Abstract:
Introduction & Objectives: In the lowlands and highlands of Guatemala the Mayan civilization flourished from end-3rd to mid-16th centuries. This
agricultural and warrior culture developed the only native American writing system and created city-states linked by trade. In the 9th century, a
political collapse with massive population displacement occurred. Chichen Itza emerged in Yucatan and k'iche kingdom expanded in Guatemala
until the Spanish Empire and its local allies (Nahua and Cachiquel) occupied Mesoamerica. Maya culture persists today in Guatemala, Mexico,
Belize and Salvador.
Materials & Methods: Review of the literature and archeological evidence in Maya settlements, stelae, museums (Museo de las Americas, Madrid;
Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico; Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnografía, Museo del Popul-Vuh, Ciudad de Guatemala), codes
(Dresden, Madrid, Paris, Florentine) and ceramics.
Results: Maya genital and/or coital representations are not very numerous but the male/female duality explains the nature and behavior of the
cosmos. Maize is male and bean is female. The feminine is death and the origin of life, while the masculine is life and precedes death, but the
co...