full transcript
From the Ted Talk by Cynthia Fay Davis: The myth of the moon goddess
Unscramble the Blue Letters
Today, Ix Chel is so wdliey known that she’s become a symbol of Maya culture. But archeological evidence sgtguess that for the ancient Maya Ix Chel and the moon goddess were sreaatpe deities. In the ritlenlegs of Maya people and the records of anthropologists, the two have mgered so that Ix Chel’s story extends beyond the limits of the htroiiacsl record. Her story, like all myths, isn’t just one story: the variations, ancient and modern, speak to what people value, and how they see themselves in their mythological heroes.
Open Cloze
Today, Ix Chel is so ______ known that she’s become a symbol of Maya culture. But archeological evidence ________ that for the ancient Maya Ix Chel and the moon goddess were ________ deities. In the __________ of Maya people and the records of anthropologists, the two have ______ so that Ix Chel’s story extends beyond the limits of the __________ record. Her story, like all myths, isn’t just one story: the variations, ancient and modern, speak to what people value, and how they see themselves in their mythological heroes.
Solution
- widely
- retellings
- merged
- suggests
- historical
- separate
Original Text
Today, Ix Chel is so widely known that she’s become a symbol of Maya culture. But archeological evidence suggests that for the ancient Maya Ix Chel and the moon goddess were separate deities. In the retellings of Maya people and the records of anthropologists, the two have merged so that Ix Chel’s story extends beyond the limits of the historical record. Her story, like all myths, isn’t just one story: the variations, ancient and modern, speak to what people value, and how they see themselves in their mythological heroes.
Frequently Occurring Word Combinations
ngrams of length 2
collocation |
frequency |
sun god |
8 |
moon goddess |
8 |
ix chel |
5 |
storm god |
2 |
vulture king |
2 |
Important Words
- ancient
- anthropologists
- archeological
- chel
- culture
- deities
- evidence
- extends
- goddess
- heroes
- historical
- ix
- limits
- maya
- merged
- modern
- moon
- mythological
- myths
- people
- record
- records
- retellings
- separate
- speak
- story
- suggests
- symbol
- today
- variations
- widely