Reading the Maya Glyphs, Second Edition
Although most Mayan inscriptions have been deciphered within the  last 30 years, very little has been written for the general  reader interested in learning to read these ancient  hieroglyphics. To remedy this, anthropologist Coe (Breaking the  Maya Code) and calligrapher Van Stone have put together this  illustrated manual. After an introductory chapter on Mayan  history and culture, an overview is given of Mayan script,  phonetics, and morphology, which readers need to study carefully  with the help of the syllabary and lexicon provided in the  appendix. The authors then go on to introduce glyphs,  elaborating on subjects like time, the Mayan calendar, royalty,  places, titles, relationships, warfare, scribes and artists,  ceramic texts, religion, and nature. Also provided are  exercises, a discussion of formulae and tables for calendrical  calculations, references to software programs, and suggestions  for further study. Although no previous knowledge of Mayan  culture or language is assumed, this is not a simple primer to  take on a trip to the Yucat n. Some background reading,  especially on the Mayan calendar and Mayan history, is needed to  benefit fully from this manual. For academic and large public  libraries. Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CACopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.