Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path

by David A. Freidel, Linda Schele, Joy Parker

A Masterful blend of archaeology, anthropology, astronomy, and lively personal reportage, Maya Comos tells a constellation of stories, from the historical to the mythological, and envokes the awesome power of one of the richest civilizations ever to grace the earth.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology, Archaeology, Religion, Anthropology, Art

544 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1993

About the author

Professor of Archaeology specialising in the establishment and rule of systems of authority among the lowland Maya in the pre-classic and classical periods.

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I first saw the movie 'The Fountain' I imagined that they had made up the Maya cosmology and that the idea of xibalba (their underworld) being an actually location in the heavens was just a nice Hollywood touch, and convenient for the sci-fi elements of the plot. turns out, it was all 100% accurate, right down to the most comforting thanotopic aphorism I’ve ever heard: "death is the road to awe". This book written by Linda Schele and David Friedel was a mind-expanding trip in to the minds and souls of a jungle people. Recently I’ve been trying to learn to read Maya hieroglyphs and stumbling upon this book was a blessing from some Mayan lord. Written in chapters based around subjects, i.e.: the world tree, Maya souls, the ballgame, etc. From the layout of their cities to the expanse of their underworld, this book captured Maya thought: religious, cosmological and otherwise.

The Maya saw the events of their creation myth reflected in the heavens above, with Orion being the three hearthstones of creation and the nebula in the middle being the fires of Xibalba. And without going into all the details of their beautiful creation myth, I’ll say that the Milky Way was their road they entered after death, traversing this white wonder, until they reach Xibalba, whence their resurrection occurs. This is all shown through stelae, murals, books, and hieroglyphs of the ancient Maya. And to really ascertain all their proof, they looked to the modern Maya: their language, festivals, and society – seeing past the façade of Christianity, and into the infrastructure of Maya thought, the same infrastructure that erected pyramids in the jungle, supported millions of people in a relentless jungle, and created works of art to rival the halls of The Louvre. This technique of finding affirmation in the modern Maya was at first a frustration for me, as I was interested in the Classic Maya and not the current peoples living in Central America. But understanding the Classic Maya – to the extent they are understood – has only been achieved by looking through the lens of modern Mayan language and thought.

Along with the stunning insights these authors worked out, were numerous illustrations, color photographs and translations of hieroglyphs – all in the service of reinforcing the points that are made. There are an untold amount of fabulous, bemusing, and awe-inspiring facts about this wonderful people, but I want to let people experience their own journey of discovery. If you liked ‘The Fountain’, are intrigued by anthropology, or are just a fan of the Classic Maya, this is a must read. Ignore all the 2012 hype and delve into the truth about Maya belief, thought and religion.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is in no sense of the word an introduction to the Maya. It is showing its age, but is nonetheless a valuable demonstration of why the Maya civilization is still around, while the Aztecs, Olmecs, and others are not. It is not an easy book to read and appears to be highly speculative. Several times, I considered abandoning it, but soldiered on despite endless interpretations of hard-to-see hand illustrations of intricate Mayan glyphs.

David Freidel and Linda Schele were co-authors of A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya, which opened my eyes to new developments in Maya archeology back in 1992, the last time I visited Yucatan.

Now, with Maya Cosmos, Freidel, Schele, and co-author Joy Parker deal with the continuity of Maya shamanism over a period of three thousand years. It's a difficult subject, but in the end highly interesting. It was the contention of the authors that what put an end to Classic Maya Civilization were the endless wars initiated by the god/kings of the various Maya states. I personally believe that it was more complicated than that, but I thought that might be one of the reasons for the end of Maya kingship.

[Andrea Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Explains the Maya religion, and in particular how Linda Schele discovered the close tie between religion and astronomy for the Maya. However, the book had already been started when her epiphany happened, so there's a lot more to it, including descriptions of the religious culture of today's Mayan peoples. It will be helpful for readers to already have a basic understanding of classic Maya culture, so readers who don't should first read something like A Forest of Kings, an earlier book by these authors.

Instead of footnotes, the authors use end notes in a two-column format. Not usually a problem, except there are often five or more footnotes per page of main text. All the flipping back and forth was sometimes worth it, elaborating points with interesting information. Many notes are elaborated citations, however, and this makes it pretty tedious. It took me two attempts over several years to be able to get through this book.

[Gracelyn Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, well-researched & academic book, but keeps a personal voice. I found it very useful for understanding the Maya worldview.

[Heather Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in depth journey of the Shamanic process that moved the Maya world. If only history could be turned back and someone would have had the foresight to actually try to comprehend the language and ritual taking place could have been present in the 1600s, instead of a biased organization that only sought to destroy these civilizations. We would not be picking up the pieces today. This is a well thought out explanation on Maya thought process, and a key reading for anyone seeking to understand ancient history.

[Jakearneson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Academic and fun. Linda really makes archeology and cosmology come alive. One of the greatest minds in the history of United States. Strangely, the whole time reading this I was thinking I bet Linda was a recovered alcoholic. I get to the last chapter and turns out she was. Weird

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Readable, scholarly, and full of confident assertions. A wonderful companion to A Forest of Kings.

[AskHistorians]

After the publication of A Forest of Kings and with the help of Joy Parker, the three authors explore Maya cosmology and religion using the newly translated inscriptions of temples, stela, and vessels from across the Maya world. While recent work has updated what we know of the region this is still a solid piece of work that lays out a foundation of understanding for anyone interested in the Maya.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extraordinary book, but it shows the seams of multiple authorship, and often assumes a highly-informed reader (which I was not). Nevertheless, it helped me get engrossed with Maya cosmology, and with the issue of cultural continuity between Classic Period and modern Maya.

[David Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking book - dense, but that's the idea. Good at getting a little way inside a distant culture/ time. Not as good as Frankfort's Kingship and the Gods, which sets a very high bar. Read it before, just referencing it today.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the beliefs and cosmology of the ancient Maya.

[Artie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a rad history of the Mayan people. The time periods can be a little confusing with no previous exposure but you'll never look at the night sky the same way.

[Martha]

Freidel presents the story of the Maya. He shares the translation of the glyphs. He examines the mythology and religion and shows how the ancient people were able to survive for so long.

[Donald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I have a better understanding of the people and how they thought about things. And the glyphs they used to convey ideas actually make some sense to me now!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of good information on calendrics and modern cultural analogies.

[Lisa]

very good

[Dreamersemporium]

very good

[Claudia Herring · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing revelations about the mysterious Maya, their art, their customs, their shamans and practices. The Maya are still here and their practices merely morphed into the 21st century.

[Leslie Rencher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating journey into the world of the Maya. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in cultures, religion, myths, archaeology, and astronomy.