When I first expressed interest in the Popol Vuh, my partner got me several different translations. I began with the translation by Allen J. Christenson, as it was translated directly from the Quiche Maya language (missing the accented e on Quiche because I'm unsure how to add it on Arch). This translation is excellent, and he adds a lot of very useful footnotes that provide a significant amount of cultural context. It will be interesting to read through some of the other translations to see how things compare, but my thoughts as I wrap up this beautiful text:

1) It's really interesting to see Christenson discuss how often in the Quiche -> Spanish -> English translations, the Franciscan missionaries that translated the original manuscript into Spanish Christianized the text, inserting words like "demon" where the more apt translation would be "deceiver" or "trickster". I wonder how various (especially academic) interpretations of the text are skewed based on only perhaps having access to these translations that were first filtered through missionaries.

2) There seems to be a misconception that the Popol Vuh is a "world creation" myth. However, that really isn't the case. The original authors seem clear that this is specifically the origin story of the Quiche Maya. For example, when the Framer & Shaper, and the Sovereign & Quetzal Serpent framed and shaped the first actual humans (on the fifth and final attempt), these humans went to Tulan after long awaiting the dawn that never came. In Tulan, there were already people. Specifically, it's mentioned several times in the footnotes that it's speculated that the people present in Tulan were the great Toltec people.

3) There are some really interesting overlaps with Central Mexican "mythology", that I'd really like to explore more before speculating upon. I know that there aren't many Aztec texts in existence, at least as far as I'm aware, but if anyone has any recommendations for reading on this subject, I'd be very open to hearing about them.

#PopolVuh #QuicheMaya #MesoamericanHistory #Mesoamerican #LatinoHistory

@LeviKornelsen

Systems: #hyperborea #adnd #odnd #ForbiddenLands - really any #osr
Settings: #SwordAndSorcery #SwordAndPlanet #SwordAndSandal #Mesoamerican #AncientHistoy
Topics: #WorldBuilding #HexCrawl #DungeonDesign #sandboxing

"A recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) explores how ancient Mesoamerican civilizations fared against environmental threats and provides examples of how modern metropolises can learn from their successes".

#cities #resiliance #ancient #mesoamerican
#environmental #threats
https://phys.org/news/2023-07-clues-urban-resiliency-ancient-cities.html

#AI Is Coming for #Lawyers, Again : NY Times

4 ways that #Artificial #Intelligence can help #Students : Misc

What the longest-lasting #Mesoamerican cities all had in common : Pop Sci

Check our latest #KnowledgeLinks

https://knowledgezone.co.in/resources/bookmarks

#Teaching history in the kitchen. https://blogs.bgsu.edu/achallu/2023/02/teaching-history-in-the-kitchen/

A fun but (hopefully) educational experience preparing food inspired in #mesoamerican cultures with students. #FoodHistory #histodons #LatinAmerica

"Ancient #Mesoamerican cultures were using complex 260-day #calendars based on knowledge of the #solarsystem far earlier than previously realized. Understanding how these early cultures kept track of time has proved tricky due to the lack of written sources from the time, but researchers discovered the use of this advanced #calendar system by looking at the astronomical orientations of hundreds of ceremonial structures."

#archaeology

https://www.iflscience.com/ancient-maya-structures-were-aligned-to-a-mysterious-260-day-calendar-66971

#CKDu now in Nepal, migrant labourer edition

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/01/06/climate-change-heat-kidney-disease/ from Gerry Shih in @washingtonpost h/t @snolen

The emphasis is here on heat in write up - but we know that’s not enough. The infection, toxin hypothesis are still out there

#mesoamerican makes less sense though and CKDu does seem a better moniker

#Archaeology #AncientMexico #History

The “Temple of the Niches” in the archaeological zone of “El Tajín”, in the State of #Veracruz, is a unique structure with 365 niches on 7 tiers which represent the solar calendar.

The temple was erected between 1100 and 1150 and was originally painted red.

At least 17 ball courts (for the #Mesoamerican ballgame) have been found in “El Tajín”, which sheds light to the importance of the city in ancient #Mexico

Just "discovered a very large 2,000-year-old #Mayan civilization in northern #Guatemala. ... the #ancientcivilization was made up of more than 1,000 settlements covering approximately 650 square miles, most of which were linked by multiple causeways. The researchers were also able to see that the people who once lived in the settlements had been densely packed—a finding that goes against theories suggesting early #Mesoamerican settlements tended to be sparsely populated." #LIDAR #Mayans

@chema No doubt! The Southeastern Ceremonial Complex had an architectural and artistic style strikingly similar to that of #Mesoamerican metropolises, like you can see in this shell gorget, which is from #Moundville but almost looks like it could be from #Teotihuacan.

The #Choctaw language also has, for example, a funny word for monkeys ("raccoon people" 😁), which may suggest Choctaw ancestors had traveled to southern cities and had to find ways to describe the animals there.

In much #indigenous #mesoamerican #spiritual thought, there is no enemy of the Gods, no enemy of creation. Every agent of #teotl, every being, lives in conviviality with every other being and has a purpose that serves creation.

#Mexicayotl #Huehuemexicayotl #Aztec #Chicano #Xicano #polytheism #pantheism #animism

How a professor helped shape "#BlackPanther" sequel's #Mesoamerican story

"Black Panther: #WakandaForever" introduces #Namor with a revised backstory rooted in #Mayan and #Aztec history.

https://www.axios.com/2022/11/29/black-panther-latino-mesoamerican

#blackmastodon

How a professor helped shape "#BlackPanther" sequel's #Mesoamerican story

"Black Panther: #WakandaForever" introduces #Namor with a revised backstory rooted in #Mayan and #Aztec history.

https://www.axios.com/2022/11/29/black-panther-latino-mesoamerican

#blackmastodon

ヘ⁠(╹⁠◡╹⁠ヘ⁠) I see #popotillo is vacant here, so I'd like to introduce everyone to this #criticallyendangered #Mesoamerican #folkart made of beeswax and naturally dyed broom straw. It has roots in the #prehispanic craft of feather mosaics, but for the past few hundreds of years we've used the peduncle of the sporobolus s.wrightii grass to make mosaics. This delicate #art catches the light like a gemstone, yet is 100% #Biodegradeable and a great alternative to perler beads and diamond painting!

Saw Wakanda Forever. Loved it. Especially loved Namor! Come to my arms, Namor, I'll love you ;0;! Done in Procreate.

#namor #marvel #tenochhuerta #DigitalArt #FanArt #procrate #digitalportrait #digitalillustration #mayan #Mesoamerican

I forgot hashtags because I'm brand new. So...here's some interests or whatever that might have gotten me on your search somehow #Twittermigrant #twittermigration #newhere #archaeology #introduction #weirdo #dogsofmastodon #mayan #Mesoamerican #mesoamericanculture #ohio #midwest #followback #mom #humor #audiobooks #scifi #kids #midwest #buckeyes #chardon #dogs #INFJ #truecrime #crimejunkie #recipes #anthropology #random #curry #cooking #baking #parenting #midwestern #osu #imperfect #foodie #me

#archaeologists in Seattle for American #Anthropology meeting: come to #Archaeology Division business meeting at Sheraton Grand Ballroom A starting at 8:30 and hear about the future of #Mesoamerican archarology from AAA Kidder Award recipients (Rosemary Joyce and Patricia McAnany)