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Through seeing stones: Maya epigraphy as a mature discipline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2016

Stephen Houston  and
Simon Martin
Stephen Houston
Affiliation:
Anthropology Department, Brown University, Box 1921, Providence RI 02912, USA (Email: stephen_houston@brown.edu)
Simon Martin
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania Museum, 3260 South Street, Philadelphia PA 19104, USA (Email: simonm3@ sas.upenn.edu)
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Abstract

Maya script—the most elaborate and extensive system of native writing in the New World—was in active use across the Yucatán Peninsula from 300 BC–AD 1700. Maya epigraphy began in the late nineteenth century, developing through the efforts of key figures, often with oblique approaches from other disciplines. Today, the research landscape is increasingly virtual; new discoveries have been combined with greater precision in translation, providing unique access to the complex interactions of Maya society, where the elite shared a language across political boundaries that was incomprehensible to most of their subjects.

Keywords

MesoamericaMayaClassic periodepigraphylanguage
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 90 , Issue 350 , April 2016 , pp. 443 - 455
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016 

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