Maya Script: A Civilization and Its Writing

Longhena, Maria

ISBN 10: 0789206536 / ISBN 13: 9780789206534

Published by Abbeville Press, Publishers, New York, 2000

About this Item

Large 8vo. 180 pp, illus. Translated from the Italian by Rosanna M. Giammanco Frongia: First Edition, 2000. Not Price Clipped. Pristine, no wear. No markings, binding tight, clean, white and bright. 6.75" x 9.5". Off-white cloth with black lettering to spine. Illustrated dj in acetate protector. Size: Large Octavo.

Seller Inventory # 6848

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Maya Script: A Civilization and Its Writing
• Publisher: Abbeville Press, Publishers, New York
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0789206536
• ISBN 13: 9780789206534
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Book Type: Book
• Seller catalogs:
  • ARCHAEOLOGY

About this title

Synopsis

This volume presents about 200 Maya glyphs (symbolic figures). Some are ideograms (pictorial symbols representing things, not words); others are phonetic signs. The glyphs express people, animals, things, and such abstract concepts as death. Each one opens a window onto fragments of everyday life, religious beliefs, or even emotions. The complexity of the Maya calendar, mathematical computations, and astronomy reveals a highly-developed civilization. This book also features two-colour drawings of the glyphs, illustrations from reliefs and Spanish codices, and examples of Maya sculpture and paintings. Concluding the book is a chapter on writing systems of the New World, a list of museums to visit, a bibliography, and an index of glyphs.

About the Author

Maria Longhena is a scholar of pre-Columbian civilizations and history. Her studies of Maya writings have been published in international journals. She has also participated in such museum exhibitions as "Inca-Peru: 3000 Years of History" and "In Search of the American Past."