Gail Fish

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Andrews, Anthony

Keywords

Chilam Balam, Ixil, Maya, Manuscript, Mayan

Area of Concentration

Anthropology

Abstract

This work is an extended discussion and analysis of the colonial Maya manuscript, the Chilam Balam of Ixil. This manuscript was written in the Yucatec village of Ixil in the late eighteenth century and is a compilation of various sources. Its focus is primarily on astronomy and astrology, both of European and Mesoamerican origin. This research is historically and anthropologically grounded to provide a more holistic view of the work itself. I argue that the Ixil manuscript is analogous to a fixed landscape in which sources from multiple times and places are resituated in a coherent work. This new whole is grounded in the decisions of the scribe, operating in a specific historical, colonial, and literary context. I also demonstrate how the work itself was received and used far outside of the world in which it was written. The discussion of these ideas together show not only that this manuscript is worthy of study as a material object, but also how it can be used to illuminate a wide range of concerns and ideas in both colonial Yucatán and in the history of anthropological endeavors.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida Libraries, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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