The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs » (ILLUSTRATED)

The late Linda Schele was the John D. Murchison Professor of Art at the University of Texas at Austin. Her books include The Blood of Kings (with Mary Miller), A Forest of Kings (with David Freidel), and Maya Cosmos (with David Freidel and Joy Parker). She died in the spring of 1998.

This unique and extraordinary guide to seven major sites of Maya civilization highlights the pioneering work of two great scholars of ancient America. For readers at every level — from the casual tourist to the serious student — The Code of Kings relies on Linda Schele and Peter Mathews's revolutionary work in the decipherment of the hieroglyphs that cover the surfaces of Maya ruins to give us a far clearer picture of Maya culture than we have ever had.

Richly illustrated with line art and the incomparable photography of Justin Kerr and Macduff Everton, The Code of Kings is a landmark contribution to our understanding of the Maya and a phenomenal guided tour of seven of the most awesome and magical spots on Earth.

Library Journal

Building on what was already known and on some ideas from other scholars, Schele (The Blood of Kings, LJ 10/15/93) and Mathews (archaeology, Univ. of Calgary) used the syntactic approach to break the Maya glyph code, making it possible to learn about Maya customs and beliefs where scholars previously had to guess about the meaning of what they found. Here the authors deal with the glyphs and the architecture of seven sites to explain their uses. The names of some are well known, even though their true purpose and function were not understood in the past. Some questions remain unanswered, but there are also new insights into the beliefs of the Maya. This well-illustrated tour of Maya ruins also has a key to pronunciation and a glossary of gods and supernaturals that add interest for the casual reader.