Maya Civilisation Module Handbook Term II 2020-21 Year 2/3 Module Option, 0.5 Unit, 15 Credits
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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. -
With the Protection of the Gods: an Interpretation of the Protector Figure in Classic Maya Iconography
University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2012 With The Protection Of The Gods: An Interpretation Of The Protector Figure In Classic Maya Iconography Tiffany M. Lindley 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 Lindley, Tiffany M., "With The Protection Of The Gods: An Interpretation Of The Protector Figure In Classic Maya Iconography" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2148. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2148 WITH THE PROTECTION OF THE GODS: AN INTERPRETATION OF THE PROTECTOR FIGURE IN CLASSIC MAYA ICONOGRAPHY by TIFFANY M. LINDLEY B.A. University of Alabama, 2009 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2012 © 2012 Tiffany M. Lindley ii ABSTRACT Iconography encapsulates the cultural knowledge of a civilization. The ancient Maya of Mesoamerica utilized iconography to express ideological beliefs, as well as political events and histories. An ideology heavily based on the presence of an Otherworld is visible in elaborate Maya iconography. Motifs and themes can be manipulated to convey different meanings based on context. -
The Rulers of Palenque a Beginner’S Guide
The Rulers of Palenque A Beginner’s Guide By Joel Skidmore With illustrations by Merle Greene Robertson Citation: 2008 The Rulers of Palenque: A Beginner’s Guide. Third edition. Mesoweb: www. mesoweb.com/palenque/resources/rulers/PalenqueRulers-03.pdf. Publication history: The first edition of this work, in html format, was published in 2000. The second was published in 2007, when the revised edition of Martin and Grube’s Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens was still in press, and this third conforms to the final publica- tion (Martin and Grube 2008). To check for a more recent edition, see: www.mesoweb.com/palenque/resources/rulers/rulers.html. Copyright notice: All drawings by Merle Greene Robertson unless otherwise noted. Mesoweb Publications The Rulers of Palenque INTRODUCTION The unsung pioneer in the study of Palenque’s dynastic history is Heinrich Berlin, who in three seminal studies (Berlin 1959, 1965, 1968) provided the essential outline of the dynasty and explicitly identified the name glyphs and likely accession dates of the major Early and Late Classic rulers (Stuart 2005:148-149). More prominent and well deserved credit has gone to Linda Schele and Peter Mathews (1974), who summarized the rulers of Palenque’s Late Classic and gave them working names in Ch’ol Mayan (Stuart 2005:149). The present work is partly based on the transcript by Phil Wanyerka of a hieroglyphic workshop presented by Schele and Mathews at the 1993 Maya Meet- ings at Texas (Schele and Mathews 1993). Essential recourse has also been made to the insights and decipherments of David Stuart, who made his first Palenque Round Table presentation in 1978 at the age of twelve (Stuart 1979) and has recently advanced our understanding of Palenque and its rulers immeasurably (Stuart 2005). -
What Maya Collapse? Terminal Classic Variation in the Maya Lowlands
J Archaeol Res (2007) 15:329–377 DOI 10.1007/s10814-007-9015-x ORIGINAL PAPER What Maya Collapse? Terminal Classic Variation in the Maya Lowlands James J. Aimers Published online: 17 August 2007 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007 Abstract Interest in the lowland Maya collapse is stronger than ever, and there are now hundreds of studies that focus on the era from approximately A.D. 750 to A.D. 1050. In the past, scholars have tended to generalize explanations of the collapse from individual sites and regions to the lowlands as a whole. More recent approaches stress the great diversity of changes that occurred across the lowlands during the Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods. Thus, there is now a consensus that Maya civilization as a whole did not collapse, although many zones did experience profound change. Keywords Maya Á Collapse Á Terminal Classic–Early Postclassic Introduction ‘‘Much has been published in recent years about the collapse of Maya civilization and its causes. It might be wise to preface this chapter with a simple statement that in my belief no such thing happened’’ (Andrews IV 1973, p. 243). More than three decades after Andrews made this statement, interest in the lowland Maya collapse is more intense than ever. Of the more than 400 books, chapters, or articles of which I am aware, over half were published in the last ten years. As always, speculation about the collapse follows contemporary trends (Wilk 1985), and widespread concern over war and the physical environment have made the lowland Maya into a cautionary tale for many (Diamond 2005; Gibson 2006; J. -
The Investigation of Classic Period Maya Warfare at Caracol, Belice
The Investigation of Classic Period Maya Warfare at Caracol, Belice ARLEN F. CHASE DIANE Z. CHASE University of Central Florida Prior to the 1950s the prevalent view of the like rulers who were concerned whith preserving ancient Maya was as a peaceful people. ln 1952, their histories in hieroglyphic texts on stone and Robert Rands completed his Ph. D. thesis on the stucco; investigations at the site have thus far evidences of warfare in Classic Maya art, following uncovered some 40 carved monuments (Beetz and up on the important work just completed by Tatia- Satterthwaite 1981; A. Chase and D. Chase na Proskouriakoff (1950). Since then, research has 1987b). Caracol is unusual, however, in having rapidly accumulated substantial documentation left us written records that it successfully waged that the Maya were in fact warlike (cf. Marcus warfare against two of its neighboring polities at 1974; Repetto Tio 1985). There is now evidence different times within the early part of the Late for the existence of wars between major political Classic Period. units in the Maya area and, importantly, Maya There are two wars documented in the hiero- kingship has also been shown to be inextricably glyphic texts: Caracol defeats Tikal in 9.6.8.4.2 or joined with concepts of war, captives, and sacrifice A. D. 562 (A. Chase and D. Chase 1987a:6, (Demarest 1978; Schele and Miller 1986; Freidel 1987b:33,60; S. Houston in press) and Naranjo in 1986). Warfare also has been utilized as a power- 9.9.18.16.3 or A. D. 631 (Sosa and Reents 1980). -
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. -
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. -
Ancient Maya Territorial Organisation of Central Belize: Confluence of Archaeological and Epigraphic Data
Contributions in New World Archaeology 4: 59–90 ANCIENT Maya Territorial Organisation OF CENTRAL BELIZE: CONFLUENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND EPIGRAPHIC Data CHRISTOPHE HELMKE1, JAIME AWE2 1 University of Copenhagen, Denmark 2 Institute of Archaeology, Belize Abstract The models proposed for ancient Maya territorial organization in central Belize differ significantly from one researcher to another. Due to the relative dearth of hieroglyphic data, most models have been formulated on the basis of archaeological data alone and are predominantly site-specific assessments. Investigations in central Belize over the past four decades have, however, brought to light several key pieces of epigraphic data, including Emblem Glyphs. When viewed in conjunction, the archaeological and epigraphic data provide a new vantage for determining the structure of the Classic-period socio-political landscape of the Belize Valley. Resumen Los modelos propuestos para la organización territorial de los mayas del Período Clásico en Belice Central difieren significativamente de un investigador a otro. Debido a la escasez de datos jeroglíficos, la mayoría de los modelos se han formulado teniendo en cuenta tan solo datos arqueológicos y se centran predominantemente sobre cada sitio investigado. Las exploraciones en Belice Central de las cuatro últimas décadas, sin embargo, han sacado a la luz numerosas piezas clave que aportan datos epigráficos, incluyendo Glifos Emblema. Vistos en conjunto, los datos arqueológicos y epigráficos proporcionan una posición más ventajosa en la determinación de la estructura del paisaje socio-político del Período Clásico del Valle de Belice. INTRODUCTION A variety of models of ancient Maya territorial organisation have been proposed for the Belize Valley over the past four decades. -
Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. A
those who commissioned the works. Many have inscribed dates calcu lated accord ing to the Long Count, a way of marki ng historical time that scholarsfirst identified in the 1960s. One carved limestone hiero glyphic inscription on a lintel from Yaxchilan includes a date that is equivalent to Feb. 11,526, when K'inich Tatb'u Skull II,a ruler of this northern Guatemalan city-state, ascended to the throne. The Long Count began on a specific day in the year 3114 B.C., when, the Maya believed, their gods extracted blood from themselves and mi xed it with cornmeal to make humans. K'inich Tatb'u Skull II and other lords had Long Co unt dates carved on public wo rks both to locate themselves within historical time and to place themselves amo ng the gods, heroes and supernatural entities who had initiated and contin ued to perpetuate humanity. The text of this inscription is meticulously carved in so-called "full figure" form s ofanimalsand human faces, rather than the more frag mented shorthand of most Maya hieroglyphics. It reveals the essen tially hybrid and multivalent nature of Maya writing, filled with Three eccentric fl ints, Centro Regional, Copan, Honduras, ca. 755 A.D., combinations of animate and inanimate elements that stand for (left to right) J2 '/" 13 '/, and 10%inches high. Institu te Hondureiio de Antropologia e His toria, Tegucigalpa. sound, word or symbol [see sidebarJ. Just as Maya inscriptions can be intricately visual, so can visual representations be calligraphic, as in a number of so-called "eccen competitive ly pressuring each other to attain ever higher levels of tric" flints on view. -
Wayeb Notes No. 37
f No. 37, 2011 WAYEB NOTES ISSN 1379-8286 A LOOK AT THE ENIGMATIC "GI TITLE" ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAYA WOMEN Boguchwała Tuszyńska Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland Many different titles used by the ancient Maya kings and nobles still remain poorly understood. Even if epigraphers are able to transliterate and transcribe some of them, their exact meaning and significance is not clear to us. It seems still more complicated in the case of titles that have not been fully deciphered, though at times it is possible to establish for what reason a specific title was held by a specific person. Such is the case with the so-called “vase title” (Proskouriakoff 1961). Even without an exact reading we know that this title was associated with Goddess O and was used by the Maya to designate married women, able to give birth (Colas 2004: xxiii). In the case of Maya women we have another enigmatic “godly title” found only in a few Classic period texts, known as the “GI title”. The title consists of three signs: 1) the undeciphered sign T217d, 2) the logogram T4 NAH and 3) the glyph representing the head of GI. The title is found in a few Early Classic texts (Boot 2001, Stuart 2005: 121) and Linda Schele considered it one of the name phrases of GI (Schele 1994). There are some glyphic variations of the title (Figure 1). The “hand” sign and the glyph NAH are sometimes accompanied only by the so-called “dotted” ajaw. In another example the “hand” sign and the logogram NAH are accompanied by the ajaw sign and the head of GI, and finally we have the “hand” sign attached to the logogram NAH and the head of GI. -
Understanding the Archaeology of a Maya Capital City Diane Z
Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology Volume 5 Archaeological Investigations in the Eastern Maya Lowlands: Papers of the 2007 Belize Archaeology Symposium Edited by John Morris, Sherilyne Jones, Jaime Awe and Christophe Helmke Institute of Archaeology National Institute of Culture and History Belmopan, Belize 2008 Editorial Board of the Institute of Archaeology, NICH John Morris, Sherilyne Jones, George Thompson, Jaime Awe and Christophe G.B. Helmke The Institute of Archaeology, Belmopan, Belize Jaime Awe, Director John Morris, Associate Director, Research and Education Brian Woodye, Associate Director, Parks Management George Thompson, Associate Director, Planning & Policy Management Sherilyne Jones, Research and Education Officer Cover design: Christophe Helmke Frontispiece: Postclassic Cao Modeled Diving God Figure from Santa Rita, Corozal Back cover: Postclassic Effigy Vessel from Lamanai (Photograph by Christophe Helmke). Layout and Graphic Design: Sherilyne Jones (Institute of Archaeology, Belize) George Thompson (Institute of Archaeology, Belize) Christophe G.B. Helmke (Københavns Universitet, Denmark) ISBN 978-976-8197-21-4 Copyright © 2008 Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History, Belize. All rights reserved. Printed by Print Belize Limited. ii J. Morris et al. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We wish to express our sincerest thanks to every individual who contributed to the success of our fifth symposium, and to the subsequent publication of the scientific contributions that are contained in the fifth volume of the Research Reports in Belizean Archaeology. A special thanks to Print Belize and the staff for their efforts to have the Symposium Volume printed on time despite receiving the documents on very short notice. We extend a special thank you to all our 2007 sponsors: Belize Communication Services Limited, The Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT), Galen University and Belize Electric Company Limited (BECOL) for their financial support. -
Astronomy and the Iconography of Creation Among the Classic and Colonial Period Maya
Astronomy and the Iconography of Creation Among the Classic and Colonial Period Maya KHRISTAAN D. VILLELA and LINDA SCHELE University of Texas, Austin Westerners have been fascinated by the Period Maya. John Lloyd Stephens and others astronomical knowledge of the ancient Maya published accounts and views of the ruins of since travelers and scholars first reported ruined southern Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and cities in the Americas and Precolumbian manu- then British Honduras (Del Río and Cabrera scripts in European libraries. Beginning in the late 1822; Stephens 1841, 1843; Catherwood 1844; nineteenth century, students of the Maya speculat- Norman 1843; Charnay 1863, 1885; Maudslay ed on the astronomical identities of iconographic and Maudslay 1899). At the same time, academ- motifs and characters portrayed in the codices and ics and bibliophiles across the Atlantic discovered on monumental sculptures. In addition to identify- Precolumbian Maya codices and Colonial Spanish ing the signs for the sun, moon, and Venus, they accounts of the Maya. In Germany, Alexander von also produced tentative reconstructions of the Humboldt's account of travels in the New World Maya zodiac and other constellations. Alternate included the first publication of a Maya codex, interpretations of the nature of Maya astronomy five pages of the Dresden manuscript (Humboldt have appeared throughout this century. 1810:Plate 45). Humboldt's folio size work also Based on recent advances in our understand- first reproduced Maya art, a stucco relief from ing of the natural and astronomical foundations of Palenque (Humboldt 1810:Plate 11). In nearby Classic and Post-Classic Period Maya conceptions Paris, the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg published of Creation, we present another model of the so- the Quiché Maya Popol Vuh in 1861, and Diego called Maya zodiac.