https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/1117 Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:20:41 GMT 2026-04-10T21:20:41Z http://bonndoc.ulb.uni-bonn.de:80/xmlui/bitstream/id/c0f41430-ee30-460f-b2e0-6a76b158866c/ https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/1117 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/13322 Further Insights into a Late Classic Maya Relief Panel of Unknown Provenance, Repatriated to Mexico in 2025 Prager, Christian M.; Grothe, Antje This contribution presents new insights into a Late Classic Maya limestone relief panel of unknown provenance, repatriated to Mexico in 2025. The artifact, intricately carved and culturally significant, likely originated in the Puuc region of the northern Maya lowlands and dates to between 600 and 900 CE. After decades in a private collection in Chicago, the fragment was voluntarily returned to Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) by the heirs of the Sullivan family, in collaboration with the National Museum of Mexican Art. Through extensive provenance research and a close study of the unpublished archive of the late Maya scholar Karl Herbert Mayer (1944-2025), the authors reconstruct the object's post-discovery trajectory and original appearance. Mayer's personal archive—now housed at the University of Bonn as part of the Text Database and Dictionary of Classic Mayan project—includes a previously overlooked photograph showing the complete panel prior to its division. Iconographic and stylistic analysis suggests the panel once formed part of a larger architectural ensemble and shares notable affinities with a second, similarly unprovenanced relief now in the Seattle Art Museum. The study highlights the panel's ceremonial iconography and explores its likely function as a sculpted door element within a temple or palace structure. Beyond its art-historical contributions, the article reflects on the challenges of so-called "partial repatriation" and underscores the enduring importance of archival research in reconstructing fragmented cultural histories. The voluntary return of the panel stands as a significant precedent for ethical stewardship, scholarly collaboration, and the dignified reintegration of cultural heritage. Wed, 23 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/13322 2025-07-23T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/13020 Stela 64: A New Epigraphic Discovery at Copan, Honduras Prager, Christian M.; Wagner, Elisabeth; Nakamura, Seiichi In March 2024, as part of the PROARCO II project (Nakamura et al. 2021) directed by Seiichi Nakamura, a remarkable fragment of an Early Classic stela with hieroglyphic inscription was discovered at the archaeological site of Copán, Honduras, on the western side of the platform of Structure 10L-11 (Figure 1). This monument, designated Stela 64, bears the calendrical date 9.1.10.0.0 (July 7, A.D. 465) on its front and, with the mention of Rulers 4 and 6 on the reverse, can be placed in the early dynastic history of this site. Examination of the inscription shows that the date 9.1.10.0.0 is associated with the ruler K'altuun Hix, or Ruler 4, while the stela was probably erected during the reign of Ruler 6, who is associated with the date 9.3.0.0.0 (January 31, A.D. 495) on Copán Stela 28. It can be assumed that Stela 64, with its partially retrospective text, was created in the context of this end of K'atun. Fri, 27 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/13020 2024-09-27T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/13019 From Fragments to Clarity: Reconstructing The Hieroglyphic Narrative of Lintel 34 from Yaxchilan (Chiapas, Mexico) Prager, Christian M.; Grothe, Antje During the investigation for the Maya Image Archive of the "Text Database and Dictionary of Classic Maya" project[1], the authors identified a previously unknown drawing by the German-Austrian architect and explorer Teobert Maler (1842-1917). This artwork, dated around 1900, was recently published within Maler's digital repository at the Ibero-American Institute in Berlin. The pencil-and-ink rendering illustrates the inscription on Lintel 34 from the archaeological site of Yaxchilan (Chiapas, Mexico). This inscription originally comprised 32 hieroglyphic blocks, many of which have been lost over time. Notes written on the drawing, along with Maler's German comments in his book manuscript, suggest that the limestone lintel was already fragmented and incomplete when Maler first discovered it between 1897 and 1900. The findings of this study offer an advancement in the understanding of Yaxchilan’s dynastic history, particularly through the detailed reconstruction of the hieroglyphic inscription on Lintel 34. The rediscovery of an unpublished drawing by Teobert Maler, housed in the digital archives of the Iberoamerikanisches Institut in Berlin and created during his expeditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, has presented a unique opportunity to reassess and enhance the epigraphic record of this monument. By integrating Maler’s rendering with previously known fragments, this study has reconstructed all 32 hieroglyphic blocks, thereby addressing long-standing gaps in the textual record. This accomplishment provides new insights into the political, genealogical, and religious dimensions of Yaxchilan’s dynastic history. Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/13019 2024-09-25T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/8483 Neue Ergebnisse in der Erforschung der Graphemik und Graphetik des Klassischen Maya Prager, Christian M.; Gronemeyer, Sven The hitherto only partially deciphered Maya hieroglyphic writing system is one of the most em-inent examples of the development of writing in the world. The present article discusses a new description scheme for graphemes in Maya writing. Previous sign catalogues applied a more or less random approach to make an inventory of allographs. Our scheme works on the basis of sign-morphological criteria and revises the coding scheme established by Eric Thompson. This new grapheme classification is moreover designed to match the requirements of corpus linguistics and machine readability. Mon, 01 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11811/8483 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z