Breaking the Maya Code

Michael D Coe

ISBN 10: 0500281335 / ISBN 13: 9780500281338

Published by Thames & Hudson Ltd, 1999

About this Item

The third edition of this classic book takes up the thorny question of when and where the Maya script first appeared in the archaeological record, and describes efforts to decipher its meaning on the extremely early murals of San Bartolo. It includes iconographic and epigraphic investigations into how the Classic Maya perceived and recorded the human senses, a previously unknown realm of ancient Maya thought and perception There is now compelling documentary and historical evidence bearing on the question of why and how the breaking of the Maya code was the achievement of Yuri V. Knorosov--a Soviet citizen totally isolated behind the Iron Curtain--and not of the leading Maya scholar of his day, Sir Eric Thompson. What does it take to make such a breakthrough, with a script of such complexity as the Maya? We now have some answers, as Michael Coe demonstrates here.

Seller Inventory # 00109016253

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Breaking the Maya Code
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500281335
• ISBN 13: 9780500281338
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Michael Coe's classic inside story of one of the major intellectual breakthroughs of our time―the last great decoding of an ancient script―has been updated throughout and now includes an epilogue that brings the reader up to date in the fast-changing field of Maya decipherment.

Among the more exciting advances to be described are: the discovery of the specific Maya language and sophisticated grammar used by the ancient scribes on stone monuments and painted vases;  archaeological explorations of tombs and buildings of the ancient founders of the great city of Copan, whose very existence had been predicted by epigraphers through glyphic decipherment; the realization that many small city-states were dominated by two rival giants, Tikal and Calakmul, through a potent combination of military conquest, diplomacy, and royal marriages.

About the Author

Michael D. Coe (1929– 2019) was Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Yale University and Curator Emeritus for the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University. His books include The Maya, Mexico, and Breaking the Maya Code.