Description
Codices are manuscripts containing both images and texts that contain information about Mesoamerican history, science, land tenure, sacred rituals, and tribute. They were made both before and after the sixteenth-century encounter with the Spanish colonizers. This exam asks you to use Mesoamerican symbols to create your own codex. You can illustrate something such as an historic or current event, a personal journey, a belief, or it could even be something mundane....the route you take to school or the grocery store for example.
Step 1: Chose at least three symbols from the academic text "The Gods and symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya" (I will attach it to the sources). The subject index for this book starts on page 36 and gives you an overview of what kind of symbols are included. In the written summary, you can explain how the symbols relate to your story. For example, you might use the drawing of the goddess Ixchel in a number of ways. Her name means "Lady Rainbow" and she is associated with childbirth so she might be used as a general symbol of rebirth or as a stand-in for a mother or ancestor, or even just an older woman. You can add in your own symbols to supplement the story, but at least three symbols must be taken from the book. The point of the assignment is to show that studying Art History can widen one's own perspective for thinking creatively.
Step 2: Hand-draw your codex. This is not graded for artistic ability, however I do want you to hand-draw the glyphs, because this is what Mesoamerican scholars learn to do. They copy the glyphs in order to really understand them. You must also color your glyphs and explain the color symbolism in your explanation. It is up to you how to arrange the composition of the drawing. It can be linear or something like the Florentine Codex with vertical strips of scenes or even like the Codex Mendoza frontispiece which was one large drawing. The artists/scribes in Mesoamerica were so creative in the way they arranged the storytelling - it wasn't always linear so feel free to do what organization you want.
Step 3: Write a written explanation of your codex. What symbols did you use from the Ancient Mexico/the Maya and what do they mean? You can write as much as you want to help us understand what is going on but the length should be at least 200 words.
Step 4: Upload a photo/scan of your codex image with your written explanation to the discussion board (worth 100 points)
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Explanation & Answer
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Codices
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Quetzalcoatl as the Feathered Serpent, Tlaloc as the God of Rain and Storms and the
Jaguar all link the actual and supernatural presences of the ancient Mexican and Maya
civilization. Every single one of them is steeped in meaning, both as cosmic deities and as social
tools in the culture of Mesoamerica. Interpreting the symbolisms requires looking at what these
symbols signify and why they signify.
Feathered Serpent (Quetzalcoatl)
embodies opposition that is beyond earthly and heavenly; it is divine. This deity was a
creator deity whose symbols were wisdom and protector of humanity. Quetzalcoatl’s plumes
symbolize the sky, light and the gods, the serpent symbolizes the earth, and reproduction. The
apparent integration of these elements makes it easy to find deeper meaning in them, particularly
illustrating the connection between the upper and lower worlds and the Quetzalcoatl figure who
mediates between these worlds. When given for the codex, this symbol could be understood in
terms of the opposition, life or death where spiritual matter acknowledged the cyclical structures
of the world that is typical for the Mesoamerican worldview.
Tlaloc
Tlaloc was an integral god in the ancient agricultural Mexican and Maya communities.
His powers over rain and storm made him a very essential god regarding crop fertility and, thus,
the survival of the people. His symbol often consists of jagged, angular shapes that are indicative
of water or rain, and his relation with water was so essential for the growth of maize-one of the
foodstuffs. That is, in the codex, Tlaloc's symbol could represent the necessary forces of nature
that sustain life, like rain for growth and fertility. This can be understood to represent the life
cycle: where every beginning is nurtured by the elements, and every end is used to feed the next
cycle.
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Jaguar
Another powerful symbol that was used both in Mesoamerican cultures in general, but
also within Olmec civilization is the jaguar, which often symbolizes strength, power, and
divinity. The jaguar was thought to be a night hunter; it derived meaning in respect to both the
physical world and the spiritual one. It came to ...
