Maya Christians and Their Churches in Sixteenth-Century Belize
Maya Christians and Their Churches in Sixteenth-Century Belize
It is widely held that Christianity came to Belize as an extension of the conquest of Yucatan and that adherence to Christian belief and practice was abandoned in the absence of enduring Spanish authority. An alternative view comes from the excavations of Maya churches at Tipu and Lamanai, which show that the dead were buried in Christian churchyards long after the churches themselves fell into disuse, and pre-Columbian ritual objects were cached in Christian sacred spaces both during and after Spanish occupation. Excavations also reveal that the architectural style of these early churches is Franciscan in inspiration but nonetheless the product of continuing community efforts at construction and repair. A conclusion difficult to ignore is that the Maya of Tipu and Lamanai considered themselves Christians with or without Spanish presence.
Viewing historical and archaeological data through the lens of her personal experience of Roman Catholicism, and informed by feminist approaches, Elizabeth Graham assesses the concept of religion, the significance of doctrine, the empowerment of the individual, and the process of conversion by examining the meanings attributed to ideas, objects and images by the Maya, by Iberian Christians, and by archaeologists. Graham’s provocative study also makes the case that the impact of Christianity in Belize was a phenomenon that uniquely shaped the development of the modern nation.
A volume in the series Maya Studies, edited by Diane Z. Chase and Arlen F. Chase
Intellectually stimulating, original in perspective, and engagingly written. Graham’s book makes a major contribution to Maya archaeology, colonial history, and cultural studies.’—The Americas ‘Bring[s] to life the churches and communities of Lamanai and Tipu, two of the tiniest and most forgotten places in Spanish America.’—Latin American Research Review ‘Deserves great praise and should be read by anyone interested in Mesoamerican and Iberian worldviews.’—Antiquity
An important and innovative study that brings a good number of fascinating archaeological findings to bear on the process of Christian conversion in the colonial Maya world. Seldom has the archaeological material culture of an evangelized society been brought to light so thoroughly and engagingly.’—Fernando Cervantes, coauthor of Angels, Demons, and the New World‘Combines history, archaeology, religious studies, Spanish colonialism, Maya culture, and Graham’s perspectives on Catholicism to complete a convincing and fascinating study of Maya religion and Christianity in the frontier.’—Joel Palka, University of Illinois–Chicago
Elizabeth Graham is Professor of Mesoamerican Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
