Overview

In Time and the Ancestors: Aztec and Mixtec Ritual Art, Maarten Jansen and Aurora Perez present new interpretations of enigmatic masterpieces from ancient Mexico. Combining iconographical analysis with the study of archaeological contexts, historical sources and living cultural traditions, they shed light on central symbols and values of the religious heritage of indigenous peoples, paying special attention to precolonial perceptions of time and the importance of ancestor worship. They decipher the meaning of the treasure deposited in Tomb 7 at Monte Alban (Oaxaca) and of artworks such as the Roll of the New Fire (Selden Roll), the Aztec religious sculptures and, last but not least, the mysterious chapter of temple scenes from the Book of Night and Wind (Codex Borgia).

Full Product Details

Author:   Maarten Jansen ,  Gabina Aurora Perez Jimenez
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   5
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 4.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   1.142kg
ISBN:  

9789004340510

ISBN 10:   9004340513
Pages:   618
Publication Date:   23 March 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Preface Introduction: Temporality and coevalness 1. Mesoamerica: historical development 2. Ancient scriptures 3. The main cycles of the calendar 4. The first day-keepers 5. Denial of coevalness 6. Methodological concerns 7. Recapitulation and concluding remarks PART ONE OFFERING TO THE SACRED BUNDLES Chapter 1: Tomb 7 at Monte Alban 1. A deposition of two periods 2. The human remains in Tomb 7 3. The ancient literary context 4. Calendar dates in Tomb 7 5. Connections with Nuu Dzaui history 6. Connections with Beni Zaa history 7. Female agency 8. Revisiting Tomb 7 9. Approaching the relics 10. Recapitulation and concluding remarks Chapter 2: Life - Death - Life 1. Tale of a grandmother 2. Nahua and Maya parallels 3. The symbolic dimension 4. Cihuacoatl and Lady 9 Grass 5. Mortuary bundles 6. Divine ancestors 7. Communication with the dead 8. The golden ornament Number 26 9. The subterraneous sanctuary 10. The internal organisation of Tomb 7 11. Recapitulation and concluding remarks Chapter 3: Hymns of jaguars and eagles 1. Flower, song 2. The tree of the dynasty 3. Treebirth at Apoala 4. The war against the stone men 5. First sunrise and the cycle of time 6. The pulque ritual 7. The realm of the dead 8. Lady 4 Rabbit `Quetzal' 9. The marital alliance 10. Recapitulation and concluding remarks Chapter 4: Memory and oracle 1. Chalcatzingo: the Preclassic template 2. Occasions for precious offerings 3. The ballcourt pendant 4. The sacred flint 5. The Temple of Jewels 6. Identifying Monte Alban in the codices 7. Lady 6 Monkey at Monte Alban 8. The funerary ceremony for Lord 12 Movement 9. Recapitulation and concluding remarks PART TWO PREPARING THE NEW FIRE Chapter 5: The foundation of a dynasty 1. Pictorial manuscripts from the Coixtlahuaca Valley 2. The couple in heaven 3. Chicomoztoc 4. Religious peregrination 5. The sacred mountain 6. Primordial conquest 7. Lady 13 Alligator, the peacemaker 8. Atonal, first ruler of Coixtlahuaca 9. Lord 8 Deer and Quetzalcoatl 10. Recapitulation and concluding remarks Chapter 6: Fifth sun rising 1. The inauguration of the Templo Mayor 2. Cihuacoatl: goddess and priest 3. The Stone of Tizoc 4. The Calendar Stone 5. Moctezuma's altar 6. The binding of 52 years 7. The ceremonial landscape of Mount Huixachtlan 8. Moctezuma and Ce Acatl 9. Recapitulation and concluding remarks Chapter 7: The Sanctuary of Night and Wind 1. Historical background of Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia) 2. Studies of Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia) 3. Point of departure for a new reading 4. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 29: vision 5. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 30: bloodletting for trees 6. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 31: transformation of death into life 7. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 32: preparing the knife 8. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), pages 33-34: the Temple of Heaven 9. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 35-38: opening the sacred bundle 10. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), pages 39-40: the Night Sun 11. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 41-42: sacrifice 12. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 43: sustenance 13. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 44: rulership 14. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 45: Venus 15. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 46: fire-making 16. Codex Yoalli Ehecatl (Borgia), page 47: men and women 17. Recapitulation and concluding remarks Synthesis: Heritage and spirit connection 1. Root symbolism 2. Tomb 7: a dynastic shrine 3. The continuous presence of Cihuacoatl 4. Intercultural time and decolonising perspective 5. Final image References Index

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Author Information

Maarten E.R.G.N. Jansen (Ph.D. Leiden 1983) is Professor of Heritage of Indigenous Peoples at Leiden University, The Netherlands. He is author of many studies about ancient Mexican art and history, including The Mixtec Pictorial Manuscripts (Brill 2011). Gabina Aurora Perez Jimenez, an advocate of indigenous rights and researcher in a European Research Council project about Mesoamerican religious heritage, has published the textbook Sahin Sau, Curso de la Lengua Mixteca (Oaxaca 2008) and co-authored studies on Mixtec history.

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