A thesis which contributes a new perspective to the ongoing discussion on the human contacts made between North and Meso-America before Columbus. This is done specifically by looking at maize as an...Show moreA thesis which contributes a new perspective to the ongoing discussion on the human contacts made between North and Meso-America before Columbus. This is done specifically by looking at maize as an exotic good used for ritual and as a medium for narrative. It highlights the religious aspects of exchange and the travel of ideas and narratives with material in a time before writing was widespread. Because of the latter fact, the research is done through a multi-disciplinary approach, utilizing botany, archaeology and ethnology.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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Despite the fact that the PostClassic Mesoamerican codices display a striking amount of similarity, academic studies of the discipline typically separate the Central Mexican and Mixtec manuscripts...Show moreDespite the fact that the PostClassic Mesoamerican codices display a striking amount of similarity, academic studies of the discipline typically separate the Central Mexican and Mixtec manuscripts from those of the Maya, with the Maya receiving an epigraphic approach and the Mexican and Mixtec receiving an art historical approach. Many of these studies implicitly privilege phonetic writing systems, taking an evolutionary view of writing which devalues the pictographic. This privileging of the phonetic speaks to the more extensive devaluation of indigenous beliefs and practices on a wider scale. This thesis seeks to bridge the gap between the art historical and epigraphic by understanding the codices as products of the communities in which they were created, and thus fulfilling culturally-specific needs. Ritualized Discourse in the Mesoamerican Codices: An Inquiry into Epigraphic Practice accomplishes this through two case studies, one of which is based on the representation of the same subject matter, bloodletting, and one of which is based on the representation of the same linguistic practice, difrasismo. The results of the analysis indicate that while on a visual level the codices appear very different, on a phonological level there are many similarities in how they represent linguistic and phonetic elements. The Central Mexican and Maya codices in particular display a high degree of overlap, speaking to their shared scribal traditions. Approaching the codices as inventions designed to fulfill a purpose, interpretations of iconographic and phonetic elements are reached which speak to a pan-Mesoamerican experience of writing and highlight the benefits of alternative traditions of knowledge.Show less
When Sahagún came to New Spain he encountered the indigenous population who were in the process of converting to Christianity. He arrived with a group of fellow Franciscan friars with the mission...Show moreWhen Sahagún came to New Spain he encountered the indigenous population who were in the process of converting to Christianity. He arrived with a group of fellow Franciscan friars with the mission to establish a new Christian utopia where a thousand year peace would reign. Sahagún was ordered to write down all that he could find about Nahua culture which resulted in the Historia general. In this manuscript there are various rituals and deities described in full detail and they are said to be idolatrous. Sahagún would take his students from his college in Tlatelolco and gather pictographic information from Tepepulco in order to copy it into the Primeros Memoriales. In this manuscript it is clear that European elements are incorporated in pre-colonial drawings. The Nahua population proved difficult in adopting the Christian faith and kept holding on to traditional beliefs, often mixing old rituals with Christian rituals. This was something Sahagún became upset about, knowing that the traditional rituals were actually in honour of Satan and his demons that needed to be combated. When Sahagún reached old age he was of strong conviction that the mission to establish the utopia had failed and he suggested that Christianity should move on to other parts of the world where conversion would be more successful.Show less
