Cycles of the Sun, Mysteries of the Moon
The Calendar in Mesoamerican Civilization
Seiten
1997
University of Texas Press (Verlag)
978-0-292-75197-2 (ISBN)
University of Texas Press (Verlag)
978-0-292-75197-2 (ISBN)
A new view of the origin and diffusion of Mesoamerican calendrical systems.
The simple question "How did the Maya come up with a calendar that had only 260 days?" led Vincent Malmström to discover an unexpected "hearth" of Mesoamerican culture. In this boldly revisionist book, he sets forth his challenging, new view of the origin and diffusion of Mesoamerican calendrical systems—the intellectual achievement that gave rise to Mesoamerican civilization and culture.
Malmström posits that the 260-day calendar marked the interval between passages of the sun at its zenith over Izapa, an ancient ceremonial center in the Soconusco region of Mexico's Pacific coastal plain. He goes on to show how the calendar developed by the Zoque people of the region in the fourteenth century B.C. gradually diffused through Mesoamerica into the so-called "Olmec metropolitan area" of the Gulf coast and beyond to the Maya in the east and to the plateau of Mexico in the west.
These findings challenge our previous understanding of the origin and diffusion of Mesoamerican civilization. Sure to provoke lively debate in many quarters, this book will be important reading for all students of ancient Mesoamerica—anthropologists, archaeologists, archaeoastronomers, geographers, and the growing public fascinated by all things Maya.
The simple question "How did the Maya come up with a calendar that had only 260 days?" led Vincent Malmström to discover an unexpected "hearth" of Mesoamerican culture. In this boldly revisionist book, he sets forth his challenging, new view of the origin and diffusion of Mesoamerican calendrical systems—the intellectual achievement that gave rise to Mesoamerican civilization and culture.
Malmström posits that the 260-day calendar marked the interval between passages of the sun at its zenith over Izapa, an ancient ceremonial center in the Soconusco region of Mexico's Pacific coastal plain. He goes on to show how the calendar developed by the Zoque people of the region in the fourteenth century B.C. gradually diffused through Mesoamerica into the so-called "Olmec metropolitan area" of the Gulf coast and beyond to the Maya in the east and to the plateau of Mexico in the west.
These findings challenge our previous understanding of the origin and diffusion of Mesoamerican civilization. Sure to provoke lively debate in many quarters, this book will be important reading for all students of ancient Mesoamerica—anthropologists, archaeologists, archaeoastronomers, geographers, and the growing public fascinated by all things Maya.
Vincent Malmström is Professor of Geography at Dartmouth College.
List of Illustrations
Preface
Chapter 1. Questions, Hypotheses, and Assorted Detours
Chapter 2. Humans and Environment in the Americas
Chapter 3. Strange Attraction: The Mystery of Magnetism
Chapter 4. New Windows on the World: Working the Land and Sailing the Sea
Chapter 5. The Olmec Dawning
Chapter 6. The Long Count: Astronomical Precision
Chapter 7. Calendar Reform and Eclipses: The Place of Edzná
Chapter 8. The Golden Age
Chapter 9. The Twilight of the Gods
Chapter 10. Dawn in the Desert: The Rise of the Toltecs
Chapter 11. People of the Pleiades: The Aztec Interlude
Chapter 12. The Long Journey: A Retrospective
References
Index
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 1.2.1997 |
|---|---|
| Verlagsort | Austin, TX |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 454 g |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie |
| Geschichte ► Allgemeine Geschichte ► Vor- und Frühgeschichte | |
| Geschichte ► Hilfswissenschaften ► Chronologie | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-292-75197-4 / 0292751974 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-292-75197-2 / 9780292751972 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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