The shapes of sacred space : a proposed system of geometry used to lay out and design Maya art and architecture and some implications concerning Maya cosmology

This dissertation explores the fundamental characteristics of a system of geometry and proportion currently used by Maya house builders and shamans to design vernacular architecture in indigenous Maya communities. An extensive examination of Pre-Columbian Maya art and architecture demonstrates how this system of geometry and proportion was also used by the Maya of the Classic and Post-Classic periods. The dissertation concludes with a brief discussion of how Maya geometry was, and is, an expression of Maya cosmology and religion.