Classic Maya (a.d. 250–900) art is filled with expressive figures in a variety of highly stylized poses and postures. These poses are so specific that they appear to be intentionally communicative, yet their meanings remain elusive. A few studies have scratched the surface of this issue, suggesting that a correlation exists between body language and social roles in Maya art. The present study examines whether one type of body language (hand gestures) in Classic Maya art represents and reflects elements of social structure. This analysis uses a coding approach derived from studies of hand gesture in conversation to apply an interactional approach to a static medium, thereby broadening the methods used to analyze gesture in ancient art. Statistics are used to evaluate patterns of gesture use in palace scenes across 289 figures on 94 different vases, with results indicating that the form and angling of gestures are related to social hierarchy. Furthermore, this study considers not just the individual status of each figure, but the interaction between figures. The results not only shed light on how gesture was depicted in Maya art, but also demonstrate how figural representation reflects social structure.

中文翻译：

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层次结构：经典玛雅陶瓷上的手势及其社会意义

经典玛雅 (广告250-900）艺术充满了各种高度程式化的姿势和姿势的富有表现力的人物。这些姿势是如此具体，以至于它们似乎是有意交流的，但它们的含义仍然难以捉摸。一些研究触及了这个问题的表面，表明肢体语言和玛雅艺术中的社会角色之间存在相关性。本研究检验古典玛雅艺术中的一种肢体语言（手势）是否代表和反映了社会结构的元素。该分析使用源自对话中手势研究的编码方法，将交互方法应用于静态媒体，从而拓宽了古代艺术中用于分析手势的方法。统计数据用于评估 94 个不同花瓶上的 289 个人物在宫殿场景中的手势使用模式，结果表明手势的形式和角度与社会等级有关。此外，本研究不仅考虑每个人物的个体状态，还考虑人物之间的相互作用。结果不仅揭示了玛雅艺术中如何描绘手势，还展示了形象表征如何反映社会结构。