Maya codices

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Page 9 of the Dresden Codex (from the 1880 Förstermann edition)
Page 9 of the Dresden Codex (from the 1880 Förstermann edition)

Maya codices (singular codex) are folding books stemming from the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican amatl paper and containing many pictures. They are the products of professional scribes working under the patronage of the Howler Monkey Gods. The codices have been named for the cities in which they eventually settled. The Dresden codex is generally considered the most important of the few that survive.

Contents

[edit] Background

There were many such books in existence at the time of the Spanish conquest of Yucatán in the 16th century, but they were destroyed in bulk by the Conquistadors and priests soon after. In particular, all those in Yucatán were ordered destroyed by Bishop Diego de Landa in July of 1562. Such codices were primary written records of Maya civilization, together with the many inscriptions on stone monuments and stelae which survive to the present day. However, their range of subject matter in all likelihood embraced more topics than those recorded in stone and buildings, and was more like what we find on painted ceramics (the so-called 'ceramic codex'). With their destruction, the opportunity for insight into some key areas of Maya life has been greatly diminished.

Only three codices and possibly a fragment of a fourth survived to modern times. These are:

  • The Madrid Codex, also known as the Tro-Cortesianus Codex;
  • The Dresden Codex;
  • The Paris Codex, also known as the Peresianus Codex;
  • The Grolier Codex, also known as the Grolier Fragment.

[edit] Dresden Codex

The Dresden Codex is held in the Sächsische Landesbibliothek (SLUB), the state library in Dresden, Germany. It is the most elaborate of the codices, of a high artistic quality. Many sections are ritualistic (including so-called 'almanacs'), others are of an astrological nature (eclipses, the Venus cycles). The codex is written on a long sheet of paper which is 'fanfolded' to make a book of 39 leaves, written on both sides. It was probably written just before the Spanish conquest. Somehow it made its way to Europe and was bought by the royal library of the court of Saxony in Dresden in 1739.

[edit] Venus Cycle

Main article: Transits of Venus

Another important calendar for the Maya was the Venus cycle, and much information in regard to this is found in the Dresden codex. The Maya were skilled astronomers, and could calculate the Venus cycle with extreme accuracy. There are six pages in the Dresden Codex devoted to the accurate calculation of the location of Venus. The Maya were able to achieve such accuracy by careful observation over many centuries. The Venus cycle was especially important because the Maya believed it was associated with war and used it to divine good times (called electional astrology) for coronations and war. Maya rulers planned for wars to begin when Venus rose. The Maya also possibly tracked the movements of other planets, including Mars, Mercury, and Jupiter.

[edit] Madrid Codex

Although of inferior workmanship, the Madrid Codex is even more varied than the Dresden Codex and is the product of eight different scribes. It is in the Museo de América in Madrid, Spain, where it may have been sent back to the Royal Court by Hernán Cortés. There are 112 pages, which got split into two separate sections, known as the Troano Codex and the Cortesianus Codex. These were re-united in 1888.

[edit] Paris Codex

The Paris Codex contains prophecies for tuns and katuns (see Maya Calendar), and is thus, in this respect, akin to the Books of Chilan Balam. It was found in a trashcan in a Paris library. As a result, it is in very poor condition. It is currently held in the Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library), Paris, France.

[edit] Grolier Codex

While the other three codices were known to scholars since the 19th century, the Grolier Codex only surfaced in the 1970s. This fourth Maya codex was said to have been found in a cave, but the question of its authenticity has still not been resolved to everybody's satisfaction. The codex is really a fragment of 11 pages. It is currently in a museum in Mexico, but is not on display to the public. Scanned photos of it are available on the web. The pages are much less detailed than any of the other codices. Each page shows a hero or god, facing to the left. At the top of each page is a number. Down the left of each page are what appears to be a list of dates.

[edit] Other Maya codices

Given the rarity and importance of these books, rumors of finding new ones often develop interest. Archaeological excavations of Maya sites have turned up a number of rectangular lumps of plaster and paint flakes, most commonly in elite tombs. These lumps are the remains of codices where all the organic material has rotted away. A few of the more coherent of these lumps have been preserved, with the slim hope that some technique to be developed by future generations of archaeologists may be able to recover some information from these remains of ancient pages.

[edit] Forgeries

Since the start of the 20th century, various forgeries of varying quality have been produced; these seldom have fooled serious scholars but art collectors have often generated profits for the forgers (Two elaborate early 20th century forged codices were in the collection of William Randolph Hearst). When the Grolier first surfaced a number of prominent Mayanists thought it was likely an unusually clever forgery; and although more detailed examination convinced many of its authenticity, doubts still remain.

[edit] Commentary

In reference to the few extant Maya writings, Michael Coe, a prominent Mayanist at Yale University stated:

"Our knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent only a tiny fraction of the whole picture, for of the thousands of books in which the full extent of their learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived to modern times (as though all that posterity knew of ourselves were to be based upon three prayer books and Pilgrim's Progress)." (Michael D. Coe, The Maya, London: Thames and Hudson, 4th ed., 1987, p. 161.)

[edit] Technology

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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