in eastern Yucatán during the late 19th-century 'Caste War', crosses, dressed as women, and especially a 'Talking Cross', played the main roles. In the Alta Verapaz, the role of saints and crosses was assumed by male mountain deities demanding the destruction of the coffee plantations and a return to the ancient ways. In each case, certain individuals were recognized as mouthpieces of the supernatural entities involved. Ethics As ethical systems, polytheistic religions like those of the Maya are difficult to compare with the monotheistic world religions. However, the idea of 'covenants' between deities and human beings is common to both. Fulfilling the ritual requirements of the 'covenants' should ideally lead to a state of harmony. The archaic practice of human sacrifice should first of all be viewed within this framework. See also List of Maya gods and supernatural beings Aztec religion Olmec religion References Bibliography Abigail E. Adams and James E. Brady, 'Ethnographic Notes on Maya Q'eqchi' Cave Rites: Implications for Archaeological Interpretation', in James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer eds., In the Maw of the Earth Monster. Studies of Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. Austin: University of Texas Press 2005. E. Wyllys Andrews, Alfredo Barrera Vásquez, and Ramón Arzápalo Marín, Balankanche, throne of the tiger priest. New Orleans: Tulane University, Middle American Research Institute, 1970. Baron, Joanne, Patron Gods and Patron Lords: The Semiotics of Classic Maya Community Cults. University of Colorado Press 2016. Beliaev, Dmitri, and Albert Davletshin, '"It was then that that which had been clay turned into a man": Reconstructing Maya Anthropogonic Myth.' Axis Mundi 9-1 (2014): 2-12. Sarah C. Blaffer, The Black-man of Zinacantan. University of Texas Press, Austin 1972. H.E.M. Braakhuis, 'Artificers of the Days. Functions of the Howler Monkey Gods among the Mayas'. Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 143-1 (1987): 25–53. (On www.academia.edu) Braakhuis, Edwin, and Kerry Hull, 'Pluvial Aspects of the Mesoamerican Culture Hero: The "Kumix Angel" of the Ch'orti' Mayas and Other Rain-Bringing Heroes'. Anthropos 109 (2014): 449–466. Victoria Reifler Bricker, The Indian Christ, The Indian King. University of Texas Press, Austin 1981. Linda A. Brown, 'Planting the Bones: Hunting Ceremonialism at Contemporary and Nineteenth-Century Shrines in the Guatemalan Highlands', Latin American Antiquity 16-2(2005): 131–146. Robert S. Carlson, and Martin Prechtel, 'The Flowering of the Dead: An Interpretation of Highland Maya Culture'. Man 26-1 (1991): 22–42. Allen J. Christenson, Art and Society in a Highland Maya Community: The Altarpiece