The artifact #53 recovered from Stingray Lagoon (Site 56) is a clay whistle showing anthropomorphic features (Figure 1). The Clay is a redish color, and there are four barnacles that have grown over the right eye. McKillop (1995) described the artifact as a ‘bat whistle’. The whistle generally resembles a human, but could be interpreted as a bat due to its elongated ears, wide open eyes, and open mouth, which are features typically used to represent bats in Maya iconography (Brady and Coltman, 2016). Brady and Coltman (2016) refuted Edward Seler’s association of all bats in Maya iconography with the being known as camazotz or “death bat” described in the Popol Vuh. Brady and Coltman (2016) stated that the Popol Vuh is better suited for interpreting iconography from the Maya Postclassic Period rather than the Maya Classic Period. Therefore, Brady and Coltman (2016) theorized potential roles of the bat in Maya culture during the Classic Period, which will be used for the interpretation of the bat whistle because the Stingray Lagoon site dates to around the Late-Classic period (McKillop, 1995).
Figure 1: Artifact #53
Brady and Coltman (2016) provided four alternative interpretations for the bat in Maya culture: a symbol representing a group, a messenger, a relation to fertility, and a wahy being (Figure 2). The first interpretation is simple enough as Brady and Coltman (2016) have described an ancient Maya village that identified very closely with bats. It may be possible that the people who occupied the area at Stingray Lagoon may have associated their identity with bats, but the archaeological evidence is lacking (McKillop, 1995). Bats may have been interpreted as messengers in ancient Maya culture because they fly similar to birds and are often depicted spatially near birds in their iconography (Brady and Coltman, 2016). Additionally, scribes are often associated with caves and birds, and therefore may be associated with bats through relation (Brady and Coltman, 2016). The possible association between scribes and bats roughly correlates with depicting a bat as a musical instrument because scribes and musicians both require artistic knowledge. It is inferred by Brady and Coltman (2016) that bats are associated with fertility because they are often depicted with large erect penises, which also correlates with the Zinacanteco expression “ruined by a bat”, which is used when a women loses their virginity (Brady and Coltman, 2016). Finally, Brady and Coltman (2016) theorized the bat as a probable wahy, which are typically depicted holding dismembered humans and are represented by various animals including the bat. The wahy typically connote evil and foreboding that is still ascribed to bats as exhibited through ethnographic observation of modern Maya (Brady and Coltman, 2016).
Figure 2: Possible Bat Wahy Being (Brady and Coltman, 2016)
Four possible interpretations for bats in the Classic Maya culture have been described, and it is possible that the bat whistle may have played one or more of these roles during its use. Triadan (2007) theorized that figurine whistles were most likely used to portray characters during a musical performance because of their front facing appearance. Therefore, the bat whistle could have assumed many possible roles during a performance. The bat whistle could have represented a group of people, a messenger, an ideal of fertility, or a wahy being. If the symbol of a bat performed multiple roles within the culture, then it is possible that a general bat whistle such as artifact #53 might have been used to play the multiple roles that bats may have been ascribed to. This being said, the whistle does not depict male genitalia, dismembered human remains, or a grotesque like figure. If it were necessary to narrow down the possible role of the bat whistle based on morphology, it would then not likely be representative of fertility or a wahy, which leaves the possible interpretation of the bat whistle as either a representation of a particular people or a messenger.
Brady, James E., and Jeremy D. Coltman
2016 Bats and the Camazotz : Correcting a Century of Mistaken Identity. Latin American Antiquity 27(2):227–237. DOI:10.7183/1045-6635.27.2.227.
McKillop, Heather
1995 Underwater Archaeology, Salt Production, and Coastal Maya Trade at Stingray Lagoon, Belize. Latin American Antiquity 6(3):214–228. DOI:10.2307/971673.
Triadan, Daniela
2007 Warriors, Nobles, Commoners and Beasts: Figurines from Elite Buildings at Aguateca, Guatemala. Latin American Antiquity 18(3):269–293. DOI:10.2307/25478181
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