Itz and the Descent of Kukulkan: Central Mexican Influence on Postclassic Maya Thought

I argue in this article that a number of concepts of the Maya of the Postclassic period in the Yucatan (900–1539 ce) can be understood as hybrid concepts based on a synthesis of Maya and central Mexican ideas. Focusing on the deities of Kukulkan and Itzamna as well as the concept of itz (essence), I argue that Maya concepts were reconstituted based on central Mexican cultural forms, a process that helped bring about the development of a new Maya and ultimately new Pan-Mesoamerican identity, including the idea of the ‘Toltec’ as a distinct people and the basis of migration myths.