Does the Maya calendar have a future?
The Maya calendar predicts that the world will end in 2012. It is a question of waiting to see whether this prediction will come true. What is certain is that the calendar had an important role in the old civilisations of Middle America. How big this role is nowadays is what Leiden archaeologist Maarten Jansen has received European funding to investigate this role.
Astronomical observations and moral codes
Image from the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.
There are a limited number of ancient manuscripts from the Aztecs, Mixtecs, Mayas and other indigenous peoples in Middle America in European museums and libraries. The common basis of these documents is a calendar that served not only as the framework for historical events and astronomical observations but was also used for predicting the future, medical treatment, religious rituals, the arrangement of society and drawing up of moral codes.
Timekeepers
Jansen will be conducting research in Mexico and Guatemala into the meaning and function today of this ancient indigenous calendar, because, although the Spanish introduced a new calendar, the old one never completely disappeared. Even now, the indigenous societies still have so-called timekeepers. These are people specialised in traditional medicine and other rituals based on the old calendar system. Up to now, little attention has been paid to this continuation of ancient cultural traditions – which are disappearing at a rapid rate – despite the fact that they have a wealth of information to offer.
Gain understanding
Prof. Maarten Jansen
One strand of Jansen’s research project ‘Time in Intercultural Context: The Indigenous Calendars of Mexico and Guatemala’ therefore consists of documenting the knowledge, traditions and oral literature that are threatened with disappearance. His research team will conduct ethnographical research in different parts of the region. The researchers will link the data and knowledge generated to existing archaeological and historical information. This will help them to interpret ancient manuscripts better and gain an understanding of the symbolic meaning and social function of time in these ancient civilisations.
Communal memory and understanding
A further strand of the research project is a comparative and theoretical analysis of the role that the perception and comprehension of time have in the development of communal memory and identity, and how this role is influenced by – and influences – long-term, intensive cultural interaction (colonisation - modernisation - globalisation).
Advanced Grant
Jansen’s research project will be funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This is awarded to academics who have a proven record of excellent research.
Links
- Prof. Maarten Jansen
- Mixtec City States
- Ceramics and Social Change
- Mixtec Language and Culture
- Time and Identity
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