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THEMATIC AND CHRONOLOGICAL TIES BETWEEN THE BORGIA AND MADRID CODICES BASED ON RECORDS OF AGRICULTURAL PESTS IN THE PLANTING ALMANACS

Despite differences in layout, the Lowland Maya planting almanacs on pages 24-31 of the Madrid Codex are structurally and iconographically similar to the almanacs on pages 27-28 of the Codex Borgia from highland Central Mexico. We compare the agricultural pests pictured in the two groups of almanacs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Anthropological Research 2011-12, Vol.67 (4), p.497-531
Main Authors: Bricker, Victoria R., Milbrath, Susan
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Despite differences in layout, the Lowland Maya planting almanacs on pages 24-31 of the Madrid Codex are structurally and iconographically similar to the almanacs on pages 27-28 of the Codex Borgia from highland Central Mexico. We compare the agricultural pests pictured in the two groups of almanacs, consider the seasonal variation in their feeding habits, relate them to the tonalpohualli/tzolkin dates mentioned in the almanacs, and conclude that the temporal focus of the Madrid almanacs overlaps the years covered by the Borgia almanacs, which date to the fifteenth century (specifically 1467-1472, and more generally 1467-1519). The close thematic and chronological ties between the two sets of almanacs suggest that scribes in the two regions were communicating with each other and represent another facet of the spread of the Mixteca-Puebla tradition into the Maya area in Late Postclassic times.
ISSN:0091-7710
2153-3806
2153-3806
DOI:10.3998/jar.0521004.0067.401