analysis of the form of the cuff, together with the monument or artifact, indicates that in general only Maya kings were permitted this ornamentation. In extensive discussion, particularly by Schele and Miller, of all the many elements the kingly costume plainly shows, the cuff is only one of at least a dozen rank indicators: crown, breast plate, belt, necklace, wrist and ankle cuffs, sandals, earflares, nose and lip ornaments, pectorals, etc. There is only minimal discussion as to the form of the wrist and ankle cuffs.
A census of the many types compiled by noting all of the examples in the above-noted references, which is by no means a complete collection, shows interesting trends, summarized in Figure 1. Also design trends were noted from several of the more prominant cities, Yaxchilan, Palenque, Tikal, Copan and Quirigua.
From Schele's comments and many others above noted there can be little doubt there are some interesting observations possible. That the cuff is one of the "lowest common denominants" of kingly rank is shown on the Palace Tablet from Palenque in which a headdress and cuffs are the most prominent features in what is entitled informal dress (Schele and Miller, p. 66). Similarly, same reference, the oval palace tablet shows Pacal, about to become king, receiving from his mother a crown. Again, the cuffs are prominent although it is stated, "He wears only a cloth skirt, pectoral, and simple head band."
A further interesting case is that captives are commonly stripped of all ornamentation, save names on occasion. However, on Lintel 8 at Yaxchilan, the capture of Jewel Skull by Bird Jaguar, there is a wrist cuff remaining on Jewel Skull. Presumably the urge to identify a prominent foe could not be overlooked (to be further discussed).
Certain trends have emerged from an analysis of over two hundred cuff designs from many locations. The principal, but by no means all, key ones are summarized in Figure 1.
Type I, of which there are several variants, consists of a series of vertical parallel stripes, surmounted by a varying number of small skulls. Schele makes it perfectly plain that cuffs are fabricated from leather with attached jade elements. This most typical of Maya cuffs is probably the most expensive one in terms of jade pieces and requires expert flaking of the jade boulder to achieve the rectangular form. Variants include horizontal stripes with no skulls attached.
Figure 1, Type II, can be seen as a "board game" type composed of many small squares attached to a leather band. This is also a very commonly found type on various monuments. This is probably a less expensive cuff, since it only requires small jade squares be attached to a broad cuff of leather.
Counts were made of the actual number of different cuff designs at the five cities which contained the largest number of examples in our collection: Yaxchilan, Palenque, Tikal, Copan and Quirigua. Yaxchilan showed eight examples of "game boards," Type II, with and without skulls; and two examples of Type IV, termed "wrist watch." In all cities cuff ornaments are on kingly costumes as well as on the consort queens'.
At Palenque twenty-four "vertical stripe" cuffs, with and without skulls, were counted, Type I; also three "game board" cuffs were noted, Type II; as well as two of a very complex type. At Tikal three Type I were noted; one horizontal stripes, Type III; one "game board," Type II; and five very complex types defying word descriptions.
At Copan there is considerable diversity, with two examples of simple bead cuffs; three Type III, horizontal stripes; three Type II "game boards"; and two Type I, vertical stripes with or without skulls. Quiriga displays three Type I, one type not described, and one Type VI, which is horizontal stripes and knob ends.
From these five cases it is concluded that the most powerful family were those individuals possessing vertical stripes, Type I, with the Type II "game board" being a close second. In the five examples, the large number of the same design at Palenque and Yaxchilan suggests these king families enjoyed long and unconquered eras. This conjecture requires proof by using the dates of the monuments plus the cuff ornamentation match.
A first interpretation of the relative power of the family cuff designs suggest Type I is dominant to Type II, by noting a number of cases in which the heir to the throne possesses the cuff design of the mother or father. This conjecture is under further consideration.
There are a few examples in which a single king possesses one design on one cuff and a second design on the other cuff and additional examples are being sought.
There is a particularly interesting case under investigation involving figures on the Pacal sarcophagus side which denotes Pacal ancestors reaching back six generations. The concern that Schele notes, Ref. 2, is that although the selection to king is through the male line, in this case it appears to be through the female line, a rare exception. The fact that Maya kings had multiple wives further complicates the case. Careful study of cuff designs in this case can be of value.
An additional type of wrist cuff not described above concerns a simple leather cuff tied by a string which appears to denote that the individual is deceased. The just-above Schele reference is in point, in this case involving Pacal.
Also, in the post classic and later period the elegance of the cuff designs uniformly vanishes throughout the Maya area. This is particularly observable in the Maya codices in which all commanding figures possess a simple leather cuff showing several cusps and no jade pieces attached. The uniformity of this rank symbol suggests rule by committee or the like.
Pottery seldom shows well-developed cuff patterns and has not been subjected to rigorous analysis, but the first impression is that the designs are from a late era.
The earliest cuff ornamentations noted are clearly Olmec in design and lack the elegance of the classical period, but do show the origin of the form, as well as the earliest glyphs. Clearly, the debt of Maya civilization to the Olmec civilization is very deep.
One outstanding example of the elegance of the Maya cuff ornamentation can be seen in the Bonampak Murals, as shown in National Geographic, February 1996. That is the game board design, Type II; a game board is breathtaking in its elegance and is one of the very few color representations of a cuff.
There are two applications of the use of the cuff design in Maya archaeology. The first is to establish age of an object when dates are not available in the glyphs. The archaic-period cuffs are poorly executed, the classic-period cuffs are elegant and beautifully executed, and post-classic decays somewhat in its execution and may not be completely carved. The Olmec cuffs are very poorly executed, but a larger collection is needed for conclusions. When a larger collection of types is available, a probability of a single city can be assigned to a relic when the cuff can be seen.
The second application of the cuff design study is to place the provinance of a relic. The stela at Yaxchilan, showing the capture of Jewel Skull, gives only a name and a single cuff remaining on the captives. It is critical to note that captives are normally stripped of all uniform elements. A comparison of the cuff on Jewel Skull suggests the captive is from Seibal, but this is not as close a match as is deserved and merits comparison. A similar comment can be made re the Leiden celt and the Hauberg celt; no exact match can be made from the present limited collection.
Further studies are in progress on all aspects of the relationship of cuff design to Maya archaeology.
1. Miller, M.E.; The Art of Mesoamerica. 1996, Thames and Hudson, London.
2. Schele, L., and Miller, M.E.; The Blood of Kings. 1986, Braziller, New York.
3. Sharer, R.J.; The Ancient Maya. 1994, Stanford University Press, Stanford.
4. Bassie-Sweet, K.; From the Mouth of the Dark Cave. 1991, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
5. Freidel, D., Schele, L., and Parker, J.; Maya Cosmos. 1993, William Morow, New York.