Dresden Codex
A Maya screenfold book of astronomy, ritual and medicine, held in Dresden since 1739.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Dresden Codex · see source
Until 2018, when the Maya Codex of Mexico was confirmed to be older by about a century, this codex was considered the oldest surviving book from the Americas, with a date in the 11th or 12th century.[1]
What happened
The book suffered serious water damage during World War II.[2] Alexander von Humboldt published the first reproduction of any of its pages in his 1810 atlas.[3] Astronomical and astrological tables, religious references, seasonal information, and medical content are all found within the codex.[4] Data on planetary and lunar conjunctions is also present in the codex.[4]
Mayan hieroglyphs are used in the codex, which describes local history and astronomical tables and references an original text that is three or four hundred years older.[2] Lord Kingsborough's 1831 work Antiquities of Mexico contained the first published copy of the codex.[3] The first complete facsimile of the codex was published in 1880 by Dresden librarian Ernst Wilhelm Förstemann, who also deciphered its calendar section.[5] During the World War II bombing of Dresden in February 1945, the codex suffered significant direct water damage from being stored in a flooded basement.[6]
References
- Wikipedia, "Dresden Codex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murray, "Library, the : an illustrated history", Skyhorse Publishing, Inc, 2009, p. 140; Romero, "El Códice Maya de México, auténtico y el más antiguo", Gaceta UNAM, 24 September 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dresden Codex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Schottmueller, "A Study of the Religious Worldview and Ceremonial Life of the Inhabitants of Palenque and Yaxchilan", Harvard University, February 2020; Hellmuth, "Economic Potential for Amate Trees", Maya Archaeology; Grube, Nikolai K. "Dresden, Codex." In David Carrasco (ed).The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. : Oxford University Press, 2001. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dresden Codex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Thompson 1972, p. 19; "Architecture Long Ago", New York Times, July 12, 1896; "Architecture Long Ago", New York Times, July 12, 1896; Keane 2011, p. 392; Thomas 1894, p. 15; American Anthropologist 1891, p. 299; Smithsonian Institution 1897, p. 36; Ruggles 2005, p. 133 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dresden Codex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carrasco, "The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Mesoamerican Cultures", Oxford University Press, 2001 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dresden Codex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "SLUB Dresden: The Dresden Maya-Codex"; Coe 1982, p. 4; Thompson 1972, p. 19; Thompson 1972, p. 19; Gugliotta, "New tool for digging into mysteries of Maya culture.", Washington Post (pg E5), May 21, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Dresden Codex" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Coe 1982, p. 4; Thompson 1972, p. 19 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Dresden Codex (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Ancient & Classical Texts
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Dresden Codex (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced