In The Maw Of The Earth Monster:

Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use

University Texas Press, 2005 - Social Science - 438 pages

As portals to the supernatural realm that creates and animates the universe, caves have always been held sacred by the peoples of Mesoamerica. From ancient times to the present, Mesoamericans have made pilgrimages to caves for ceremonies ranging from rituals of passage to petitions for rain and a plentiful harvest. So important were caves to the pre-Hispanic peoples that they are mentioned in Maya hieroglyphic writing and portrayed in the Central Mexican and Oaxacan pictorial codices. Many ancient settlements were located in proximity to caves.

This volume gathers papers from twenty prominent Mesoamerican archaeologists, linguists, and ethnographers to present a state-of-the-art survey of ritual cave use in Mesoamerica from Pre-Columbian times to the present. Organized geographically, the book examines cave use in Central Mexico, Oaxaca, and the Maya region. Some reports present detailed site studies, while others offer new theoretical understandings of cave rituals. As a whole, the collection validates cave study as the cutting edge of scientific investigation of indigenous ritual and belief. It confirms that the indigenous religious system of Mesoamerica was and still is much more terrestrially focused that has been generally appreciated.

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Review: In the maw of the earth monster

User Review - Elizabeth Graham, Institute of Archaeology, University College London - Journal of Latin American Studies

This volume on Mesoamerican ritual cave use is a significant achievement on the editors' part and a major contribution to cave research. It is also a landmark in research on religion, ritual, and worldview in Maya studies as a whole. Read full review

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References to this book

From Google Scholar

Maya Caves Across Time and Space

Duncan Earle

The Triadic Causeways of Ichmul: Virtual Highways Becoming Actual ...

Johan Normark - 2008 - Cambridge Archaeological Journal

XI The Americas

Robert Mason, Kirsten Phimister, Finn Pollard, Claire Campbell, Rebecca Earle, Kenneth Morgan - 2007 - Annual Bulletin of Historical Literature

References from web pages

Table of Contents and Excerpt, Brady and Prufer, In the Maw of the ...
2005. 6 1/8 x 9 1/4 in. 448 pp., 145 b&w figures. ISBN: 978-0-292-70586-9 $60.00, hardcover with dust jacket 33% website discount: $40.20 ...
www.utexas.edu/ utpress/ excerpts/ exbramaw.html

In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, A ...
In the new book "In the Maw of the Earth Monster", James Brady and Keith Prufer have provided us non-specialists with a survey of the research into caves in ...
archaeology.about.com/ od/ 6/ fr/ brady.htm

In the maw of the Earth monster: Mesoamerican ritual cave use
In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer (Editors), 2005, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, ...
doi.wiley.com/ 10.1002/ gea.20120

Blackwell Synergy - J Royal Anthropological Inst, Volume 12 Issue ...
In the maw of the earth monster: Mesoamerican ritual cave use - Edited by James E. Brady & Keith M. Prufer Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 12 ...
www.blackwell-synergy.com/ doi/ abs/ 10.1111/ j.1467-9655.2006.00303_1.x

ingentaconnect In the maw of the earth monster: Mesoamerican ...
In the maw of the earth monster: Mesoamerican ritual cave use � Edited by James E. Brady & Keith M. Prufer. Author: Joyce, Rosemary A.1 ...
www.ingentaconnect.com/ content/ bpl/ jrai/ 2006/ 00000012/ 00000002/ art00013;jsessionid=4tga5g1vxgju.alice?format=print

In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use ...
In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use.(Book review) from Latin American Antiquity in Reference provided by Find Articles.
findarticles.com/ p/ articles/ mi_hb1423/ is_200612/ ai_n18936710

Chocolate in the Underworld Space of Death: Cacao Seeds from an ...
In In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. je Brady and km Prufer, eds. Pp. 301-27. Austin: University of Texas Press. ...
ethnohistory.dukejournals.org/ cgi/ content/ refs/ 54/ 2/ 273

CURRIVULUM VITA
In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. University of Texas. Press, Austin. 2004 Manuel Aguilar and James E. Brady (Coordinators) ...
www.calstatela.edu/ academic/ anthro/ bradypubs.pdf

Layout 1
30. volume 47, number 3 expedition. Water flows from the keyhole-. shaped entrance of the ancient. Maya ceremonial cave Actun ...
130.91.80.97:591/ PDFs/ 47-3/ Moyes.pdf

Mesoamerican Cave Archaeology Network - Links
In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use, www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exbramaw.html. Arte Rupestre de M�xico Oriental y ...
www.mesocave.org/ links.html

About the author (2005)

JAMES E. BRADY is Associate Professor of Anthropology at California State University, Los Angeles.

KEITH M. PRUFER is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas

Bibliographic information

QR code for In The Maw Of The Earth Monster

Title	In The Maw Of The Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use The Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies
Author	James Edward Brady
Editors	James Edward Brady, Keith Malcolm Prufer
Edition	illustrated
Publisher	University Texas Press, 2005
ISBN	0292705867, 9780292705869
Length	438 pages
Subjects	Social Science › Anthropology › Cultural Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural Social Science / Archaeology Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Native American Studies

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