The Books of Chilam Balam - part two
The Yucatecan Books of Chilam Balam, which comprise the Chumayel, Tizimin, Mani and others, are notoriously difficult to translate and interpret because of archaic or obsolete words in th...
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Primary sources of Maya history - part two
Four major cultural areas provide us with the most extensive documentation in Mesoamerica: the Valley of Mexico (Aztec), Northern Yucatan (Lowland Maya), Western Oaxaca (Mixtec), and Guatemala (Highlan...
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Origin theories of Mesoamerican civilizations
Ever since the discovery of "lost" cities in the jungles and rain forests of Middle America, theories about the origins of Mesoamerican civilizations have proliferated at a great rate and there is no e...
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Early pictorial and written sources of Aztec history
The pre-Hispanic history of Mexico is contained in the numerous pictorial codices or painted hieroglyphic books produced by the Aztecs, the Maya, the Mixtecs, and others. Unfortunately, very few pre-Co...
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Aztec symbolism: part two
The Internet is an invaluable source of information but it can also be a source of misinformation and great confusion. Recently I was accused of "plagiarizing" some of my material from the Internet. Th...
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Reinventing the Aztecs, part one
Perhaps no people on earth have been so maligned on the one hand and so highly praised on the other as the ancient Aztecs of Mexico-Tenochtitlán. You don't have to be a Mesoamerican scholar to have he...
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Mesoamerican religion: symbolism of the Gods - part one
Our main sources of information on pre-Hispanic religion in Mesoamerica include archaeological monuments and Classic murals, as well as Landa's Relación and ethnological reports of surviving re...
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Reinventing the Aztecs - part two Mexican history
In Part One we looked at a new interpretation of ancient Aztec literature, which, if correct, calls into question, perhaps even invalidates, much of the previous research. To recapitulate: the current ...
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The Books Of Chilam Balam and the Trojan War Of Yucatan
In writing of the Persian Wars, Herodotus, our earliest Greek historian of note, declared that his purpose in writing of the attempts by the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes to invade Greece was to ensu...
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Primary sources of Maya history - part three
Decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic system of writing represents perhaps the greatest breakthrough in unravelling the history of the ancient Maya. Estimates vary on the actual percentage of the glyph...
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Classical languages of the Americas Mexican history
"Classical" is one of those terms often bandied about with little or no comprehension of its original meaning. As a graduate of two Classics departments, the University of Saint Andrews, Scotland, and ...
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What is history?
History is generally written from the standpoint of the victors or the dominant society. Consequently the other side of the story is hardly ever told in full. This is especially true of Mexico, althoug...
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Historico-mythical time and space in Mexico
Most of us take time and space for granted, unless we happen to be philosophers or scientists professionally concerned with such matters. But even scientists cannot agree entirely on the definition of ...
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Primary sources
The Maya, Aztecs, and other peoples of ancient Mexico had a very strong sense of their own history, which they went to great lengths to preserve. But in some ways, their concept of history differed rad...
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The Books of Chilam Balam - part one
The Books of Chilam Balam are indigenous Maya chronicles written in northern Yucatan during the century or so following the Spanish Conquest. The surviving texts we have are copies of the origin...
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Primary sources of Maya history - part one
The most extensive documentation for the native historical tradition in Mesoamerica comes from the Valley of Mexico and surrounding area. This is hardly surprising, for the main thrust of the Spanish C...
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Mesoamerican religious concepts
How do we know what we know (or think we know) about the ancient civilizations of Mexico and Guatemala?
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, especially when it comes to ancient Mexico. With a ...
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Introduction to the series: Mexican history
Mexico is an endlessly fascinating country for those who take the time and trouble to delve a little more deeply into the mysteries of our "Unknown Mexico." Dedicated amateurs and professional scholars...
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Primary sources of Maya history - part five
Controversy is a fact of life. Complete agreement on any subject is hardly to be expected. The study of Maya hieroglyphs is no exception. In fact, scholarly differences of opinion can be just as viciou...
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Writing and history
The history of Mexico has generally been written by outsiders, Spanish Conquistadors, Catholic missionaries, and most recently by archaeologists and anthropologists. Consequently Western ideas of histo...
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Reinventing the Aztecs - part three Mexican history
In previous articles we looked at some Aztec lyric poems contained in the Cantares Mexicanos and other manuscript collections. The current controversy over the correct translation and interpreta...
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Primary sources of Maya history - part four
In the last column we looked briefly at the history of the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphic writing system and some of the modern myths about the ancient Maya propagated by certain popular writers...
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Mesoamerican religious concepts part one
When the Spaniards first arrived in Mexico, they were completely mystified by the religious practices of the Aztecs, Maya, and other indigenous peoples with whom they came in contact. Even the hardened...
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Cultural concepts of history
One man's history is another man's myth. Voltaire
The Maya and the Aztecs, among others, developed many different forms of literature long before the arrival of the Spaniards. They were also ...
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Baja California - The Wedding
I rented a small house in La Gloria, in the hills between Rosarito Beach and Tijuana. It was a cozy place. I had painted inside and out and landscaped the yard. A willow tree shaded the back patio and ...
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