Leiden University Student Repository

Radford, Andrew (2014)

The Imagery of Yaxchilan: Comparisons with the Contemporary Maya and the Archaeological Value of Ethnographic Sources

Master thesis | Archaeology (MA/MSc)

This thesis aims to investigate and analyse the ways in which Ancient Maya sculpture at Yaxchilan may have been perceived in the past. Contemporary Maya worldview has been used comparatively to understand how different peoples can interpret and understand material culture, such as the stelas of Yaxchilan. The author has used knowledge and information gained through his own time spent in Mesoamerica in 2011, and especially ethnographic data collected on the contemporary Maya by a variety of scholars in the 20th Century to analyse this sculpture in a way that not been attempted before. Additionally, the role and value of ethnographical data is also discussed at some length.

Maya

Yaxchilan

Ethnography

Mexico

Itzamnaj Balam II

Yaxun Balam IV

Stelae

Sculpture

Author

Radford, Andrew

Faculty

Faculty of Archaeology

Specialisation

Mesoamerica and Andes

Supervisors

Rojas Martínez Gracida, Araceli

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en