Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices

Gabrielle Vail, Christine Hernández

ISBN 10: 160732220X / ISBN 13: 9781607322207

Published by University Press of Colorado, 2013

About this Item

Seller Inventory # LU-9781607322207

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices
• Publisher: University Press of Colorado
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 160732220X
• ISBN 13: 9781607322207
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st.
• Condition: New
• Dimensions: 15.24W x 3.81H x 22.86D centimeters 15.24 centimeters width by 3.81 centimeters height by 22.86 centimeters depth
• Weight: 853 grams

About this title

Synopsis

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.
 

About the Author

 Gabrielle Vail is a research scholar specializing in codical and pre-Columbian studies at New College of Florida and the author or coeditor of five books, including The Madrid Codex. Christine Hernández is the Curator of Special Collections at the Latin American Library at Tulane University and a Mesoamerican archaeologist who has published on topics ranging from Michoacan archaeology to pre-Columbian codices.