Heart of Creation: The Mesoamerican World and the Legacy of Linda Schele

This accessible, state-of-the-art review of Mayan hieroglyphics and cosmology also serves as a tribute to one of the field's most noted pioneers.



The core of this book focuses on the current study of Mayan hieroglyphics as inspired by the recently deceased Mayanist Linda Schele. As author or coauthor of more than 200 books or articles on the Maya, Schele served as the chief disseminator of knowledge to the general public about this ancient Mesoamerican culture, similar to the way in which Margaret Mead introduced anthropology and the people of Borneo to the English-speaking world.

Twenty-five contributors offer scholarly writings on subjects ranging from the ritual function of public space at the Olmec site and the gardens of the Great Goddess at Teotihuacan to the understanding of Jupiter in Maya astronomy and the meaning of the water throne of Quirigua Zoomorph P. The workshops on Maya history and writing that Schele conducted in Guatemala and Mexico for the highland people, modern descendants of the Mayan civilization, are thoroughly addressed as is the phenomenon termed "Maya mania"—the explosive growth of interest in Maya epigraphy, iconography, astronomy, and cosmology that Schele stimulated. An appendix provides a bibliography of Schele's publications and a collection of Scheleana, written memories of "the Rabbit Woman" by some of her colleagues and students.

Of interest to professionals as well as generalists, this collection will stand as a marker of the state of Mayan studies at the turn of the 21st century and as a tribute to the remarkable personality who guided a large part of that archaeological research for more than two decades.

"1102128759"
Heart of Creation: The Mesoamerican World and the Legacy of Linda Schele

This accessible, state-of-the-art review of Mayan hieroglyphics and cosmology also serves as a tribute to one of the field's most noted pioneers.



The core of this book focuses on the current study of Mayan hieroglyphics as inspired by the recently deceased Mayanist Linda Schele. As author or coauthor of more than 200 books or articles on the Maya, Schele served as the chief disseminator of knowledge to the general public about this ancient Mesoamerican culture, similar to the way in which Margaret Mead introduced anthropology and the people of Borneo to the English-speaking world.

Twenty-five contributors offer scholarly writings on subjects ranging from the ritual function of public space at the Olmec site and the gardens of the Great Goddess at Teotihuacan to the understanding of Jupiter in Maya astronomy and the meaning of the water throne of Quirigua Zoomorph P. The workshops on Maya history and writing that Schele conducted in Guatemala and Mexico for the highland people, modern descendants of the Mayan civilization, are thoroughly addressed as is the phenomenon termed "Maya mania"—the explosive growth of interest in Maya epigraphy, iconography, astronomy, and cosmology that Schele stimulated. An appendix provides a bibliography of Schele's publications and a collection of Scheleana, written memories of "the Rabbit Woman" by some of her colleagues and students.

Of interest to professionals as well as generalists, this collection will stand as a marker of the state of Mayan studies at the turn of the 21st century and as a tribute to the remarkable personality who guided a large part of that archaeological research for more than two decades.

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Overview

This accessible, state-of-the-art review of Mayan hieroglyphics and cosmology also serves as a tribute to one of the field's most noted pioneers.



The core of this book focuses on the current study of Mayan hieroglyphics as inspired by the recently deceased Mayanist Linda Schele. As author or coauthor of more than 200 books or articles on the Maya, Schele served as the chief disseminator of knowledge to the general public about this ancient Mesoamerican culture, similar to the way in which Margaret Mead introduced anthropology and the people of Borneo to the English-speaking world.

Twenty-five contributors offer scholarly writings on subjects ranging from the ritual function of public space at the Olmec site and the gardens of the Great Goddess at Teotihuacan to the understanding of Jupiter in Maya astronomy and the meaning of the water throne of Quirigua Zoomorph P. The workshops on Maya history and writing that Schele conducted in Guatemala and Mexico for the highland people, modern descendants of the Mayan civilization, are thoroughly addressed as is the phenomenon termed "Maya mania"—the explosive growth of interest in Maya epigraphy, iconography, astronomy, and cosmology that Schele stimulated. An appendix provides a bibliography of Schele's publications and a collection of Scheleana, written memories of "the Rabbit Woman" by some of her colleagues and students.

Of interest to professionals as well as generalists, this collection will stand as a marker of the state of Mayan studies at the turn of the 21st century and as a tribute to the remarkable personality who guided a large part of that archaeological research for more than two decades.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780817383176
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Publication date: 07/25/2015
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 400
File size: 16 MB
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About the Author

Andrea Stone (1949–2014) was a North-American Mayanist. She studied Maya art at the University of Texas at Austin under the guidance of Linda Schele and, since 1984, taught at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee as a Professor in art history.
 

Table of Contents

Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgments 1. Introduction 2. Reaching for the Stars: Linda Schele’s Contributions to Maya Astronomy 3. Creation and the Ritual of the Bacabs 4. The Landscape of Creation: Architecture, Tomb, and Monument Placement at the Olmec Site of La Venta 5. Carved in Stone: The Cosmological Narratives of Late Preclassic Izapan-Style Monuments from the Pacific Slope 6. Gardening with the Great Goddess at Teotihuacan 7. Terminal Classic Sacred Place and Factional Politics at El Tajin, Veracruz 8. The Planet of Kings: Jupiter in Maya Cosmology 9. Ritual Circuits as Key Elements in Maya Civic Center Design 10. The Toponyms of El Cayo, Piedras Negras, and La Mar 11. Quirigua Zoomorph P: A Water Throne and Mountain of Creation 12. New Dance, Old Xius: The “Xiu Family Tree” and Maya Cultural 13. The Workshops on Maya History and Writing in Guatemala and Mexico 14. The Schele Icon and Maya Mania: The Growth of Public Interest in Maya Epigraphy Appendix 1. Bibliography of Linda Schele’s Publications The Living Maya, the Mukta Antz Chingón, and Me: A Tale of Life and Death This Will Blow Your Mind The Rabbit Woman Working with Linda Writing on Through with Linda Spider Eyes The Age of Schele Remembrances of Linda Schele at the University of Texas at Austin Remembering the Blood of Kings Linda Scholastica References Contributors Index
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