ABSTRACT
This chapter examines actors, praxis, and place from two perspectives: first, by an investigation of both court and household with an eye to general similarities and distinctions; second, by a case study of epigraphic and architectural evidence from the royal court of Yaxchilan. These concerns seem far removed from the perceived goals of households — successful harvest, reduction of infant morbidity, efficacious propitiation of deities and ancestors, and the thwarting of encroachment on lands and resources of the household. The buildings of both complexes are arranged around a central, ambient space, although the dimensions of that space and its elevation the surrounding terrain are more diminutive at the household level. The role of athletic performance in contrast, is specified iconographically, hieroglyphically, and architecturally at Classic Maya royal courts. Royal wives may have been effective heads of their own small households with some degree of independence from their husbands — particularly if they came from other cities.
