Animal Figures in the Maya CodicesTozzer, Alfred M. (Alfred Marston)
History
Animal Figures in the Maya Codices
Tozzer, Alfred M. (Alfred Marston)
Mayan languages -- Writing; Mayas -- Antiquities
With one possible exception no crustaceans were found depicted in the
Maya codices, but we have introduced figures of two from the Nuttall
Codex. The first of these (Pl. 4, fig. 5) is probably a crayfish,
perhaps _Cambarus montezumae_. It seems unlikely that the so-called
Spanish lobster (_Palinurus_) can be intended or the powerful spined
antennae would have been shown. It is interesting to note that the
stalked eyes are clearly pictured. The second example seems to be a crab
(Pl. 4, fig. 6). Two large chelae of nearly equal size are simply drawn
and four rounded projections at the top of the figure appear to
represent the walking legs. Its rotund form and subequal chelae suggest
the land crab, _Geocarcinus_, but exact determination is of course
impossible. What is certainly a large crab, perhaps of the same species,
is shown in Tro-Cortesianus 88c (Pl. 36, fig. 1) in connection with a
dog whose feet it seems about to pinch with its two large chelae. The
shell is ornamented in a conventionalized way as if with scales.
ARACHNIDA
In Codex Borbonicus 9 (Pl. 4, fig. 4) there is represented a
stout-bodied form of spider with two sharply pointed chelicerae
projecting from the conventionalized mouth. These characteristics
together with the absence of any web, suggest a large predacious
species, probably the tarantula (_Tarantula_ sp.) which is common in
Mexico. The acute powers of observation shown by the artist are evinced
in this figure since he draws the spider correctly with eight legs
instead of the six or ten sometimes seen in drawings by our own
illustrators.
ARACHNOIDEA
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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