DOCSLIB.ORG

A Criteria-Based System for the Qualitative Assessment of Reading Proposals for the Deciphering of Classic Mayan Hieroglyphs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Criteria-Based System for the Qualitative Assessment of Reading Proposals for the Deciphering of Classic Mayan Hieroglyphs Modelling vagueness – A criteria-based system for the qualitative assessment of reading proposals for the deciphering of Classic Mayan hieroglyphs Franziska Diehr1, Sven Gronemeyer2, 3, Elisabeth Wagner2, Christian Prager2, Katja Diederichs2, Uwe Sikora1, Maximilian Brodhun1, Nikolai Grube2 1 State and University Library Göttingen, Germany 2 Department for Anthropology of the Americas, University of Bonn, Germany 3 Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Australia [email protected] Abstract office, located at the Department for the Anthropo- logy of the Americas, University of Bonn,3 works The project ‘Text Database and Diction- in close collaboration with the State and University ary of Classic Mayan’ aims at creating a Library Göttingen.4 Since 2014, the hieroglyphic machine-readable corpus of all Maya texts texts have been prepared, evaluated, and interpreted and compiling a dictionary on this basis. in interdisciplinary cooperation using methods and The characteristics of this complex writ- tools from the humanities and information techno- ing system pose particular challenges to logy (Prager, 2014c). research, resulting in contradictory and am- One result of this collaboration, and at the same biguous deciphering hypotheses. In this time an important milestone of the project, is the paper, we present a system for the qualitat- digital Sign Catalogue which is the subject of this ive evaluation of reading proposals that is paper. For the creation of a text corpus and a dic- integrated into a digital Sign Catalogue for tionary of an only partially understood language Mayan hieroglyphs, establishing a novel and script, a Sign Catalogue, an inventory of all concept for sign systematisation and clas- used signs, is an indispensable instrument. At the sification. The paper focuses in particular same time, the catalogue also forms the core com- on the modelling process and thus emphas- ponent for constructing a machine-readable text. ises the role of knowledge representation The project deals with a writing system that is only in digital humanities research. partially deciphered. The investigation of the script 1 Modelling vagueness in the Maya and language has produced numerous assumptions and interpretations about the reading of its signs. Dictionary project For a heuristic deciphering work, these reading hy- The not yet completely deciphered script of the pre- potheses are to be included for further investigation. Columbian Maya culture is the research subject During the development of the Sign Catalogue, a of the interdisciplinary project ‘Text Database and system for the qualitative evaluation of decipher- Dictionary of Classic Mayan’.1 The aim of this ment hypotheses and reading proposals was de- long-term project is to record the approximately veloped. Among other things, it offers assistance 10,000 known text carriers and their inscriptions with the linguistic analyses of the texts. The chal- in a machine-readable corpus and based on this lenge in modelling this system was to represent to compile a dictionary, which reflects the entire several reading proposals, as well as to determine vocabulary and its use in context (Prager, 2014b).2 the factors that led to the formulation of the respect- As a joint effort, the specially established project ive deciphering hypothesis. The goal of knowledge representation is also the explicit description of 1. http://mayadictionary.de 2. The project started in 2014 and is expected to end in 2028. the methods applied. This enables the scholar to It is funded by the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of carry out analyses and draw conclusions on the Sciences and Arts http://www.awk.nrw.de and the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities https: 3. https://www.iae.uni-bonn.de/ //www.akademienunion.de. 4. https://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de 33 Proceedings of the Workshop on Computational Methods in the Humanities 2018 (COMHUM 2018) Figure 2: Writing of Maya Hieroglyphs which is characterised by two main sign classes: logograms and syllabograms. Logograms stand for linguistic terms, like e.g. PAKAL for ‘shield’, and refer, with only a few exceptions, only to one Figure 1: Example for a Maya inscription denotation. Syllabograms represent single vowels and syllabic components and serve to write lex- ical and grammatical morphemes. They are also basis of the model. The modelling of reading pro- used as phonetic complements of logograms, as posals and their plausibility act as examples for in PAKAL-la. Words could thus also be written the representation of complex knowledge objects exclusively with syllabic signs pa-ka-la (Figure2), with interpretive character, as they are typical for but mostly, both sign classes were combined in research data in the humanities. In this context, writing (Diehr et al., 2017, 1186). the paper emphasizes the role of knowledge repres- entation in projects that are located in the digital The signs were arranged in almost rectangular humanities and considers the challenges posed by blocks. Such a hieroglyphic block probably cor- the modelling of vague and uncertain information. responds to the emic idea of a word. Within a block, the signs could be arranged in many differ- 2 Characteristics of Classic Maya ent ways. Depending on space requirements and writing aesthetics, they could merge, overlap, be infixed, or rotated. The blocks were usually arranged in Compared to other Mesoamerican writing systems, double columns and read from left to right and such as Isthmic or Aztec, Maya writing has a con- top to bottom. The sentences constructed this way siderably long time of use, about 2,000 years. The form complex texts with a syntax and structure first pre-Classic texts were written in the 3rd cen- still preserved in modern Mayan languages (Prager, tury B.C. The writing tradition reached its peak in 2014a). Maya writing shows a distinct calligraphic the Classic period (100 - 810 A.D.). The arrival of complexity, as we can observe a broad graphic vari- the Spaniards lead to a deep cut in Maya culture ability of signs. It allowed to write aesthetically that also affected the use of their writing. It was sophisticated texts without necessarily repeating only possible for the Maya to use it in secret. In the identical variants. For a linguistic expression, there underground, hieroglyphic writing continued until is not only a single graphic correspondence, but the late 17th century, and ceased to exist thereafter. usually several, sometimes very different, variants. It was only due to 18th and especially the 19th The bipartite syllabogram u could either be writ- century explorers who brought Maya texts back ten in its full form or alternatively with only one to light, and with that further and further into the of its two segments. These segments could also focus of research. To date, an estimated 10,000 be reduced or multiplied. As a further example, text carriers (Figure1) have survived, mainly mo- the syllablic sign yi shows how simple forms can numental inscriptions such as altars and stelae. Nu- be transformed into so-called head variants. Even merous texts can also be found on ceramics and diagnostic features (marked in Figure3) are not small artefacts, like jewellery, implements or boxes. present in all graph variants. It was even possible Of special importance are the codices written on to insert or parenthesise other graphs, as the ex- paper-like material, of which unfortunately only ample ma shows (Figure3). four have survived. The way in which variants are formed has not The Maya writing system is characterised by yet been the subject of systematic investigations an iconic character, hence labelled a hieroglyphic before. There are a few individual studies by Beyer script. Typologically it is a logo-syllabic system (1934a; 1934b; 1936; 1937) and Lacadena (1995, 34 Proceedings of the Workshop on Computational Methods in the Humanities 2018 (COMHUM 2018) of published sign inventories shows between 700 and 1,000 signs with a phonemic value. These comprise, according to own estimates, about 3,000 distinctive graph variants. 3 Sign catalogues as classification aids The study of the hieroglyphs is carried out on the basis of previously discovered text carriers. How- ever, many text carriers have been destroyed over time, are forgotten in archives and museums, hid- den in private collections, or have simply not yet been discovered. Therefore, there will always be a small number of signs that could not be invent- oried. On the other hand, it can be assumed that new discoveries will be made in the coming years. Early in 2018, the results of a large-scale aerial Lidar prospection in Guatemala were presented, Figure 3: Graph variants showing a much denser concentration of archaeolo- gical sites in the tropical lowlands than previously assumed, also implying a larger number of text 204 ff.) that investigate substitutions, rotation prin- carriers (Clyens, 2018). ciples, or symmetries. In the course of the pre- The discovery of new inscriptions and thus the paratory work for the digital Sign Catalogue, we discovery of previously unknown signs represents recognised for the first time that there are general a challenge for the classification of Maya signs. rules and principles for the formation of graphs Previous sign inventories could, of course, only which can be derived and defined by graphotactic consider the signs known at the time for a printed 5 analyses . In total, we have identified 45 individual publication. The discovery of new signs has to be variation principles that can be divided into nine anticipated in the digital Sign Catalogue, also a pos- classes (mono-, bi-, tri-, and variopartite, division, sible re-classification of already known signs. We animation head, animation figure, multiplication, therefore need flexible data management processes extraction). for new research results. Another feature is the polyvalence of signs. A Compared to other ancient languages and writ- single glyph can either be read as a logogram or a ing systems, the decipherment of Maya writing is syllabogram, depending on context.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Disharmony in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing
    FIVE Disharmony in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing Linguistic Change and Continuity in Classic Society Stephen Houston Brigham Young University David Stuart Peabody Museum, Harvard University John Robertson Brigham Young University Some forty-five years ago Yuri Knorozov discovered the existence of phonetic syllables in Maya writing (1952, 1958, 1965, 1967a). Despite strong opposition, Knorozov made an excellent case that Maya script recorded signs of consonant + vowel form. When com- bined in groupings of two or more glyphs these signs spelled words like ma + ma→ mam or ku + tzu→ kutz. In each instance the final vowel of the second syllable—a superfluous, “dead” vowel—could be safely detached once the two syllables were joined into a CVC (or CVCVC) root, the most common configuration in Mayan languages. Knorozov’s in- sight has been discussed elsewhere, either as an issue in intellectual history (Houston 1988; Coe 1992) or as a topic in decipherment (Justeson and Campbell, eds., 1984). To- day, few epigraphers question the singular importance of Knorozov’s contribution. Work- ing in near-total isolation from other Mayanists, he succeeded in achieving a break- through that fundamentally changed modern views of Maya writing. Yet Knorozov could not explain one feature of syllabic signs: What, precisely, deter- mined the final sign in such groupings? Knorozov detected a default arrangement, which he labeled “synharmony,” by which the vowel of the second sign duplicated that of the first (Knorozov 1965: 174–75). As Kelley pointed out, this pattern explained a large num- ber of spellings (Kelley 1976: 18). Lounsbury, too, found that synharmony accorded with morphophonemic processes in Mayan languages (1973: 100), especially the “echo” sylla- ble, a “voiceless .
    [Show full text]
  • Kettunen and Helmke: Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs
    Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs Workshop Handbook 10th European Maya Conference Leiden, December 5–10, 2005 Harri Kettunen University of Helsinki Christophe Helmke University College London Wayeb & Leiden University Dedicated to the memory of John Montgomery Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs Harri Kettunen & Christophe Helmke Wayeb & Leiden University 2005 Kettunen & Helmke 2005 Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs TABLE OF CONTENTS: Foreword ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Acknowledgments................................................................................................................................... 4 Note on the Orthography......................................................................................................................... 5 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 6 2. History of Decipherment.................................................................................................................... 7 3. Origins of the Maya Script ............................................................................................................... 11 4. Language(s) of the Hieroglyphs....................................................................................................... 12 5. Writing System................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Cuadernos De Trabajo 38
    Cuadernos de Trabajo Instituto de Investigaciones Histórico-Sociales UNIVERSIDAD VERACRUZANA 38 La Escritura Mesoamericana y Maya Patrimonio Epigráfico de los Mayas La Casa Knorosov Xcaret Dr. Pedro Jiménez Lara Xalapa, Veracruz Noviembre de 2010 INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES HISTÓRICO-SOCIALES Director: Martín Aguilar Sánchez CUADERNOS DE TRABAJO Editor: Feliciano García Aguirre Comité Editorial: Joaquín R. González Martinez Rosío Córdova Plaza Pedro Jiménez Lara David Skerritt Gardner CUADERNO DE TRABAJO N° 38 © Instituto de Investigaciones Histórico-Sociales Universidad Veracruzana Diego Leño 8, Centro Xalapa, C.P. 91000, Veracruz ISSN 1405-5600 Viñeta de la portada: Luis Rechy (†) Cuidado de la edición: Lilia del Carmen Cárdenas Vázquez La Escritura Mesoamericana y Maya Patrimonio Epigráfico de los Mayas La Casa Knorosov Xcaret Dr. Pedro Jiménez Lara Cuadernos de trabajo Instituto de Investigaciones Histórico-Sociales Universidad Veracruzana Indice Página Introducción 6 Yuri Valentinovich Knorosov Desciframiento de la Escritura Maya 9 Sus primeros estudios 9 Un epigrafista rojo 10 En tierras mayas previo a su último viaje 11 Knorosov un cientifico completo 11 Proyecto para la escritura mesoamericana y maya 16 Socios Fundadores 29 Universidad Estatal de Rusia de Ciencias Humanas de Moscu Facultad de Historia, Politología y Derecho: Centro de Estudios Mesoamericanos “Yuri knórosov” (Moscú) 29 Universidad Veracruzana 31 Instituto de Investigaciones Histórico-Sociales 33 Centro turistico Kcaret 34 Conclusiones 37 Bibliografía 38 Anexo 1. Protocolo de intenciones entre Universidad Estatal de Rusia de Ciencias Humanas (Federación de Rusia) y Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa (México) 39 “Cualquier sistema o código elaborado por un ser humano podría ser resuelto por cualquier otro ser humano” Knorosov, Moscú, 1952 Introducción Una de las creaciones, por excelencia, hecha por el hombre es sin lugar a dudas la escritura como medio comunicación y de dejar evidencia de su existencia.
    [Show full text]
  • Semble-T-Il, La Posture Fondamentale Des Auteurs Devant Geminoïd, C'est
    Rezensionen 285 semble-t-il, la posture fondamentale des auteurs devant uscript). The book also features a brief introduction by Geminoïd, c’est-à-dire une posture qui évacue presque Nikolai Grube on the basics of Maya hieroglyphic writ- complètement le sens critique. Les auteurs veulent croire ing, mathematics, calendar, and religion, as well as the dans la possibilité d’établir une communication avec Ge- structure and content of the codex. Another short article minoïd, et cette croyance est au fondement de la surin- by Thomas Bürger outlines the history of the manuscript. terprétation. Ils parlent bien de “résistance au simulacre” Photographs are of high quality and constitute the first (158), mais ils y résistent très peu, ou seulement spora- accurate reproduction of the Codex, which was meticu- diquement. Comme ils le disent, ils se laissent prendre lously restored after it had suffered serious damage during au jeu (40). the firebombing of Dresden in World War II. As the qual- Les conclusions des auteurs au sujet de la communi- ity of photographic reproductions and facsimiles before cation sont somme toute assez triviales. Il est en effet dif- World War II cannot be compared with modern reproduc- ficile de communiquer avec une machine, même quand tions, it is not just a nicely illustrated edition for people on a la croyance. “Deux modes d’existence entrent ici en who want to learn about the Maya, but also an invaluable friction, l’organique et le machinique. Ils s’affrontent sans source for Mayanists. The whole codex is also now online possibilité de s’unir, de se combiner, dans une nouvelle in high resolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Deciphering the Roots Of
    Deciphering the Roots of the Indus Civilisation Andrew Robinson pays tribute to Asko Parpola, whose lifelong study of the Indus script has revolutionised our understanding of this ancient civilisation. he decipherment of ancient scripts makes history. Columbus. Each breakthrough was principally the work of one When the Egyptian hieroglyphs started to give person – Jean-François Champollion for Egyptian hieroglyphs, up their secrets in the 1820s, with the help of Henry Rawlinson for Babylonian cuneiform, Michael Ventris for the bilingual Rosetta stone, the historical time Linear B, and Yuri KnoroZov for Mayan glyphs – although in every span was doubled, from about 600 BC, the date case, both the breakthrough and its subsequent confirmation ofT the earliest Hebrew inscriptions, back to about 3000 BC, the depended on the insights of predecessors and rival decipherers, beginning of dynastic rule. Later in the 19th such as Thomas Young (Egyptian hieroglyphs), Edward century, the cuneiform scripts of ancient Hincks (Babylonian cuneiform), Arthur Evans Mesopotamia were deciphered; and (Linear B), and Diego de Landa (Mayan glyphs). scholars were able to read the bureaucratic Several significant scripts remain to be records and literature of ancient Sumer, deciphered, for example, the Etruscan script of Babylon, and Assyria, comparable in age Italy (where the language is unknown) and with those of ancient Egypt. In the 1950s, the rongorongo script of Easter Island. By far the decipherment of Minoan Linear B the most influential and tantalising is the gave us Europe’s earliest readable script, Indus script, most of which is inscribed on written in a form of archaic Greek half seal stones, chiefly made of steatite.
    [Show full text]
  • La Península Ibérica
    Los mayas Chichen Itza Yucatan Tikal Guatemala Mapa Maya Según Carlos A. Loprete. Iberoamérica: historia de su civilización y cultura. (4ª ed. Prentice Hall, 2001). Capítulo 2 (Outline) Los mayas. ¿Su origen? Un misterio. Probablemente, durante muchos años o siglos llevaron una vida nómada, en busca de una region propia, hasta que se asentaron en la región de las actuales Yucatán (México), Guatemala, parte de Honduras y El Salvador. Es probable que recorrieran tierras muy frías y muy cálidas y que el descubrimiento del maíz en la zona les diera la oportunidad de quedarse allí y dedicarse a su cultivo. El pueblo maya contó con excelentes artistas, hombres de ciencia, astronómicos y arquitectos. Es posible que por el refinamiento estético de su arte y arquitectura, la precisión de su sistema astronómico, la complejidad de sus calendarios y el desarrollo de su matemática y escritura, no hayan sido superados por ninguna otra civilización del Nuevo Mundo y apenas igualados por muy pocas del Viejo Mundo. Están considerados como “los griegos” de América. Los mayas se establecieron en Centroamérica hacia los años 2000 o 1500 antes de Jesucristo. Durante varios siglos vivieron en un estado de formación cultural, hasta que, aproximadamente en el año 300 d.C., lograron las características esenciales de su civilización, en la región denominada El Petén, en el norte de Guatemala. Esta civilización estuvo integrada por numerosas ciudades-estados, que hablaban una lengua común, aunque con ligeras variantes dialectales, y tenían similares rasgos culturales. Sin embargo, no parecen haber tenido una unidad política ni una ciudad capital. En distintas etapas, fueron levantando grandes ciudades: Tikal (la más Antigua y la mayor) y Uaxactún, en Guatemala; Chichén-Itzá (abandonada y reconstruida tres veces) y Palenque, en México; y Copán, en Honduras.
    [Show full text]
  • Russia in Global Affairs July
    RUSSIA in GLOBAL AFFAIRS Vol. 4•No. 3•JULY – SEPTEMBER•2006 Contents The Russian Season Fyodor Lukyanov 5 Russia in Focus Russia’s G8 History: From Guest to President Vadim Lukov 8 Russia’s participation in the G8 has provided the group with a major incen- tive for confronting a broad range of international political problems involv- ing strategic stability, regional conflicts and nonproliferation. The expansion of summit agendas has given “fresh oxygen” to the dialog between the G8 leaders. The Kremlin at the G8’s Helm: Choosing the Right Steps Vlad Ivanenko 22 Chairing the G8 meeting in St. Petersburg is an important test of the Kremlin administration’s ability to advance its national interests abroad. If Russia engages other members in a substantive discussion of its proposals, it will make a significant accomplishment. Comments by Hiski Haukkala and Peter Rutland. Russia, an Engine for Global Development Fyodor Shelov-Kovedyaev 36 Russia should cease playing a game of “catch up” with the so-called devel- oped economies, as well as relinquish the idea of antagonism between Russian and Western interests. Russia and the West objectively need each other. Contents The Russian Economy Today and Tomorrow Arkady Dvorkovich 46 While the problems that Russia must solve in the next three years are quite serious, the long-term challenges are much more fundamental. These chal- lenges include the reduction of the Russian population; the decline in the skill level of manpower resources; the aging of the infrastructure; and the need for sufficient competitive niches in the global division of labor. Foreign Policy Imperatives Asia’s Future and Russia’s Policy Situation Analysis 56 The formation of Russia’s new policy toward the Asia-Pacific countries is impossible without transforming its foreign-policy thinking, which has been traditionally focused on the Euro-Atlantic space.
    [Show full text]
  • Proto-Indo-Europeans: the Prologue
    Proto-Indo-Europeans: The Prologue Alexander Kozintsev Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Saint-Petersburg and Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia This study collates linguistic, genetic, and archaeological data relevant to the problem of the IE homeland and proto-IE (PIE) migrations. The idea of a proto-Anatolian (PA) migration from the steppe to Anatolia via the Balkans is refuted by linguistic, archaeological, and genetic facts, whereas the alternative scenario, postulating the Indo-Uralic homeland in the area east of the Caspian Sea, is the most plausible. The divergence between proto-Uralians and PIEs is mirrored by the cultural dichotomy between Kelteminar and the early farming societies in southern Turkmenia and northern Iran. From their first homeland the early PIEs moved to their second homeland in the Near East, where early PIE split into PA and late PIE. Three migration routes from the Near East to the steppe across the Caucasus can be tentatively reconstructed — two early (Khvalynsk and Darkveti-Meshoko), and one later (Maykop). The early eastern route (Khvalynsk), supported mostly by genetic data, may have been taken by Indo-Hittites. The western and the central routes (Darkveti-Meshoko and Maykop), while agreeing with archaeological and linguistic evidence, suggest that late PIE could have been adopted by the steppe people without biological admixture. After that, the steppe became the third and last PIE homeland, from whence all filial IE dialects except Anatolian spread in various directions, one of them being to the Balkans and eventually to Anatolia and the southern Caucasus, thus closing the circle of counterclockwise IE migrations around the Black Sea.
    [Show full text]
  • The PARI Journal Vol. XX, No. 3
    ThePARIJournal A quarterly publication of the Ancient Cultures Institute Volume XX, No. 3, Winter 2020 The Memoryof Stones: In This Issue: Ancient Maya Spolia in the Architecture of Early Colonial Yucatan The Memory of Stones: Ancient JESPER NIELSEN Maya Spolia in the University of Copenhagen Architecture of Early Colonial Yucatan The time of the Spanish conquest and on the other. How did they manoeuvre by the arrival of Christianity in southern in and survive what Nancy Farriss has Jesper Nielsen Mesoamerica was one of the periods of described as a crisis in the “cosmic order” PAGES 1–15 history that most dramatically affected (Farriss 1984:286; see also Early 2006; Cecil Maya culture, language, and life ways. and Pugh 2009). We can seek possible an- • Although the conquest of the Maya swers to such questions through a number Correspondence area was a highly variable process, from of different kinds of data and sources, between Frans Blom the Guatemalan highlands, to northern important among them are written docu- and Yuriy Knorozov Yucatan, and finally to the pacification of ments like the Books of Chilam Balam as Archived at the Na the last, independent Maya strongholds well as other types of records, such as land Bolom Museum in of the central Peten in the late seventeenth claims and testaments (Chuchiak 2001; San Cristóbal de century, this prolonged and violent epi- Restall 1997; Knowlton 2010; Christensen Las Casas, Chiapas, sode of conquests, relocations, rebellions, 2016). Another set of data, which has Mexico and refuge was no doubt a time that must generally received less attention, is Early be characterized as a profound crisis.
    [Show full text]
  • Matthew C. Watson Afterlives of Affect
    Matthew C. Watson Afterlives of Affect Science, Religion, and an Edgewalker’s Spirit afterlives of affect Afterlives of Affect science, religion, and an edgewalker’s spirit Matthew C. Watson duke university press Durham & London 2020 © 2020 Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of Amer i ca on acid- free paper ∞ Designed by Matthew Tauch Typeset in Garamond Premier Pro by Westchester Publishing Ser vices Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Watson, Matthew C., [date] author. Title: Afterlives of affect : science, religion, and an edgewalker’s spirit / Matthew Wats o n . Description: Durham : Duke University Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: lccn 2019047961 (print) lccn 2019047962 (ebook) isbn 9781478007975 (hardcover) isbn 9781478008439 (paperback) isbn 9781478012078 (ebook) Subjects: lcsh: Schele, Linda. | Anthropology— Philosophy. | Ethnology— Philosophy. | Anthropology— Methodology. | Ethnology— Methodology. | Ethnology— Religious aspects. | Anthropological ethics. | Anthropologists. Classification: lcc gn33. w36 2020 (print) | lcc gn33 (ebook) | ddc 301.01— dc23 lc rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019047961 lc ebook rec ord available at https:// lccn . loc . gov / 2019047962 cover art: Photograph of Linda Schele at the K’inal Winik Maya Conference, Cleveland State University, 1988 Contents acknowl edgments vii Introduction ​· ​Edgewalking Affect 1 Chapter One ​· ​Sacrilege 24 Chapter Two ​· ​Animals 43 Chapter Three ​· ​Cosmos 63 Chapter Four ​· ​Bones 96 Chapter Five ​· ​Genius 115 Chapter Six ​· ​Love 145 notes 175 bibliography 223 index 253 Acknowl edgments I wrote this book on edgewalking across four places of residence and five academic positions. Most of it emerged during periods of deep uncertainty about my academic future.
    [Show full text]
  • Changing Views of the Changing Maya: Evolution and Devolution in an Ancient Society Marshall Joseph Becker West Chester University of Pennsylvania, [email protected]
    West Chester University Digital Commons @ West Chester University Anthropology & Sociology College of Arts & Sciences 1988 Changing views of the changing maya: evolution and devolution in an ancient society Marshall Joseph Becker West Chester University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/anthrosoc_facpub Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Becker, M. J. (1988). Changing views of the changing maya: evolution and devolution in an ancient society. Revista española de antropología americana, 18, 21-36. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/anthrosoc_facpub/26 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts & Sciences at Digital Commons @ West Chester University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology & Sociology by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ West Chester University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Changing views of the changing maya: Evolu- tion and devolution in an ancient society* Marshall JOSEPH BECKER 1 í)eparonen¡ uf .Irclsnecílogí.. ‘lije (.iniversit t o! (arnhridge) PR EFACE The death (5 December 1985) of A. Ledyard Smith marked the end of an era in Maya arehaelogy. Ledyard was a tireless fleld worker and an able seholar. He encouraged and aided others, both to build on and to go beyond bis own significant achievements. He thereby created an enthusiastic team of workers who have made major contributions to what we know about the ttIIcier1t Mava. This paper is dedicated to his memory. 1 NTRODUCTI ON From the earliest reports of «iost cities» in the ram forests of Central America, the deseriptions of carved texts and human figures on the irnpressive stone nionurnenús were ranked alongside Che buge stone temples as indicators that a great society had once held dominion over this inhospitable world.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolu- Tion and Devolution in an Ancient Society*
    Changing views of the changing maya: Evolu- tion and devolution in an ancient society* Marshall JOSEPH BECKER 1 í)eparonen¡ uf .Irclsnecílogí.. ‘lije (.iniversit t o! (arnhridge) PR EFACE The death (5 December 1985) of A. Ledyard Smith marked the end of an era in Maya arehaelogy. Ledyard was a tireless fleld worker and an able seholar. He encouraged and aided others, both to build on and to go beyond bis own significant achievements. He thereby created an enthusiastic team of workers who have made major contributions to what we know about the ttIIcier1t Mava. This paper is dedicated to his memory. 1 NTRODUCTI ON From the earliest reports of «iost cities» in the ram forests of Central America, the deseriptions of carved texts and human figures on the irnpressive stone nionurnenús were ranked alongside Che buge stone temples as indicators that a great society had once held dominion over this inhospitable world. Ihe publications of John Lloyd Stephens (¡949) with Che exotie drawings of Fredrick Catherwood (1844) allowed a fascinated nineteenth * Acknowledgernents. Thanks are doc ‘(‘he Universííy Museum ot Anthropology and Archaeology for their support of my íntrodnctory ycars of work in Maya archaeology. Fundíng for ihe research whícb produced thís paper deríved. in part. lrom a gratil froin West Chester tinívcrsity tResearch and Publícatíons). Thc original version was presented as Ihe Foorth Annoal l.,ecsure in í he series o<Tbc Reconstruction of Past I~andscapes» sponsored by Sigma Chi and Ihe William P. Hoffman Scholar-in-Residence Program at Miami Universitv in Oxford. Ohio (26 March 987).
    [Show full text]