Synopses & Reviews
The recent interpretation of Maya hieroglyphs has given us the first written history of the New World as it existed before the European invasion. In this book, two of the first central figures in the massive effort to decode the glyphs, Linda Schele and David Freidel, make this history available in all its detail.
A Forest of Kings is the story of Maya kingship, from the beginning of its institution and the first great pyramid builders two thousand years ago to the decline of Maya civilization and its destruction by the Spanish. Here the great historic rulers of pre-Columbian civilization come to life again with the decipherment of their writing. At its height, Maya civilization flourished under great kings like Shield-Jaguar, who ruled for more than sixty years, expanding his kingdom and building some of the most impressive works of architecture in the ancient world. Long placed on a mist-shrouded pedestal as austere, peaceful stargazers, the Maya elites are now known to have been the rulers of populous, aggressive city-states.
Hailed as "a Rosetta stone of Maya civilization" (Brian M. Fagan, author of People of the Earth), A Forest of Kings is "a must for interested readers," says Evon Vogt, professor of anthropology at Harvard University.
Synopsis
For hundreds of years, scholars have struggled to make sense of the mysterious written language of the Mayan people. Nearly all Maya hieroglyphics have now been deciphered, and the history of this remarkable civilization is slowly coming to light. In A Forest of Kings, scholars Linda Schele and David Friedel reveal information about the Maya civilization that has been lost for generations.
A Forest of Kings is the story of Maya royalty, from the first great pyramid builders two thousand years ago to the decline of Maya civilization and its destruction by the Spanish conquistadors. Long regarded as austere, peaceful stargazers, the Maya elites are now known to have been the rulers of populous, aggressive city-states. At its height, Maya civilization flourished under great kings like Shield-Jaguar, who ruled for more than sixty years, expanding his kingdom and building some of the most impressive works of architecture in the ancient world. A Forest of Kings reclaims the lost story of one of Mesoamerica's most remarkable cultures.
Linda Schele was a well-known authority on Maya writing and art, and the co-author of many books on the Maya including The Blood of Kings and The Code of Kings. She died in 1998. David Freidel has been a Maya archaeologist for twenty years. He teaches at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
"A Rosetta stone of Maya civilization." -- Brian M. Fagan, author of People of the Earth
Synopsis
This is an account of Maya history based on the deciphering of hieroglyphic inscriptions. Because the epigraphic record is too limited to allow a comprehensive reconstruction of Maya history, Schele and Freidel have arranged their story by sites (Palenque, Copan, Yaxchilan) and regions (the central Peten, northern Yucatan) within the Maya sphere.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [509]-532) and index.
About the Author
David Friedel and Linda Schele are the authors of A Forest of Kings(Quill, 1991). David Friedel has been a Maya archaeologist for more than twenty years and is a professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. A well-known authority on Maya writing and art, Linda Schele is the John D. Murchinson Regents Professor in Art at the University of Texas in Austin. Joy Parker has taught writing workshops at Columbia University and New York University. She currently lives in Los Angeles.