Phallic sculptures and the terminal classic transition at Chichén Itzá, Yucatán

In this thesis, I concentrate on Chichén Itzá’s freestanding, limestone, monolithic phallic sculptures that emerged during the Terminal Classic period. There are only a few sources that provide in depth information on phallic sculptures from Chichén Itzá, most of them being from the 20th century in conjunction with other phallic imagery. Upon making this realization, I determined that there remains room for interpretation regarding Terminal Classic phallic sculptures. Through research and analysis of these unusual sculptures, I contend that those who created the phallic monoliths of Chichén Itzá, and perhaps at other sites, were heavily influenced by the concepts surrounding the Maya perception of a five-directional cosmos demonstrated through the Terminal Classic world view. In addition to the meanings and uses previous scholars attest that phallic monolithic sculptures have, I further contend that they functioned as gnomons indicating the bi-annual zenith passages.