Maya Calendar Origins

Monuments, Mythistory, and the Materialization of Time

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology
Cover of the book Maya Calendar Origins by Prudence M. Rice, University of Texas Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Prudence M. Rice ISBN: 9780292774490
Publisher: University of Texas Press Publication: February 17, 2009
Imprint: University of Texas Press Language: English
Author: Prudence M. Rice
ISBN: 9780292774490
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication: February 17, 2009
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Language: English
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.
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
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.

More books from University of Texas Press

Cover of the book Picturing Childhood by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Modernization, Dislocation, and Aprismo by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Naval Power in the Conquest of Mexico by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche Military Societies by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Winifred Sanford by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Conversations with Texas Writers by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Brown Tide Rising by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Saga of the Jomsvikings by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Henry Bumstead and the World of Hollywood Art Direction by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book One Ranger Returns by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Galveston Island, or, A Few Months off the Coast of Texas by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Chersonesan Studies 1 by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Classics from Papyrus to the Internet by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book Roman Military Law by Prudence M. Rice
Cover of the book How the Maya Built Their World by Prudence M. Rice
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy