This website contains "34,420 citations from literature (mostly science fiction and fantasy) referring to real churches, religious groups, tribes, etc." In this case, references to the Maya.
I hope the other references are more accurate than Samuel R. Delaney's Maya reference in Babel-17.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Maya are the no. 1 Native people mentioned in science fiction and fantasy. They have that whole mystical/ancient astronaut/lost civilization vibe that no one else has. That's why you see them so often in movies, too.
For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Books.
Rob said: "I wouldn't be surprised if the Maya are the no. 1 Native people mentioned in science fiction and fantasy. They have that whole mystical/ancient astronaut/lost civilization vibe that no one else has. That's why you see them so often in movies, too."
ReplyDeleteThe first example that comes to mind is the preamble to the original "Battlestar Galactica".
"There are those who believe that life here began out there, far across the universe, with tribes of humans who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. That they may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens..."
In, this, old BSG was strongly influenced by the "ancient astronauts" theories, which were in vogue during its decade.
When it came to the actual episodes, they bagged the Mesoamerican civilizations and went primarily with the Egyptians, with Egyptian-style space helmets and a planet with Egyptian ruins on it.