The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing

The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing PDF Author: Stephen D. Houston
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806132044
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 584

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Book Description
The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing is an important story of intellectual discovery and a tale of code breaking comparable to the interpreting of Egyptian hieroglyphs and the decoding of cuneiform. This book provides a history of the interpretation of Maya hieroglyphs. Introductory essays offer the historical context and describe the personalities and theories of the many authors who contributed to the understanding of these ancient glyphs.

Ancient Maya Teeth

Ancient Maya Teeth PDF Author: Vera Tiesler
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477327576
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
A study of Maya dental modification from archaeological sites spanning three millennia. Dental modification was common across ancient societies, but perhaps none were more avid practitioners than the Maya. They filed their teeth flat or pointy, polished and drilled them, and crafted decorative inlays of jade and pyrite. Unusually, Maya of all social classes, ages, and professions engaged in dental modification. What did it mean to them? Ancient Maya Teeth is the most comprehensive study of Maya dental modification ever published, based on thousands of teeth recovered from 130 sites spanning three millennia. Esteemed archaeologist Vera Tiesler sifts the evidence, much of it gathered with her own hands and illustrated here with more than a hundred photographs. Exploring the underlying theory and practice of dental modification, Tiesler raises key questions. How did modifications vary across the individual’s lifespan? What tools were used? How did the Maya deal with pain—and malpractice? How did they keep their dentitions healthy, functioning, and beautiful? What were the relationships among gender, social identity, and particular dental-modification choices? Addressing these and other issues, Ancient Maya Teeth reveals how dental-modification customs shifted over the centuries, indexing other significant developments in Mayan cultural history.

Bones of the Maya

Bones of the Maya PDF Author: Stephen L. Whittington
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817353763
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
Includes an indexed bibliography of the first 150 years of Maya osteology. This volume pulls together a spectrum of bioarchaeologists that reveal remarkable data on Maya genetic relationship, demography, and diseases.

The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing

The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing PDF Author: Stephen D. Houston
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 9780806132044
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 584

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Book Description
The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing is an important story of intellectual discovery and a tale of code breaking comparable to the interpreting of Egyptian hieroglyphs and the decoding of cuneiform. This book provides a history of the interpretation of Maya hieroglyphs. Introductory essays offer the historical context and describe the personalities and theories of the many authors who contributed to the understanding of these ancient glyphs.

Ancient Maya (ENHANCED eBook)

Ancient Maya (ENHANCED eBook) PDF Author: Lisa Marty
Publisher: Lorenz Educational Press
ISBN: 1429116005
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Welcome to the fascinating world of the ancient Maya—the most advanced society of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica and the only New World culture to produce a complete system of writing. Maya flourished for over 2,000 years, building elaborate cities at a time when Europe was in decline. The activities in this book provide insight into the history, religion, culture, art, and life of the ancient Maya. The eight full-color transparencies at the back of the book (print books) or the included PowerPoint slides (eBooks) can be used alone or with specific activities listed in the table of contents.

Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World

Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World PDF Author: Emory Dean Keoke
Publisher: Infobase Publishing
ISBN: 1438109903
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
Describes the lives and achievements of American Indians and discusses their contributions to the world.

A World View of Bioculturally Modified Teeth

A World View of Bioculturally Modified Teeth PDF Author: Scott E. Burnett
Publisher: University Press of Florida
ISBN: 0813052971
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
"Brings together studies from diverse time periods and geographic regions to deliver a comprehensive biocultural treatment of dental modification. The volume amply documents the diversity of ways humans modify their teeth and the variety of reasons they may do so."--Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, author of What Teeth Reveal about Human Evolution Tooth modification is the longest-lasting type of body modification and the most widespread in the archaeological record. It has been practiced throughout many time periods and on every occupied continent and conveys information about individual people, their societies, and their relationships to others. This necessary volume presents the wide spectrum of intentional dental modification in humans across the globe over the past 16,000 years. These essays draw on research from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Europe. Through archaeological studies, historical and ethnographic sources, and observations of contemporary people, contributors examine instances of tooth filing, notching, inlays, dyeing, and removal. They discuss how to distinguish between these purposeful modifications of teeth and normal wear and tear or disease while demonstrating what patterns of tooth modification can reveal about people and their cultures in the past and present. A volume in the series Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives, edited by Clark Spencer Larsen

Your Travel Guide to the Ancient Mayan Civilization

Your Travel Guide to the Ancient Mayan Civilization PDF Author: Nancy Day
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 9780822530770
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 102

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Book Description
Takes readers on a journey back in time in order to experience life during the Maya civilization, describing clothing, accommodations, foods, local customs, transportation, a few notable personalities, and more.

Ancient Maya Women

Ancient Maya Women PDF Author: Traci Ardren
Publisher: Rowman Altamira
ISBN: 9780759100107
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
The flood of archaeological work in Maya lands has revolutionized our understanding of gender in ancient Maya society. The dozen contributors to this volume use a wide range of methodological strategies--archaeology, bioarchaeology, iconography, ethnohistory, epigraphy, ethnography--to tease out the details of the lives, actions, and identities of women of Mesoamerica. The chapters, most based upon recent fieldwork in Central America, examine the role of women in Maya society, their place in the political hierarchy and lineage structures, the gendered division of labor, and the discrepancy between idealized Mayan womanhood and the daily reality, among other topics. In each case, the complexities and nuances of gender relations is highlighted and the limitations of our knowledge acknowledged. These pieces represent an important advance in the understanding of Maya socioeconomic, political, and cultural life--and the archaeology of gender--and will be of great interest to scholars and students.

Beauty around the World

Beauty around the World PDF Author: Erin Kenny
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Taking the concept of beauty seriously, this encyclopedia examines how humanity has sought and continues to seek what is "beautiful" in a variety of cultural contexts, giving readers an understanding of how to look at beauty both intellectually and critically. Is beauty ever more than "skin deep"? Arguably yes, considering that the concept of beauty—and the pursuit of it—has shaped cultures worldwide, across every time period, and has even served to change the course of history. Studying beauty practices yields insight into social status, wealth, political ideology, religious doctrine, and gender expectations, including gender nonconformity. A truly interdisciplinary text, Beauty around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia presents an insightful perspective on beauty that draws from philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, psychology, and feminist studies, giving readers a unique view of world beauty practices. This volume offers information about beauty practices from the past to the present in alphabetical entries that address terms and topics such as "beards," "dreadlocks," "Geisha," "moko tattoos," and "progressive muscularity." Readers will better comprehend how beauty shapes many social interactions in profound ways worldwide, and that the unspoken social agreements that shape ideals of attractiveness and desirability within any given culture can matter very much. The encyclopedia's entries challenge readers to consider the questions "What is beauty?" and "Why does it matter?" A comprehensive bibliography is a valuable resource for further research.

Vital Voids

Vital Voids PDF Author: Andrew Finegold
Publisher: University of Texas Press
ISBN: 1477323287
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
The Resurrection Plate, a Late Classic Maya dish, is decorated with an arresting scene. The Maize God, assisted by two other deities, emerges reborn from a turtle shell. At the center of the plate, in the middle of the god’s body and aligned with the point of emergence, there is a curious sight: a small, neatly drilled hole. Art historian Andrew Finegold explores the meanings attributed to this and other holes in Mesoamerican material culture, arguing that such spaces were broadly understood as conduits of vital forces and material abundance, prerequisites for the emergence of life. Beginning with, and repeatedly returning to, the Resurrection Plate, this study explores the generative potential attributed to a wide variety of cavities and holes in Mesoamerica, ranging from the perforated dishes placed in Classic Maya burials, to caves and architectural voids, to the piercing of human flesh. Holes are also discussed in relation to fire, based on the common means through which both were produced: drilling. Ultimately, by attending to what is not there, Vital Voids offers a fascinating approach to Mesoamerican cosmology and material culture.