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Ritual Continuity and Transformation in Mesoamerica: Reconstructing the Ancient Maya Cuch Ritual

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mary Pohl
Mary Pohl*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306
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Abstract

The use of ethnohistoric and ethnographic data in interpreting evidence for prehistoric ritual activity is highly controversial in Mesoamerican circles. This paper traces the long history of a Maya ceremony identified as the cuch rite. Although transformations in characters and symbols have occurred, continuity is also evident. Application of the ethnohistorical approach has suggested that a large corpus of ancient art depicts fertility and accession ceremonies. The stag appears to have been a major agricultural supernatural in Maya religion.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , July 1981 , pp. 513 - 529
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1981

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