Itz and the Descent of Kukulkan: Central Mexican Influence on Postclassic Maya Thought

AbstractOne of the most distinctive features of the Postclassic capital of Mayapan is the immense wall that encloses large portions of the site's settlement zone. This 9.1 km-long feature is the largest example of a walled enclosure known in Mesoamerica. Based on ethnohistoric references, it seems that the construction was well known to Postclassic and Colonial period residents of the Northern lowlands. The most common assertion regarding the enclosures is that the wall had primarily defensive functions. Unfortunately, little solid archaeological evidence or cross-cultural comparison has been offered to support this interpretation. In this paper, I correlate the form of the gates with cross-culturally derived and unambiguously defensive features, finding that the design of the gates strongly suggests that they are indeed defensive. Possible secondary functions of the wall are also explored, such as the control of people and goods entering the city, as ritual barrier, the control of internal populations and its symbolism.

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In the Realm of Nachan Kam: Postclassic Maya Archaeology at Laguna de On, Belize. Marilyn A. Masson. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, 2000. xvii + 322 pp., figures, tables, appendix, references.

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/3557584 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 501-502

Author(s):

Craig Goralski

Keyword(s):

Maya Archaeology ◽

Postclassic Maya

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Chisalin: A Late Postclassic Maya Settlement in Highland Guatemala

American Antiquity ◽

10.2307/281071 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

pp. 195

Author(s):

Kenneth L. Brown ◽

John M. Weeks

Keyword(s):

Late Postclassic ◽

Postclassic Maya

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The Moon in Meso-America

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Planetary Science ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190647926.013.200 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Susan Milbrath

Keyword(s):

Classic Maya ◽

16Th Century ◽

Central Mexico ◽

Ancient Maya ◽

The Moon ◽

Southern Mexico ◽

Spanish Conquest ◽

Ethnographic Studies ◽

Lunar Cycles ◽

Postclassic Maya

What is known about the Moon among the ancient Maya of southern Mexico and Guatemala and the Nahuatl-speaking people of central Mexico, especially the Aztecs who lived in the Valley of Mexico and their neighbors in Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley, has been obtained from records related to astronomy and lunar cycles inscribed on Classic Maya monuments dating between ad 250 and 850/900. Modern scholarship focusing on the mathematical units and glyphic writing has helped in deciphering the records. Postclassic Maya codices dating from 1300 to 1500, sent to Europe shortly after the Spanish conquest, also have lunar tables that have been decoded by study of the lunar cycles and glyphs. Painted books dating prior to the conquest in 1521 are also known from central Mexico, but these can only be understood with the help of books that were painted by native artists later in the 16th century and annotated with texts written in Spanish and Nahuatl. These glosses provide information about lunar deities and beliefs about the Moon. Furthermore, knowledge of the Moon in Meso-America is greatly enhanced by ethnographic studies and study of iconographic representations of deities representing different lunar roles and phases.

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