1,838,846 research outputs found
The Carnegie Maya: the Carnegie Institution of Washington Maya Research Program, 1913-1957
No full textIncludes bibliographical references and index.The Carnegie Maya I -- The Carnegie Maya II -- The Carnegie Maya III -- The Carnegie Maya IV
Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics. 2009;59(New Perspectives in Mayan Linguistics):135-152
Minoru Yasui: interview on March 11, 1986
No full textTranscript (typescript, 35 pages) of an interview with Minoru Yasui, a Japanese-American living in Utah in 1986. Mr. Yasui (b. 1916) discusses the immigration experiences of his family, his childhood in Oregon, and his father\u27s prosperous business ventures. He also relates his experiences during World War II when he refused to relocate, and the subsequent legal proceedings and jail ter
Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. Distinctness effects on VOS order: Evidence from Yucatec Maya. In: Avelino H, ed. New Perspectives in Mayan Linguistics. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 2011: 275-300
Encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya : on the Interplay of prosody and syntax
No full textThe aim of this paper is to outline the means for encoding information structure in Yucatec Maya. Yucatec Maya is a tone language, displaying a three-fold opposition in the tonal realization of syllables. From the morpho-syntactic point of view, the grammar of Yucatec Maya contains morphological (topic affixes, morphological marking of out-of-focus predicates) and syntactic (designated positions) means to uniquely specify syntactic constructions for their information structure. After a descriptive overview of these phenomena, we present experimental evidence which reveals the impact of the nonavailability of prosodic alternatives on the choice of syntactic constructions in language production
The interaction between topicalization and structural constraints: evidence from Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. The interaction between topicalization and structural constraints: evidence from Yucatec Maya. The Linguistic Review. 2009;26(2-3):239-259
Left peripheral arguments and discourse interface strategies in Yucatec Maya
No full textSkopeteas S, Verhoeven E. Left peripheral arguments and discourse interface strategies in Yucatec Maya. In: Neeleman A, Kucerova I, eds. Contrasts and positions in information structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2012: 296-321.Constituents in the left periphery are often assumed to bear information structural functions such as topic and focus. Yucatec Maya provides the empirical basis for a challenging case study in this respect, since it provides a distinction between a sentence-initial position that is characterized by a series of enclitics and is labeled ‘topic position’, and an immediately preverbal position that is labeled ‘focus position’. This paper addresses the issue where do the interpretational properties of the left peripheral constituents come from and considers two alternative hypotheses: (a) the left peripheral constituents occupy the Specifier positions of functional projections that bear information structural features such as ‘topic’ and ‘focus’ and (b) the syntactic positions in the left periphery are underspecified with respect to information structure. The data presented in this paper support the view of hypothesis (b) and show that the interpretational properties of the left peripheral positions can be accounted for through the interaction of discourse principles that are independent from syntax with the properties of prosodic phrasing, that indirectly refer to constituent structure
On the universality of prosodic reflexes of contrast: The case of Yucatec Maya
No full textKügler F, Skopeteas S. On the universality of prosodic reflexes of contrast: The case of Yucatec Maya. Presented at the 16th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences (ICPhS XI), 6-10 August 2007, Saarbrücken, Germany
Folkecology and commons management in the Maya Lowlands
No full textThree groups living off the same rainforest habitat manifest strikingly distinct behaviors, cognitions, and social relationships relative to the forest. Only the area's last native Maya reveal systematic awareness of ecological complexity involving animals, plants, and people and practices clearly favoring forest regeneration. Spanish-speaking immigrants prove closer to native Maya in thought, action, and social networking than do immigrant Maya. There is no overriding "local," "Indian," or "immigrant" relationship to the environment. Results indicate that exclusive concern with rational self-interest and institutional constraints do not sufficiently account for commons behavior and that cultural patterning of cognition and access to relevant information are significant predictors. Unlike traditional accounts of relations between culture, cognition, and behavior, the models offered are not synthetic interpretations of people's thoughts and behaviors but are emergent cultural patterns derived statistically from measurements of individual cognitions and behaviors.cognitive models / commons tragedy / culture consensus / social networks / sustainable agroforestry
COSMOLOGY AND SOCIETY: HOUSEHOLD RITUAL AMONG THE TERMINAL CLASSIC MAYA PEOPLE OF YAXHA (ca. A.D. 850-950), GUATEMALA
No full textThis study of domestic ritual and symbolism centers on the ancient Maya kingdom of Yaxha in northeastern Guatemala, during the last part of the Classic period (A.D. 850-950/1000). Classic Maya high-culture functioned within a dynastic cosmology that framed royalty’s power. The central question in this dissertation is ‘how did the non-royal population participate and interact with this dynastic cosmology?’
Exploring some possible ways in which ancient Yaxhaeans participated and interacted with the local dynastic cosmology, I have hypothesized three possible behaviors derived from ethnographic studies: active engagement, resistance, and passive compliance. A comparative study of ritual practices and symbolism in ten residences of different social ranks provides the grounds for the discussion. This sample of residences includes the royal palace, a noble palace, two high-end commoner residences, and six low-end commoner residences. While the data from the eight commoner residences was obtained through original research, the information from the royal and noble palaces was recovered from previous research and salvage archaeology projects at Yaxha. The same ritual and symbolic aspects were investigated: symbolism in architectural layouts, ritual feasting, funerary rituals, dedication and termination rituals, and ritual paraphernalia.
I have concluded that while nobles and high-end commoners were actively engaged with the ruling dynastic cosmology, low-end commoners were more reluctant. A certain degree of disconnection in the ritual practices of the higher and lower ranks has been detected, suggesting that low-end commoners might have been more passively compliant than actively engaged with the ruling cosmology. No evidence for overt resistance has been found. Although passive compliance is not a behavior usually associated with social change, ethnographic observations suggest that as a form of passive resistance, it might be a symptom of social unrest
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