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

  1. widely
  2. retellings
  3. merged
  4. suggests
  5. historical
  6. 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

  1. ancient
  2. anthropologists
  3. archeological
  4. chel
  5. culture
  6. deities
  7. evidence
  8. extends
  9. goddess
  10. heroes
  11. historical
  12. ix
  13. limits
  14. maya
  15. merged
  16. modern
  17. moon
  18. mythological
  19. myths
  20. people
  21. record
  22. records
  23. retellings
  24. separate
  25. speak
  26. story
  27. suggests
  28. symbol
  29. today
  30. variations
  31. widely