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Author: Shawn Gregory Morton
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN: 9781407316666
Category : Belize
Languages : en
Pages : 187
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Book Description
Asintegrated and varied ritual contexts, how do changing patterns ofpre-Columbian cave use inform the complex of historical, social, political,economic and related ideological processes in action during the inception,florescence, and collapse of Tipan Chen Uitz and other ancient Maya centres inCentral Belize? This book aims to highlight and, within a specific regionalcontext, to address, the tendency of the speleoarchaeology of the Maya area toisolate itself from broader topics of discourse. To this end, it explicitlycontextualizes primary research in several caves along a chain of relatedconcepts and datasets, extending from the broad body of literature on ritualand religion, through discussion of the conceptual cave context drawn fromepigraphic and iconographic sources, and its invocation as recorded incontemporary (or, at least, relatively recent) ethnographic contexts andearlier post-Columbian indigenous historic sources, to the well-travelled pathsof the archaeological study of caves.
Author: Shawn Gregory Morton
Publisher: British Archaeological Reports Oxford Limited
ISBN: 9781407316666
Category : Belize
Languages : en
Pages : 187
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Book Description
Asintegrated and varied ritual contexts, how do changing patterns ofpre-Columbian cave use inform the complex of historical, social, political,economic and related ideological processes in action during the inception,florescence, and collapse of Tipan Chen Uitz and other ancient Maya centres inCentral Belize? This book aims to highlight and, within a specific regionalcontext, to address, the tendency of the speleoarchaeology of the Maya area toisolate itself from broader topics of discourse. To this end, it explicitlycontextualizes primary research in several caves along a chain of relatedconcepts and datasets, extending from the broad body of literature on ritualand religion, through discussion of the conceptual cave context drawn fromepigraphic and iconographic sources, and its invocation as recorded incontemporary (or, at least, relatively recent) ethnographic contexts andearlier post-Columbian indigenous historic sources, to the well-travelled pathsof the archaeological study of caves.
Author: Jessica Joyce Christie
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 0292782624
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 353
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Book Description
Maya "palaces" have intrigued students of this ancient Mesoamerican culture since the early twentieth century, when scholars first applied the term "palace" to multi-room, gallery-like buildings set on low platforms in the centers of Maya cities. Who lived in these palaces? What types of ceremonial and residential activities took place there? How do the physical forms and spatial arrangement of the buildings embody Maya concepts of social organization and cosmology? This book brings together state-of-the-art data and analysis regarding the occupants, ritual and residential uses, and social and cosmological meanings of Maya palaces and elite residences. A multidisciplinary team of senior researchers reports on sites in Belize (Blue Creek), Western Honduras (Copan), the Peten (Tikal, Dos Pilas, Aguateca), and the Yucatan (Uxmal, Chichen-Itza, Dzibilchaltun, Yaxuna). Archaeologist contributors discuss the form of palace buildings and associated artifacts, their location within the city, and how some palaces related to landscape features. Their approach is complemented by art historical analyses of architectural sculpture, epigraphy, and ethnography. Jessica Joyce Christie concludes the volume by identifying patterns and commonalties that apply not only to the cited examples, but also to Maya architecture in general.
Author: Vera Tiesler
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387488715
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 327
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Book Description
This book examines Maya sacrifice and related posthumous body manipulation. The editors bring together an international group of contributors from the area studied: archaeologists as well as anthropologists, forensic anthropologists, art historians and bioarchaeologists. This interdisciplinary approach provides a comprehensive perspective on these sites as well as the material culture and biological evidence found there
Author: Andrew K. Scherer
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477300511
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 324
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Book Description
From the tombs of the elite to the graves of commoners, mortuary remains offer rich insights into Classic Maya society. In Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul, the anthropological archaeologist and bioarchaeologist Andrew K. Scherer explores the broad range of burial practices among the Maya of the Classic period (AD 250–900), integrating information gleaned from his own fieldwork with insights from the fields of iconography, epigraphy, and ethnography to illuminate this society’s rich funerary traditions. Scherer’s study of burials along the Usumacinta River at the Mexican-Guatemalan border and in the Central Petén region of Guatemala—areas that include Piedras Negras, El Kinel, Tecolote, El Zotz, and Yaxha—reveals commonalities and differences among royal, elite, and commoner mortuary practices. By analyzing skeletons containing dental and cranial modifications, as well as the adornments of interred bodies, Scherer probes Classic Maya conceptions of body, wellness, and the afterlife. Scherer also moves beyond the body to look at the spatial orientation of the burials and their integration into the architecture of Maya communities. Taking a unique interdisciplinary approach, the author examines how Classic Maya deathways can expand our understanding of this society’s beliefs and traditions, making Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya an important step forward in Mesoamerican archeology.
Author: Kenneth Seligson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197652921
Category : Climatic changes
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
"The Classic Maya civilization thrived between 200-950 CE in the tropical forests of eastern Mesoamerica before undergoing a period of breakdown and transformation known colloquially as the Classic Maya Collapse. This book draws on archaeological, environmental, and historical datasets to provide a comprehensive overview of Classic Maya human-environment relationships, including how communities addressed challenges wrought by climate change. Researchers today understand that the breakdown of Classic Maya society was the result of many long-term processes. Yet the story that continues to grip the public imagination is that Maya civilization mysteriously "collapsed." This book shifts the focus from the Classic Maya "collapse" to the multitude examples of adaptive flexibility that allowed Pre-Colonial Maya communities to persevere in a challenging natural environment for over seven centuries. This idea is so enthralling partly because it makes people think about the impermanence of present-day society. A misunderstanding of Maya conservation practices persists in non-academic circles to the disservice not only of the Pre-Colonial Maya, but also to their descendants living in eastern Mesoamerica today. Although the Classic Maya civilization did not leave behind much in the way of secret environmental knowledge for us to rediscover (that is unfortunately rarely how archaeology works), a critical lesson that can be learned from studying the Classic Maya is the importance of socio-ecological adaptability-the ability and willingness to change cultural practices to address long-term challenges"--
Author: Matthew G. Looper
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 029277818X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295
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Book Description
Winner, Association for Latin American Art Book Award, 2010 The Maya of Mexico and Central America have performed ritual dances for more than two millennia. Dance is still an essential component of religious experience today, serving as a medium for communication with the supernatural. During the Late Classic period (AD 600-900), dance assumed additional importance in Maya royal courts through an association with feasting and gift exchange. These performances allowed rulers to forge political alliances and demonstrate their control of trade in luxury goods. The aesthetic values embodied in these performances were closely tied to Maya social structure, expressing notions of gender, rank, and status. Dance was thus not simply entertainment, but was fundamental to ancient Maya notions of social, religious, and political identity. Using an innovative interdisciplinary approach, Matthew Looper examines several types of data relevant to ancient Maya dance, including hieroglyphic texts, pictorial images in diverse media, and architecture. A series of case studies illustrates the application of various analytical methodologies and offers interpretations of the form, meaning, and social significance of dance performance. Although the nuances of movement in Maya dances are impossible to recover, Looper demonstrates that a wealth of other data survives which allows a detailed consideration of many aspects of performance. To Be Like Gods thus provides the first comprehensive interpretation of the role of dance in ancient Maya society and also serves as a model for comparative research in the archaeology of performance.
Author: Stanislav Chládek
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 0759119899
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
Exploring Maya Ritual Caves offers a rare survey and explication of most of the known ancient Maya ritual caves in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. The caves were the Maya underworld, where rituals, including animal and human sacrifice, were carried out. The Maya cave cult and mythology, construction and modification of the caves, and cult art and artifacts are discussed. Chládek, an intrepid explorer, then describes important caves that he has recently visited and provides photos of their wonders.
Author: Aleksandar Bošković
Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1784915033
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 98
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Book Description
The main goal of this book is to produce a methodologically sound and ethically valid interdisciplinary introduction into the exciting world of ancient Mesoamerica.
Author: Brett A. Houk
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813057345
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 497
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Book Description
This volume brings together a wide spectrum of new approaches to ancient Maya studies in an innovative exploration of how the Preclassic and Classic Maya shaped their world. Moving beyond the towering temples and palaces typically associated with the Maya civilization, contributors present unconventional examples of monumental Maya landscapes. Featuring studies from across the central Maya lowlands, Belize, and the northern and central Maya highlands and spanning over 10,000 years of human occupation in the region, these chapters show how the word “monumental” can be used to describe natural and constructed landscapes, political and economic landscapes, and ritual and sacred landscapes. Examples include a massive system of aqueducts and canals at the Kaminaljuyu site, a vast arena designed for public spectacle at Chan Chich, and even the complex realms of Maya cosmology as represented by the ritual cave at Las Cuevas. By including physical, conceptual, and symbolic ways monumentality pervaded ancient Maya culture, this volume broadens traditional understandings of how the Maya interacted with their environment and provides exciting analytical perspectives to guide future study. A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase
Author: Traci Ardren
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477321640
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 396
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Book Description
For the ancient Maya, food was both sustenance and a tool for building a complex society. This collection, the first to focus exclusively on the social uses of food in Classic Maya culture, deploys a variety of theoretical approaches to examine the meaning of food beyond diet—ritual offerings and restrictions, medicinal preparations, and the role of nostalgia around food, among other topics. For instance, how did Maya feasts build community while also reinforcing social hierarchy? What psychoactive substances were the elite Maya drinking in their caves, and why? Which dogs were good for eating, and which breeds became companions? Why did even some non-elite Maya enjoy cacao, but rarely meat? Why was meat more available for urban Maya than for those closer to hunting grounds on the fringes of cities? How did the molcajete become a vital tool and symbol in Maya gastronomy? These chapters, written by some of the leading scholars in the field, showcase a variety of approaches and present new evidence from faunal remains, hieroglyphic texts, chemical analyses, and art. Thoughtful and revealing, Her Cup for Sweet Cacao unlocks a more comprehensive understanding of how food was instrumental to the development of ancient Maya culture.
