The cosmos of the Yucatec Maya : cycles and steps from the Madrid Codex / Merideth Paxton.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paxton, Merideth, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Maya calendar.

Mayas--Religion and mythology.

Mayas.

Codex Tro-Cortesianus.

Mayas--Yucatán Peninsula.

Physical Description:

xiii, 242 pages : illustrations, maps ; 29 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Albuquerque : University of New Mexico Press, [2001]

Summary:

Traces implications of a previously unrecognized image of the solar year in the Madrid Codex to find new meanings in the Dresden Codex and the Maya calendar system and a regional settlement organization in Yucatan.

Contents:

Introduction

Yucatán in the Maya context. The maya codices. Conquest and survival

The Maya directions. Introduction. East and west. Lakin and Chikin. Dze-emal and Noh-emal. North and south. The center. Summary

Pages 75-76 of the Madrid Codex and the symbolism of calendar round dates. Introduction. Orientation of the Madrid 75-76 Painting. Description of the 260-day cycle. Iconography of the Haab. Uinals symbolized by footprints. The blending of the Haab and the Tzolkin at the corners of the universe. Association of the Tzolkin with the Haab : the 364-day computing year. Symbolism of the calendar round. Previous theories on the meaning of the Tzolkin. The Moon and human procreation : construction of lunar goddesses. The Moon Goddess among the early colonial Yucatec Maya. The modern Quiché Maya and the Moon Goddess. The Moon Goddess in the Popol Vuh. Lunar timekeeping in Yucatán. Lunar phases and Lunar content of the Pre-Hispanic codices. Summary and conclusions

The Venus Table of the Dresden Codex : deities and the directions of the cosmos. Introduction. Venus and the Sun : the primary structure of the Dresden Venus table. Venus as Morning and Evening Star. Prediction of Venus appearances. Cumulative astronomical error. Venus and the four corners of the Maya cosmos. Venus and the Moon : the list of twenty deities in the Dresden Table. Directional positions of the twenty deities. The 1 Ahau 13 Mac Base and solar regents. The 1 Ahau 13 Mac Base and the Moon. Summary and conclusions

The cosmic directions and Yucatec settlement organization : Chichén Itzʹa as center. Introduction. The sacred Cenote Complex as the center marker at Chichán Itzʹa. The sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá as the center of Yucatán. Chronology. Summary

The primary world direction : Tulum and Cozumel Island as regional settlement markers of east

Introduction. Tulum as the site of Winter Solstice sunrise. Tulum as Samal. The Tulum Castillo as a Winter Solstice marker. Tulum and the forces of Chac. Cozumel as the primary symbol of east. The Yaxunʹa-Cobʹa Road as a cosmic symbol? Literary description. Possible extensions of the Cobá-Yaxuná Causeway. Chronology. Interpretation. Summary and conclusions

General summary and conclusions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-231) and index.

ISBN:

0826322921

OCLC:

46918101