Crab iconography in Mesoamerica is a novelty, often ignored academically while its meaning remains a mystery. In Cotzumalhuapa, the crab appears as either a base or a headdress in monumental art, but why? Why is the crab singled out in the creation portion of the Popol Vuh, establishing an unexplained precedent? The following work attempts to answer these questions. The decapod itself was not arbitrarily chosen for its role as paxil, or as a feminine symbol of creation, with links to the moon and rain. Rather, its biology and behavior mirrored the existing Mesoamerican worldview. Unfortunately, the linguistic and cultural affinities of Cotzumalhuapa are unknown. Thus, I analyze other objects from other regions/cultures and compares zoological, linguistical, and ethnohistorical data to conclude that the crab was conceptually feminine, a cognate to the moon goddess and the surface of the earth, representing creation. Furthermore, rulers of Cotzumalhuapa wore regalia that include crab imagery, which provided them the power of creation and propagated belief in the legitimacy of their rule.

中文翻译：

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螃蟹作为宇宙YUX：COTZUMALHUAPA 的力量和创造的象征

中美洲的螃蟹图像是一种新奇事物，在学术上经常被忽视，而它的意义仍然是一个谜。在 Cotzumalhuapa 中，螃蟹在不朽的艺术中作为底座或头饰出现，但为什么呢？为什么螃蟹在创作部分被挑出来波波尔·乌，建立一个无法解释的先例？以下工作试图回答这些问题。十足动物本身并不是因为它的角色而被任意选择的桩，或作为女性创作的象征，与月亮和雨滴相连。相反，它的生物学和行为反映了现有的中美洲世界观。不幸的是，Cotzumalhuapa 的语言和文化亲和力是未知的。因此，我分析了来自其他地区/文化的其他物体，并比较了动物学、语言学和民族历史数据，得出结论：螃蟹在概念上是女性的，与月亮女神和地球表面同源，代表创造。此外，科祖玛瓦帕的统治者穿着带有螃蟹图像的王权，这为他们提供了创造的力量并传播了对其统治合法性的信念。