Mesoamerica - The Maya: Gods, Myths and Ceramics (Part 1)

Journey into the extraordinary world of the Classic Maya, where ceramics were far more than objects for everyday use; they were vessels for food, status, storytelling, ritual and belief.

Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh explore the golden age of Maya ceramics, discovering how skilled potters created sophisticated hand-built vessels without the potter’s wheel. From humble cooking pots used to prepare maize to beautifully painted polychrome vessels and prized cacao cups, ceramics offer a remarkable window into Maya life.

They uncover the profound relationship between food and mythology, including the Maya creation story in which the first humans were made from corn, and explore how gods, rulers and ancient stories were painted across the surfaces of pots. They also enter the dramatic world of the Maya ball game, where sport, political power, sacrifice and the struggle between life and death became intertwined.

Beautiful, complex and sometimes unsettling, these surviving ceramics allow us to glimpse a civilisation in which the everyday and the sacred were inseparable – and where a simple clay vessel could tell the story of the cosmos.

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction: Mesoamerica - The Maya: Gods, Myths and Ceramics

00:00:22 Defining Mesoamerica: Geography and the Maya World

00:04:31 Hand-Built Mastery: Pottery Without the Wheel

00:07:31 Corn and Clay: The Kitchen as Sacred Space

00:14:06 The Creation Myth: Humans Made from Corn

00:17:21 Forms and Functions: The Ceramic Repertoire

00:19:11 The Sensory Feast: Vessels That Ring and Sing