A manual for the Aztec calendar that explores the myths, legends, and history behind the ancient calendar, and includes technical drawings, a glossary, timeline, and an extensive bibliography.
The Aztec Book of Destiny summarizes traditional Mesoamerican beliefs about the spiritual nature of time and its influence on one's personality and fate. The ancient Aztec, Toltec and Maya believed that the day of birth, as defined in their sacred calendar, affects destiny; and this philosophy has guided their daily lives for more than 3000 years. This book condenses the scattered and disparate literature about these beliefs into a fun and informative narrative; but it goes far beyond what academics and popular authors have published to date. The author presents a unique perspective shaped by the wisdom of a traditional calendar-keeper he met in Mexico in 1973. The book's message is that the calendar is not simply an ancient and forgotten curiosity - it is as relevant today as in ancient times. The majority of the book projects the timeless Mesoamerican philosophy into contemporary Western society encouraging introspection and self-awareness.
The Oxford Handbook of the Aztecs, the first of its kind, provides a current overview of recent research on the Aztec empire, the best documented prehispanic society in the Americas. Chapters span from the establishment of Aztec city-states to the encounter with the Spanish empire and the Colonial period that shaped the modern world. Articles in the Handbook take up new research trends and methodologies and current debates. The Handbook articles are divided into seven parts. Part I, Archaeology of the Aztecs, introduces the Aztecs, as well as Aztec studies today, including the recent practice of archaeology, ethnohistory, museum studies, and conservation. The articles in Part II, Historical Change, provide a long-term view of the Aztecs starting with important predecessors, the development of Aztec city-states and imperialism, and ending with a discussion of the encounter of the Aztec and Spanish empires. Articles also discuss Aztec notions of history, writing, and time. Part III, Landscapes and Places, describes the Aztec world in terms of its geography, ecology, and demography at varying scales from households to cities. Part IV, Economic and Social Relations in the Aztec Empire, discusses the ethnic complexity of the Aztec world and social and economic relations that have been a major focus of archaeology. Articles in Part V, Aztec Provinces, Friends, and Foes, focuses on the Aztec's dynamic relations with distant provinces, and empires and groups that resisted conquest, and even allied with the Spanish to overthrow the Aztec king. This is followed by Part VI, Ritual, Belief, and Religion, which examines the different beliefs and rituals that formed Aztec religion and their worldview, as well as the material culture of religious practice. The final section of the volume, Aztecs after the Conquest, carries the Aztecs through the post-conquest period, an increasingly important area of archaeological work, and considers the place of the Aztecs in the modern world.
Describes daily life in the Aztec world, including coverage of geography, foods, trades, arts, games, wars, political systems, class structure, religious practices, trading networks, writings, architecture and science.
An invaluable resource for working programmers, as well as a fount of useful algorithmic tools for computer scientists, astronomers, and other calendar enthusiasts, The Ultimate Edition updates and expands the previous edition to achieve more accurate results and present new calendar variants. The book now includes coverage of Unix dates, Italian time, the Akan, Icelandic, Saudi Arabian Umm al-Qura, and Babylonian calendars. There are also expanded treatments of the observational Islamic and Hebrew calendars and brief discussions of the Samaritan and Nepalese calendars. Several of the astronomical functions have been rewritten to produce more accurate results and to include calculations of moonrise and moonset. The authors frame the calendars of the world in a completely algorithmic form, allowing easy conversion among these calendars and the determination of secular and religious holidays. LISP code for all the algorithms is available in machine-readable form.
This comprehensive and accessible reference explores the greatest and most mysterious of civilizations, hailed for its contributions to science, mathematics, and technology. Each chapter is supplemented by an extensive bibliography as well as photos, original line drawings, and maps.
An unabridged translation of a 16th century Dominican friar's history of the Aztec world before the Spanish conquest, based on a now-lost Nahuatl chronicle and interviews with Aztec informants. Duran traces the history of the Aztecs from their mythic origins to the destruction of the empire, and describes the court life of the elite, the common people, and life in times of flood, drought, and war. Includes an introduction and annotations providing background on recent studies of colonial Mexico, and 62 b&w illustrations from the original manuscript. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
"Mayan Calendar Astrology: Mapping Your Inner Cosmos" is the quintessential handbook to help you understand the art of Mayan astrology and how to harness it for a profound illumination of your personal lifepath. If you liked "Jaguar Wisdom," this book will take you even deeper into the powerful insights that Mayan astrology can offer, whether you're a seasoned expert or just a beginner. Included in the book are: - Complete information about the day signs and numbers - The importance of the Year Lord - The Mayan Destiny chart (also known as the Mayan Cross) - The complete nine-sign horoscope - Solar and lunar cycles - A unique method for determining the phases of human life - The personal compatibility matrices embedded within the Tzolk'in - A little-known technique for assessing human relationships by combining two horoscopes into a composite chart - Calendar diagrams and horoscope templates - A powerful and meditative technique called the "Path of Feathered Serpent," based on our own "personal lunar month" and designed, through a series of guided meditations, to awaken the koyopa or inner lightning we all possess. REVIEWS: "I am profoundly grateful to Kenneth Johnson for sharing his experientially based understanding of the Tzolk'in in this remarkable book. As a long-time lover of the Mayan world, 'Mayan Calendar Astrology' finally opened my eyes to the subtle workings of the 260-day calendar and led me to embrace it as a genuine path to self-understanding. The author's work is based upon his years of work with several aj q'ijab' in the Guatemalan highlands, primarily in Momostenango, the important center for contemporary Mayan calendar knowledge. Johnson's explanations of the significance of the 13 numbers, the Mayan Destiny chart, the Year Lords, and the Path of Feathered Serpent are unique in popular literature and will enrich the understanding of even dedicated scholars." - Robert Sitler, PhD, Director, Latin American Studies, Stetson University
The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology provides a current and comprehensive guide to the recent and on-going archaeology of Mesoamerica. Though the emphasis is on prehispanic societies, this Handbook also includes coverage of important new work by archaeologists on the Colonial and Republican periods. Unique among recent works, the text brings together in a single volume article-length regional syntheses and topical overviews written by active scholars in the field of Mesoamerican archaeology. The first section of the Handbook provides an overview of recent history and trends of Mesoamerica and articles on national archaeology programs and practice in Central America and Mexico written by archaeologists from these countries. These are followed by regional syntheses organized by time period, beginning with early hunter-gatherer societies and the first farmers of Mesoamerica and concluding with a discussion of the Spanish Conquest and frontiers and peripheries of Mesoamerica. Topical and comparative articles comprise the remainder of Handbook. They cover important dimensions of prehispanic societies--from ecology, economy, and environment to social and political relations--and discuss significant methodological contributions, such as geo-chemical source studies, as well as new theories and diverse theoretical perspectives. The Handbook concludes with a section on the archaeology of the Spanish conquest and the Colonial and Republican periods to connect the prehispanic, proto-historic, and historic periods. This volume will be a must-read for students and professional archaeologists, as well as other scholars including historians, art historians, geographers, and ethnographers with an interest in Mesoamerica.
This book is part of an encyclopedia set concerning the environment, archaeology, ethnology, social anthropology, ethnohistory, linguistics and physical anthropology of the native peoples of Mexico and Central America. The Guide to Ethnohistorical Sources is comprised of volumes 12-15 of this set. Volume 13 presents a look at pre-Columbian Mesoamerican from a combined historical and anthropological viewpoint, using official ecclesiastical and government records from the time.