Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya

Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya PDF Author: Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300224672
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
This nuanced account explores Maya mythology through the lens of art, text, and culture. It offers an important reexamination of the mid-16th-century Popol Vuh, long considered an authoritative text, which is better understood as one among many crucial sources for the interpretation of ancient Maya art and myth. Using materials gathered across Mesoamerica, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos bridges the gap between written texts and artistic representations, identifying key mythical subjects and uncovering their variations in narratives and visual depictions. Central characters—including a secluded young goddess, a malevolent grandmother, a dead father, and the young gods who became the sun and the moon—are identified in pottery, sculpture, mural painting, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Highlighting such previously overlooked topics as sexuality and generational struggles, this beautifully illustrated book paves the way for a new understanding of Maya myths and their lavish expression in ancient art.

Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya

Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya PDF Author: Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300224672
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 303

Get Book Here

Book Description
This nuanced account explores Maya mythology through the lens of art, text, and culture. It offers an important reexamination of the mid-16th-century Popol Vuh, long considered an authoritative text, which is better understood as one among many crucial sources for the interpretation of ancient Maya art and myth. Using materials gathered across Mesoamerica, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos bridges the gap between written texts and artistic representations, identifying key mythical subjects and uncovering their variations in narratives and visual depictions. Central characters—including a secluded young goddess, a malevolent grandmother, a dead father, and the young gods who became the sun and the moon—are identified in pottery, sculpture, mural painting, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Highlighting such previously overlooked topics as sexuality and generational struggles, this beautifully illustrated book paves the way for a new understanding of Maya myths and their lavish expression in ancient art.

Maya Mythology: Myths and Folklore of the Mayan Civilization

Maya Mythology: Myths and Folklore of the Mayan Civilization PDF Author: Sebastian Berg
Publisher: Creek Ridge Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
The Mayan people were natural storytellers, and their imagination knew no bounds. They took the traditional Mesoamerican versions of creation and the gods of the universe and molded them into their own, adding and shaping their unique version of mythology and folktales. This left us with a significant pantheon of gods and goddesses, each with a memorable and captivating story. The Mayans had an image of the universe and their place in it, and they told stories of gods and heroes that rival Greek Mythology.

Maya Sacred Geography and the Creator Deities

Maya Sacred Geography and the Creator Deities PDF Author: Karen Bassie-Sweet
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806185198
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
The K’iche’ Maya creation story preserved in the sixteenth-century manuscript Popol Vuh describes the origin of the world and its people in a setting long assumed to be the Guatemalan central highlands. Now a scholar with a deep knowledge of Maya history shows that all of these mythological events occurred at specific locations and that this landscape was the template for the Maya worldview. Examining the primary Maya deities, Karen Bassie-Sweet links geographic features to gods and beliefs. She reconstructs key elements of the Popol Vuh to argue that the three volcanoes around Lake Atitlan were the three thunderbolt gods and that the lake was the center of the world. She also shows that the Maya view of the creation of humans is centered on corn and examines core beliefs about the corn cycle to propose that the creation myth was established much earlier in Maya history than previously supposed. Generously illustrated, Maya Sacred Geography and the Creator Deities is a detailed ethnohistorical analysis of Maya religion, cosmology, and ritual practice that convincingly links mythology to the land. A comprehensive treatment of Maya religion, it provides an essential resource for scholars and will fascinate any reader captivated by these ancient beliefs.

Tales of the Plumed Serpent

Tales of the Plumed Serpent PDF Author: Diana Ferguson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 168

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Book Description
"Fascinated by the history and cultures of three highly developed ancient societies--the Mayans, followed by the Aztecs in Mesoamerica and the Incas farther south--Ferguson examines their artifacts and those of the Spanish conquistadors, in relation to the traditions preserved today by their many descendants...Part anthropological study, part history and part folklore... distills a huge amount of information to present a clear, uncluttered and rich resource."--"Publishers Weekly." "Fun, inspiring, educational, and all in all, a great read."--"The New Times."

Re-Creating Primordial Time

Re-Creating Primordial Time PDF Author: Gabrielle Vail
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
ISBN: 1607322218
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
Re-Creating Primordial Time offers a new perspective on the Maya codices, documenting the extensive use of creation mythology and foundational rituals in the hieroglyphic texts and iconography of these important manuscripts. Focusing on both pre-Columbian codices and early colonial creation accounts, Vail and Hernández show that in spite of significant cultural change during the Postclassic and Colonial periods, the mythological traditions reveal significant continuity, beginning as far back as the Classic period. Remarkable similarities exist within the Maya tradition, even as new mythologies were introduced through contact with the Gulf Coast region and highland central Mexico. Vail and Hernández analyze the extant Maya codices within the context of later literary sources such as the Books of Chilam Balam, the Popol Vuh, and the Códice Chimalpopoca to present numerous examples highlighting the relationship among creation mythology, rituals, and lore. Compiling and comparing Maya creation mythology with that of the Borgia codices from highland central Mexico, Re-Creating Primordial Time is a significant contribution to the field of Mesoamerican studies and will be of interest to scholars of archaeology, linguistics, epigraphy, and comparative religions alike.

Popol Vuh

Popol Vuh PDF Author:
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0684818450
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description
One of the most extraordinary works of the human imagination and the most important text in the native languages of the Americas, Popul Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life was first made accessible to the public 10 years ago. This new edition retains the quality of the original translation, has been enriched, and includes 20 new illustrations, maps, drawings, and photos.

Aztec and Maya Myths

Aztec and Maya Myths PDF Author: Karl Taube
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 9780292781306
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
The myths of the Aztec and Maya derive from a shared Mesoamerican cultural tradition. This is very much a living tradition, and many of the motifs and gods mentioned in early sources are still evoked in the lore of contemporary Mexico and Guatemala. Professor Taube discusses the different sources for Aztec and Maya myths. The Aztec empire began less than 200 years before the Spanish conquest, and our knowledge of their mythology derives primarily from native colonial documents and manuscripts commissioned by the Spanish. The Maya mythology is far older, and our knowledge of it comes mainly from native manuscripts of the Classic period, over 600 years before the Spanish conquest. Drawing on these sources as well as nineteenth- and twentieth-century excavations and research, including the interpretation of the codices and the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing, the author discusses, among other things, the Popol Vuh myths of the Maya, the flood myth of Northern Yucatan, and the Aztec creation myths.

Gods of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas

Gods of the Maya, Aztecs, and Incas PDF Author: Timothy Roland Roberts
Publisher: MetroBooks (NY)
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
Presents a brief overview of these cultures, their customs, religion, gods, heroes, and legends.

Gods of Sun and Sacrifice

Gods of Sun and Sacrifice PDF Author: Tony Allan
Publisher: Time Life Medical
ISBN: 9780705435437
Category : Aztec mythology
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
When Cortes and his battle-weary Spanish soldiers first gazed on the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan in 1519, they viewed the amazing culmination of 3,000 years of continuous cultural development. Aztec and Maya cities, temples, and palaces were in some ways like those found in Mesopotamia and Egypt: civilizations that had developed in isolation, free of outside influences. Here are the legends and stories of these two unique, ancient cultures.

Maya History

Maya History PDF Author: Captivating History
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781725057920
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
Did you know that the Mayans used saunas for healing purposes? In the past decade or two, there has been an upsurge of interest in Maya history. This was partly fueled by the mythical Maya prediction of the end of the world in 2012, which for a short period of time put this civilization under the media spotlight. But there is much more to their culture than the common misconception about their calendar. You see, this is one of the most important and most influential civilizations of the whole Mesoamerican region. The Mayans did not only make achievements in the field of astronomy; they also made revolutionary accomplishments in agriculture, engineering and communications. In this new captivating history book, you will discover amazing little-known facts about the Mayans as well as the truth about their remarkable history. Maya History: A Captivating Guide to the Maya Civilization, Culture, Mythology, and the Maya Peoples' Impact on Mesoamerican History includes: Revolutionary Findings Provided by Modern Archaeological Detective Techniques A Simple Explanation of the Maya Civilization and Its Location Fascinating Discoveries of Maya Art Remarkable Insights into the Maya Government and Society A Startling Exploration of the Mayans Everyday Life Amazing Insights into Myths, Legends, Gods and Beliefs of the Maya People, Including Shocking Findings Related to Human Sacrifice Warfare The Spanish Conquest and Its Impact From Colonial Times to Today And much, much more! So if you want to go on a remarkable journey into the History of the Maya Civilization, click "add to cart"!