The Madrid Codex: New Approaches to Understanding an Ancient Maya
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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. -
Metaphors of Relative Elevation, Position and Ranking in Popol Vuh
METAPHORS OF RELATIVE ELEVATION, POSITION AND RANKING IN POPOL VUH Nathaniel TARN and Martin PRECHTEL Rutgers University This paper is an account of work very much in progress on the textual analysis of Popol V uh, and is one study among others (since this theme is attracting a number of students today) of inter-con nections and mutual illuminations between Popol Vuh and the con temporary ethnographic record in Highland Guatemala and Chiapas. For some considerable time now Popol Vuh has been considered as the major extant text of the Mesoamerican literary traditions, and as one of the most remarkable of all human creation stories, both for its beauty and for the complexity of its cosmological and mythical messages. While it may or may not have had a hieroglyphic original, the present alphabetic version of Po pol V uh wars written down some where between 1545 and 1558 by an anonymous member of the Cavek lineage of the Quiche Maya of Guatemala. This lineage had been a ruling house until it fell to the Spaniards in 1524. The manu script was copied by Francisco de Ximenez, a Spanish priest, some 150 years later. While there are references to Christianity in the text, these are few and it is generally regarded as one of the purest extant accounts of prehispanic Maya world-view. At the end of the hook, what we call mythical history shades into the historical history of the Quiche, so that the hook can serve as an illustration of the extent to which these two kinds of history are not held a,part by Maya generally. -
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. -
Huehuetenango Y La Sierra De Los Cuchumatanes
LAS LECTURAS MÚltIPLES DE UNA FRONTERA: HUEHUETENANGO Y LA SIERRA DE LOS CUCHUMATANES Alejandro J. Garay Herrera Instituto de Investigaciones Históricas, Antropológicas y Arqueológicas Escuela de Historia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ¡Oh cielo de mi Patria! ¡Oh caros horizontes! ¡Oh ya dormidos montes la noche ya os cubrió!: adiós, oh mis amigos, dormid, dormid en calma, que las brumas en la alma, ¡ay, ay! las llevo yo . JUAN DIÉGUEZ OLAVERRI (1813-1866) Canto a los Cuchumatanes (fragmento) Resumen: En este artículo se pretende analizar la región de Huehuetenango en general, y la Sierra de los Cuchumatanes en particular, como una zona de múl- tiples transformaciones e identidades que se traslapan entre sí a lo largo del tiempo y el espacio . Al realizar diversas lecturas (históricas, culturales, lingüísti- cas) de esta región, se constata que el concepto de frontera se puede aplicar en diferentes formas y momentos a este espacio geográfico, y no solo en referen- cia a la moderna frontera política que marca los límites entre dos estados sobe- ranos, como son Guatemala y México . Palabras clave: Huehuetenango, Frontera, Cultura, Historia, Lingüística, Maya, Los Cuchumatanes . Abstract: In this article it is expected to show the Huehuetenango region, in gen- eral, and Los Cuchumatanes mountain range, in particular, as a zone of multiple transformations and identities that overlap between themselves, thru time and space . By making diverse «lectures» or «readings» (historical, cultural, linguistic) of this region it’s shown that the frontier concept can be applied in different forms and times to this geographical space, and do not only refers to the modern political frontier that marks the limits of two sovereign states, as Guatemala and Mexico . -
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. -
Maya Writing Comprehension Questions
Maya Writing The Maya were one of the five ancient civilisations to have Although all the ancient Maya people shared the same culture, the Maya people from different cities independently developed a fully-fledged writing system. The and villages had their own distinct customs, clothing and language. This meant that there was not earliest examples of Maya writing were found in San Bartolo, one single Mayan language. There are over 800 Maya glyphs, but we can only decipher around Guatemala and date to as far back as 300 BC. 400 of them at the moment. The Maya people used a hieroglyphic writing system. Hieroglyphic Examples of Maya writing have been found carved in wood, on pottery, on stone monuments and writing consisted of signs or symbols called hieroglyphs or glyphs in codices (books). In addition to this, writing has also been found on lintels in their temples as well. for short. The glyphs in Maya writing were either logograms (which represent words), or syllabograms (which represent a unit of sound). The syllabograms would then be combined Codices written by Maya priests and scholars contained within a single glyph block and read together to create a word. information about astronomy, religion and gods. However, only As the Maya often had several syllabograms to represent the four known copies have survived to date. In 1562, a Catholic same sound, people could be creative when writing and choose priest called Diego de Landa ordered the mass burning of a different syllabograms to build up words. It seems that the Maya number of Maya codices, condemning them as a work of the preferred to vary how they spelt words within the same piece of devil. -
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. -
Research Note 10
Textdatenbank und Wörterbuch des Klassischen Maya Arbeitsstelle der Nordrhein-Westfälischen Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Künste an der Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn ISSN 2366-5556 RESEARCH NOTE 10 Published 28 May 2018 DOI: 10.20376/IDIOM-23665556.18.rn010.en The Signs 740 and 812 for SIH “Gift”: Representation and Meaning in the Maya Codices Christian M. Prager1 1) Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn In his sign catalog, Eric Thompson (1962:320–322) includes under sign no. 740 two graphs that are nearly identical. Their icon represents an upward-facing iguana head, but differ by a row of dots atop the mouth of one variant. The first variant of T740 lacking the dots represents the syllable hu1 (Figure 1a); the second grapheme with the row of dots (Figure 1b) is read as SIY, SIH, or SIJ, depending on its respective context (Houston 1997:292; Stuart 2005:78). All these respective linguistic readings of the logogram are plausible interpretations that will be discussed below in further detail. a b Figure 1. Grapheme (a) denotes the syllabic sign hu; and (b) represents the logogram SIH ‘bestow’ or ‘be born’, respectively (drawings by Christian Prager). Hieroglyphs meaning ‘birth’, including siyaj ‘be born’, sihyaj or sijyaj ‘be bestowed’ (represented by the grapheme T740), and pan kab or tal kab ‘touch the earth’ (T217:526) (MacLeod 1991:2–3; Stuart 2005:79) are, with over 100 attestations, among the most frequently used verbs in texts from the Classic period (Gronemeyer 2014:617–621), because of the large number of biographical reports about Maya rulers and members of their courts (Proskouriakoff 1960; Schele 1982). -
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. -
The Mayan Gods: an Explanation from the Structures of Thought
Journal of Historical Archaeology & Anthropological Sciences Review Article Open Access The Mayan gods: an explanation from the structures of thought Abstract Volume 3 Issue 1 - 2018 This article explains the existence of the Classic and Post-classic Mayan gods through Laura Ibarra García the cognitive structure through which the Maya perceived and interpreted their world. Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico This structure is none other than that built by every member of the human species during its early ontogenesis to interact with the outer world: the structure of action. Correspondence: Laura Ibarra García, Centro Universitario When this scheme is applied to the world’s interpretation, the phenomena in it and de Ciencias Sociales, Mexico, Tel 523336404456, the world as a whole appears as manifestations of a force that lies behind or within Email [email protected] all of them and which are perceived similarly to human subjects. This scheme, which finds application in the Mayan worldview, helps to understand the personality and Received: August 30, 2017 | Published: February 09, 2018 character of figures such as the solar god, the rain god, the sky god, the jaguar god and the gods of Venus. The application of the cognitive schema as driving logic also helps to understand the Maya established relationships between some animals, such as the jaguar and the rattlesnake and the highest deities. The study is part of the pioneering work that seeks to integrate the study of cognition development throughout history to the understanding of the historical and cultural manifestations of our country, especially of the Pre-Hispanic cultures.