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Time Among the Maya

2000
Time Among the Maya

Author: Ronald Wright

Publisher: Grove Press

ISBN: 0802137288

Category: History

Page: 468

View: 353

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The Maya created one of the world's most brilliant civilizations, famous for its art, astronomy, and deep fascination with the mystery of time. Despite collapse in the ninth century, Spanish invasion in the sixteenth, and civil war in the twentieth, eight million people in Guatemala, Belize, and southern Mexico speak Mayan languages and maintain their resilient culture to this day. Traveling through Central America's jungles and mountains, Ronald Wright explores the ancient roots of the Maya, their recent troubles, and prospects for survival. Embracing history, anthropology, politics, and literature, Time Among the Maya is a riveting journey through past magnificence and the study of an enduring civilization with much to teach the present. "Wright's unpretentious narrative blends anthropology, archaeology, history, and politics with his own entertaining excursions and encounters." -- The New Yorker; "Time Among the Maya shows Wright to be far more than a mere storyteller or descriptive writer. He is an historical philosopher with a profound understanding of other cultures." -- Jan Morris, The Independent (London).

Time and Reality in the Thought of the Maya

1990-09-01
Time and Reality in the Thought of the Maya

Author: Miguel Leon-Portilla

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

ISBN: 0806123087

Category: Religion

Page: 260

View: 861

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In this second English-language edition of one of his most notable works, Miguel León-Portilla explores the Maya Indians’ remarkable concepts of time. At the book’s first appearance Evon Z. Vogt, Curator of Middle American Ethnology in Harvard University, predicted that it would become "a classic in anthropology," a prediction borne out by the continuing critical attention given to it by leading scholars. Like no other people in history, the ancient Maya were obsessed by the study of time. Their sages framed its cycles with tireless exactitude. Yet their preoccupation with time was not limited to calendrics; it was a central trait in their evolving culture. In this absorbing work León-Portilla probes the question, What did time really mean for the ancient Maya in terms of their mythology, religious thought, worldview, and everyday life? In his analysis of key Maya texts and computations, he reveals one of the most elaborate attempts of the human mind to penetrate the secrets of existence.

Time and the Highland Maya

1992
Time and the Highland Maya

Author: Barbara Tedlock

Publisher: UNM Press

ISBN: 0826313582

Category: Religion

Page: 293

View: 871

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Described as a landmark in the ethnographic study of the Maya, this study of ritual and cosmology among the contemporary Quiché Indians of highland Guatemala has now been updated to address changes that have occurred in the last decade. The Classic Mayan obsession with time has never been better known. Here, Barbara Tedlock redirects our attention to the present-day keepers of the ancient calendar. Combining anthropology with formal apprenticeship to a diviner, she refutes long-held ethnographic assumptions and opens a door to the order of the Mayan cosmos and its daily ritual. Unable to visit the region for over ten years, Tedlock returned in 1989 to find that observance of the traditional calendar and religion is stronger than ever, despite a brutal civil war. ". . . a well-written, highly readable, and deeply convincing contribution. . . ." --Michael Coe

The Rough Guide to the Maya World

2001
The Rough Guide to the Maya World

Author: Peter Eltringham

Publisher: Rough Guides

ISBN: 1858287421

Category: History

Page: 636

View: 412

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Incisive historical and cultural essays illuminate lost Mayan civilizations and their modern descendants while lively reviews point out the best places to eat, drink, and stay in northern Mexico and the Yucatn Peninsula, Guatemala, Blize, Honduras, and El Salvador. 57 maps. of color photos.

Voices and Echoes

2010-10-30
Voices and Echoes

Author: Jo-Anne Elder

Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press

ISBN: 9781554586783

Category: Religion

Page: 264

View: 256

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“Every time we raise our voices, we hear echoes.” Jo-Anne Elder, from the Foreword Through short stories, journal entries and poetry, the women in Voices and Echoes explore the changing landscape of their spiritual lives. Experienced writers such as Lorna Crozier, Di Brandt and Ann Copeland, as well as strong new voices, appear to speak to each other as they draw from a wealth of personal resources to find a way to face life’s questions and discover meaning in their lives. There is something familiar about these stories and poems — they echo those we’ve heard before and those we’ve half forgotten. Whether they search for a voice in a world where men monopolize or journey into painful memories to free the self from the past, they do not despair, they do not end. Individual entries become the whole story — an unending story of rebirth and reaffirmation. The book begins with an illuminating foreword that introduces readers to the cultural and philosophical background of many of the stories, and concludes with the reflections of scholars, writers and artists that are intended to provoke further discussion.

Maya Calendar Origins

2009-02-17
Maya Calendar Origins

Author: Prudence M. Rice

Publisher: University of Texas Press

ISBN: 0292774494

Category: Social Science

Page: 280

View: 560

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In Maya Political Science: Time, Astronomy, and the Cosmos, Prudence M. Rice proposed a new model of Maya political organization in which geopolitical seats of power rotated according to a 256-year calendar cycle known as the May. This fundamental connection between timekeeping and Maya political organization sparked Rice's interest in the origins of the two major calendars used by the ancient lowland Maya, one 260 days long, and the other having 365 days. In Maya Calendar Origins, she presents a provocative new thesis about the origins and development of the calendrical system. Integrating data from anthropology, archaeology, art history, astronomy, ethnohistory, myth, and linguistics, Rice argues that the Maya calendars developed about a millennium earlier than commonly thought, around 1200 BC, as an outgrowth of observations of the natural phenomena that scheduled the movements of late Archaic hunter-gatherer-collectors throughout what became Mesoamerica. She asserts that an understanding of the cycles of weather and celestial movements became the basis of power for early rulers, who could thereby claim "control" over supernatural cosmic forces. Rice shows how time became materialized—transformed into status objects such as monuments that encoded calendrical or temporal concerns—as well as politicized, becoming the foundation for societal order, political legitimization, and wealth. Rice's research also sheds new light on the origins of the Popol Vuh, which, Rice believes, encodes the history of the development of the Mesoamerican calendars. She also explores the connections between the Maya and early Olmec and Izapan cultures in the Isthmian region, who shared with the Maya the cosmovision and ideology incorporated into the calendrical systems.

2012

2010-01
2012

Author: Daniel J. Gansle

Publisher: Daniel J. Gansle

ISBN: 9780741456953

Category: Religion

Page: 254

View: 793

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Does the eerily precise Mayan calendar prophesy doomsday on December 21, 2012, or does it predict a glorious new age of raised consciousness? Does a hidden monument in Mexico finally put to rest what the Maya knew? 2012: Day of Reckoning takes readers on a hair-raising journey to unlock the mystery behind the lost prophecy of the ancient Maya. From galactic alignment to pole shift to Planet X/Nibiru and a starling prediction of time travel and The Singularity, 2012: Day of Reckoning elucidates the Mayan prophecy with commentary from top Maya scholars and leading voices in the movement.

Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Westen Cultures

1997-07-31
Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Westen Cultures

Author: Helaine Selin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

ISBN: 0792340663

Category: History

Page: 1168

View: 486

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The Encyclopaedia fills a gap in both the history of science and in cultural stud ies. Reference works on other cultures tend either to omit science completely or pay little attention to it, and those on the history of science almost always start with the Greeks, with perhaps a mention of the Islamic world as a trans lator of Greek scientific works. The purpose of the Encyclopaedia is to bring together knowledge of many disparate fields in one place and to legitimize the study of other cultures' science. Our aim is not to claim the superiority of other cultures, but to engage in a mutual exchange of ideas. The Western aca demic divisions of science, technology, and medicine have been united in the Encyclopaedia because in ancient cultures these disciplines were connected. This work contributes to redressing the balance in the number of reference works devoted to the study of Western science, and encourages awareness of cultural diversity. The Encyclopaedia is the first compilation of this sort, and it is testimony both to the earlier Eurocentric view of academia as well as to the widened vision of today. There is nothing that crosses disciplinary and geographic boundaries, dealing with both scientific and philosophical issues, to the extent that this work does. xi PERSONAL NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Many years ago I taught African history at a secondary school in Central Africa.

The Living Maya

2012-04-10
The Living Maya

Author: Robert Sitler, Ph.D.

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

ISBN: 9781583945759

Category: Body, Mind & Spirit

Page: 209

View: 207

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Author Robert Sitler’s immersion in Mayan culture began with a transformative spiritual experience more than three decades ago in the ruins of Palenque, Mexico. Led by a local to a nearby Mayan village, Sitler discovered firsthand what traditional Mayan life was like—a community of people living in peace with each other and their physical surroundings. In The Living Maya, he shares this experience and many that followed. In the process, he immerses readers in a rich indigenous culture and offers a fresh view of the 2012 phenomenon, focusing on the valuable lessons Mayan culture can teach us in this time of transition. Personal anecdotes are interwoven with factual information about the roots of traditional Mayan customs and traditions, presenting a rare multifaceted view of their simple yet profound way of life. The book showcases Mayan infant care, community building, ties to nature, attitudes toward the elderly, and orientation to spirituality. In The Living Maya, Sitler shows how following “the Mayan way” can help us ground our lives in harmony with nature, broaden our perspectives on human existence, connect us with our capacity for compassion, and use the vaunted cataclysm of 2012 as a unique chance for growth.

The Ritual Practice of Time

2013-11-28
The Ritual Practice of Time

Author: Lars Kirkhusmo Pharo

Publisher: BRILL

ISBN: 9789004252363

Category: History

Page: 432

View: 602

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Drawing upon the category “ritual practices of time” the book offers a comparative analytical model and theoretical insights about calendars in Mesoamerica and in general. This comprehensive study systematically explicates how ritual practises are represented and conceptualised in intellectual systems and societies.

Yucatan for Travelers - Side Trips: Valladolid to Tulum

2013-02-04
Yucatan for Travelers - Side Trips: Valladolid to Tulum

Author: John M. Grimsrud

Publisher: Lulu Press, Inc

ISBN: 9781300654124

Category: Travel

Page:

View: 667

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Yucatan for Travelers - Side Trips: Valladolid to Tulum, is the idea book designed to make every minute of your tropical experience interesting, rewarding and full of unique pleasures. Visit the unpublicized gems of Mayan temple towns and quaint colonial villages. Travel back roads leading to the best beaches of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and with the world’s finest bird watching as a bonus. You will discover the traditional Mayan and Mexican culinary delights from the real people in the prime seasons of harvest and at their festivals. Your limited time is valuable. This book gives tips on the select seasons, times of day and directions to take advantage of sun, wind and climatic considerations to optimize your travel experiences. For the arm-chair traveler and people that have been to Yucatan before and think that they have seen and done everything, Yucatan for Travelers - Side Trips: Valladolid to Tulum will open the door to special places not presented in tours or guided excursions.