Mayan Script: A Civilization and its Writing

New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2000. Cloth, 180 pages, illustrations, maps; 25 cm. Translated from the Italian. Firm binding, clean inside copy. Superficial dampstaining/boards and dust jacket. Protected in a mylar cover. "This handbook unlocks the secrets of the symbolic written characters of the ancient Maya of Mexico, providing a vivid portrait of their gods, people, and everyday life. Maya Script presents about 200 Maya glyphs, or symbolic figures, taken from carved stone reliefs, ceremonial artifacts, and rare Maya codices. Some are ideograms (pictorial symbols representing things, not words); others are phonetic signs. The glyphs express kings, queens, heroes, animals, customs such as their remarkable burial system, and abstract concepts. Each one opens a window on fragments of everyday life, gods and ceremonies, even emotions. Some give us portraits of the great leaders who played important roles in the rise of this extraordinary culture. The complexity of their incredible calendar and astronomical calculations reveals a highly developed civilization." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Foreword; In Search of a People; Life at Court; Symbols; Religion; The Calendar; Astronomy; Life and Thought; Writing Systems of the New World; Further Reading; Index of Glyphs. . 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo.