You are here

UCF Digital Collections ยป ETD Collection

Mirrors as Portals: Images of Mirrors on Ancient Maya Ceramics

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2019
Abstract/Description:
The Maya believed there were multiple worlds in addition to the human world. Portals connected these worlds and allowed active engagement between the Maya and their gods. Without portals and the ability to communicate between the worlds the Maya belief system could not function. Evidence suggests the Maya believed reflective surfaces (-) mirrors and water surfaces (-) were portals to spiritual worlds. In this thesis, I examine the portrayal of mirrors as portals in Maya art, focusing on mirrors in scenes painted on ceramics. Combining archaeological, iconographical, and linguistic data I argue that mirrors functioned in service to ritual as an essential gateway between humans and the gods and were two-way portals between earthly and spiritual worlds. I specifically examine fifty-one scenes on painted ceramic vessels involving mirrors to interpret and document their function as portals between worlds, how they were used in courtly life and what they may have meant to the people who used them. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Maya, their gods, and a particular aspect of material culture (-) mirrors (-) and how the elite used mirrors and their relationship with the gods as a source of power. I conclude that the gods are not omnipresent and that mirrors portals are always active and strategically placed for the gods to have the best view of the world of humans.
Title: Mirrors as Portals: Images of Mirrors on Ancient Maya Ceramics.
39 views
14 downloads
Name(s): Rogers, Julie, Author
Callaghan, Michael, Committee Chair
Kovacevich, Brigitte, Committee Member
Reyes-Foster, Beatriz, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2019
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The Maya believed there were multiple worlds in addition to the human world. Portals connected these worlds and allowed active engagement between the Maya and their gods. Without portals and the ability to communicate between the worlds the Maya belief system could not function. Evidence suggests the Maya believed reflective surfaces (-) mirrors and water surfaces (-) were portals to spiritual worlds. In this thesis, I examine the portrayal of mirrors as portals in Maya art, focusing on mirrors in scenes painted on ceramics. Combining archaeological, iconographical, and linguistic data I argue that mirrors functioned in service to ritual as an essential gateway between humans and the gods and were two-way portals between earthly and spiritual worlds. I specifically examine fifty-one scenes on painted ceramic vessels involving mirrors to interpret and document their function as portals between worlds, how they were used in courtly life and what they may have meant to the people who used them. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Maya, their gods, and a particular aspect of material culture (-) mirrors (-) and how the elite used mirrors and their relationship with the gods as a source of power. I conclude that the gods are not omnipresent and that mirrors portals are always active and strategically placed for the gods to have the best view of the world of humans.
Identifier: CFE0007857 (IID), ucf:52799 (fedora)
Note(s): 2019-12-01
M.A.
Sciences,
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Maya -- mirror -- mirrors -- portal -- iconography
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007857
Restrictions on Access: public 2019-12-15
Host Institution: UCF

In Collections