Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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A powerpoint lecture used in the video about how to write your name in Mayan. / This collection consists of learning objects developed for use in courses offered by the Department of Linguistics. Learning objects include lectures, presentations, quizzes, activities, and more. Access to this collection is restricted to authorized faculty and instructors. For access to this collection, please contact Dr. Amy Fountain, Department of Linguistics, avf@email.arizona.edu.

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Video lecture on how to use the Mayan Hieroglyphic system to write your name.

The aim of this study was to find out if nejayote produced at household level in Guatemala represents a threat to aquatic ecosystems and, if so, propose sustainable processing, reuse and disposal methods. First, all aspects related to nejayote production were explored. This study presents combined results from literature study on corn consumption and Guatemalan demography, a survey to Guatemalan women of all ethnical groups, nixtamalization replica and solids removal experiments and laboratory analysis. Findings indicate that the source of nejayote are approximate 600 000 tones of corn nixtamalized yearly by Mayan women from the rural areas of Guatemala to prepare tortillas for a population of about 5 000 000. From this activity approximately 300 000 tones of concentrated nejayote are produced and 800 000 tones of water are polluted yearly. Approximate 63% of these volumes are discharged into water ecosystems without treatment due to lack of knowledge of its potential negative impact or reuse properties. The study was done on nejayote produced at national level, but the isolation of the Mayan population within less than 20% of the national territory, suggests higher punctuality of nejayote discharges. Chemical and physical analyses made to samples from the nixtamalization replica confirmed its similarity to industrial nejayote, which has proven to be highly pollutant due to high content of organic matter from corn grain pericarp and germ. Concentrations ranges from 200 to 300 ppm of nitrogen, 160 to 190 ppm of phosphorus and 25 000 to 28 000 ppm of organic matter make it a potential fertilizer or soil conditioner. Studies indicate that it can be safely reused as supplementary food for chickens and pigs, to prepare additional corn based foods for humans or it could be safely discharged into ponds, wetlands or pits to minimize any environmental impact. Although findings point to nejayote as a potential aquatic ecosystem pollutant, this depends on the capacity of the specific recipient aquatic ecosystem to adsorb and process the nutrients and on the volumes and concentration of nutrients of the nejayote discharged that might vary from household to household. However, the nutrient rich nejayote can be seen as a potential resource, instead of a pollutant, to improve the nutritional, social and economical conditions of the Mayan populations. Specially women, an isolated segment of society that lacks opportunities and who, according to findings of this study, start processing corn into tortillas from early childhood and continue throughout all their lifetime without any benefit on return.

The formative village of K'axob is located on a low rise in the lowland swamp and riverine setting of northern Belize. In 1992, I initiated a type-variety analysis of Formative period ceramics from the northern Belize site of K'axob. Following the lead of Andrews V (1990), I closely scrutinize the criteria used for the classification of Formative ceramics from northern Belize, especially for the establishment of new types and varieties. The following study, therefore, embodies an attempt to review ceramic analysis in northern Belize. Along with the review, I discuss the debate surrounding the chronological place of Formative remains from northern Belize, including the implications of the Cuello shortened chronology to ceramic classification, and examine the possibility of tracing the origins of Swasey ceramics from Cuello. I describe the ceramics of K'axob, consequently, detailing the chronological sequence of Pulltrouser Swamp, and place the K'axob ceramics within the general cultural background of the Maya Lowlands. Through such rigorous study, the K'axob ceramic evidence yielded information on the life of a small Formative village in northern Belize, as well as the contacts with sites in the Guatemala Highlands, Honduras, and El Salvador, during Formative times. ERRATUM Where referred to in the text, the pottery type 'Society Hall: Society Hall variety' should be read as 'Society Hall Red: Society Hall variety'; and 'Sierra Red: Sierra Red variety' should be read as "Sierra Red: Sierra variety".

Monumental art of the Maya incorporates figural imagery and hieroglyphic texts to document dynastic and mythical history. One particular monument tells us that near the end of April in 752 A.D., Bird Jaguar IV was inaugurated as ruler of the Mayan city now known as Yaxchilan. Investigation of his sculptural programmes reveals a multiplicity of innovative solutions for Bird Jaguar's unparalleled problems in validating a tenuous claim to rulership of Yaxchilan. It appears that in order to compensate for his insufficient genealogical claim, Bird Jaguar fabricated a series of ritual events which proclaimed his political legitimacy. This study examines the intended integration of two parallel systems of communication: the visual and hieroglyphic languages of the Maya. Analysis shows how Bird Jaguar's artists presented symbolic references which manipulated the past history, justified the current history, and established the future political history of Yaxchilan. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate