Facts about Mayan Popol Vuh

1. 05

   Ximénez's manuscript of the Popol Vuh is housed at the Newberry Library in Chicago, making it one of the most significant surviving colonial-era Mesoamerican documents.

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2. 04

   Originally composed orally in the K'iche' Mayan language, the Popol Vuh was written down using the Latin alphabet sometime in the mid-16th century after Spanish colonization.

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3. 03

   In the Popol Vuh, the first humans were fashioned from maize after earlier attempts using mud and wood failed.

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4. 02

   A Dominican friar named Francisco Ximénez transcribed and translated the Popol Vuh into Spanish in the early 18th century, preserving the only known surviving text.

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5. 01

   The Popol Vuh is a K'iche' Maya creation narrative that describes the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque defeating the lords of the underworld Xibalba.

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