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

Author(s): Gabrielle Vail; Christine Hernandez

Year: 2013

Summary

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, mythological traditions in Mesoamerica reveal significant continuity, beginning at least as far back as the Classic period.

Such continuities persisted within the Maya tradition, even as new mythologies were incorporated through contact with cultures in the Gulf Coast region and highland central Mexico. Vail and Herná­­ndez analyze the extant Maya codices within the context of later Colonial period literary sources, the Late Postclassic codices in the Borgia Group from highland central Mexico, and modern Maya ethnographic data. Demonstrating key interrelationships among these diverse sources, Re-Creating Primordial Time is a significant contribution to the field of Mesoamerican Studies.

This resource is a sample of "Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices." Included is the title page, table of contents and first chapter. The publication in its entirety is available through the University Press of Colorado.

Cite this Record

Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices. Gabrielle Vail, Christine Hernandez. 5589 Arapahoe Avenue, Suite 206C Boulder, Colorado 80303: University Press of Colorado. 2013 ( tDAR id: 399134) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8J67JGH

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

URL: http://www.upcolorado.com/university-press-of-colorado/item/1992-re-creating-...


Keywords

Culture
Maya

Investigation Types
Ethnohistoric Research • Historic Background Research

General
260-Day Ritual Calendar • Borgia Codex • Calendrical Dating • Calendrical Structure • Chaak • Chak Chel • Chilam Balam Texts • Classic Period Texts • Cosmology • Creation Mythology • Crocodilians • Dresden Codex • Dresden Upper Seasonal Table • Dresden Venus Table • Dresden Yearbearer Almanac • Flood Episodes • Iconography • K'atuns • Madrid Codex • Madrid Yearbearer Almanac • Madrid Yearbearer Celebrations • Mars • Mars Table • Maya Codices • Maya Deities • Maya Supernaturals • Mexico Codices • Mythological Episodes • Mythological Traditions • Tzolk'in • Upper Seasonal Table • World Renewal • Yearbearer Ceremonies Show More

Temporal Keywords
Classic Period Maya • Postclassic Maya

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Beth Svinarich

Contributor(s): Christine Hernandez; Gabrielle Vail

Permitting Agency(s): University Press of Colorado

Repository(s): University Press of Colorado

Notes

General Note: This resource is a sample of "Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices." Included is the title page, table of contents and first chapter. The publication in its entirety is available through the University Press of Colorado.

File Information

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