Gender in Maya society

Ancient Maya women had an important role in society: beyond propagating the culture through the bearing and raising of children, Maya women participated in economic, governmental and farming activities. The lives of women in ancient Mesoamerica were not well documented: "of the three elite founding area tombs discovered to date within the Copan Acropolis, two contain the remains of women, and yet there is not a single reference to a woman in either known contemporary texts or later retrospective accounts of Early Classic events and personages at Copan," writes a scholar.

Women play a very important role in rituals, cooking food for consumption and sacrifice. Whether women participated in said rituals is unknown. Women also worked on all of the textiles, a very important resource and product for Maya society.

The status of women in Maya society can be inferred from their burials and textual and monumental history. Maya societies include Toniná, a city which developed a matrilineal system of hereditary descent after the reign and death of the powerful leader, Lady K’awil. She had assumed the mantle of power after the failure of the two male leaders. Lady K'awil's reign is documented by murals that depict her seated on a throne with captives at her feet.

Women participated in the food economy. Deer played an essential part of the Mesoamerican diet; most of the meat consumed by the ancient Maya was venison. Society depended on deer meat, and women played a large role in making sure there was an abundant supply of deer. Evidence shows that deer sometimes lived inside households. While it was the man’s responsibility to hunt and kill deer, it was necessary for the women to make sure there would be enough deer to kill.

The importance of the Moon goddess is seen through her depiction in the codices and in ancient murals. Another often depicted goddess is Ixchel. Textiles were an important aspect of ancient Mayan life, and while it is not known whether all women produced textiles, those textiles that were produced were created by women. Women used different objects in the spinning and weaving processes depending on their social class. Noble women could use dye in textiles. Also, the products that were used in the spinning were different; the noble women used higher quality fibers. Craft and fiber evidence from the city of Ceren, which was buried by volcanic ash in 600 C.E., indicates that by that time, women's textile work was considered art, not simply crafts woven for a specific household purpose. The creation of the works of art suggests there was a market for them. Women held power in their ability to work thread and to create something that retained a value.

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