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 controversy centres on the Cantares Mexicanos, a collection of Aztec lyric poems recorded in Classical Nahuatl around the middle of the 16th century. Two Mexican scholars, […]
Continue ReadingPerhaps 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 heard of the Conquest of Mexico or the horrendous numbers of hapless victims the Aztecs apparently offered to their […]
Continue ReadingMost 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 time. Theories of time run the gamut from time as an absolute property that would exist even if the universe did not, to […]
Continue ReadingIn 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 interpretation of these poems in the classical Nahuatl language of Mexico-Tenochtitlán and surrounding area is an important issue in Mesoamerican studies because it calls into question the standard interpretation by […]
Continue ReadingThroughout history twins have exerted a strange fascination over people’s minds and imaginations. On the average one set of twins is born out of 80 pregnancies in different proportions, according to various hereditary factors. For example, certain women, in particular black women, have a strong tendency toward the birth of twins. Identical twins with the […]
Continue Reading“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 the University of Toronto, Canada, there is no doubt in my mind that the term refers primarily to Greek and Latin language and […]
Continue ReadingHow 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 little knowledge and a vivid imagination, some popular writers on the subject even become rich and famous. The latest […]
Continue Reading
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 ensure that the great deeds – whether of Greeks or barbarians – should not be forgotten in ages to come. He […]
Continue ReadingThe 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 the Mayan language, esoteric references – the meanings of which are now lost, and the sometimes unintelligible (to us at least) mixture of Spanish and Latin words scattered throughout the Mayan […]
Continue ReadingThe 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 originals to which religious and historical material has probably been added. There are ten or twelve, some in a fragmentary state, others apparently complete. Among the […]
Continue Reading