Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs [Paperback]

John Montgomery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2002

This authoritative work is the first visual dictionary of Maya glyphs published since the script's complete deciphering, offering a much-needed, comprehensive catalogue of 1100 secured glyphs. Each entry includes the illustrated glyph, its phonetic transcription, Mayan equivalent, part of speech, and meaning. About the Author John Montgomery is an illustrator, epigrapher, writer, and PhD candidate in the field of Pre-Columbian Art at the University of New Mexico. He also teaches art history at the South-western Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque. A long and varied experience in Central America first inspired his interest in the ancient Maya. His glyphic illustrations based on a lifetime of involvement with Maya glyph decipherment. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Montgomery is an illustrator, epigrapher, writer, and PhD candidate in the field of Pre-Columbian Art at the University of New Mexico. He also teaches art history at the South-western Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque. A long and varied experience in Central America first inspired his interest in the ancient Maya. His glyphic illustrations based on a lifetime of involvement with Maya glyph decipherment. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Product Details

• Paperback: 425 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (December 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781808626
• ISBN-13: 978-0781808620
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #152,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Native American
  • #8 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Native American
  • #67 in Books > History > Ancient > Mayan

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great content - poor publishing, January 21, 2009

By 

beikokunotora "beikokunotora" (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs (Paperback)

The Great:
This is one of the best books (I have most of them) in terms of representing the Maya glyphs in an easy to reference format (it is a dictionary after all). It includes a Spanish and English index, and the pronounciation for each glyph is included with meaning, alternate forms, etc. I was planning on using the book for doing some replica Maya pottery and the large glyph images are exactly what I needed. Had the book been published well, I would have given 5 stars.

The Bad:
When the first copy arrived I was awestruck by the quality of the drawings and the orgnaization. But I soon discovered that pages 161-192 had been duplicated and that pages 193-224 were missing! I returned the book to Amazon for a replacement and made a clear message that I did not want a second defective book and that the missing pages be checked for. Unfortunately the second book arrived with exactly the same extra and missing pages. I am returning the second book as well and hope that the publisher can get it right. This is a great book but it looks like the publisher had a binding defect and either did not catch it or chose to ship anyway in the hopes buyers would not notice. Minus two stars and beware potential buyers - check your copy.

To Amazon:
While your return/refund policy is streamlined and efficient, there should be some quality control and checking of the messages - at least in cases where the product may have a defect that effects more than a single unit - that way you can protect the customer from wasted time and effort and can more rapidly get good product to your customers.

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny at three times the price, January 12, 2012

By 

Neodoering - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs (Paperback)

Sorry, but this resource simply kicks ass, keeps kicking ass and won't stop kicking ass. There are about 1200 glyphs, glyph compounds and Mayan syllablic symbols in this book, clearly laid out and easy to find. Better yet, there are several indexes in the back of the book that allow you to look up the concept you want in Mayan, in Spanish and in English, as well as by subject matter and by T-Number (for those who know what that is), so you can slice the information any way you want/need it.

There are older glyph dictionaries on the market, all superceded by this powerful work. My only complaint is a minor one and is aesthetic; I thought the glyph drawings were a little crude, and I wanted them to be neater, cleaner, clearer and in short more elegant. Maybe in the next edition. If you want the fun of translating an inscription on a vase or a lintel or a stela, this work will get you going and even allow you to complete a translation. I used it for an illustrated book I was writing, which had pictures with captions in ancient Mayan, and I referenced this work to create the captions. Even if you don't plan to translate a thing and just want to see what those crazy Maya were up to 1000 years ago with the only complete written language in the New World, this is your book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply great to understand the maya writings, March 26, 2010

By 

Miguel A. Guzman Garcia - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs (Paperback)

It is a very well done book. I'm a writer too, and was extremely useful in understanding the actual translate options.
The mayans were a vast empire before the conquest and this book help to really understand their art.


It was sent to me very soon also.