Maya Culture

TYPOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF MAYA TERRACOTTA STATUETTES OF THE FIRST MILLENNIUM AD.
I. Yu. Demicheva
Typological classifi cation of terracotta material of Maya of the fi rst millennium AD has not been given due attention so far. That is why the article puts forward an attempt to determine principal working notions of statuette structuring, namely, category, kind, group, and type. Random sample study of 563 units made it possible to single out 12 basic principles of terracotta grouping that together with typological classifi cation give a many-sided characterization of small plastic arts items. The grouping is open, which makes it possible to extend it as terracotta material accumulates, leaving basic principles intact. Key words: Maya, terracotta statuettes, groups, types, function.

The 2012-phenomenon includes apocalyptic fantasies regarding an impending collapse of our contemporary society, supposedly prophesized by the ancient Maya and their Long Count calendar. Sometimes connections to the ancient Maya collapse are made. That also happens to be the quite common in academic circles. Some academic researchers believe we can learn from the past failures for future solutions. The objects that were involved in the ancient Maya collapse were not the same as now and therefore we have little to learn from the Maya collapse in relation to our own ecological crisis. The ancient and contemporary Maya’s sensual profiles of ecology, time and space were/are quite different from those found within the “2012-phenomenon” and academia.

This section consists of lesson materials for secondary students related to the Maya society, particularly government, commerce, religion, and military. Lesson components can be used together as an entire unit, individually as needed, or as differentiated activities for groups within your classroom. These may be used in sequence with other parts of this unit or in isolation.

Spanish language translation added June 2019 here: https://www.academia.edu/39350235/Sociedad_Maya

View the full book here: https://www.academia.edu/41244430/The_Ancient_Maya_For_Teachers_and_Learners

El universo y nuestro planeta están en constante diálogo. Desde el origen del hombre y de la formación y el entramado de las civilizaciones más antiguas, ha existido la necesidad humana de imaginar y explicar el inicio de la vida, el planeta y la humanidad. Los mayas no fueron excepción a la regla. En el marco de esa idea largamente estudiada por hombres y mujeres de todas las épocas, la sexta edición del Festival Internacional de la Cultura Maya 2017 tendrá como concepto original " La cosmogonía y la preservación del planeta " , en un evento que se llevará al cabo del 19 de octubre al 5 de noviembre próximos.  De esta manera, Yucatán volverá a ser sede del mayor encuentro académico, científico, intelectual, artístico y estético que ha sido el FICMAYA desde su fundación en 2012. En esta ocasión, el país invitado será Canadá y la Ciudad de México la entidad invitada. Del programa de actividades destacan la mesa redonda, " La Cosmogonía y la Mitología entre Los Mayas " , y, especialmente, la conferencia mundial " La Cosmogonía y la Mitología de las Civilizaciones Milenaria en Preservación del Planeta " , que se realizará del 24 al 26 de octubre.

A section with background information and activities related to the Maya calendar suitable for use in middle and high school classes.

Spanish language translation is here: https://www.academia.edu/39332108/Calendario_Maya

See the entire Maya Sciences section here: https://www.academia.edu/23909358/Maya_Sciences

A related resource is the Mayan Language &  Writing activity, located here: https://www.academia.edu/34585504/Mayan_Language_and_Writing

View the full book here: https://www.academia.edu/41244430/The_Ancient_Maya_For_Teachers_and_Learners

The 'Castle' pyramid (El Castillo) in Chichén Itzá constitutes a magnificent example of the genius and skill of the erudite Maya, who imbued the structure with their astronomical and calendric knowledge, and mastery of geometry. This exceptional construction reveals a highly sophisticated civilization that thrived throughout the southeastern region of Mexico. Recent studies demonstrate that the apex of the pyramid in the northeast direction points to the Templo de Mesas (Temple of Tables); and, to the west, the western stairway extends the pyramid's diagonal symmetrical axis to the cenote of Hotline, which lies at a distance of 2.5 kilometres. On days when the Sun reaches is zenith over Chichén Itzá, these alignments signal prominent directions at sunrise and sunset. As such, the building is aligned to the Sun's zenith.

Moreover, the pyramid rises as the axis of a delicate line on which alignments intersect that unite with three other cenotes. We have then, one cenote for each cardinal point, highlighting the goal of the city planners to make their idyllic model of the world implicit.

Its entire composition and architectural intention is quite elaborate, and the builders took pains to exhibit the mathematics of their calendar in the design of steps, stairways, tiers and panels. This being the case, they also included their interpretation of the cosmos in the form of the pyramid, using whole numbers in the measurements of angles and lengths, where factors, products, dividends, divisors and quotients reveal the metaphorical harmony of space and time.

This handbook is an educational resource designed for the Department of Education of the National Gallery of Victoria. It intends to facilitate the teaching and understanding of the NGV collection of Mesoamerican art. It comprises the main Mesoamerican socio-cultural topics depicted in the artworks of this collection. In addition, it recommends optional sources of information as a complement to this manual.

Based on fieldwork and reflection over a period of almost fifty years, Maya Potters’ Indigenous Knowledge utilizes engagement theory to describe the indigenous knowledge of traditional Maya potters in Ticul, Yucatán, Mexico. In this heavily illustrated narrative account, Dean E. Arnold examines craftspeople’s knowledge and skills, their engagement with their natural and social environments, the raw materials they use for their craft, and their process for making pottery.

Following Lambros Malafouris, Tim Ingold, and Colin Renfrew, Arnold argues that potters’ indigenous knowledge is not just in their minds but extends to their engagement with the environment, raw materials, and the pottery-making process itself and is recursively affected by visual and tactile feedback. Pottery is not just an expression of a mental template but also involves the interaction of cognitive categories, embodied muscular patterns, and the engagement of those categories and skills with the production process. Indigenous knowledge is thus a product of the interaction of mind and material, of mental categories and action, and of cognition and sensory engagement—the interaction of both human and material agency.

Engagement theory has become an important theoretical approach and “indigenous knowledge” (as cultural heritage) is the focus of much current research in anthropology, archaeology, and cultural resource management. While Dean Arnold’s previous work has been significant in ceramic ethnoarchaeology, Maya Potters' Indigenous Knowledge goes further, providing new evidence and opening up different concepts and approaches to understanding practical processes. It will be of interest to a wide variety of researchers in Maya studies, material culture, material sciences, ceramic ecology, and ethnoarchaeology.


This book is now in paperback.

The article, originally published in Mesoweb's The PARI Journal <mesoweb.com/pari/journal/archive/PARI1103.pdf> depicts and analyzes  two stelae from Chichen Itza. A prominent display of "Fire Bird" on Stela 2 prompts a review and discussion of bird iconography at the site.

In this paper, I present a Maya legend of travelling saints and people searching for their home. The story shows the ways in which a sense of belonging is contested, recreated and sustained within the context of place and pilgrimage. I argue that to understand such a narrative, a phenomenal and existential experience associated to particular collective memories and performances must be taken into consideration in addition to historical, political and cultural backgrounds.

This paper will provide an assessment of the potential culturalization and commercialization of the Maya's traditions and culture around the world. Through this study it is intended to verify and show that Guatemala could be increase aggregate welfare for tourist sector in the long run. Guatemala is a country characterized by its great cultural wealth, where the traditions of the different peoples are part of the Guatemalan identity. Unfortunately, nowadays, there is not yet a cultural exposition of that identity that will represent the characteristics of the Mayan community. As we know, tourism sector is an important source of income for a state. The natural resources represent a clear advantage for the economy of a country. The purpose of this research is to present an alternative of income through the development of strategies for cultural tourism in the country, this proposal not only will point out a sustainable tourism but also the participation of the rural community with the purpose of its integration and progress.

In this article, see pages 164, 166-168 for Stuart's discussion of the Grolier Codex.  It is highly significant that the Mexican State of Chiapas and the Universidad Autonoma de Chiapas chose to include the Grolier Codex as an authentic ancient Maya book in 1985 and make a fine color facsimile available along with the Dresden, Paris, and Madrid codices for further research. 

This review and essay of "Los Codices Mayas" is being posted as a personal tribute to my friend and colleague, the late George E. Stuart, Ph.D. (1935 - 2014) for his great generosity and many extraordinary contributions promoting world archaeology over several generations.

This article has been posted on Academia.edu as part of the Grolier Codex Project of the Center for Archaeoastronomy under the directorship of John B. Carlson, Ph.D.  The Grolier Codex Project seeks to further advance the study of the Maya Grolier Codex.

Introduction: cultural pertinence and adoptability in health are two important links to promote a family planning service that meets the needs of the indigenous population, which has the highest proportion of need dissatisfied with 39% (MSPAS, IGGS, APROFAM, & USAID, 2008). Material and methods: This cross-sectional qualitative descriptive study was conducted in collaboration with a traditional midwife, a leading elderly woman and a nursing assistant currently working in Pacrén, Jocotán. The objective was to determine the cultural pertinence and adoptability of family planning methods in the childbearing Chortí women of the village of Pacrén, Jocotán, Chiquimula; June to July 2019. Results and discussion: Natural methods are no longer known among young women, in part because of the loss of the oral, visual and written heritage of the traditional methods of the Chortí community, and to the institutionalization of health services by promoting only the methods conventional and hormonal contraceptives; demonstrating a health system devoid of adoptability and cultural pertinence. Conclusion: There is no cultural pertinence in family planning methods mainly because of the situation of discrimination that has changed methods culturally historicals, and there is also no cultural adoptability on methods as the Ministry of Health does not take into account cultural relevance and only distributes commercially accepted methods.

Key words: cultural adoptability, cultural pertinence, family planning, Chortí

"Selected proceedings of the “First International Conference on Ethnoastronomy: Indigenous Astronomical and Cosmological Traditions of the World”held at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 5-9 September 1983."

Available on Amazon.com  - see link in listing. Ships internationally from the USA.

La Greca Escalonada es uno de los signos que se encuentran altamente difundidos en Mesoamérica e inclusive en Perú. En esta investigación se presentan los resultados obtenidos para el área Maya. Se trata de una tesis de licenciatura en historia que presenté en Diciembre del año 2010.

This is the Spanish translation of a section of curriculum material I am developing for teachers at the secondary level to teach about Maya history and culture. Here, I have a section about Maya math, focusing on the symbols for numbers and the vigesimal system. Any corrections or suggestions will be gratefully accepted.

The English language version is here: https://www.academia.edu/9058221/Maya_Math

View the full book here: https://www.academia.edu/41244430/The_Ancient_Maya_For_Teachers_and_Learners

En el libro El Calendario Maya podrás conocer sobre:  Los números mayas, Los días mayas, El Calendario Sagrado de los mayas: El Tzolkín; Los meses mayas, el calendario civil: El Haab y La Rueda Calendárica; La Cuenta Larga: El Baktún, Katún, Tún, Uinal y Kín; Los ciclos mayas: El ciclo de los 13 baktunes; El ciclo de los 13 katunes; El katún que actualmente estamos viviendo; El ciclo de 13 katunes que actualmente estamos viviendo y las Fechas gregorianas que le corresponden a los ciclos mayas.

Sexual encounters have received little attention in previous studies of the Popol Vuh. This article is a study of sexual connotations conveyed through figures of speech in four passages of the k’iche’ text. The figures of speech include metaphors, allusions, and double entendres, whose meanings are not evident at first glance. The present analysis is based on studies of the lexicon, combined with comparisons with parallel passages in other myths from Mesoamerica, and comparisons with ethnographic data compiled in modern communities. As noted in multiple studies around the world, literary figures in the Popol Vuh are based primarily on the links between sexuality with food. The identification of sexual contents in these passages opens a new perspective in the study of the Popol Vuh. Sixteenth-century Maya myths are consistent with other Mesoamerican myths, in which the primordial creative processes often involve genesic themes and sexual transgressions.

A book-length resource for teachers and students to explore multiple facets of ancient Maya culture, history, science, and more. Over 300 pages of teacher resources (including rubrics and answers) and student pages provide a greater depth and breadth to Maya studies than any other resource for middle and secondary students. Many pages are also translated into Spanish. Individual components are uploaded separately in both English and Spanish for easier reference. This work is modular; each section can be used in isolation if desired to support instruction in Social Studies, math, English, or other topics.

The fourth known pre-Columbian Maya codex, the only one discovered in the twentieth century, was found by looters in the mid-1960s. First exhibited in New York in 1971, what has come to be known as the  Grolier Codex is half of a 20-page, 104-year divinatory hybrid-style Mesoamerican Venus Almanac, probably the physically oldest surviving pre-Columbian book, and with new radiocarbon dates that place it in the thirteenth century CE. It is likely to be the oldest surviving book on paper from the Americas as well as the only ancient Maya codex now residing in Mexico. Although most Mayanists have accepted it as authentic, based in part on the author’s 40 years of research, it remains an unacknowledged Mexican national treasure, as it has never been officially recognized. Mesoamerican Venus Almanacs were widely used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica to regulate practices of sacred warfare, the goal of which was to obtain captives for sacrifice, their blood shed to invoke the personified forces of rain and fertility. The  Codex offers unique images of 10 of the 20 manifestations of Venus, greatly enriching our knowledge of these traditions. The present study offers a brief history of accounts of the discovery of the Codex and allegedly associated artifacts; presents a documented photographic history; outlines the author’s comprehensive program of research, including several new scientific discoveries; and offers a new Latinized name that recognizes that the Codex Mayano-Mexicanus is an authentic ancient book deriving from the Maya culture and now properly residing in Mexico.


*****
This article has been posted on Academia.edu as part of the Grolier Codex Project of the Center for Archaeoastronomy under the directorship of John B. Carlson, Ph.D.  The Grolier Codex Project seeks to further advance the study of the Maya Grolier Codex.

En el presente póster se ensaya una revisión crítica de la trepanación craneal en la antigua sociedad maya como práctica terapéutica y cultural de los períodos Clásico Tardío y primeras fases del Posclásico. Para ello se parte de la trepanación como concepto general y sus implicaciones biológicas y culturales para, posteriormente, realizar una revisión de los estudios que, hasta la fecha, han tenido como objetivo la documentación de la trepanación craneal entre los antiguos mayas.

This study explores the multifaceted Maya Deluge Myth, from its pre-Columbian origins to current fantasies about a great world-destroying flood at the 13 Baktun period ending of the Maya Long Count on 21 (or 23) December 2012. No such flood is prophesied in any Maya records for this date, and the famous scene on Dresden Codex page 74 is discussed in its context as a symbolic depiction of the annual world-renewing downpours at the onset of the rainy season in springtime in the Maya world. The presiding gods of warfare and blood sacrifice were the agents of fertility and the regeneration of nature, and not the agents for the destruction of the Maya in a world-ending deluge. The misinterpretation of Dresden page 74 has propagated, unchallenged, for over a century of Maya scholarship and found its way into “new age,” fringe, and popular culture. This research helps to set the record straight along with providing a history of the meme.

A New Teotiwa Lord of the South: K'ahk' Uti' Chan Yopat (578-628 C.E.) and the Renaissance of Copan
Péter Bíró Independent Scholar Classic Maya inscriptions recorded political discourse commissioned by title-holding elite, typically rulers of a given city. The subject of the inscriptions was manifold, but most of them described various period-ending ceremonies connected to the passage of time. Within this general framework, statements contained information about the most culturally significant life-events of their commissioners. This information was organized according to discursive norms involving the application of literary devices such as parallel structures, difrasismos, ellipsis, etc. Each center had its own variations and preferences in applying such norms, which changed during the six centuries of Classic Maya civilization. Epigraphers have thus far rarely investigated Classic Maya political discourse in general and its regional-, site-, and period-specific features in particular. It is possible to posit very general variations, for example the presence or absence of secondary elite inscriptions, which makes the Western Maya region different from other areas of the Maya Lowlands (Bíró 2011). There are many other discursive differences not yet thoroughly investigated. It is still debated whether these regional (and according to some) temporal discursive differences related to social phenomena or whether they strictly express literary variation (see Zender 2004). The resolution of this question has several implications for historical solutions such as the collapse of Classic Maya civilization or the hypothesis of status rivalry, war, and the role of the secondary elite. There are indications of ruler-specific textual strategies when inscriptions are relatively uniform; that is, they contain the same information, and their organization is similar. This frequently coincides with iconographic and formal artistic programs together constituting a geographic and time-specific visual discourse (Borowicz 2003; Just 2006; Nielsen 2003). Just as iconographic motifs, themes, and programs indicate relationships with older monuments, it is possible that the texts have such interconnections.

Ancient Pygmy myths and codes contain important truths, but we cannot experience those truths if to us they are 'just' stories or mores of the endangered 'first people' who still exist. They need to be felt as real. This calls for a view of the Pygmy descendants as stewards of healing wisdom. African Pygmy ancestors prefigured environmental activism in their codes and their direct descendants as identified by DNA, are actually the surviving roots of humanity's racial, religious and linguistic origins, to be acknowledged and treated with respect for their great contributions. This paper examines the influence of millenniums-old Pygmy cosmology and moral directives, foundations of cosmic serpent myths and rituals found among indigenous cultures spanning the world. These myths and rituals also emphasize the significence of a parallel underground world from which animals and humans emerged affer a deluge. The Pygmy cultural inheritance is also the basis for multiple Egyptian myths, which in turn, has influenced many biblical stories that are accepted in the West.

En toda su composición, la pirámide de El Castillo en Chichén Itzá tiene una intensión arquitectónica específica. Sus constructores manifestaron en el número de escalones, escalinatas, cuerpos y paneles un mensaje aritmético que hacía evidente su calendario. De ser así, propongo que también incluyeron su interpretación del cosmos en el cuerpo de la pirámide, recurriendo a un patrón de números enteros en las medidas angulares y, de longitud, donde factores, productos, dividendos, divisores y cocientes hacían evidente la metafórica armonía del espacio y el tiempo.

El señorío de Palenque durante la Era de K’inich Janaahb’ Pakal y K’inich Kan B’ahlam (615-702 d.C.) 2011, disertación doctoral de Guillermo Bernal Romero: 
un comentario preliminar del autor [2016]

Esta tesis fue redactada entre 2006 y 2010 y presentada en examen profesional el 17 de mayo de 2011. Después de cinco años, algunas de mis lecturas e interpretaciones se han mantenido estables, pero resulta natural que otras hayan sufrido cambios significativos. En este sentido, me parece necesario ofrecer al lector algunas prevenciones y aclaraciones en torno a su contenido. 
Por lo que toca al capítulo 1, relativo al reinado de Pakal, aprecio que su interpretación general sigue siendo factible, no así algunos temas y aspectos específicos. Indagaciones recientes me permitieron concluir, por ejemplo, que las lecturas correctas del glifo emblema y toponimia capitalina del señorío de Santa Elena son Wan y Wanha’, respectivamente ( y no, Wak’aab’ y Wak’aab’ha’, como se asienta en la tesis). A esa conclusión llegué en un estudio reciente (2016), intitulado “Desciframiento del logograma T1067, WAN, “codorniz”. Implicaciones para la historia de la dinastía Kan y el señorío de Santa Elena, Tabasco” (véase https://www.academia.edu/25789812/Desciframiento_del_logograma_T1067_WAN_codorniz_._Implicaciones_para_la_historia_de_la_dinast%C3%ADa_Kan_y_el_se%C3%B1or%C3%ADo_de_Santa_Elena_Tabasco_Versi%C3%B3n_actualizada_junio_2016).
Es así que, por ejemplo el título de los señores de Santa Elena fue wan ajaw, y el de algunos nobles, ch’ok wanha’. Estos nobles están referidos en los textos del basamento Oeste de la Casa C. En el mismo trabajo del 2016 concluí que el ataque contra Palenque del año 599, registrado en la Escalera Jeroglífica del Palacio, no fue ordenado por un “subordinado” del señor “Testigo del Cielo”, gobernante de la dinastía Kan, sino directamente por éste último. El nombre de ese jerarca se expresa a través de una “versión nominal extensa” que no había sido apreciada previamente: “Ch'iix Kulha’ Chihcha’ Yajawte’-‘Testigo del Cielo”. Por lo que toca al papel que desempeñó el señorío de Santa Elena en los conflictos que sostuvieron las dinastías de B’aakal y Kan, ese estudio ha abierto otras perspectivas de interpretación. 
Cuando escribí la tesis se pensaba que la Casa C del Palacio (dedicada a varias deidades patronas de la guerra) se había llamado yeht naah, “Casa de los Acompañantes”, tal como lo creían algunos colegas. En un estudio posterior (2014) sobre el glifo T514 propuse que realmente se había llamado yejte’ naah,  “Casa de las Lanzas Afiladas” (el trabajo está disponible en https://www.academia.edu/12620139/EL_LOGOGRAMA_T514_YEJ_FILO_Glifos_Enigm%C3%A1ticos_de_la_Escritura_Maya_VERSI%C3%93N_LARGA_). La nueva lectura promueve un cambio en la lectura e interpretación de varios textos de Palenque (y de otras ciudades mayas). Entre otras cuestiones, el pasaje final de la Escalera Jeroglífica relata que la captura de Nu’n Ujol Chaahk, de Santa Elena, y de otros jerarcas fue una hazaña atribuida a Pakal y al dios guerrero B’olon Yookte’.  De manera relevante, dicha lectura también implica que la tumba de Pakal se llamó b’olon yejte’ naah,  “Casa de las Nueve Lanzas Afiladas”.
La lectura del logograma YEJ lectura también tiene implicaciones para el reinado de K’inich Kan B’ahlam. Un Texto secundario del Tablero Norte del Santuario del Templo del Sol refiere que la entrada militar a Toniná fue una yejte’ o “acción guerrera” de Kan B’ahlam y de una entidad belicosa llamada wak mihnal b’ahlam ch’aaj Il sib’ik, que en la tesis no es identificada como tal, sino como un hermano de aquél, opinión que hoy no encuentro justificada.
Los únicos cambios que se han realizado en el texto original de la disertación son algunas correcciones de fechas, derivadas de equívocos en la captura de datos. También se ha eliminado la restitución del pronombre ergativo [u]y-, dejando tan sólo la forma escrita, subdeletreada,  y-.
Por lo que toca al capítulo 2 de la tesis, “La transición dinástica y narrativa: Pakal, Kan B’ahlam y los tableros del Templo de las Inscripciones”, mantengo la opinión que la crónica de los tableros está dividida en 20 pasajes. Sin embargo, hoy considero que es necesario reconsiderar algunas identificaciones e interpretaciones de expresiones glíficas contenidas en ciertos pasajes problemáticos. Tal es el caso de una fecha gravemente erosionada del Pasaje 2, cuya reconstrucción establecida fue 13 *Ak’b’al* 16 *Kumk’u* (09.05.17.17.03, 13 de marzo de 552). En 2012 consideré que es incorrecta y que su reconstrucción más confiable es la fecha de final de wuklaju’ntuun: 8 *Ajaw* 13 *Pohp* (09.05.17.00.00, 5 de abril de 551). Esta reconstrucción fue propuesta en el listado de fechas del libro Palenque-Lakamha’: una presencia inmortal del pasado indígena, que escribí en colaboración con Mercedes de la Garza y Martha Cuevas (FCE,  2012). La reconstrucción de tal fecha tiene implicaciones importantes para ciertos arreglos calendáricos  y “cálculos artificiales” (contrived numbers) que tienen como eje de articulación la fecha de nacimiento de Pakal, tal como se argumentó en una contribución posterior, dada a conocer en 2016  (véase https://www.academia.edu/26207671/La_escena_del_Tablero_del_Palacio_de_Palenque_ubicaci%C3%B3n_de_sus_ruedas_calend%C3%A1ricas_en_el_sistema_de_Cuenta_Larga_junio_2016_)
De manera similar, en la tesis existen otras propuestas de reconstrucciones de fechas y lecturas de cartuchos erosionados (que incluyen verbos y sustantivos) que ya no considero confiables, pero que tienen alternativas de solución. 
Estas son algunas de las correcciones que, con el paso del tiempo, he considerado aplicar a las lecturas e interpretaciones de los tableros del Templo de las Inscripciones, tal como quedaron expresadas en mi tesis de doctorado. Lo mismo puede decirse de varios textos problemáticos del Grupo de las Cruces, abordados en los capítulos 3 y 4 de la disertación.
Un aspecto esencial de esta labor atañe a la decodificación de los glifos indescifrados, algunos de los cuales han recibido lecturas tentativas, mismas que (y así sea de manera ficticia) han pasado a ser definitivamente aceptadas. El avance real y confiable en la comprensión de los textos palencanos está necesariamente fincado en las lecturas seguras de esos elementos glíficos dudosos (que no son pocos).  En la actualidad, he terminado una nueva versión de la historia dinástica de Palenque durante los reinados de Pakal y Kan B’ahlam, misma que incluirá las actualizaciones pertinentes, tanto en el terreno del desciframiento como de la interpretación. Esta contribución seguramente tampoco será definitiva, pero espero que sitúe la discusión académica en un plano diferente. 
Por último, sólo quiero señalar que ese libro no contendrá el apéndice de la tesis, denominado “Dignatarios cuatripartitas y cultos direccionales en las inscripciones de Palenque, Copán y Quiriguá. Comentarios sobre el ciclo de 819 días”.  Este segmento final ya ha sido publicado, con las actualizaciones necesarias, como un trabajo independiente que lleva por título “El ciclo de 819 días y otros ritos cuatripartitas y direccionales del periodo Clásico Maya”, capítulo del libro El Tiempo de Los Dioses-Tiempo. Concepciones de Mesoamérica, Mercedes de la Garza (coordinadora), Centro de Estudios Mayas, Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, UNAM, 2015 (asequible en: https://www.academia.edu/23107905/El_Ciclo_de_819_d%C3%ADas_y_otros_ritos_cuatripartitas_y_direccionales_del_periodo_Cl%C3%A1sico_Maya

G. B.
Ciudad Universitaria, Ciudad de México,
noviembre de 2016

This research demonstrates the scope of the application of the theory of the History of Religions, made by the famous historian of religions Angelo Brelich, in the study of the religion of the ancient Maya. It proposes a new methodology developed specifically for the interpretation of the superhuman characters from this belief system. In particular, we analyze the character known as God N.
     
The Mayan religion of Pre-Hispanic times must be understood as a dynamic system that is constantly transforming. The polytheism that was generated during the Late Classic period was due to a social process of specialization by the revolution of at least three pre-deists systems (animism, fetishism and ancestor worship) set the foundations for the creation of the divinities. God N should be treated as part of this process. The Spanish conquest stopped the consolidation of polytheism, however, remained pre-deists beliefs during the colonial and modern times, indicating a historical process based on a dialectical movement of continuity and transformation.


Este estudio muestra los alcances de la aplicación de la teoría de la Historia de las Religiones, formulada por el célebre historiador de las religiones Angelo Brelich, en el estudio de la religión de los antiguos mayas. Propone una metodología novedosa elaborada específicamente para la interpretación de los personajes sobrehumanos de este sistema de creencias. En particular, se analiza el personaje conocido como Dios N.

La religión maya de la época prehispánica debe entenderse como un sistema dinámico que se encuentra en constante devenir. El politeísmo que se estaba generando durante el final del periodo Clásico se debió a un proceso social de especialización que por medio de la revolución de al menos tres sistemas predeístas (animismo, fetichismo y culto a los ancestros) estableció las bases para la creación de las divinidades. El Dios N debe ser entendido como parte de este proceso. La conquista española detuvo la consolidación del politeísmo, no obstante, las creencias predeístas permanecieron durante la época colonial y moderna, lo que indica un proceso histórico basado en un movimiento dialéctico de continuidad y transformación.

Resumen Desde momentos tempranos, los señores de Kaan vincularon a su grupo de poder con un animal de fuerte calado simbólico en la colectividad prehispánica: la serpiente. Los portadores del glifo emblema de la Cabeza de Serpiente se convirtieron en una dinastía dominante durante buena parte del Clásico y su signo de identidad aparece recurrentemente en las narrativas jeroglíficas conservadas en los monumentos de piedra. Asimismo, tres ofidios más fueron empleados por los ajawtaak de Kaan como parte de una estrategia de refuerzo de la autoridad dinástica: la primera procedente de una tradición simbólica anterior y relacionada con la guerra, Waxaklajunubaah Chan, la serpiente teotihuacana; la segunda, conocida como Serpiente acuática ligada a la élite gobernante y quizá asociada al control de los recursos acuíferos; y la tercera, una entidad anímica muy poderosa vinculada a los gobernantes dinásticos tardíos pero procedente de una tradición anterior, Xukub Chij Chan. En este trabajo, a través de un estudio iconográfico y epigráfico de monumentos de piedra y objetos cerámicos, analizaré los ofidios a los que se vincularon los gobernantes de la dinastía Kaan y cuáles fueron las posibles razones que les llevaron a ello.

Earthly and supernatural snakes, symbols of power of the Kaan ajawtaak Abstract From early times, Kaan lords linked their power group to a strongly symbolic prehispanic animal: the snake. Those who wore the Snake's Head emblem glyph became a dominant dynasty during the Classic Period and this identity sign recurrently appears in hieroglyphic narratives preserved in rock monuments. Likewise, the Kaan ajawtaak used other three ophidiids to reinforce dynastic authority: the first one derives from a previous symbolic tradition related to war, the Teotihuacan serpent; the second one, known as the aquatic serpent, associated with the ruling elite and probably also with aquatic resource control; and the third one, a very powerful animistic entity related with late dynastic rulers but stemming from a previous tradition, Xukub Chij Chan. Using an epigraphic and iconographic study of stone monuments and pottery,

Insects and arthropods appear in the Maya art in a rich and diverse context, suggesting their prominent signifi cance in the culture. In the following chapters I present my research concerning the appearance of the centipede, one of the arthropods most commonly represented in the Maya iconography. I studied depictions of the centipede in the art of the Classic Period (250 A.D.-909 A.D) and compared them with epigraphical and ethnohistorical sources in order to defi ne the specifi c symbolic meaning of this animal in all contexts of its occurrence. My research focused on the centipede as part of the vision serpent complex, its connections to the Palenque triad, Sun God K'inich Ajaw and Bolon Yokte K'uh. In the conclusion, I try to establish the signifi cance of the centipede as the animal of transition, more specifi cally the transition between night and day and the Underworld and our world. Abstracto EL CIEMPIÉS EN EL ARTE Y LA CULTURA MAYA Los insectos y artrópodos aparecen en el arte Maya en un contextos ricos y diversos, lo que sugieren su importancia en esta cultura. En los siguientes capítulos, presento mi investigación sobre la aparición del ciempiés, uno de los artrópodos más frecuentemente representados en la iconografía Maya. Estudié representaciones de ciempiés en el arte del Período Clásico (250 A.D.-909 A.D) y las comparé con los documentos epigráfi cas y etnohistóricas para defi nir el signifi cado simbólico específi co de este animal en todos los contextos de su aparición. Mi investigación se centró en el ciempiés como parte del complejo de la serpiente de la Visión, sus conexiones con la tríada de Palenque, dios del sol K'inich Ajaw y Bolon Yokte K'uh. En la conclusión, trato de establecer el signifi cado del ciempiés como el animal de transición, más específi camente la transición entre la noche y el día y el inframundo y nuestro mundo.