The Book of Mormon & My Maya Travels & Collection

I collect Maya and other ancient American artifact replicas, especially those related to Book of Mormon archaeology, and have created this blogspot to show off some of my collection. I hope my collection may give pleasure to more than myself through sharing. I have also traveled a number of times to the ancient ruins of the Maya Civilization, and will share some of my experiences and insights on this blog, as well as some articles that I have written for publication elsewhere.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

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Art Prints


Art Prints
Posted by "Dustmop" Mark Cheney at 3:54 PM No comments:
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The Ol' Dustmop & Grandkids

The Ol' Dustmop & Grandkids
At the Mayan Restaurant with my grandkids near Salt Lake City, Utah

'MAYAB' - THE WORLD OF THE MAYA

Many fascinating sights and ideas await anyone interested in discovering the world of the ancient Maya ('Mayan' technically refers only to the glyphs and language, of which there are about thirty dialects - each with their own designation, e.g. Kiche' Mayan). The richness of the carvings on the temples and stelae, the variety of the glyphs representing words, places and concepts in the Mayan language and religion, and the magnificence of their architecture with the corbel arch and huge stones. Much more is still to be learned as it is estimated that only 5-10% of the ruins have been uncovered from the jungles of Mexico and Central America. This does not even discuss the various other peoples and cultures that have lived in the Americas in ancient times - the Inca, the Aztecs, the Olmec, Zapotec, Toltec and many others, or in North America the forbears of the more recent Amerind tribes which also have a tapestry of history yet to be unwoven from the myths and remains of a once great population.

Here I will add photographs and videos from my various trips to Mexico and Central America in the mid-90's, and I want to share some artifacts that I have collected, mostly replicas of course, since there are antiquities laws protecting the important evidences of these great, albeit at times brutal civilizations of the past in many countries.

About Me

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"Dustmop" Mark Cheney
Oregon, United States
I am a retired title insurance professional with a passion for all things related to Ancient America - history, archaeology, epigraphy, ethnography, cartography and generally all the -ographies and -ologies related thereto. As a member of the Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-day Saints, I also relate my studies to the writings of the Book of Mormon. Clearly, I cannot be an expert and still dabble in all these areas, but being an amateur has its advantages. For instance, I don't have any qualms saying, "I don't know." to difficult questions. Oh, yeah, and my four daughters, when they were teenagers, used to call me "Pops, the Ol' Dustmop"! DISCLAIMER I am solely responsible for the expressed views, which do NOT officially represent the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This blog strictly reflects my personal views, religious or otherwise.
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Followers

El Dios Desciendente - The Descending God

El Dios Desciendente - The Descending God
Plaque illustrating this ubiquitous deity found in temples of the Yucatan, including temples dedicated to this deity in Tulum, Coba and Chichen Itza. I think it is likely that these inverted carvings, inverted to illustrate descending out of the sky, are in commemoration of a visit by Jesus Christ (the white and bearded god of the Maya (Kukulcan) and Aztec (Quetzalcoatl) ) after his resurrection in the Old World.

Maya tapestry

Maya tapestry
Authentic design

Woven Rug - Oaxaca, Mexico

Woven Rug - Oaxaca, Mexico
Amazing hand woven rug

Mask on rug

Mask on rug
Azurite & chrysocolla mosaic mask on Oaxacan rug

Eagle Warrior Sacrificial Knife

Eagle Warrior Sacrificial Knife
Gold obsidian from Teotihuacan laying on my water color drawing of vessel - a war party on the dust jacket of 'A Forest of Kings'

Maya Tapestry from Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

Maya Tapestry from Lake Atitlan, Guatemala
Hand woven in Santiago de Atitlan - cool details! I feel guilty now for what I paid for this, but at the time even going to Guatemala was a stretch on the budget.

Cylindrical Clay Vessel

Cylindrical Clay Vessel
This is typical of many such vessels found in burial caches throughout Mayaland. Often used for beverages made by cacao (or cocoa), the beverage of kings, they sometimes had glyphs indicating the names of the owner. I bought this one and another in a curio shop in Guatemala City from a shelf with hundreds of such replicas.

Jaguar bowl filled with cacao beans.

Jaguar bowl filled with cacao beans.
Cacao or cocoa beans were very valuable in ancient america and traces of this prized beverage have recently been found as far north as New Mexico. I ground up and boiled some of these beans and added honey and milk - mmmmm, very good!

Quetzalcoatl (Kukulcan) ceremonial knife

Quetzalcoatl (Kukulcan) ceremonial knife
Jade on woven rug - this represents the feathered serpent god - the god of the sky (or heavens) and of earth - hence snake and bird.

Jasper Jaguar with glyphs

Jasper Jaguar with glyphs
Purchased in Oaxaca, Mexico - 2.5" X 5"+. Although this is no doubt a piece carved to sell to tourists, I feel that I can read the glyphs. See the next illustration that shows the glyphs more clearly.

Details of the glyphs on the jaguar haunches.

Details of the glyphs on the jaguar haunches.
The Right Shoulder seems to show in simple pictograms, a personage with two legs bending over in obeisance an L- shaped altar. Below the altar are two uterine glyphs that have been known to represent females. So, this first part might be interpreted as "The man worships at the altar of the women or goddesses." Below that might be body parts of legs and an arm (?). Above on the Left Shoulder I would change the word "man" now to "sacrificial victim" because it seems to show the man bent over in obeisance, and this time his head being separated from his torso and falling upon that same L-shaped altar. On both the left and right rear haunches are two goggle-eye symbols which have often been connected to the Rain God Chaac, and on the bottom of the right rear haunch you also see the body and severed head of the victim as though buried under all else. I would be happy to have any suggestions as to other interpretations, and then again it could be just design gibberish to impress a turista! This is one of the favorite pieces of my collection because of those glyphs.

Replica of an Atlantean Warrior from Tula, Mexico.

Replica of an Atlantean Warrior from Tula, Mexico.
These warriors that used altlatls (spear and arrow throwers) are about ten feet tall on a stone platform containing maybe a couple dozen of them in the ruins at Tula.

Olmec Jade Ceremonial Knife

Olmec Jade Ceremonial Knife
Although this is not one of my clearer photos, this piece has the distinctive "jaguar lip" found on many Olmec pieces. The worship of the jaguar was one of the hallmarks of the Olmeca (meaning "Rubber People" due to the use of rubber ball in their ballgame).

Olmec Jade Idol holding Mask

Olmec Jade Idol holding Mask
Bought in Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City

Mahogany Obsidian Perforator

Mahogany Obsidian Perforator
This replicates similar perforators used for ritual bloodletting by the priests and kings of the ancient Maya.

Ceremonial Eccentric Flint

Ceremonial Eccentric Flint
Maya - Guatemala 550-700 AD

Chac Mool Ceremonial Altar

Chac Mool Ceremonial Altar
Mexico - Chichen Itza, etc.

Crystal skull shelf over Obsidian shelf

Crystal skull shelf over Obsidian shelf
My curio shelf with replicas

Parrot, Squash Bowl & 'Dancing Dogs'

Parrot, Squash Bowl & 'Dancing Dogs'
Colima style replicas from Manzanillo, Mexico over jade shelf

Jadeite item plaque - masks & ceremonial knife

Jadeite item plaque - masks & ceremonial knife
Mostly from Santiago de Atitlan, Guatemala

Tiny Olmec Wrestler

Tiny Olmec Wrestler
Carved Stone Wrestler

Costa Rican Jadeite Mace Head

Costa Rican Jadeite Mace Head
With COA from EBay purchase

Jadeite Olmec Mask

Jadeite Olmec Mask
Bought in Oaxaca, Mexico

Crystal Skull

Crystal Skull
3" crystal skull made in Brazil - Tucson Rock Show

Peacock Obsidian Mask

Peacock Obsidian Mask
From Teotihuacan, Mexico

Monkey bowl, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Chapultapec Park, Mexico City

Monkey bowl, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Chapultapec Park, Mexico City
Gold obsidian purchased at Teotihuacan, Mexico - museum catalog page above

Pacal of Palenque

Pacal of Palenque
Obsidian bust with silver & amethyst jewelry from Teotihuacan

Lacandon Indian bow & arrows set

Lacandon Indian bow & arrows set
From Palenque, Mexico

Huichol Jaguar Mask

Huichol Jaguar Mask
Artist from Rosarita Beach, Mexico

Totonaca, Veracruz Smiling Face

Totonaca, Veracruz Smiling Face
Ceramic from Mexico City Museum shop

Mother and child

Mother and child
Although not technically a replica, this is a beautiful piece of sculpture that I purchase at a charity auction for an orphanage in Rosarita Beach, Baja, Mexico. It is not stone inlay, but it looks like it is. It's about 15 inches high.

Serpentine mask w/ earrings - 7"

Serpentine mask w/ earrings - 7"
AKA Jadeite (found at Salvation Army)

Incan Tumi - Ceremonial & Sacifricial knife

Incan Tumi - Ceremonial & Sacifricial knife
Incan, Moche and Chimu of Peru, also used for trepanation (skull surgery)

Abalone & semi-precious stone mask

Abalone & semi-precious stone mask
One of five recently acquired mosaic type masks from EBay - representative of the many stone masks of the Maya

Marble Mask with bird

Marble Mask with bird
Bought from British Columbia - Maya?

Hopi First Mesa Unsigned Pot - 75+ years old

Hopi First Mesa Unsigned Pot - 75+ years old
Found broken in Smith's parking lot, Arizona
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