The place of images among the Maya Classical polities interaction. An interpretation of Copan’s stelae.

Abstract

In this article we analize the images displayed at the Copan’s Great Plaza stelae, built in the VIIth century. The analysis is made through the lens of the anthropology of the image, which allows us to evaluate not only the iconography itself but also the social and political relationships that frame the production of the monuments. The results of this study suggest that the images exposed in urban settings were not merely propaganda , but that they were a very important tool in the political negociation and in the elaboration of rulership.