Maya Madrid Codex Sky and Ritual Imagery

Record summary

The Madrid Codex is a major Maya screenfold manuscript containing calendrical, divinatory and ritual scenes, including imagery involving sky-associated deities and celestial cycles. It offers a concrete source for studying how aerial or celestial motifs function within a ritual visual system rather than assuming they depict craft or encounters. Its fragmented provenance, uncertain original arrangement and difficult iconographic interpretation are significant. Comparisons with UAP imagery should therefore focus on classification, symbolism and transmission, not on extracting literal eyewitness testimony from painted figures.