Genesis Poz Diaz Ms. Caruso February 7, 2012 Annotated Bilbiography 1. Christenson, Allen.

Popol Vuh The Sacred Book of the Maya. Dubai: O Books, 2003. 327. Print. The Popol Vuh is one of the most important books of Mayan literature that survived the Spanish conquest. Similar to the book of Genesis in the bible it tells the story of creation. In the creation myth the gods made five attempts to form human beings. The gods wanted to create living beings that would praise and venerate them. The gods first attempts were animals, mud man, and a wooden man. All these attempts were unsuccessful because they lacked speech, intellectuality and souls. According to myth the virgin daughter of the underworld lord miraculously gave birth to twin heroes, Hunahp and Xbalanqu, who defeat the lords of death allowing the Earth to be populated with humankind. Beneath the light, they gave birth to humanity. They then arranged for the germination and creation of the trees and the bushes, the germination of all life and creation, in the darkness and in the light, by Heart of Sky, who is called, Huracan. (Christenson, 70) The speech of the animals could not be understood. Because of the way they were made, they were not successful. Therefore their flesh was brought low. They were made to serve. The animals that were on the face of the Earth were eaten and killed. (Christenson, 77) The Grandmother did not see it when they were born, for these two arose suddenly. Hunahpu and Xbalanque were their names. They arose in the mountains, but when they were taken into the house they did not sleep: (Christenson, 140) The author had strong knowledge of the material. It is a quality source that is well translated from the original Mayan text. This was an insightful source to the mythology of the Mayans and belief of the creation. 2. Stuart, David. The Order of Day. New York: Harmony Books, 2011. 352. Print Author David Stuart looks at the frenzy of 2012, but in doing so explores the Mayan culture and beliefs. Throughout the book he explains that the end of the Mayan calendar, is more closely related to our culture than about the ancient Mayan civilization. Stuart takes a look at ancient Maya timekeeping and how advanced this civilization had been. He believed that the Mayas were worth study because they had developed a compelling vision of time unlike any other civilization before or since.

For what is most striking about it in my mind, at least is that during the decades leading up to their fall, the Itza Maya had prophesied their own end. (Stuart, 2) So its unlikely that our own sense of prophecy basically the ability to predict and foretell future events matches exactly what the Maya had in mind with their notion of katun periods folding upon one another, and with each era resonating with others in both the past and future (Stuart, 24) For traditional Chorti Maya of southeastern Guatemala, the world is reborn every February 8. That date is the beginning of their New Year, and one of the most important days in the ceremonial life of various communities. (Stuart, 75) This is a useful source because it states the authors opinion and shows his research that he has done on the ancient civilization. It talks about how some of the earlier predictions of the civilization had foretold the coming of the Spaniards. The author is an educated man who has devoted half of his life to the study, and is well aware of the material. 3. Gilbert, Adrian and Cotterell, Maurice. The Mayan Prophecies. Great Britain: Element Books Limited, 1995. 337. Print

Gilbert and Cotterell have written this book about various Mayan topics. They have done research on the Mayan concept of time and their solar astrology. They have gathered information from the Mayan long count to the different names of each day in the calendar and the numbers of days in each Calendar. The Mayans had two calendar one that was 365 days, divided into 18 months of 20 days plus a short month of 5 days. The other calendar consisted of 260 days. Gilbert and Cotterells findings suggest that the Mayans believed that the may be destroyed by fire, water, wind and volcanic rain. According to Mayan chronology, the present age started on 12 August 3114 BC and is to end on AD 22 December 2012. (Gilbert and Cotterell, 2) For them the beginning of the calendar was not the birth of Christ but another event far back in antiquity, the Birth of Venus. (Gilbert and Cotterell, 33) From his studies of sunspot activity and the Mayan calendar, Cotterell has concluded that the Mayan prophecy for the end of the fifth age concerns a reversal of the Earths magnetic field. (Gilbert and Cotterell, 192)