Karl A Taube
Biographic Data
| ID | 75290 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Karl A Taube |
| GIVEN NAMES | Karl A |
| FAMILY NAME | Taube |
| SIGNATURE | TAUBE K A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California, Riverside |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 236 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1986 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Carved monuments from Cerro Patlachique in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico
Mountains figure prominently in Mesoamerican cosmogeny, and a deep history of pilgrimage and worship surrounds many, though few have been systematically investigated using modern archaeological methods. Here, the authors present results from the lidar mapping and surface survey of a plateau at the summit of Cerro Patlachique, located at the southern limit of the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico. While ceramic typology establishes Cerro Patlachique as a…
Domesticating Time: Quadripartite Symbolism and Founding Rituals at Yaxuná
Roads, Temples, and the Community Boundaries of Cobá, Quintana Roo
When East Meets West: Chichen Itza, Tula, and the Postclassic Mesoamerican world
This volume represents the first large-scale reconsideration of the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic periods in broader Mesoamerica in 20 years. In part, the focus is to examine the influence of the ruins of Classic period Teotihuacan in the political, social, and economic structures of societies at the transition to the Postclassic period. Teotihuacan was a locus of critical cultural innovations in Mesoamerica. These innovations included fusing …
Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica
This article discusses gods and mythic origins in ancient Mesoamerican thought. In ancient Mesoamerican thought, the creation and maintenance of the ordered world was only achieved through a concerted effort by the gods, a weighty responsibility that continued through the sacrificial offerings and rituals of mortals. The myths and behavior of gods not only explained the origins of the world but also served as models for human behavior for commone…
The Symbolism of Jade in Classic Maya Religion
The Classic Maya esteemed jadeite not only for its preciousness and beauty but also as stone of great symbolic import. This paper examines the religious significance of jade and certain types of jade artifacts among the Classic Maya. In this study, I note that the Classic Maya ascribed a number of meanings to jade, including maize, centrality, and rulership, as well as a material embodiment of wind and the vitalizing breath soul. Because of its c…
Flower Mountain: Concepts of Life, Beauty, and Paradise among the Classic Maya
The Bilimek Pulque Vessel: Starlore, Calendrics, and Cosmology of Late Postclassic Central Mexico
The Bilimek Vessel is among the most remarkable pieces of portable Aztec sculpture, and it contains an unusually complex body of imagery concerning starlore and cosmic battle. The Bilimek Vessel and other Aztec sources reveal that the alcoholic beverage pulque was well integrated into Aztec concepts of warfare and mythology. To the Aztec, pulque was identified with the souls of dead warriors and the starry night sky. The many figures appearing on…
The Role of Radiocarbon Dating in Maya Archaeology: Four Decades of Research
The Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Cult of Sacred War at Teotihuacan
Obsidian Polyhedral Cores and Prismatic Blades in the Writing and Art of Ancient Mexico
The widespread appearance of obsidian prismatic blades and polyhedral cores in ancient Mexican writing and art provides important information regarding ancient mesoamerican lithic technology. One common central Mexican epigraphic convention, a hooklike black element, is identified as a curving prismatic blade, here providing the phonetic value itz . The placement of blade segments on the edges of wooden clubs is one of the most commonly cited use…
The Maize Tamale in Classic Maya Diet, Epigraphy, and Art
Iconographic, epigraphic, and linguistic data provide new evidence that the tamale constituted the primary maize food of Classic Maya diet. Archaeological and ethnohistoric data pertaining to the tamale and tortilla are reviewed and discussed in terms of the widespread representation of the tamale in Classic Maya epigraphy and art. Iconographic forms of the tamale are isolated and compared with hieroglyphic signs. Glyphs T:14, 39, 86, 130, 135, 5…
Folk Classification of Classic Maya Pottery
A Prehispanic Maya Katun Wheel
Much has been written on the calendrical achievements of the ancient Maya; however, little is known of the ancient Maya models for recording and conceiving of the passage of time. A carved stone turtle excavated at the site of Mayapan indicates that the Maya concept of circular calendar wheels is prehispanic in origin. Contextual information provided by archaeological excavation and representations in prehispanic Maya codices indicate that stone …
The Teotihuacan Cave of Origin: The Iconography and Architecture of Emergence Mythology in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest
The Symbolism of Jade in Classic Maya Religion
The Classic Maya esteemed jadeite not only for its preciousness and beauty but also as stone of great symbolic import. This paper examines the religious significance of jade and certain types of jade artifacts among the Classic Maya. In this study, I note that the Classic Maya ascribed a number of meanings to jade, including maize, centrality, and rulership, as well as a material embodiment of wind and the vitalizing breath soul. Because of its c…
Flower Mountain: Concepts of Life, Beauty, and Paradise among the Classic Maya
Folk Classification of Classic Maya Pottery
The Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Cult of Sacred War at Teotihuacan
The Maize Tamale in Classic Maya Diet, Epigraphy, and Art
Iconographic, epigraphic, and linguistic data provide new evidence that the tamale constituted the primary maize food of Classic Maya diet. Archaeological and ethnohistoric data pertaining to the tamale and tortilla are reviewed and discussed in terms of the widespread representation of the tamale in Classic Maya epigraphy and art. Iconographic forms of the tamale are isolated and compared with hieroglyphic signs. Glyphs T:14, 39, 86, 130, 135, 5…
A Prehispanic Maya Katun Wheel
Much has been written on the calendrical achievements of the ancient Maya; however, little is known of the ancient Maya models for recording and conceiving of the passage of time. A carved stone turtle excavated at the site of Mayapan indicates that the Maya concept of circular calendar wheels is prehispanic in origin. Contextual information provided by archaeological excavation and representations in prehispanic Maya codices indicate that stone …
The Teotihuacan Cave of Origin: The Iconography and Architecture of Emergence Mythology in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest
The Bilimek Pulque Vessel: Starlore, Calendrics, and Cosmology of Late Postclassic Central Mexico
The Bilimek Vessel is among the most remarkable pieces of portable Aztec sculpture, and it contains an unusually complex body of imagery concerning starlore and cosmic battle. The Bilimek Vessel and other Aztec sources reveal that the alcoholic beverage pulque was well integrated into Aztec concepts of warfare and mythology. To the Aztec, pulque was identified with the souls of dead warriors and the starry night sky. The many figures appearing on…
The Teotihuacan Cave of Origin: The Iconography and Architecture of Emergence Mythology in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest
A Prehispanic Maya Katun Wheel
Much has been written on the calendrical achievements of the ancient Maya; however, little is known of the ancient Maya models for recording and conceiving of the passage of time. A carved stone turtle excavated at the site of Mayapan indicates that the Maya concept of circular calendar wheels is prehispanic in origin. Contextual information provided by archaeological excavation and representations in prehispanic Maya codices indicate that stone …
The Maize Tamale in Classic Maya Diet, Epigraphy, and Art
Iconographic, epigraphic, and linguistic data provide new evidence that the tamale constituted the primary maize food of Classic Maya diet. Archaeological and ethnohistoric data pertaining to the tamale and tortilla are reviewed and discussed in terms of the widespread representation of the tamale in Classic Maya epigraphy and art. Iconographic forms of the tamale are isolated and compared with hieroglyphic signs. Glyphs T:14, 39, 86, 130, 135, 5…
Folk Classification of Classic Maya Pottery
Obsidian Polyhedral Cores and Prismatic Blades in the Writing and Art of Ancient Mexico
The widespread appearance of obsidian prismatic blades and polyhedral cores in ancient Mexican writing and art provides important information regarding ancient mesoamerican lithic technology. One common central Mexican epigraphic convention, a hooklike black element, is identified as a curving prismatic blade, here providing the phonetic value itz . The placement of blade segments on the edges of wooden clubs is one of the most commonly cited use…
The Role of Radiocarbon Dating in Maya Archaeology: Four Decades of Research
The Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the Cult of Sacred War at Teotihuacan
The Bilimek Pulque Vessel: Starlore, Calendrics, and Cosmology of Late Postclassic Central Mexico
The Bilimek Vessel is among the most remarkable pieces of portable Aztec sculpture, and it contains an unusually complex body of imagery concerning starlore and cosmic battle. The Bilimek Vessel and other Aztec sources reveal that the alcoholic beverage pulque was well integrated into Aztec concepts of warfare and mythology. To the Aztec, pulque was identified with the souls of dead warriors and the starry night sky. The many figures appearing on…
Flower Mountain: Concepts of Life, Beauty, and Paradise among the Classic Maya
The Symbolism of Jade in Classic Maya Religion
The Classic Maya esteemed jadeite not only for its preciousness and beauty but also as stone of great symbolic import. This paper examines the religious significance of jade and certain types of jade artifacts among the Classic Maya. In this study, I note that the Classic Maya ascribed a number of meanings to jade, including maize, centrality, and rulership, as well as a material embodiment of wind and the vitalizing breath soul. Because of its c…
Creation and Cosmology: Gods and Mythic Origins in Ancient Mesoamerica
This article discusses gods and mythic origins in ancient Mesoamerican thought. In ancient Mesoamerican thought, the creation and maintenance of the ordered world was only achieved through a concerted effort by the gods, a weighty responsibility that continued through the sacrificial offerings and rituals of mortals. The myths and behavior of gods not only explained the origins of the world but also served as models for human behavior for commone…
Roads, Temples, and the Community Boundaries of Cobá, Quintana Roo
When East Meets West: Chichen Itza, Tula, and the Postclassic Mesoamerican world
This volume represents the first large-scale reconsideration of the Epiclassic and Early Postclassic periods in broader Mesoamerica in 20 years. In part, the focus is to examine the influence of the ruins of Classic period Teotihuacan in the political, social, and economic structures of societies at the transition to the Postclassic period. Teotihuacan was a locus of critical cultural innovations in Mesoamerica. These innovations included fusing …
Domesticating Time: Quadripartite Symbolism and Founding Rituals at Yaxuná
Carved monuments from Cerro Patlachique in the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico
Mountains figure prominently in Mesoamerican cosmogeny, and a deep history of pilgrimage and worship surrounds many, though few have been systematically investigated using modern archaeological methods. Here, the authors present results from the lidar mapping and surface survey of a plateau at the summit of Cerro Patlachique, located at the southern limit of the Teotihuacan Valley, Mexico. While ceramic typology establishes Cerro Patlachique as a…
Latin American history and culture (13 works) · Art (12 works) · History (12 works) · Archaeology (11 works) · Ancient history (9 works) · History (8 works) · Maya (8 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (7 works) · Geography (5 works) · Mesoamerica (5 works)