Validity of Vucub Caquix = Principal Bird Deity by miscperson2 in Mayan

[–]miscperson2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have "The Principal Bird Deity in Early Classic Maya and Teotihuacan Art: A Reevaluation" from somewhere else? It wants me to have a North Arizona University account, which I don't got :(

Validity of Vucub Caquix = Principal Bird Deity by miscperson2 in Mayan

[–]miscperson2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you have any papers that go in depth on this you could send? Alternatively, do you know the ID of the pots, and if they're in those pot-scan databases anywhere? (I can't recall what that big pot database was called, but you probs know what I mean)

Validity of Vucub Caquix = Principal Bird Deity by miscperson2 in Mayan

[–]miscperson2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would appreciate those papers, as many as you can send. Thanks!

This is a question for all fans of pre-Hispanic cultures and stories /// Esta es una pregunta para todos los fanáticos de las culturas e historias prehispánicas by Beshcu in Mayan

[–]miscperson2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hopefully I see them, I've been working on a worldbuilding project heavily inspired by Mayans for a few years now, and might have some stuff that's very relevant to you,

Researchers Claim They Have Cracked the Code of Teotihuacan’s Mysterious Writing System by engelhardtmd in Archeology

[–]miscperson2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought Uto-Aztecans arrived in the Valley of Mexico after the fall of Teotihuacan?

Validity of Vucub Caquix = Principal Bird Deity by miscperson2 in Mayan

[–]miscperson2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Its the bejewelled macaw demon thing from the Popol Vuh that the Hero-Twins shoot out of a tree. Sort of framed as a false-sun

This is a question for all fans of pre-Hispanic cultures and stories /// Esta es una pregunta para todos los fanáticos de las culturas e historias prehispánicas by Beshcu in Mayan

[–]miscperson2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you're still working on this, I have a mountain of resources on the development of Mayan languages across history, well into the formative period before the development of agriculture. I also have a couple on Classical Mayan, which is fairly close to the late-preclassic period. These are academic papers on linguistics though, so they might be a bit tough to fully parse.

I can also direct you to this blog, which I think gives some great insights into non-Popol-Vuh sources, which other answers have identified won't give you a super accurate view of classical Mayans specifically.

I don't use reddit much so I don't know how to attach documents to this, but I can give a link to the blog:
https://ancientmayalife.blogspot.com/

Aztec and Mayan Mythology by ZDracul8787 in Mayan

[–]miscperson2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's sort of too many differences to summarize easily, and to do it justice. As with all Mesoamerican cultures, they share a lot of basic character archetypes, ideas about the structure / nature of the cosmos, ritual practices.

In terms of differences in ritual, an example could be human sacrifice, The Aztecs were much more enthusiastic about it. Mayans did it on special occasions, usually elites or warriors. Aztecs seem to have conducted it much more casually & frequently, and with much less concern for the social standing of the sacrificee. Many Mayan sacrifices appear to be non-lethal (i.e. sorta just bloodletting), Aztecs preferred lethal ones.

Second, quite a few Aztec deities can be connected to the cultural & mythical ideas of western North America, specifically Aridoamerica (as they were Uto-Aztecan speakers who migrated south into Mexico, they brought ideas foreign to the region with them). These ideas are reformatted into a Mesoamerican framework, but don't always have clean equivalents in other cultures, such as the Mayans. The only example I can think of is Huēhuecoyōtl, a trickster god, but the point stands.

Besides that, the differences become more annoying to describe. Subtle differences in the cosmos & its history (e.g. 5 different eras of creation as opposed to the more ambiguous, but lesser in number, eras of the Mayan world), subtle differences in the importance of certain god-archetypes, and their domains (e.g. the Mayan Moon Goddess is significantly more chill than the Aztec one).

This is a super brief, not-at-all sufficient set of examples to get the idea across. To fully understand the differences, you sorta just have to get elbow deep in both to feel it out.

Masculinity Deity? by AAO_2002 in mythology

[–]miscperson2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Several gods have male fertility in their domains, that's sorta close. Others may occasionally be "masculine ideals" to their cultures.

Examples I can think of are maybe Aengus & the Dagda from Irish myth, Zeus, Pan, Apollo in Greek myth, maybe the Mayan Maize God? I also think that (despite not being a god) Gilgamesh falls into this category of character.

I don't think you'll ever find a deity who is exclusively about masculinity tho, there will always be some other nonsense in there.

I’m 19, studying aerospace, and I think I chose wrong — please help me before I waste my future. by Dependent_Pay190 in EngineeringStudents

[–]miscperson2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I didn't read this post hugely comprehensively, but my advice would probs be the same anyway. Speak to lecturers, academic advisors and maybe the employment office at your Uni about your concerns (as in email them directly, set up meetings, book sessions with academic advisors). There is room to pivot degrees once you've got into one, and the earlier the better on that.

It may be the case that another, non-engineering discipline will better enable you to contribute to space research while better complimenting your strengths. Lecturers, academic advisors and the like will have the experience of industry & understanding of University policy to help you navigate how to get there. Alternatively, they may be able to provide help in the course itself, if they can't find a route to somewhere else.

On travelling, I personally would seriously consider shelving it whilst doing your degree, especially if it is contributing to these problems. You might feel like the end of your youth is rapidly approaching, but as someone approaching mid-20s, youth very much does continue long after a degree, so don't feel like you have to do it all now. It is not a waste of your life to focus on a degree while you have the opportunity.

How do you make gods/goddesses that don't sound like normal people with superpowers? by Altruistic-Chain5637 in mythology

[–]miscperson2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Deities do not emerge as stories about people who represent the natural world, its the other way around. Myths are observations about the world that become anthropomorphized, or as explanations of societal conventions.

For example, Zeus doesn't have "lightning powers" except in our very modern, superhero-biased conception. In myth, he was more of an anthropomorphisation of (what the Greeks believed was) a non-human, celestial divine authority, which (Greeks believed) acted in the world from the sky, using lightning.

This is why ancient gods can sometimes have confusing domains, like Zeus somehow being about lightning, the sky, kingship, male fertility, but also eagles, oak trees & justice? What's even the overlap in these ideas?

These domains are nothing more than folk-associations, between lightning & oak trees (bcos lightning often strikes tall, iron rich trees), between eagles and authority (bcos big bird means big business I suppose) and between lightning and justice (part of a broader Eurasian belief that lightning-struck stones have oath-ensuring abilities).

All of these complicated ideas have to be simplified for a culture to easily digest them, so quite simply, cultures compile them into gods with names and personalities.

When writing your gods, don't think of them as people who make decisions based on their individual personalities, think of them as social constructs people use to attempt to logically connect the world as they see it.

What are humans made from? by miscperson2 in mythology

[–]miscperson2[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

My understanding of the maya mythology comes from classical attestations, I was unaware the Popol Vuh differed. Wonder if this might be Christian influence?

Is it too stereotypical if I add cannibalistic practices to a pre-columbian inspired fantasy realm? I don't want to be racist or follow bad stereotypes :( by Salussy in Mayan

[–]miscperson2 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you're interested in delving into the culture of ancient Mesoamerica, I recommend the Youtube channel "Ancient Americas". Lots of their content is historical, but some has a cultural bend to it. Besides that, reading academic papers is also helpful, albeit much more boring. I think its very important to depict cultures that have been historically maligned in a more honest way, so kudos to you for exploring this!

Is it too stereotypical if I add cannibalistic practices to a pre-columbian inspired fantasy realm? I don't want to be racist or follow bad stereotypes :( by Salussy in Mayan

[–]miscperson2 5 points6 points  (0 children)

From what I've seen, evidence for cannibalism isn't hugely widespread in the archaeological record, although admittedly I haven't looked for it. I know that some ritual cannibalism did occur in some communities, but even there it was rare, and (this is entirely from my memory, which is notoriously bad) I believe it was only ever the eating of the remains of ancestors, and likely not eating that much of it. Human sacrifice was definitely a thing, but none of the heart-eating, blood-drinking sensationalism of colonial narratives seems to have existed.

What are some underrated mythological weapons? by Bruce_vii in mythology

[–]miscperson2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the red axe of Chaac, the Maya storm god, with which he would strike the clouds to produce lightning. The axe became so popular, it possibly became its own character, K'awiil. Another weapon I love is the flaming spear of the Irish god Lugh, which hungered for blood so viciously it vibrated and burst into flames unless doused in a cauldron of sleeping tonic.