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HOW TO READ MAYA HIEROGLYPHS

John Montgomery

360 pages, black & white line art, 8-page color signature

$24.00 hardcover, 6 x 9, ISBN 0-7818-0861-8

Publication date: February 2002

This book offers the beginner not only an overview of the ancient Maya's hieroglyphic writing system, including the dramatic story of its modern-day decipherment, but actually teaches how to read the hieroglyphs, taking the student step-by-step through the essential elements of the script. Clear and accessible explanations, supported by over 350 glyphic illustrations drawn by the author, present the script's grammatical structure and content, individual signs and their meanings, and explanations of the sophisticated Maya calendrical and mathematical systems. Upon completion of this course, one should be able to identify signs and writing patterns and to decipher short passages. Practice texts are provided, as well as resources for further study. Additionally, a selection of color photographs of hieroglyphs written on different media demonstrates their original context.

Be they traveler, archaeologist, native, scholar, linguist, historian, artist, or the simply curious, this book is for all of those who have visited the grandiose ruins of the ancient Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, or come into contact with the Maya's rich legacy of pottery and artifacts, and inevitably mused on the significance of the strange and beautiful symbols found inscribed or painted on these monuments and remains. Already in use in hieroglyphic classrooms, this book is a comprehensive and well-presented introduction to the writing and a convenient reference to its basic features and symbols.

The writing system: Maya scribes documented the history of their civilization in hieroglyphic script (a complex pictorial script fully developed by the 3rd century A.D., and in use until the 16th century, despite this civilization's decline and collapse in the 10th century), yet by the nineteenth century not a single person was left who could read the hieroglyphs. After two centuries of research, the script has now been almost fully recovered, one of the most significant historical discoveries of the twentieth century.

John Montgomery is an epigrapher and illustrator. He is the author of Tikal: An Illustrated History, a narrative history of the ancient Maya capital (Hippocrene Books, 2001). His forthcoming Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs (2002) is a unique reference presenting more than 1200 glyphs, with phonetic transcription, Mayan equivalent, and meaning.

Hippocrene Books is a New York-based publishing house specializing in reference and trade titles of international interest.