Abstract

This project explores the ways in which ancient Maya women drew power from the moon, utilizing its prognostic value and associated lore to establish and advance political influence, and imbuing women of all socioeconomic levels with creator power and creative energy. I present these forms of feminine power as complementary to more masculine activities, and necessary to the balance and efficiency of Maya society. Cross-referencing a visual canon with ethnographic data and the Popol Vuh, historic creation narrative of the K’iche’ people, I shed (moon)light on the link between the divine and mundane realms. I take an intersectional approach to analyzing these bodies of evidence, centering Indigenous and feminist theory in an effort to challenge dominant androcentric scholarship. Drawing upon imagery with textured meanings encoded, I reconstruct an ancient nightscape in which women flourished under the light of the moon.

Advisor

Navarro-Farr, Olivia C.

Department

Archaeology

Disciplines

Anthropology | Archaeological Anthropology | Arts and Humanities | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Latin American Languages and Societies | Other History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Keywords

Maya, iconography, Waka', women, Archaeology, moon, lunar, power, menstruation, divine, bloodletting, midwifery, Indigenous studies

Publication Date

2023

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2023 Anna Robinson Russell