Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices

Re-Creating Primordial Time offers a new perspective on the Maya codices, documenting the extensive use of creation mythology and foundational rituals in the hieroglyphic texts and iconography of these important manuscripts. Focusing on both pre-Columbian codices and early colonial creation accounts, Vail and Hernández show that, in spite of significant cultural change during the Postclassic and Colonial periods, mythological traditions in Mesoamerica reveal significant continuity, beginning at least as far back as the Classic period.

Such continuities persisted within the Maya tradition, even as new mythologies were incorporated through contact with cultures in the Gulf Coast region and highland central Mexico. Vail and Herná­­ndez analyze the extant Maya codices within the context of later Colonial period literary sources, the Late Postclassic codices in the Borgia Group from highland central Mexico, and modern Maya ethnographic data. Demonstrating key interrelationships among these diverse sources, Re-Creating Primordial Time is a significant contribution to the field of Mesoamerican Studies.

This resource is a sample of "Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices." Included is the title page, table of contents and first chapter. The publication in its entirety is available through the University Press of Colorado.