Understanding the Maya Codex of Mexico: Meaning and History of the Fourth Maya Codex

Mary Miller, PhD, and Andrew D. Turner, PhD, Getty Research Institute

Prior to the 1960s, only three pre-Hispanic Maya books were known to have survived the humidity of the tropics and the deliberate efforts of Spanish invaders to destroy them. The sudden and controversial appearance of a fourth Maya codex under private ownership sparked decades of debate about its origin and authenticity. Recent collaborative scientific and art historical studies have determined that not only is the Maya Codex of Mexico (formerly known as the Grolier Codex) authentic, but also that it predates the other surviving books by centuries. This presentation explores the importance of Maya books and controversy surrounding the acquisition of the Maya Codex of Mexico, and demonstrates how Maya astronomers used the book to predict the dangerous and complex movements of the planet Venus 900 years ago.

Mary Miller, PhD, is the Director of the Getty Research Institute, where she also leads the Pre-Hispanic Art Provenance Initiative (PHAPI), a systematic study of the 20th century international market for pre-Hispanic art. A specialist in the art of ancient Mexico and the Maya, her numerous publications include The Murals of Bonampak (1986), The Art of Mesoamerica (1986, now in its 6th edition), Maya Art and Architecture (1999, now in a new edition with Megan O’Neil), and The Spectacle of the Late Maya Court: Reflections on the Murals of Bonampak (2013). She is Sterling Professor Emeritus in History of Art at Yale University and the recipient of many national awards.

Andrew D. Turner, PhD, is a senior research specialist at the Getty Research Institute. Trained as both an archaeologist and art historian, Turner’s work focuses on ancient Mesoamerican material culture, symbolism, and cross-cultural interaction. He has authored several scholarly works on ancient Mesoamerican and Andean material culture, and is the editor of the books Flower Worlds: Religion, Aesthetics, and Ideology in Mesoamerica and the American Southwest (with Michael Mathiowetz, 2021) and Códice Maya de México: Understanding the Oldest Surviving Book of the Americas (2022)..

This meeting is free and open to the public but you must pre-register. Click HERE to register. A confirmation email and reminder will be will be sent the day before the event.