#dresden codex

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Dresden Codex

The Dresden Codex is one of the most important surviving Mayan manuscripts, created around the 11th or 12th century AD.

Although it originated in the Americas, it was rediscovered centuries later in Dresden, Germany, giving it the name by which it is known today.

Today, this invaluable cultural treasure is preserved in Museum of the Saxon State Library.

Crafted from the inner bark of a wild Ficus tree, the codex’s pages were carefully flattened to create a writing surface.

Each page measures about 20cm in height and can be folded in an accordion style. When fully extended, the manuscript stretches an impressive 3.7m, making it both compact and expansive at the same time.

The text, written in Mayan hieroglyphs, is thought to be based on an even older source dating back three to four centuries earlier.

It contains intricate records of local history and detailed astronomical tables, offering insight into how the Maya tracked celestial movements.

These observations highlight the advanced knowledge and precision of Mayan science and culture.

[bolaneno]

The Venus Table of the Maya Dresden Codex, circa 1100 A.D.

[arthistoryfeed]

Mayan Figures No:1 T-Shirt. This design inspired by illustrations in the Dresden Codex, oldest surviving book written in the Americas. Available on Amazon and Redbubble (onelink): https://geni.us/mayanfigures1

[yutani-corporation]

ドレスデン絵文書 [Codex Dresdensis, p.03]

[therealuniverse]

MAYAN ASTRONOMERS Despite their lack of modern instrumentation, ancient Maya astronomers had a remarkable talent for observing and mapping the motions of the night sky. Their calculations have proved to be incredibly close to precise modern values and were achieved primarily through natural human curiosity and a lot of patience.

The Mayan civilization began to coalesce around 500 BCE. With a writing system and a calendar inherited from their predecessors, the little-understood Olmec civilization, Mayan culture began to spread across Central America. Much of recorded Mayan history was lost after Spanish conquistadors attempted to destroy their religion, but what we do know of their mathematical and technical sophistication arose from a series of codices that survived the subjugation of their culture. Studies of these surviving codices reveal that their complex calendar system was built around a base-20 numbering system (as opposed to our base-10). The famous Dresden codex contains tables predicting future positions of Venus and Mars, as well as a table of eclipses. The rigorous observation did not come without an esoteric flavor, which has persisted in modern-day conspiracy theories surrounding the divisions of the calendar. Mayan astronomy is inextricably linked with astrology. Ancient Mayans tracked the motions of the stars and planets not only for more pragmatic uses such as agriculture, but also to predict the future. Priests would use this early astronomical data to determine the most auspicious times for certain actions. Venus, for example, was associated with war and thus its positions would determine the best time to conduct a raid on a rival tribe. The diligence of Mayan astronomers was an attempt to foresee the machinations of the gods rather than observation for its own sake. Although their observations served a less-than-scientific purpose, the sophistication of Maya astronomers was admirable. However, the determination of the Spanish conquerors to stamp out all traces of Maya mythology quickly halted any potential for true scientific advancement, and Mayan astronomy reached a dead end. -RLO Source: http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/text/extmayaastronomy.htm Image credit: Wolfgang Sauber

[johnconstantius]

i love your image boards! so imaginative and I can't wait to see what they mean

You’re so sweet! I’m glad you liked them.

I think I have one more image board yet to post. As I’ve mentioned to some of the commenters at AO3, I recently went on a 20-hour road trip with not much to do but think. During that trip, I managed to come up with the entire plot (in outline form) of Special 3, so that story feels pretty queued up and ready to write 😊.

So what’s on the last image board? Hmm, maybe Dustin. Maybe Dart. The Mind Flayer? And, oh yeah, hieroglyphics from one of the historic pre-Columbian Mayan codices. Probably the Dresden Codex as a hat-tip to Harry Dresden, and also because no one knows how that codex actually ended up in Germany, so... spooky 👻.

The Special series: come for the Mileven, stay for the Mayan mytho-historical legend cycles 😊. The advertising campaign just writes itself, doesn’t it?

[1five1two]

[aztec-religion]

Mayan deities from the Dresden Codex