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A portal to the ancient hieroglyphic script of the Aztec Empire.
For more than three millennia the cultures of Mesoamerica flourished, yielding the first cities of the Western Hemisphere and developing writing systems that could rival those of the East in their creativity and efficiency. The Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs reigned over one of the greatest imperial civilizations the Americas had ever seen, and until now their intricate and visually stunning hieroglyphs have been overlooked in the story of writing. In this innovative volume Gordon Whittaker provides the reader with a step-by-step, illustrated guide to reading Aztec glyphs, as well as the historical and linguistic context needed to appreciate and understand this fascinating writing system. He also tells the story of how this enigmatic language has been deciphered and gives a tour through Aztec history as recorded in the richly illustrated hieroglyphic codices. This groundbreaking guide is essential reading for anyone interested in the Aztecs, hieroglyphs, or ancient languages.
For more than three millennia the cultures of Mesoamerica flourished, yielding the first cities of the Western Hemisphere and developing writing systems that could rival those of the East in their creativity and efficiency. The Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs reigned over one of the greatest imperial civilizations the Americas had ever seen, and until now their intricate and visually stunning hieroglyphs have been overlooked in the story of writing. In this innovative volume Gordon Whittaker provides the reader with a step-by-step, illustrated guide to reading Aztec glyphs, as well as the historical and linguistic context needed to appreciate and understand this fascinating writing system. He also tells the story of how this enigmatic language has been deciphered and gives a tour through Aztec history as recorded in the richly illustrated hieroglyphic codices. This groundbreaking guide is essential reading for anyone interested in the Aztecs, hieroglyphs, or ancient languages.
Price: $34.95
Pages: 224
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
19 April 2021
Trim Size: 9.50 X 7.50 in
ISBN: 9780520380370
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:
"Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs is an exceptionally handsome volume, illustrated with a myriad of Nahuatl signs and symbols reproduced in brilliant colors and judiciously distributed across its pages. Whittaker writes with precision and wit, and through the cunning deployment of dry humor he does all he can to convey his enthusiasm for the subject. . . . He has provided what appears to be a new and largely untried method of entry into the world of the codices, and with it into Aztec history both before and after the conquest."
Gordon Whittaker is Fiebiger Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Göttingen, where he has held joint positions in the Institute of Ethnology and the Department of Romance Philology. He has written extensively on Aztec language, writing, and civilization.
Introduction
Chapter 1
The World of the Aztec Scribe
Chapter 2
General Principles
Chapter 3
An Essential Hieroglyphic Grammar
Chapter 4
Phonetic Writing: The Nahuatl Script in 16th-Century Central Mexico
Chapter 5
Names and Glyphs that Ruled an Empire
Chapter 6
The Origins of Nahuatl Writing: The Teotihua Script
Chapter 7
Writing in Tongues: How Aztec Hieroglyphs Came to Record Spanish
Where to Go from Here
Select Bibliography
Key to the Exercises
Sources of Illustrations
Index
Chapter 1
The World of the Aztec Scribe
Chapter 2
General Principles
Chapter 3
An Essential Hieroglyphic Grammar
Chapter 4
Phonetic Writing: The Nahuatl Script in 16th-Century Central Mexico
Chapter 5
Names and Glyphs that Ruled an Empire
Chapter 6
The Origins of Nahuatl Writing: The Teotihua Script
Chapter 7
Writing in Tongues: How Aztec Hieroglyphs Came to Record Spanish
Where to Go from Here
Select Bibliography
Key to the Exercises
Sources of Illustrations
Index