The Mayan Gods: an Explanation from the Structures of Thought
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Ancient Maya Afterlife Iconography: Traveling Between Worlds
University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2006 Ancient Maya Afterlife Iconography: Traveling Between Worlds Mosley Dianna Wilson University of Central Florida Part of the Anthropology Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Wilson, Mosley Dianna, "Ancient Maya Afterlife Iconography: Traveling Between Worlds" (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 853. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/853 ANCIENT MAYA AFTERLIFE ICONOGRAPHY: TRAVELING BETWEEN WORLDS by DIANNA WILSON MOSLEY B.A. University of Central Florida, 2000 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Liberal Studies in the College of Graduate Studies at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Summer Term 2006 i ABSTRACT The ancient Maya afterlife is a rich and voluminous topic. Unfortunately, much of the material currently utilized for interpretations about the ancient Maya comes from publications written after contact by the Spanish or from artifacts with no context, likely looted items. Both sources of information can be problematic and can skew interpretations. Cosmological tales documented after the Spanish invasion show evidence of the religious conversion that was underway. Noncontextual artifacts are often altered in order to make them more marketable. An example of an iconographic theme that is incorporated into the surviving media of the ancient Maya, but that is not mentioned in ethnographically-recorded myths or represented in the iconography from most noncontextual objects, are the “travelers”: a group of gods, humans, and animals who occupy a unique niche in the ancient Maya cosmology. -
The Toltec Invasion and Chichen Itza
Other titles of interest published by Thames & Hudson include: Breaking the Maya Code Mexico: From the Olmecs to the Aztecs Angkor and the Khmer Civilization India: A Short History The Incas The Aztecs See our websites www.thamesandhudson.com www.thamesandhudsonusa.com 7 THE POSTCLASSIC By the close of the tenth century AD the destiny of the once proud and independent Maya had, at least in northern Yucatan, fallen into the hands of grim warriors from the highlands of central Mexico, where a new order of men had replaced the supposedly more intellectual rulers of Classic times. We know a good deal about the events that led to the conquest of Yucatan by these foreigners, and the subsequent replacement of their state by a resurgent but already decadent Maya culture, for we have entered into a kind of history, albeit far more shaky than that which was recorded on the monuments of the Classic Period. The traditional annals of the peoples of Yucatan, and also of the Guatemalan highlanders, transcribed into Spanish letters early in Colonial times, apparently reach back as far as the beginning of the Postclassic era and are very important sources. But such annals should be used with much caution, whether they come to us from Bishop Landa himself, from statements made by the native nobility, or from native lawsuits and land claims. These are often confused and often self-contradictory, not least because native lineages seem to have deliberately falsified their own histories for political reasons. Our richest (and most treacherous) sources are the K’atun Prophecies of Yucatan, contained in the “Books of Chilam Balam,” which derive their name from a Maya savant said to have predicted the arrival of the Spaniards from the east. -
Bibliography
Bibliography Many books were read and researched in the compilation of Binford, L. R, 1983, Working at Archaeology. Academic Press, The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology: New York. Binford, L. R, and Binford, S. R (eds.), 1968, New Perspectives in American Museum of Natural History, 1993, The First Humans. Archaeology. Aldine, Chicago. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Braidwood, R 1.,1960, Archaeologists and What They Do. Franklin American Museum of Natural History, 1993, People of the Stone Watts, New York. Age. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Branigan, Keith (ed.), 1982, The Atlas ofArchaeology. St. Martin's, American Museum of Natural History, 1994, New World and Pacific New York. Civilizations. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Bray, w., and Tump, D., 1972, Penguin Dictionary ofArchaeology. American Museum of Natural History, 1994, Old World Civiliza Penguin, New York. tions. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Brennan, L., 1973, Beginner's Guide to Archaeology. Stackpole Ashmore, w., and Sharer, R. J., 1988, Discovering Our Past: A Brief Books, Harrisburg, PA. Introduction to Archaeology. Mayfield, Mountain View, CA. Broderick, M., and Morton, A. A., 1924, A Concise Dictionary of Atkinson, R J. C., 1985, Field Archaeology, 2d ed. Hyperion, New Egyptian Archaeology. Ares Publishers, Chicago. York. Brothwell, D., 1963, Digging Up Bones: The Excavation, Treatment Bacon, E. (ed.), 1976, The Great Archaeologists. Bobbs-Merrill, and Study ofHuman Skeletal Remains. British Museum, London. New York. Brothwell, D., and Higgs, E. (eds.), 1969, Science in Archaeology, Bahn, P., 1993, Collins Dictionary of Archaeology. ABC-CLIO, 2d ed. Thames and Hudson, London. Santa Barbara, CA. Budge, E. A. Wallis, 1929, The Rosetta Stone. Dover, New York. Bahn, P. -
Resistencia E Identidades De Mujeres Mam En Oposición a La Mina Marlin En San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala
Resistencia e Identidades de mujeres Mam en oposición a la mina Marlin en San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala Nancy Isabella Sabas Gonzalez Universidad Nacional de Colombia Maestría en Estudios de Género, Escuela de Estudios de Género Bogotá, Colombia 2019 Resistencia e Identidades de mujeres Mam en oposición a la mina Marlin en San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala Nancy Isabella Sabas Gonzalez Tesis presentada como requisito parcial para optar al título de: Maestría en Estudios de Género Director (a): Ph.D., Astrid Ulloa Línea de Investigación: Globalización, Desigualdades Sociales y Políticas Públicas Universidad Nacional de Colombia Maestría en Estudios de Género, Escuela de Género Bogotá, Colombia 2019 La propiedad y el dinero […] son materialmente acaparaciones, desvitalizaciones de lo vivo, abstracciones de la muerte, en el sentido gaiatico de la muerte, porque se realiza matando la vida. […] Lo que la propiedad y la posesividad significan en realidad es lo contrario a lo que pretenden significar: la desposesión de la abundancia de la vida. Casilda Rodrigañez Agradecimientos En primer lugar, agradezco a mi madre, Nora González, por inspirarme para estudiar sobre las desigualdades que experimentan día a día las mujeres racializadas y empobrecidas en la sociedad. Así mismo, agradezco de manera especial a la Diócesis de San Marcos, Guatemala, por su admirable trabajo en San Miguel Ixtahuacán y por conectarme con esta comunidad para realizar esta investigación. También extiendo mi más profunda gratitud y admiración a todas las mujeres Mam que resisten a diario contra el extractivismo en sus comunidades, particularmente a Maudilia López por ofrecerme su amistad y aportar profundamente para esta tesis. Agradezco también a la Parroquia de San Miguel Ixtahuacán, por su contribución a esta investigación y por proveer un espacio para mi autocuidado y sanidad interior durante mi estadía allá. -
Creationism Debunked by Science and Reason
Creationism Debunked by Science and Reason Dan Dana www.dandana.us/atheism Preface This text was initially prepared under the title "An Atheist Critique of Pandeism,” an invited chapter for Pandeism: An Anthology, (John Hunt Publishing, 2016). The critique applies equally to creationism in general, and is presented here for readers whose interests lie beyond pandeism. Pandeism posits a creator-deity that became the universe itself upon its creation. As such, it is perhaps the most elemental creationist theology, sidestepping anti-evolution, "intelligent design," and other post-creation arguments favoring religion. In debunking pandeism by means of recent findings in cosmology and astrophysics, this reader- friendly article for the intellectually curious non-scientist also effectively debunks all forms of theistic creationism. In doing so, it convincingly exposes the falseness of supernaturalism, regardless of which religion is its partner in delusion. An Atheist Critique of Pandeism A complete definition of pandeism may be found elsewhere in this anthology. For the purpose of this critique, I will use this definition from Wikipedia: The belief that a creator deity became the universe and ceased to exist as a separate and conscious entity.1 As such, pandeism is a presuppositional theory attempting to explain the beginning of existence, the presupposition being that existence had a beginning at all. Here, “existence” is differentiated from “the universe,” and the Big Bang is differentiated from “the beginning of existence,” as will be discussed below. My view that pandeism is an erroneous theory rests on three contentions, which I shall elaborate: 1. There is no evidence that a creator deity ever existed. -
Solution of the Mayan Calendar Enigma Thomas Chanier
Solution of the Mayan Calendar Enigma Thomas Chanier To cite this version: Thomas Chanier. Solution of the Mayan Calendar Enigma. 2016. hal-01254966v6 HAL Id: hal-01254966 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01254966v6 Preprint submitted on 29 Nov 2016 (v6), last revised 13 Nov 2018 (v7) HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. SOLUTION OF THE MAYAN CALENDAR ENIGMA Thomas Chanier∗ Independent researcher, Coralville, Iowa 52241, USA The Mayan arithmetical model of astronomy is described. The astronomical origin of the Mayan Calendar (the 260-day Tzolk'in, the 365-day Haab', the 3276-day Kawil-direction-color cycle and the 1872000-day Long Count Calendar) is demonstrated and the position of the Calendar Round at the mythical date of creation 13(0).0.0.0.0 4 Ahau 8 Cumku is calculated. The results are expressed as a function of the Xultun numbers, four enigmatic Long Count numbers deciphered in the Maya ruins of Xultun, dating from the IX century CE. (Saturno 2012) Evidence shows that this model was used in the Maya Classic period (200 to 900 CE) to determine the Palenque lunar equation. -
On the Origin of the Different Mayan Calendars Thomas Chanier
On the origin of the different Mayan Calendars Thomas Chanier To cite this version: Thomas Chanier. On the origin of the different Mayan Calendars. 2014. hal-01018037v1 HAL Id: hal-01018037 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01018037v1 Submitted on 3 Jul 2014 (v1), last revised 14 Jan 2015 (v3) HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. On the origin of the different Mayan Calendars T. Chanier∗1 1 Department of Physics, University of Namur, rue de Bruxelles 61, B-5000 Namur, Belgium The Maya were known for their astronomical proficiency. Whereas Mayan mathematics were based on a vigesimal system, they used a different base when dealing with long periods of time, the Long Count Calendar (LCC), composed of different Long Count Periods: the Tun of 360 days, the Katun of 7200 days and the Baktun of 144000 days. There were three other calendars used in addition to the LCC: a civil year Haab’ of 365 days, a religious year Tzolk’in of 260 days and a 3276- day cycle (combination of the 819-day Kawil cycle and 4 colors-directions). Based on astronomical arguments, we propose here an explanation of the origin of the LCC, the Tzolk’in and the 3276-day cycle. -
Arxiv:1601.03132V7 [Math.HO] 15 Nov 2018 [2]
Solution of the Mayan Calendar Enigma Thomas Chanier1∗ 1Independent researcher, 1025 12th avenue, Coralville, Iowa 52241, USA The Mayan calendar is proposed to derive from an arithmetical model of naked-eye astronomy. The Palenque and Copan lunar equations, used during the Maya Classic period (200 to 900 AD) are solution of the model and the results are expressed as a function of the Xultun numbers, four enigmatic Long Count numbers deciphered in the Maya ruins of Xultun, dating from the IX century AD, providing strong arguments in favor of the use of the model by the Maya. The different Mayan Calendar cycles can be derived from this model and the position of the Calendar Round at the mythical date of creation 13(0).0.0.0.0 4 Ahau 8 Cumku is calculated. This study shows the high proficiency of Mayan mathematics as applied to astronomy and timekeeping for divinatory purposes.a I. INTRODUCTION In the Calendar Round, a date is represented by αXβY with the religious month 1 ≤ α ≤ 13, X one of the 20 Mayan priests-astronomers were known for their astro- religious days, the civil day 0 ≤ β ≤ 19, and Y one of the nomical and mathematical proficiency, as demonstrated 18 civil months, 0 ≤ β ≤ 4 for the Uayeb. Fig. 1 shows a in the Dresden Codex, a XIV century AD bark-paper contemporary representation of the Calendar Round as book containing accurate astronomical almanacs aiming a set of three interlocking wheels: the Tzolk'in, formed to correlate ritual practices with astronomical observa- by a 13-month and a 20-day wheels and the Haab'. -
CRÓNICAS Mesoamericanas Tomo I CRONICAS MESOAMERICANAS (TOMO I) © 2008 Universidad Mesoamericana ISBN: 978-99922-846-9-8 Primera Edición, 2008
CRÓNICAS MESOAMEricanas TOMO I CRONICAS MESOAMERICANAS (TOMO I) © 2008 Universidad Mesoamericana ISBN: 978-99922-846-9-8 Primera Edición, 2008 Consejo Directivo: Félix Javier Serrano Ursúa, Jorge Rubén Calderón González, Claudia María Hernández de Dighero, Carlos Enrique Chian Rodríguez, Ana Cristina Estrada Quintero, Luis Roberto Villalobos Quesada, Emilio Enrique Conde Goicolea. Editor: Horacio Cabezas Carcache. Traducción de textos mayas-quichés: Marlini Son, Candelaria Dominga López Ixcoy, Robert Carmack, James L. Mondloch, Ruud van Akkeren y Hugo Fidel Sacor. Revisor de estilo: Pedro Luis Alonso. Editorial responsable: Editorial Galería Guatemala. Consejo Editorial: Estuardo Cuestas Morales, Egemberto Alvergue Oliveros, Carlos Enrique Zea Flores, María Olga Granai de Zoller, Mario Estuardo Montes Granai. Diseño y diagramación: QUELSA. Ilustraciones en acuarela: Victor Manuel Aragón. Fotografía proporcionada por Fundación Herencia Cultural Guatemalteca, Fototeca de Justin Kerr de su catálogo Maya Vase Database y Fototeca de Fundación G&T Continental (páginas 119,134,140). Impresión: Tinta y Papel Derechos reservados. La reproducción total o parcial de esta obra sólo podrá hacerse con autorización escrita de la Universidad Mesoamericana. http://www.umes.edu.gt 40 Calle, 10-01, Zona 8, Guatemala, C. A. CRÓNICAS MESOAMEricanas TOMO I CONTENIDO PRÓLOGO 9 FÉLIX JAVIER SERRANO URSÚA INTRODUCCIÓN 11 HORACIO CABEZAS CARCACHE CÓDICES mayas Y MEXICANOS 17 TOMÁS BARRIENTOS Y MARION POPENOE DE HATCH Crónicas DE YAXKUKUL Y CHAC Xulub CHEN 31 ERNESTO VARGAS PACHECO CRÓNICA DE CHAC XULUB CHEN 44 TÍTULO DE LOS SEÑORES DE Sacapulas 59 RUUD VAN AKKEREN HISTORIA DE SU ORIGEN Y VENIDA DE SUS PADRES EN LAS TIERRAS DEL QUICHÉ. 78 PARTE I. FRAGMENTO QUIChé [K’iChe’] 88 TÍTULO DE CAGCOH [KAQKOJ] 93 ENNIO BOSSÚ TESTAMENTO Y TÍTULO DE LOS ANTECESORES DE 100 LOS SEÑORES DE CAGCOH SAN CRISTÓBAL VERAPAZ. -
Consonant Deletion, Obligatory Synharmony, Typical Suffixing an Explanation of Spelling Practices in Mayan Writing*
John Benjamins Publishing Company This is a contribution from Written Language & Literacy 13:1 © 2010. John Benjamins Publishing Company This electronic file may not be altered in any way. The author(s) of this article is/are permitted to use this PDF file to generate printed copies to be used by way of offprints, for their personal use only. Permission is granted by the publishers to post this file on a closed server which is accessible to members (students and staff) only of the author’s/s’ institute, it is not permitted to post this PDF on the open internet. For any other use of this material prior written permission should be obtained from the publishers or through the Copyright Clearance Center (for USA: www.copyright.com). Please contact [email protected] or consult our website: www.benjamins.com Tables of Contents, abstracts and guidelines are available at www.benjamins.com Consonant deletion, obligatory synharmony, typical suffixing An explanation of spelling practices in Mayan writing* David Mora-Marín University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA The Pre-Columbian Mayan hieroglyphic script utilized logograms, representing CVC roots or CVCVC stems, and CV syllabograms. Starting with Knorozov’s (1952 etc.) initial breakthroughs in applying a Mayan linguistic model to account for the script’s spelling practices, most scholars have assumed that ‘synharmonic’ spellings of roots or stems, those in which the final consonant is ‘complemented’ by means of a CV syllabogram whose vowel is identical in quality to that of the root (e.g. C1V1C2 — C2(V1)), exhibited a linguistically ‘fictitious’ (or silent) vowel; such synharmonic spellings were commonly assumed to be default. -
Maya Medicine*
MAYA MEDICINE* by FRANCISCO GUERRA THE traditional dependence of the European historian on cultural patterns developed by Mediterranean civilizations tends to disregard pre-Columbian achievements in the New World. Our main cultural stream had its source around the 3rd millennium B.C. in the Nile, Euphrates and Indus valleys, when the oldest civilizations developed an agriculture based on artificial irrigation. Egyptians and Hindus worked metals, used beasts of burden and the plough, and established a system of writing; the Sumerians added to all these technical achievements the principle of the wheel. New World Civilizations In that far-off age the American Indians were still migrating southwards and establishing themselves in territories where domestication of maize became possible. To the three great American civilizations-Maya, Aztec and Inca- the wheel, the plough, iron implements, and the use of beasts of burden remained unknown until the arrival of the Europeans, although the Inca made limited use of the llama. A true system of writing going beyond pictographic representation was attained only by the Maya, but the Aztec reached the greatest military and political power without any such advances. Despite these technical limitations the pre-Columbian Americans could claim in a few instances some intellectual superiority over the Old World. The Maya possessed a philosophical outlook on life, a sense of balance, of architectural perfection and an unquestioned mathematical accomplishment which made them, so to speak, the Greeks of the New World. In the same way, the political enterprises of the Aztecs may be compared with those of the Romans; and carrying the simile a step farther we could find a parallel of agressiveness between Incas and Carthaginians. -
By ROBERT L. RANDS
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Bureau of American Ethnology BuUetin 157 Anthropological Papers, No. 48 Some ManifestatioDs of Water in Mesoamerican Art By ROBERT L. RANDS 265 1 CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 27 The better established occurrences of water 273 Types of associations 273 The Maya codices 277 The Mexican codices 280 Aztec and Teotihuacdn murals, sculptures, and ceramics 285 Summary 291 The proposed identifications of water 292 Artistic approach to the identifications 292 Non-Maya murals, sculptures, and ceramics 293 Maya murals, sculptures, and ceramics 298 General considerations 298 Highest probability (A) 302 Probability B : paraphernalia and secondary associations 315 Probability B : fang, tongue, or water (?) 320 Artistic typology and miscellany 322 Water and the water lily 330 Conclusions 333 Appendix A. Nonartistic data and current reconstructions 342 Direct water associations : physiological data 342 Water from container 344 Water from mouth 348 Water from eye 348 Water from breast 350 Water from between legs 350 Water from body (pores ?) 350 Water from hand 352 Water from other object held in hand 354 Waterlike design from head 355 Glyph in water 365 Object in water 359 Tlaloc 359 Anthropomorphic Long-nosed God 359 Female water deity 369 Black god (M, B) 360 Miscellaneous anthropomorphic figures 360 Frog 360 Serpent 361 Jaguar (ocelot) 361 Bird 363 Miscellaneous animal 363 Serpentine-saurian monster 364 Detached rear head of monster 364 Other grotesque head, face 365 267 268 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 157 Appendix A. Nonartistic data and current reconstructions—Con. page Death, misfortune, destruction _. 365 Water descending on surface water 365 Water descending on figure 366 The bending-over rainmaker 366 The sky monster and its affiliates 366 Balanced water and vegetation 367 Summary 367 Appendix B.