{"product_id":"the-beast-between-9781477318058","title":"The Beast Between","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe first book to focus on the multifaceted images of deer and hunting in ancient Maya art, from the award-winning author of \u003ci\u003eTo Be Like Gods: Dance in Ancient Maya Civilization\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner, CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title, 2019\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe white-tailed deer had a prominent status in Maya civilization: it was the most important wild-animal food source at many inland Maya sites and also functioned as a major ceremonial symbol. Offering an in-depth semantic analysis of this imagery, \u003ci\u003eThe Beast Between\u003c\/i\u003e considers iconography, hieroglyphic texts, mythological discourses, and ritual narratives to translate the significance and meaning of the vibrant metaphors expressed in a variety of artifacts depicting deer and hunting.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharting the importance of deer as a key component of the Maya diet, especially for elites, and analyzing the coupling of deer and maize in the Maya worldview, \u003ci\u003eThe Beast Between\u003c\/i\u003e reveals a close and long-term interdependence\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The author makes important contributions here, especially to ongoing efforts to recover poorly understood aspects of ancient Maya mythology as revealed through scenes on painted pottery. Profusely illustrated, well written, and amply documented, this book can also serve as a rewarding entrée into broader subjects of ancient and modern Maya culture from archaeological, art historical, and ethnographic perspectives.\" * CHOICE *\u003cbr\u003e\"[\u003ci\u003eThe Beast Between\u003c\/i\u003e] provides an important addition to the overlapping fields of art history, anthropology, archaeology, and Maya studies...This book provides the definitive starting point for an important dialogue regarding the meaning of the deer in Maya iconography and semiology...Even as it highlights future avenues of research, Looper’s work presents the first thorough and wide-ranging look at the deer in the Maya world from the ancient to modern periods. As such, this volume provides important insights into deer use among the Maya and will frame and influence all subsequent considerations of this often understudied and underappreciated creature for years to come.\" * caa.reviews *\u003cbr\u003e\"Much can be learned from this richly varied book, and it certainly contains numerous starting points for further investigation.\" * Anthropos *\u003cbr\u003eLooper’s detailed and eloquent volume reveals the complexity of the deer image in the Maya world, which could be used and read in multiple ways to construct meaning. It might also be of interest to those working in other regions and time periods where wild animals appear to have had a particularly special place, such as later prehistoric Europe. * Antiquity *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 1. Deer Life: The Maya Ethnobiology of Deer\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 2. Bones to Picks: The Classic Maya Use and Depiction of Durable Deer Remains\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 3. Big Bucks: Deer and Social Status\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 4. Wearing the Horns: Deer, Sexuality, and Fertility in “Dying God” Scenes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 5. Locking Horns: Deer Hunting, Warfare, the Ballgame, and Male Rites of Passage\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 6. Hart’s Devotion: The Siip in Classic and Postclassic Maya Society\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 7. A Sinking Hart: The Solar Symbolism of Deer in Maya Art\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChapter 8. Deer Departed: Cervid Spirits of Death and Disease\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEpilogue. Out of the Woods: Deer and Borders\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNotes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBibliography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49408954335575,"sku":"9781477318058","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781477318058.jpg?v=1730504843","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/the-beast-between-9781477318058","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}