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This book immerses the reader in the fascinating history of the Mesoamerican peoples, Aztec and Maya in particular. Although these two Mesoamerican cultures developed at very different periods, they present numerous convergences and similarities, from an attraction to ritual ball games to advanced astronomical knowledge and close intertwining of the lives of people and the observation of the sky.
Astronomy provided a relationship between religious ideas and daily or seasonal agricultural practices and was therefore of major importance in Mesoamerican societies. This work highlights the importance of time-measuring devices and calendars used for planning of agricultural tasks during the different seasons and sacred rituals. The history of the Aztec and Maya people, strongly associated with legends and myths, is imbued with an astonishing and omnipresent spirituality which is discussed in detail in this work. The pantheon of these two peoples was very extensive, the religion often integrating the heritage of previous cultures in the same way that the empire appropriated the artisanal know-how of the conquered regions.
Amply illustrated with photographs by the author and documents from codices, this book is aimed at a very wide audience, from enthusiasts of history, ethnology, and astronomy to students or researchers interested in the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Mexico.
List of contents
Chapter 1: Introduction and General Context.- Chapter 2: An Abridged History of the Mesoamerican Peoples.- Chapter 3: The Glorious Civilizations of the Aztecs and Maya.- Chapter 4: Mesoamerican Writing and Historical Sources.- Chapter 5: The Xiuhpohualli and the Tonalpohualli of the Aztecs.- Chapter 6: A Cyclical Time: the Haab and the Tzolkin of the Maya.- Chapter 7: The Religion and Mythology of the Aztecs.- Chapter 8: The Religion and Cosmology of the Maya.- Chapter 9: The Astronomy of the Aztecs.- Chapter 10: The Sky of the Maya and the Power of the Kings.
About the author
Emile Biémont is Honorary Research Director of the belgian FNRS, Honorary professor of the University of Mons (Belgium) and Emeritus member of the Royal Academy of Belgium. His fields of investigation concern theoretical and experimental atomic spectroscopy with applications to laser physics, plasma physics and astrophysics. He has been involved intensively in teaching and research in astrophysics and particularly in solar and stellar physics, namely in abundance determinations.
He is also interested in the history of science and popularization of science. He is the author (or co-author) of approximately 370 scientific publications in physics and astrophysics. He has published 15 books on subjects as diverse as the light, the meteors, the calendars, the rainbow, the astronomy in the islamic world, the atomic and molecular spectroscopy, the time measurement and the history of atomic physics, including his latest book published by Springer in 2024, The Incas' Sky.
Summary
This book immerses the reader in the fascinating history of the Mesoamerican peoples, Aztec and Maya in particular. Although these two Mesoamerican cultures developed at very different periods, they present numerous convergences and similarities, from an attraction to ritual ball games to advanced astronomical knowledge and close intertwining of the lives of people and the observation of the sky.
Astronomy provided a relationship between religious ideas and daily or seasonal agricultural practices and was therefore of major importance in Mesoamerican societies. This work highlights the importance of time-measuring devices and calendars used for planning of agricultural tasks during the different seasons and sacred rituals. The history of the Aztec and Maya people, strongly associated with legends and myths, is imbued with an astonishing and omnipresent spirituality which is discussed in detail in this work. The pantheon of these two peoples was very extensive, the religion often integrating the heritage of previous cultures in the same way that the empire appropriated the artisanal know-how of the conquered regions.
Amply illustrated with photographs by the author and documents from codices, this book is aimed at a very wide audience, from enthusiasts of history, ethnology, and astronomy to students or researchers interested in the pre-Hispanic civilizations of Mexico.
