An Iconographic and Historic Analysis of Terminal Classic Maya Phallic Imagery

Types of Phallic Images

Over 130 phalli are documented in the dissertation from various contexts from over forty sites (Figure 1 and Figure 2). Three general types are noted: large freestanding, detached phalli (i.e., phalli that appear separate from the human form); small portable phalli; and attached phalli (i.e., phalli that are attached to the human form, architecture or natural surfaces such as cave walls).

Many phalli may be characterized as "monumental" since they are large or massive in size and exaggerated beyond normal human proportion. Phallic images served to commemorate specific rituals and mark certain ancient cosmological or mythical events and, in this sense, they functioned as monuments. The visual impact and contextual placement of phallic images augments the commemorative and symbolic functions of Yucatecan phalli.

Freestanding/Detached Phalli

The most prominent type of phallic images is freestanding monolithic sculptures known by Yucatec Maya as xkeptunich. Currently, forty-seven monoliths are documented from the Yucatán Peninsula. Most sculptures are made from limestone and exhibit a distinctive shaft and glans. As of May 2000, twenty-six pieces remained in their original supposed pre-Contact locations. Six examples of unknown provenance are in museums in Yucatán, Campeche, Quintana Roo or in private collections. The location of the remaining examples recorded in the literature is unknown; however, information about the pieces, such as size and location was recorded by archaeologists and scholars such as H.E.D Pollock and Karl H. Mayer.

A large number of freestanding phalli were discovered in courtyards of temple complexes or in temple interiors. At Chichén Itzá two badly weathered monolithic sculptures are recorded from the site. Photographs of these phalli are in the Peabody Museum Photographic Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (CIW 31-0-64, CIW 46-8-90). One sculpture was found in the Group of the Hieroglyphic Jambs in the interior of structure 6E5 and another was documented on the north edge of a terrace supporting temples 3E6 and 3E7 (Figure 3, shown above, and Figure 4, shown below). The placement of these sculptures in front of or inside the temple indicates that they were conceptually part of the architectural program.

Uxmal contains the largest number of freestanding phalli recorded and photographed from one site. In May 2000, a total of twelve sculptures was documented from the site. Eight examples lie broken and scattered on the path between the House of the Old Woman and the Temple of the Phallus (Figure 5, shown above). Two phalli were photographed in the Uxmal museum on site and one was photographed in the bodega of the Museo Regional de Antropología, Mérida, Yucatán (Figure 6, shown below). Another example was recorded and photographed by Alfredo Barrera Rubio and Jose Huchím Herrera from fill deposit in the access stairway to the House of the Turtles. (See Barrera Rubio and Huchím Herrera, Architectural Restoration at Uxmal, 1986-1987, University of Pittsburgh Latin American Archaeology Reports, No 1., 1990.)

Like the phallic sculptures at Chichén Itzá, the phalli at Uxmal were probably located in temple courtyards or near significant structures. In 1870 Alice Le Plongeon photographed a large phallic sculpture in the southeast corner of the Nunnery Quadrangle. This sculpture probably once stood in the courtyard on the path or sak beh leading into the complex.

Portable Phalli

There are twenty-seven known portable phalli sculpted in the round. They are made of a variety of materials including clay, stone, wood, pumice, and shell. Since these phalli are relatively small and are not attached to any particular structure, they were probably used as charms, jewelry, or by shamans in rituals. Portable phalli were discovered in shell heaps, caches, burials, and caves. One example from Oxkintok was photographed in the bodega of the Museo Regional de Antropología, Mérida (Figure 7, shown below).

Attached Phalli

Attached phalli are exaggerated images attached to figures, architecture, or natural features such as cave walls. Most of these examples are of stone, with some examples made from stucco. The Temple of the Phallus at Uxmal, the Temple of the Phalli (or Structure 9) at Chacmultun and the House of the Phalli at Chichén Itzá contain phallic sculptures projecting from cornices and walls.

The Temple of the Phallus at Uxmal has a phallic sculpture in situ extending from the exterior of the upper cornice sculpted with a long deep groove extending through its center (Figure 8, shown above). Such sculptures, which are called waterspout phalli, were apparently used to carry water. They served practical and symbolic functions: carrying water away from the building and symbolically referring to the life-giving properties of water. Waterspout phalli were also documented in a modern structure in Rancho San Pedro near Dzitbalché, in the Museo de la Isla de Cozumel and the Museo Regional de Campeche.

Sixteen known phallic images appear on the interior walls of temples, caves and chultúns. The House of the Phalli at Chichén Itzá contains eight three-dimensional limestone phalli that protrude from the middle of the wall surface; seven of these extend over elevated stone platforms (Figure 9, shown above). The structure and surrounding buildings were being re-excavated and reconstructed by INAH during my May 2000 visit to the site. These recent excavations may reveal additional examples of phalli.

Phallic sculptures also appear attached to the human figure. These figures, with noticeably exaggerated penises, occur as three-dimensional sculptures, reliefs, petroglyphs, and painted figures. They range in size from 18" to over 56". Since many of the sculptures have been moved from their original location, the original pre-Contact locations of figural sculptures are often unknown and difficult to determine. However, examples have been found near significant structures or in courtyards. The facade of the West Building and the back of the North Building of the Nunnery Quadrangle at Uxmal has several examples of figures with noticeably exaggerated penises, which are apparently pierced with sticks or stingray spines (Figure 10, shown below).

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