Overview

Course No. 90146 — Take a deep dive into the Popol Vuh, its most compelling stories, and their connections to ancient Maya belief systems. This pilot lecture examines why creation stories matter, how they blend myth and history, and how they shape a civilization’s sense of place.

Course Description

Explore the Popol Vuh to understand its narratives of creation, hero twins, and death lords, and to analyze how such stories function within Maya cosmology and social life. This lecture considers whether creation accounts should be read as myth, history, or a hybrid, and discusses how these narratives define cultural identity, values, and worldviews prior to European contact.

Lecture List

• The Popol Vuh: Heroes and Death Lords

• Description: What can an ancient creation story tell us about civilizations in the Americas before European arrival? This lecture dives into the Popol Vuh’s central tales and their links to Maya religion, ritual, and cosmology.

• Duration: 26 minutes

Learning Objectives

• Interpret key episodes of the Popol Vuh and their symbolic meanings.

• Identify connections between the Popol Vuh narratives and broader Maya belief systems and rituals.

• Evaluate methodological approaches to reading creation stories as myth, history, or a fusion of both.

• Appreciate the role of origin myths in shaping social identity and cultural continuity.

Target Audience

Students and enthusiasts of Mesoamerican studies, mythology, anthropology, religious studies, and anyone interested in pre-Columbian cultural narratives.