Star gods of the Maya : astronomy in art, folklore, and calendars / Susan Milbrath.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Milbrath, Susan.

Series:

Linda Schele series in Maya and pre-Columbian studies.

The Linda Schele series in Maya and pre-Columbian studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Maya astronomy.

Maya calendar.

Mayas--Religion.

Mayas.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (383 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Austin : University of Texas Press, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Observations of the sun, moon, planets, and stars played a central role in ancient Maya lifeways, as they do today among contemporary Maya who maintain the traditional ways. This pathfinding book reconstructs ancient Maya astronomy and cosmology through the astronomical information encoded in Precolumbian Maya art and confirmed by the current practices of living Maya peoples. Susan Milbrath opens the book with a discussion of modern Maya beliefs about astronomy, along with essential information on naked-eye observation. She devotes subsequent chapters to Precolumbian astronomical imagery, which she traces back through time, starting from the Colonial and Postclassic eras. She delves into many aspects of the Maya astronomical images, including the major astronomical gods and their associated glyphs, astronomical almanacs in the Maya codices [painted books], and changes in the imagery of the heavens over time. This investigation yields new data and a new synthesis of information about the specific astronomical events and cycles recorded in Maya art and architecture. Indeed, it constitutes the first major study of the relationship between art and astronomy in ancient Maya culture.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. CONTEMPORARY MAYA IMAGES OF THE HEAVENS

2. NAKED-EYE ASTRONOMY

3. PRECOLUMBIAN AND COLONIAL PERIOD MAYA SOLAR IMAGES

4. PRECOLUMBIAN AND COLONIAL PERIOD LUNAR IMAGES AND DEITIES

5. VENUS AND MERCURY: THE BODY DOUBLES

6. THE CELESTIAL WANDERERS

7. STARS, THE MILKY WAY, COMETS, AND METEORS

APPENDIX 1. Guide to Astronomical Identities

APPENDIX 2. Table of Classic Period Dates, Monuments, and Associated Astronomical Events

APPENDIX 3. Table for Calculating the Tzolkin Intervals

GLOSSARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

PLATES

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [313]-337) and index.

ISBN:

9780292778511

0292778511

9780292797932

0292797931

OCLC:

55941076