Karl Anton Nowotny
Encyclopedia
Karl Anton Nowotny was an Austrian ethnographer, art historian and academic, specialising in the study of Mesoamerica
n cultures. He is most renowned for his analyses and reproductions of Mesoamerican codices, and his commentaries on their iconography and symbolisms.
Nowotny was a pioneer and leading exponent of applying comparative ethnography to the study of pre-Columbian
and conques-era texts and codices
. In this technique, the meaning and symbolism of the texts are analysed and compared with the cultural practices and beliefs of modern indigenous
Mesoamerican peoples whose traditions have been maintained. Nowotny used comprehensive ethnographic studies—such as those conducted by Leonhard Schultze in the 1930s among the Nahuas of the central Mexican altiplano
—as a means of garnering further insight into the ancestral practices and beliefs underpinning the codices and related iconographies.
Nowotny also contributed extensively to the study and interpretation of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars
, their functioning and how they were used. Building upon work by earlier scholars such as Eduard Seler
, Nowotny and his contemporaries like Alfonso Caso
and Paul Kirchhoff
greatly added to the scholarly understanding of calendrical elements such as the central Mexican tonalpohualli
, veintena
and trecena
cycles. Nowotny's analysis and exposition of the ritual and divinatory importance of the tonalamatl
almanac has been regarded as of "critical importance" to the modern understanding of this almanac, and a significant development beyond the primarily astronomically based approach of Seler and other predecessors.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
n cultures. He is most renowned for his analyses and reproductions of Mesoamerican codices, and his commentaries on their iconography and symbolisms.
Nowotny was a pioneer and leading exponent of applying comparative ethnography to the study of pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
and conques-era texts and codices
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
. In this technique, the meaning and symbolism of the texts are analysed and compared with the cultural practices and beliefs of modern indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
Mesoamerican peoples whose traditions have been maintained. Nowotny used comprehensive ethnographic studies—such as those conducted by Leonhard Schultze in the 1930s among the Nahuas of the central Mexican altiplano
Mexican Plateau
The Central Mexican Plateau, also known as the Mexican Altiplano or Altiplanicie Mexicana, is a large arid-to-semiarid plateau that occupies much of northern and central Mexico...
—as a means of garnering further insight into the ancestral practices and beliefs underpinning the codices and related iconographies.
Nowotny also contributed extensively to the study and interpretation of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars
Mesoamerican calendars
Mesoamerican calendars are the calendrical systems devised and used by the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In addition to the basic function of a calendar—defining and organizing periods of time in a way that allows events to be fixed, ordered and noted relative to each other and some...
, their functioning and how they were used. Building upon work by earlier scholars such as Eduard Seler
Eduard Seler
Eduard Georg Seler was a prominent German anthropologist, ethnohistorian, linguist, epigrapher, academic and Americanist scholar, who made extensive contributions in these fields towards the study of pre-Columbian era cultures in the Americas...
, Nowotny and his contemporaries like Alfonso Caso
Alfonso Caso
Alfonso Caso y Andrade was an archaeologist who made important contributions to pre-Columbian studies in his native Mexico. Caso believed that the systematic study of ancient Mexican civilizations was an important way to understand Mexican cultural roots...
and Paul Kirchhoff
Paul Kirchhoff
Paul Kirchhoff was a German-Mexican anthropologist, most noted for his seminal work in defining and elaborating the culture area of Mesoamerica, a term he coined....
greatly added to the scholarly understanding of calendrical elements such as the central Mexican tonalpohualli
Tonalpohualli
The tonalpohualli, a Nahuatl word meaning "count of days", is a 260-day sacred period in use in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, especially among the Aztecs. This calendrical period is neither solar nor lunar, but rather consists of 20 trecena, or 13-day periods...
, veintena
Veintena
A veintena is the Spanish-derived name for a 20-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The division is often casually referred to as a "month", although it is not coordinated with the lunar cycle...
and trecena
Trecena
A trecena is a 13-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The 260-day calendar was divided into 20 trecenas. Trecena is derived from the Spanish chroniclers and translates to 'a group of thirteen' in the same way that a dozen relates to the number twelve...
cycles. Nowotny's analysis and exposition of the ritual and divinatory importance of the tonalamatl
Tonalamatl
The tonalamatl is a divinatory almanac used in central Mexico in the decades, and perhaps centuries, leading up to the Spanish conquest. The word itself is Nahuatl in origin, meaning "pages of days"....
almanac has been regarded as of "critical importance" to the modern understanding of this almanac, and a significant development beyond the primarily astronomically based approach of Seler and other predecessors.