Papers by Mark F . Cheney
IMS Explorer January, 2020
Brief article about the migration, leadership, acculturation, ecology and religion of the Lacando... more Brief article about the migration, leadership, acculturation, ecology and religion of the Lacandon Maya from the time of Cortez to the present. (See citations for further information.)
IMS EXPLORER July issue, 2019
With Editor Jim Reed's, permission, I am posting this issue of the Institute of Maya Studies July... more With Editor Jim Reed's, permission, I am posting this issue of the Institute of Maya Studies July 2019 issue of IMS EXPLORER newsletter which contains, in part, his informative article on the Maya/Gregorian calendars on page 5, and an interesting short on some 2500 year old Olmec monuments at Tak'alik Ab'aj, Guatemala. I was merely a proofreader for this issue.
This article was first printed in Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF.org) in 2015, and com... more This article was first printed in Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF.org) in 2015, and compares the ancient traditional warfare, etc. use of beheading.
This article appeared in Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF.org) website in 2014, and disc... more This article appeared in Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF.org) website in 2014, and discusses one of the cities that was covered up in water anciently.
This article was first published in Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF.org) in 2014.
This article was first published in the BMAF.org website in 2014, and relates medicines found in ... more This article was first published in the BMAF.org website in 2014, and relates medicines found in the Maya rain forest of Belize to a scripture found in the Book of Mormon.
This article was first published in Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF.org) in 2014, and d... more This article was first published in Book of Mormon Archaeological Forum (BMAF.org) in 2014, and discusses the probability that glass was a known substance at the time covered in the Book of Mormon wherein it was mentioned.
This article appeared in the Book of Mormon Archaeological Foundation (BMAF.org) website in 2014.
In this article, Mark F. Cheney shares the good and the bad about what is really going on at Lake... more In this article, Mark F. Cheney shares the good and the bad about what is really going on at Lake Amatitlan, both presently and in the ancient past.
Discussion of an unusual weapon from ancient times, the pellet bow, found in Asia, Britain and So... more Discussion of an unusual weapon from ancient times, the pellet bow, found in Asia, Britain and South America. Might it have been used in Mesoamerica, as well?
Past techniques of dating archeological finds have included carbon-dating (+950 years), pollen an... more Past techniques of dating archeological finds have included carbon-dating (+950 years), pollen analysis, pottery ceramic analysis, fire and ash analysis, and other anthropological dating techniques. One more recent technique is more geological, and provides more precise dates than were available through earlier methods, dating artifacts within decades rather than grosser dating techniques. The method is known as 'obsidian hydration' dating, and it was used in residential areas of the Copan valley in 1988 by David Webster, Nancy Gonlin and colleagues, and reported in an article, "Household Remains of the Humblest Maya,"* a departure from the usual focus on the elite of the Maya culture. They were able to gain their precision dates through obsidian hydration of artifacts found by exposing large horizontal surfaces, stripping away overburden. Obsidian hydration entails measuring in microscopic detail the surface layer of the obsidian that has been penetrated by water or " hydrated " over centuries. This surface layer is known as "rind" on obsidian artifacts. The average temperatures and moisture levels are projected back in time from a reliable measure of modern conditions, and the thickness of the rind will tell the age of the artifact. The method is becoming more popular in Maya studies, and when large numbers of obsidian artifacts can be found at a site, as in Copan, then a highly accurate chronology can be constructed. In the case of Webster and Gonlin's findings, they were able to show that the rural zones were not abandoned until nearly a century after the abandonment of the central core, around A.D. 800.
Article on traditional weaving among the ancient Maya, and continuing today.
Recently released in the December 2016 issue of the Institute of Maya Studies Explorer newsletter... more Recently released in the December 2016 issue of the Institute of Maya Studies Explorer newsletter, out feature article features our good friend Mark F. Cheney and his coverage of an exciting "windjammer cruise", visiting a few Caribbean islands in search of vestiges of the indigenous tribes that lived in the area over the millennia. We especially explore the Taino and the Kalinago, and I have provided a comparative chart that compares their economic, social and religious organization and perspectives, with those of the ancient Maya. Mark has provided many personal photos of artifacts inside various museums that he encountered. I love creating maps, and in this case, have made a map of the Caribbean islands, showing the five tribal areas of influence, before the arrival of the Spaniards in 1492.
As part of the Interesting and Unusual Ancient Artifacts series, Mark F. Cheney has submitted a m... more As part of the Interesting and Unusual Ancient Artifacts series, Mark F. Cheney has submitted a most interesting article about some very unusual bean characters from the Moche culture in Peru. The Maya used cacao beans as currency; were the Moche using these distinctively-colored lima beans as a form of communication? ReMarkably, Mark presents comparative images of designs from Moche ceramics to comparable images in the Mesoamerican codices. In the Popol Vuh, we discover humans were made from corn by their creator-gods; perhaps the Moche were molded from lima beans by their creator-gods. Explore the Bean Code!
A discussion of Guatemalan Black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) and the effect of the screwfly l... more A discussion of Guatemalan Black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra) and the effect of the screwfly larva on the species.
This article in this issue of the EXPLORER considers the possible connection between the Rogan or... more This article in this issue of the EXPLORER considers the possible connection between the Rogan or Cahokia Mississippian plates and other similar illustrations in Chichen Itza, Tulum and Izapa, Mexico.
The legendary "little people" of the Maya in Yucatan are similar to the Celtic leprechaun, the mi... more The legendary "little people" of the Maya in Yucatan are similar to the Celtic leprechaun, the minehune of the Hawaiians, and other tiny folk throughout the world.
Clay incensarios, or incense burners, in the shape of Maya idols &/or gods are discussed as to th... more Clay incensarios, or incense burners, in the shape of Maya idols &/or gods are discussed as to their meaning and form.
January 2015 issue of IMS Explorer has the first of my brief articles under the new "Interesting ... more January 2015 issue of IMS Explorer has the first of my brief articles under the new "Interesting and Unusual Ancient Artifacts" banner. "Coast Watchers" is a type of pottery figure that has been so-named by auctioneers and other peddlers of ancient contraband found in various "digs" etc. in the Mesoamerican world. See other great articles in this issue, especially the first page article by Dr. Takeshi Inomata on the timeline of the ancient Maya.
Mark of the Jaguar, a Book of Mormon Adventure in the Land of the Maya, 2014
MARK OF THE JAGUAR is a landmark novel, a Book of Mormon adventure AFTER 421 A.D. and before Colu... more MARK OF THE JAGUAR is a landmark novel, a Book of Mormon adventure AFTER 421 A.D. and before Columbus! Based on real archaeological finds in Mesoamerica, the land of the Maya, this tale follows a young man as he is trained as a shaman, healer, scribe and stonecutter, as he accepts the challenge given by his old mentor from his death bed. Yax Kan will do what is needed to find the truth about Kukulkan, the white and bearded god represented by the feathered serpent. Who is he? Is he worthy of worship - even to the point of human sacrifice?
Come join Yax Kan in some life-changing experiences that will thrill and delight!
Uploads
Papers by Mark F . Cheney
Come join Yax Kan in some life-changing experiences that will thrill and delight!
Come join Yax Kan in some life-changing experiences that will thrill and delight!