Linda K. Williams

The first study of Christian murals created by indigenous artists in sixteenth and seventeenth century Yucatán. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Maya artists painted murals in churches and conventos of Yucatán using traditional techniques to depict iconography brought from Europe by Franciscan friars. The fragmentary visual remains and their placement within religious structures embed Maya conceptions of sacredness beyond the didactic imagery. Mobilizing both cutting-edge technology and tried-and-true analytical methods, art historians Amara Solari and Linda K. Williams reexamine the Maya Christian murals, centering the agency of the people who created them. The first volume to comprehensively document the paintings, Maya Christian Murals of Early Modern Yucatán collects new research on the material composition of the works, made possible by cutting-edge imaging methods. Solari and Williams investigate pigments and other material resources, as well as the artists and historical contexts of the murals. The authors uncover numerous local innovations in form and content, including images celebrating New World saints, celestial timekeeping, and ritual processions. Solari and Williams argue that these murals were not simply vehicles of coercion, but of cultural “grafting,” that allowed Maya artists to shape a distinctive and polyvocal legacy in their communities.

Current research is establishing the importance of teaching such social and emotional skills as kindness, tolerance, respect, empathy, responsibility, self-control, and cooperation. We now know that repeated experiences impact the brain and shape the person. The more children are exposed to these concepts and practice these skills, the stronger the underlying mental circuits become. It is through this development that kids become caring and capable. The group activities, short stories, songs, reproducible activity sheets, Sharing Circles, and thought-provoking discussion questions provided in this award-winning book address qualities inherent in caring people. The skills that develop are those that make children capable. They include: - Keeping agreements - Developing responsible habits - Effectively solving problems - Demonstrating respect for self and others - Being loyal, trustworthy, and honest - Following rules - Demonstrating kindness, consideration, and empathy - Peacefully resolving conflicts - Developing self-management skills, and - Learning to be a team member