Abstract :
This brief essay argues that studying the non-Spanish inhabitants of Yucatan’s past requires bridging the social distance generated by
differences of time and culture and that the specific nature of that distance must first be understood. With respect to the Mayas, their
mystique in the modern popular and academic imaginations is as much the creation of Maya elites in ancient and colonial times as it is the
product of archaeologists and historians. To demystify the Maya, we must engage mundane as well as exotic sources and be aware of
the obfuscating influence of those who interpreted Maya culture before us. A complete picture of colonial Yucatan and of the colonial
Mayas must include Afro-Yucatecans, or Africans and their descendents in the peninsula. Rendered invisible by historical processes
and lack of scholarly attention, Afro-Yucatecans must be fully examined if we are to fully grasp the Yucatec experience, including the
Yucatec Maya experience.
