Archive for June, 2010
Maya calendar
by admin on Jun.28, 2010, under Maya calendar
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars and almanacs used in the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in some modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala and Oaxaca, Mexico.
The essentials of the Maya calendric system are based upon a system which had been in common use throughout the region, dating back to at least the 6th century BC. It shares many aspects with calendars employed by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Zapotec and Olmec, and contemporary or later ones such as the Mixtec and Aztec calendars. Although the Mesoamerican calendar did not originate with the Maya, their subsequent extensions and refinements of it were the most sophisticated. Along with those of the Aztecs, the Maya calendars are the best-documented and most completely understood.
By the Maya mythological tradition, as documented in Colonial Yucatec accounts and reconstructed from Late Classic and Postclassic inscriptions, the deity Itzamna is frequently credited with bringing the knowledge of the calendar system to the ancestral Maya, along with writing in general and other foundational aspects of Maya culture.[1]
Notes
- ^ See entry on Itzamna, in Miller and Taube (1993), pp.99-100.
Links
- Today’s Long Count
- Maya Calendar notes by M. Finlay, Maya Astronomy (Uses the proleptic Gregorian calendar.)
- Maya Cycles of Time at Convergence
- The Maya Calendar by the Maya World Studies Center in Yucatán Mexico
- Maya Calendar and Links on diagnosis2012.co.uk (The calculator uses the proleptic Gregorian calendar, with a number of links to other Maya calendar sites.)
- Interactive Maya Calendars
- Day Symbols of the Maya Year at Project Gutenberg 1897 text by Cyrus Thomas
- Maya Calendar, Date conversions, contemporary year version, Tzolkin and Haab day in Calendar Rounds
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
2012
by admin on Jun.26, 2010, under 2012
A date inscription for the Mayan Long Count
The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events will occur on December 21, 2012,[1][2][3] which is said to be the end-date of a 5,125-year-long cycle in the Mayan Long Count calendar. Various astronomical alignments and numerological formulae related to this date have been proposed, but none have been accepted by mainstream scholarship.
A New Age interpretation of this transition posits that during this time, Earth and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a new era.[4] Others suggest that the 2012 date marks the end of the world or a similar catastrophe. Scenarios posited for the end of the world include the Earth’s collision with a passing planet (often referred to as “Nibiru”) or black hole, or the arrival of the next solar maximum.
Scholars from various disciplines have dismissed the idea that a catastrophe will happen in 2012, stating that predictions of impending doom are not found in any of the existing classic Maya accounts. Mainstream Mayanist scholars state that the idea that the Long Count calendar “ends” in 2012 misrepresents Maya history.[3][5] The modern Maya, on the whole, have not attached much significance to the date, and the classical sources on the subject are scarce and contradictory, suggesting that there was little if any universal agreement among them about what, if anything, the date might mean.[6]
Astronomers and other scientists have rejected the apocalyptic forecasts, on the grounds that the anticipated events are precluded by astronomical observations, or are unsubstantiated by the predictions that have been generated from these findings.[7] NASA has compared fears about 2012 to those about the Y2K bug in the late 1990s, suggesting that an adequate analysis should preclude fears of disaster.[7]
Citations
- ^ a b Sitler 2006
- ^ a b c Defesche 2007
- ^ a b c G. Jeffrey MacDonald (March 27, 2007). “Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?”. USA Today.
- ^ For a sample of views see discussion and interviews in New York Times Magazine article (Anastas 2007).
- ^ David Webster (September 25, 2007). “The Uses and Abuses of the Ancient Maya” (pdf). The Emergence of the Modern World Conference, Otzenhausen, Germany: Penn State University.
- ^ Aveni 2009, 32-33, 48-51
- ^ a b “2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won’t End?”. NASA.
Links
- 2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won’t End?, NASA FAQs.
- List of links to articles about 2012 compiled by FAMSI (the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
Nostradamus
by admin on Jun.23, 2010, under Nostradamus
Michel de Nostredame (14 December or 21 December 1503[1] – 2 July 1566), usually Latinised to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties (“The Prophecies”), the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Since the publication of this book, which has rarely been out of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted a following that, along with the popular press, credits him with predicting many major world events. The prophecies have in some cases been assimilated to the results of applying the alleged Bible code, as well as to other purported prophetic works.
Most academic sources maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus’s quatrains are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power. Moreover, none of the sources listed offers any evidence that anyone has ever interpreted any of Nostradamus’s quatrains specifically enough to allow a clear identification of any event in advance.[2]
Sources
- Nostradamus, Michel:
- Orus Apollo, 1545 (?), unpublished ms; Almanachs, Presages and Pronostications, 1550–1567; Ein Erschrecklich und Wunderbarlich Zeychen…, Nuremberg, 1554; Les Propheties, Lyon, 1555, 1557, 1568; Traite des fardemens et des confitures, 1555, 1556, 1557; Paraphrase de C. Galen sus l’exhortation de Menodote, 1557; Lettre de Maistre Michel Nostradamus, de Salon de Craux en Provence, A la Royne mere du Roy, 1566
- Leroy, Dr Edgar, Nostradamus, ses origines, sa vie, son oeuvre, 1972 (the seminal biographical study)
- Dupèbe, Jean, Nostradamus: Lettres inédites, 1983
- Chomarat, Michel, and Laroche, Jean-Paul: Bibliographie Nostradamus (1989)
- Benazra, Robert: Répertoire chronologique nostradamique (1990)
- Randi, James, The Mask of Nostradamus, 1993 ISBN 0879758309
- Rollet, Pierre, Nostradamus: Interprétation des hiéroglyphes de Horapollo, 1993
- Brind’Amour, Pierre: Nostradamus astrophile, 1993; Nostradamus. Les premières Centuries ou Prophéties, 1996
- Lemesurier, Peter, The Nostradamus Encyclopedia, 1997; The Unknown Nostradamus, 2003; Nostradamus: The Illustrated Prophecies, 2003
- Prévost, Roger, Nostradamus, le mythe et la réalité, 1999
- Chevignard, Bernard, Présages de Nostradamus 1999
- Wilson, Ian, Nostradamus: The Evidence, 2002
- Clébert, Jean-Paul, Prophéties de Nostradamus, 2003
- Gruber, Dr Elmar, Nostradamus: sein Leben, sein Werk und die wahre Bedeutung seiner Prophezeiungen, 2003
Notes
- ^ a Guinard, Dr Patrice, CURA Forum
- ^ a Lemesurier, Peter, The Unknown Nostradamus, 2003
Links
This section is for links to sites consistent with the established facts reported in the article only, not with others that are mainly speculative or purely fictional in character and thus not complementary to it.
- Timeline
- Facsimiles of original editions with translations
- Facsimiles of many contemporary texts
- Facsimiles, reprints and some translations of a huge range of Nostradamus texts, info etc.
- Facsimiles of the first four editions of the Propheties compared (downloadable)
- Historical origins of the Propheties
- Espace Nostradamus Benazra’s French website and major academic forum
- CURA’s major international academic forum
- Nostradamus Research Group
- World’s largest online library of Nostradamus facsimiles
- Logodaedalia Scientific and Medical French website (Dr. Lucien de Luca)
- Anna Carlstedt (La poésie oraculaire de Nostradamus, 2005)
- Selected English translations from the Mirabilis liber.
- Texts, FAQs, translations, quatrain search engine, general information and illustrated tour of Nostradamus’s Provence
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
Maya civilization
by admin on Jun.21, 2010, under Maya
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period (c. 2000 BC to 250 AD), according to the Mesoamerican chronology, many Maya cities reached their highest state development during the Classic period (c. 250 AD to 900 AD), and continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish. At its peak, it was one of the most densely populated and culturally dynamic societies in the world. [1]
The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region. Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not originate with the Maya; however, their civilization fully developed them. Maya influence can be detected from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and to as far as central Mexico, more than 1000 km (625 miles) from the Maya area. Many outside influences are found in Maya art and architecture, which are thought to result from trade and cultural exchange rather than direct external conquest.
The Maya peoples never disappeared, neither at the time of the Classic period decline nor with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadores and the subsequent Spanish colonization of the Americas. Today, the Maya and their descendants form sizable populations throughout the Maya area and maintain a distinctive set of traditions and beliefs that are the result of the merger of pre-Columbian and post-Conquest ideas and cultures. Many Mayan languages continue to be spoken as primary languages today; the Rabinal Achí, a play written in the Achi’ language, was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2005.
Footnotes
- ^ “Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya”. University of Pennsylvania Almanac. University of Pennsylvania. 4/7/2009.
References
- Coggins, Clemency (Ed.) (1992). Artifacts from the Cenote of Sacrifice Chichen Itza, Yucatan: Textiles, Basketry, Stone, Shell, Ceramics, Wood, Copal, Rubber (Memoirs of the Peabody Museum). Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-873-65694-6.
- Culbert, T.Patrick (Ed.) (1977). Classic Maya Collapse. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-826-30463-X.
- Drew, David (2004). The Lost Chronicles of the Maya Kings (New ed.). London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 0-753-80989-3.
- Krupp, Edward C. (1999). “Igniting the Hearth”. Sky & Telescope (February): pp. 94.
- Love, Michael (December 2007). “Recent Research in the Southern Highlands and Pacific Coast of Mesoamerica”. Journal of Archaeological Research (Springer Netherlands) 15 (4): 275–328. doi:10.1007/s10814-007-9014-y. ISSN 1573-7756.
- Miller, Mary; Simon Martin (2004). Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05129-1.
- Miller, Mary; Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6.
- Reyes-Valerio, Constantino (1993). De Bonampak al Templo Mayor: Historical del Azul Maya en Mesoamerica. Siglo XXI editores. ISBN 968-23-1893-9.
- Sharer, Robert J.; Loa P. Traxler (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th, fully revised ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-4817-9. OCLC 57577446.
- Skidmore, Joel (2006). “The Cascajal Block: The Earliest Precolumbian Writing” (PDF). Mesoweb Reports & News. Mesoweb.
- Webster, David L. (2002). The Fall of the Ancient Maya. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05113-5.
- Coe, Michael D. (1999). The Maya (Sixth ed.). New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28066-5.
- “Maya Ruins”. NASA Earth Observatory.
Further reading
- Braswell, Geoffrey E. (2003). The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292709145. OCLC 49936017.
- Christie, Jessica Joyce (2003). Maya Palaces and Elite Residences: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292712448. OCLC 50630511.
- Demarest, Arthur Andrew (2004). Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization. Cambridge, England; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521592240. OCLC 51438896.
- Demarest, Arthur Andrew, Prudence M. Rice, and Don Stephen Rice (2004). The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition, and Transformation. Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado. ISBN 0870817396. OCLC 52311867.
- Garber, James (2004). The Ancient Maya of the Belize Valley: Half a Century of Archaeological Research. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813026857. OCLC 52334723.
- Herring, Adam (2005). Art and Writing in the Maya cities, AD 600-800: A Poetics of Line. Cambridge, England; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521842468. OCLC 56834579.
- Lohse, Jon C. and Fred Valdez (2004). Ancient Maya Commoners. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292705719. OCLC 54529926.
- Lucero, Lisa Joyce (2006). Water and Ritual: The Rise and Fall of Classic Maya Rulers. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292709994. OCLC 61731425.
- McKillop, Heather Irene (2005). In Search of Maya Sea Traders. College Station, TX: Texas A & M University Press. ISBN 1585443891. OCLC 55145823.
- McKillop, Heather Irene (2002). Salt: White Gold of the Ancient Maya. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813025117. OCLC 48893025.
- McNeil, Cameron L. (2006). Chocolate in Mesoamerica: A Cultural History of Cacao. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0813029538. OCLC 63245604.
- Rice, Prudence M. (2004). Maya Political Science: Time, Astronomy, and the Cosmos (1st ed.). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292702612. OCLC 54753496.
- Sharer, Robert J. and Loa P. Traxler (2006). The ancient Maya (6th ed.). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804748160. OCLC 57577446.
- Tiesler, Vera and Andrea Cucina (2006). Janaab’ Pakal of Palenque: Reconstructing the Life and Death of a Maya Ruler. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. ISBN 0816525102. OCLC 62593473.
Links
- Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc (FAMSI)
- Mayan Math and astronomy
- Mayaweb (Dutch and English)
- Guatemala, Cradle of The Maya Civilization
- Maya Society and some photos of Tools, Weapons & Artifacts
- Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya at the National Gallery of Art
- Learn more about Maya hieroglyphs and Maya numbering from the National Gallery of Art
- Primary sources of Maya history – part one by Ronald A. Barnett
- Maya articles by Genry Joil.
- Mesoweb by Joel Skidmore.
- The Daily Glyph by Dave Pentecost.
- Junglecasts – podcasts by Ed Barnhart, Nicco Mele, Dave Pentecost
- Ancient Civilizations – Maya Research site for kids
- The Mayan Kingdom A Photographic Web Book on the Mayan Civilization by Tony Trupp
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
