Popol VuhLiterally meaning “Council Book,” the Popol Vuh is a valuable source of information on the history, genealogy, religion, mythology, and social organization of the K’iche’ (Quiché) Maya people of Guatemala. Its known history began as a K’iche’ alphabetic transliteration of a pictorial document, most likely a pre-Columbian codex, composed by members of three noble lineages between 1554 and 1558 in the colonial town of Santa Cruz Quiche (see codices). At the beginning of the 18th century, the manuscript was discovered in the town of Chichicastenango by Fray Francisco Ximénez, who translated it into Spanish. The document was brought to scholarly attention soon after Guatemalan independence in 1821 and is currently held in the Newberry Library in Chicago. As one of the most complete and detailed indigenous texts of Mesoamerica, the Popol Vuh has provided scholars with a wealth of information regarding Maya religious iconography, which appears to record a Maya history that dates back to as early as 100 B.C.E., as seen for example on the San Bartolo murals (see religion)...