The Conception of Time in Maya Cosmology

Abstract

Maya were one of the great civilizations of the Middle America. They lived in the regions of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. Mayan history reaches back some 4,000 years to what is called the Pre-classic period, when civilization first began in Central America. However, it was during what came to be known as the Classic period (AD 250 to 900) that Mayan culture reached its peak and the Maya achieved their celebrated advances in architecture, mathematics, agriculture, astronomy, art, and other areas. What is my main interest in my work is the conception of time of this great civilization. In 19th century, the study of Maya science and religion has progressed by leaps and bounds. Archaeologists continued to uncover ancient ruins and excavated thousands of carved monuments, jade artifacts, rich burial tombs, painted ceramic vases, and examples of the hieroglyphic writing invented by the Maya. Scholars made enormous progress deciphering the Maya script. Specialists can now read almost all of these hieroglyphs, which reveal detailed histories for each Maya kingdom. In addition, scholars found and deciphered sacred texts that described events that occured during the world's creation and successive recreations. Maya creation myth describes those astronomical events. The Creation myth of the...