Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four Ancient Civilizations

3.6/5 ( ratings)

This is an anthropological study of the role of hieroglyphic writing in the prehispanic Aztec, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Maya states. First, Joyce Marcus compares the four systems with regard to eight major themes: calendrics, the naming of nobles, the naming of places, royal marriages, accession to the throne, divine ancestors, warfare, and the rewriting of history. Then she establishes a new theoretical framework within which to conduct further analysis. Her basic contention is that ancient Mesoamerican writing was a tool used by an elite minority in their competition for positions of leadership, prestige, territory, tribute, and advantageous marriages. Marcus convincingly demonstrates that while it may have been based on actual persons and events, this body of prehistoric writing is a deliberately created tangle of what we could call propaganda, myth, and fact, written for political purposes, and not reliable history in a modern sense. This is a major contribution. The scholarship is first-rate!--Jeremy A. Sabloff, University of Pittsburgh A brilliant work, carefully reasoned and effectively argued, but balanced and not overstated. The scholarship is truly outstanding. Joyce Marcus is one of the great Mesoamericanists of our generation.--E. Wyllys Andrews V, Tulane University A masterful piece of work. We are in the presence of a tour de force.--Robert L. Carneiro, American Museum of Natural History

Language: English

Pages: 524

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Release: January 31, 1993

ISBN: 0691094748

ISBN 13: 9780691094748

Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four Ancient Civilizations

Joyce Marcus

3.6/5 ( ratings)

Read Download

Language: English

Pages: 524

Format: Hardcover

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Release: January 31, 1993

ISBN: 0691094748

ISBN 13: 9780691094748

More books from Joyce Marcus

The Creation of Inequality. How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy Slavery and Empire

3.5/5 ( ratings)

Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved In Mexico's Oaxaca Valley

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Popular Genres

Subscribe to Read | $0.00

Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four Ancient Civilizations

Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four Ancient Civilizations

Mesoamerican Writing Systems: Propaganda, Myth, and History in Four Ancient Civilizations

More books from Joyce Marcus

The Creation of Inequality. How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy Slavery and Empire

Zapotec Civilization: How Urban Society Evolved In Mexico's Oaxaca Valley

The Ancient City: New Perspectives on Urbanism in the Old and New World

Monte Albán (Fideicomiso Historia De Las Americas Serie Ciudades)

Emblem and State in the Classic Maya Lowlands: An Epigraphic Approach to Territorial Organization

Debating Oaxaca Archaeology (Anthropological Papers (Univ of Michigan, Museum of Anthropology))

Excavations at Cerro Azul, Peru: The Architecture and Pottery

Andean Civilization: A Tribute to Michael E. Moseley

Caciques and Their People: A Volume in Honor of Ronald Spores (Volume 89) (Anthropological Papers Series)

The Flocks of the Wamani: A Study of Llama Herders on the Punas of Ayacucho, Peru

The Flocks of the Wamani: A Study of Llama Herders on the Punas of Ayacucho, Peru

The Flocks of the Wamani: A Study of Llama Herders on the Punas of Ayacucho, Peru

Zapotec Monuments and Political History (Memoirs) (Volume 61)

The Burials of Cerro Azul, Peru (Memoirs Book 65)

Excavations at San José Mogote 2: The Cognitive Archaeology (Volume 58) (Memoirs)

Monte Albán (Fideicomiso Historia De Las Americas Serie Ciudades) (Spanish Edition)

Agricultural Strategies (Cotsen Advanced Seminars)

The Inscriptions of Calakmul: Royal Marriage at a Maya City in Campeche, Mexico (Technical Reports Book 21)

Coastal Ecosystems and Economic Strategies at Cerro Azul, Peru: The Study of a Late Intermediate Kingdom (Volume 59) (Memoirs)

Agricultural Strategies (Cotsen Advanced Seminar Series Book 2)