Art and Writing in the Maya Cities, AD 600–800: A Poetics of Line

by Adam Herring

• ISBN13: 9780521842464
• ISBN10: 0521842468
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-15
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Art and Writing in the Maya Cities, AD 600-800 examines an important aspect of the visual cultures of the ancient Maya in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. During a critical period of cultural evolution, artistic production changed significantly, as calligraphy became an increasingly important formal element in Maya aesthetics and was used extensively in monumental building, sculptural programs and small-scale utilitarian objects. Adam Herring's study analyzes art works, visual programs, and cultural sites of memory, providing an anthropologically-informed description of ancient Maya culture, vision, and artistic practice. An inquiry into the contexts and perceptions of the ancient Maya city, his book melds epigraphic and iconographic methodologies with the critical tradition of art-historical interpretation.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii
A Note on the Orthography	xiii
Acknowledgments	xv
Introduction	1	(26)
Yuknoom's Stare, the Beholder's Share	27	(43)
Gesture and Speech	70	(55)
In the Realm of the Senses	125	(45)
Piedras Negras: Capital City, Canted Landscape	170	(60)
Epilogue: Signatures of Sociability	230	(11)
Notes	241	(46)
Bibliography	287	(24)
Index	311