Birds and Beasts of Ancient Latin America

Birds and Beasts of Ancient Latin America
Author: Elizabeth P. Benson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 200
Release: 1997
Genre: Animals
ISBN:

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Elizabeth P. Benson provides an engaging overview of the depiction of animals in the pre-Columbian art of Latin America.

Birds and Beasts of Ancient Mesoamerica

Birds and Beasts of Ancient Mesoamerica
Author: Susan Milbrath
Publisher: University Press of Colorado
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2023-12-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1646424611

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Birds and Beasts of Ancient Mesoamerica links Precolumbian animal imagery with scientific data related to animal morphology and behavior, providing in-depth studies of the symbolic importance of animals and birds in Postclassic period Mesoamerica. Representations of animal deities in Mesoamerica can be traced back at least to Middle Preclassic Olmec murals, stone carvings, and portable art such as lapidary work and ceramics. Throughout the history of Mesoamerica real animals were merged with fantastical creatures, creating zoological oddities not unlike medieval European bestiaries. According to Spanish chroniclers, the Aztec emperor was known to keep exotic animals in royal aviaries and zoos. The Postclassic period was characterized by an iconography that was shared from central Mexico to the Yucatan peninsula and south to Belize. In addition to highlighting the symbolic importance of nonhuman creatures in general, the volume focuses on the importance of the calendrical and astronomical symbolism associated with animals and birds. Inspired by and dedicated to the work of Mesoamerican scholar Cecelia Klein and featuring imagery from painted books, monumental sculpture, portable arts, and archaeological evidence from the field of zooarchaeology, Birds and Beasts of Ancient Mesoamerica highlights the significance of the animal world in Postclassic and early colonial Mesoamerica. It will be important to students and scholars studying Mesoamerican art history, archaeology, ethnohistory, and zoology.

Five Birds of Latin America

Five Birds of Latin America
Author: Lillian Cox Athey
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1946
Genre: Birds
ISBN:

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A Pre-Columbian Bestiary

A Pre-Columbian Bestiary
Author: Ilan Stavans
Publisher: Penn State Press
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2020-10-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0271088176

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An encyclopedic collaboration between award-winning Mexican American scholar Ilan Stavans and illustrator Eko, A Pre-Columbian Bestiary features lively and informative descriptions of forty-six religious, mythical, and imaginary creatures from the Nahua, Aztec, Maya, Tabasco, Inca, Aymara, and other cultures of Latin America. From the siren-like Acuecuéyotl and the water animal Chaac to the class-conscious Oc and the god of light and darkness Xólotl, the magnificent entities in this volume belong to the same family of real and invented creatures imagined by Dante, Franz Kafka, C. S. Lewis, Jorge Luis Borges, Umberto Eco, and J. K. Rowling. They are mined from indigenous religious texts, like the Popol Vuh, and from chronicles, both real and fictional, of the Spanish conquest by Diego Durán, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, and Fernando de Zarzamora, among others. In this playful compilation, Stavans distills imagery from the work of magic realist masters such as Juan Rulfo and Gabriel García Márquez; from songs of protest in Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru; and from aboriginal beasts in Jewish, Muslim, European, British, and other traditions. In the spirit of imaginative invention, even the bibliography is a mixture of authentic and concocted material. An inspiring record of resistance and memory from a civilization whose superb pantheon of myths never ceases to amaze, A Pre-Columbian Bestiary will delight anyone interested in the history and culture of Latin America.

Centering Animals in Latin American History

Centering Animals in Latin American History
Author: Martha Few
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 406
Release: 2013-06-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822397595

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Centering Animals in Latin American History writes animals back into the history of colonial and postcolonial Latin America. This collection reveals how interactions between humans and other animals have significantly shaped narratives of Latin American histories and cultures. The contributors work through the methodological implications of centering animals within historical narratives, seeking to include nonhuman animals as social actors in the histories of Mexico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Chile, Brazil, Peru, and Argentina. The essays discuss topics ranging from canine baptisms, weddings, and funerals in Bourbon Mexico to imported monkeys used in medical experimentation in Puerto Rico. Some contributors examine the role of animals in colonization efforts. Others explore the relationship between animals, medicine, and health. Finally, essays on the postcolonial period focus on the politics of hunting, the commodification of animals and animal parts, the protection of animals and the environment, and political symbolism. Contributors. Neel Ahuja, Lauren Derby, Regina Horta Duarte, Martha Few, Erica Fudge, León García Garagarza, Reinaldo Funes Monzote, Heather L. McCrea, John Soluri, Zeb Tortorici, Adam Warren, Neil L. Whitehead

A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography

A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography
Author: Donald A. Proulx
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2009-08
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9781587298295

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For almost eight hundred years (100 BC–AD 650) Nasca artists modeled and painted the plants, animals, birds, and fish of their homeland on Peru’s south coast as well as numerous abstract anthropomorphic creatures whose form and meaning are sometimes incomprehensible today. In this first book-length treatment of Nasca ceramic iconography to appear in English, drawing upon an archive of more than eight thousand Nasca vessels from over 150 public and private collections, Donald Proulx systematically describes the major artistic motifs of this stunning polychrome pottery, interprets the major themes displayed on this pottery, and then uses these descriptions and his stimulating interpretations to analyze Nasca society. After beginning with an overview of Nasca culture and an explanation of the style and chronology of Nasca pottery, Proulx moves to the heart of his book: a detailed classification and description of the entire range of supernatural and secular themes in Nasca iconography along with a fresh and distinctive interpretation of these themes. Linking the pots and their iconography to the archaeologically known Nasca society, he ends with a thorough and accessible examination of this ancient culture viewed through the lens of ceramic iconography. Although these static images can never be fully understood, by animating their themes and meanings Proulx reconstructs the lifeways of this complex society.

Latin-American Mythology (Illustrated Edition)

Latin-American Mythology (Illustrated Edition)
Author: Hartley Burr Alexander
Publisher: DigiCat
Total Pages: 453
Release: 2023-11-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

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This edition presents a thorough and comprehensive study on the folklore and legends of the native inhabitants of Central and South America. The materials for the study of native traditions are striking and various, from the usual demoniac beliefs and animistic credulities, to elaborate formations such as the Aztec and Maya pantheons, or the enigmatic Peruvian dogma. The study also explores the mythology of Caribbean people, as well as the legends from Amazon, Brazil, and the tales from the far south of the continent. Webster's Dictionary from 1903-1908, then became professor of philosophy at the University of Nebraska.

Vulture

Vulture
Author: Thom van Dooren
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2012-01-01
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1861899998

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Simply because they are large scavenging birds, vultures are often viewed as harbingers of death. But, as Thom van Dooren shows in this cultural and natural history, that dominant association leaves us with a very one-dimensional understanding of a group of actually rather fascinating and diverse creatures. Vulture offers an enlightening new history of this much-misunderstood bird. Vultures vary in type and size, and while some have a diet mainly of bone, others are actually almost completely vegetarian. Most interesting, despite its notorious association with death, the vulture very rarely, if ever, kills for itself. In different cultural mythologies, vultures play a role in disposing of the dead and officiating over human sacrifices, but they have often been viewed as courageous and noble creatures as well—believed to be indispensable in the containment of waste and disease and even to be world creators and divine mothers. Van Dooren explores these many histories, from some of the earliest-known Neolithic sites in which vultures are thought to have consumed the dead to contemporary efforts to reintroduce the bearded vulture into the Alps. Highlighting the rich diversity of vultures and the many ways in which people have understood and lived with them, Vulture invites a new appreciation and wonder for these incredible birds.

Birds of Northern South America: An Identification Guide

Birds of Northern South America: An Identification Guide
Author: Miguel Lentino
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 1642
Release: 2020-08-06
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1472981626

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Volume II of a comprehensive field guide dealing exclusively with the birds of Northern South America. It covers all the species, including vagrants, found in Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The more than 2,300 species described in Volume I, Birds of Northern South America: An Identification Guide: Species Accounts, are here accurately depicted in a total of nearly 6,400 images, illustrating every distinct plumage of every species and subspecies and highlighting key identification features. Concise caption text appears on the plates and distribution maps appear opposite the plates. This book will not only be an indispensable guide to the visiting birder, but also a vital tool for those engaged in work to conserve and study the avifauna of this region, which is of such importance to both the indigenous species and those which pass through on migration.