Part guide book, part scholarly treatise, The Code of Kings is the latest popular offering on the continuing decipherment of Mayan hieroglyphics and an outstanding addition to Maya studies.
Authors Peter Mathews, an archaeologist at the University of Calgary, and the late Linda Schele, an art historian and epigrapher at the University of Texas until her death in April, have made another contribution to the unfolding translation of Mayan hieroglyphics that is transforming Maya studies. As the only fully literate people of pre-Columbian America, the ancient Maya left behind a wealth of descriptive hieroglyphics which, thanks to ongoing translation, are bringing to light the full power and majesty of one of the world’s most fascinating civilizations.
In this volume Schele and Mathews interpret the art and architecture of seven important structures at seven different Maya centers in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras: Great Jaguar Claw’s palace at Tikal; Pacal the Great’s tomb in the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque (see story on page ##); the great plaza of Lord 18 Rabbit at Copán; Seibal’s katun-ending commemoration monuments; Chichen Itzá’s great ballcourt; the Nunnery Quadrangle at Uxmal; and Iximche, the capital of the highland Maya.
The authors dissect each of these architectural masterpieces in depth, decipher the glyphs, and interpret the stunning art and iconography. Through these great monuments Schele and Mathews deftly reflect the latest thinking on the rulers and religion of the Maya world.
Unfortunately they have changed the conventional English spelling of many Maya places and kings, which adds confusion to an already difficult subject.
The Code of Kings is richly illustrated with maps, drawings (including dozens by Schele and Mathews), and numerous images by renowned photographers MacDuff Everton and Justin Kerr. This is a book the serious Maya student will want to take along when visiting these seven Maya cities, for it allows one to read firsthand the ancient inscriptions of the vanished kings. —Mark Michel