[Aztlan] February event

[Joel Skidmore]

February 9

The Pre-Columbian Society of the University of Pennsylvania Museum Lecture

Simon Martin, University of Pennsylvania Museum, Specialist in Mayan Epigraphy

"Gods within Gods: Theosynthesis and the Making of Divine Identity 
among the Ancient Maya"

The polytheistic scheme of Maya gods developed by Paul Schellhas at 
the end of the nineteenth century has had a powerful and productive 
influence on our understanding of ancient Maya religion. His 
designations of God A, God B, etc. have been modified and refined 
over the years, but his basic divisions hold true in most cases and 
conform with the wider iconographic and epigraphic evidence available 
to us today. However, there are strong signs that the formation of 
divine identity for the Maya also involves elements of hybridity and 
fusion that go beyond the Schellhas scheme. If we are to understand 
Maya gods we will need to comprehend how they form composite 
characters and combine symbolic motifs as integral parts of their 
identity and meaning. This talk takes us through the recent 
developments in this field and offers revised interpretations of 
certain deities.