Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya (New Aspects of Antiquity) [Paperback]

William L. Fash (Author), Barbara W. Fash (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1993 | ISBN-10: 0500277087 | ISBN-13: 978-0500277089 | Edition: Reprint

Copan in modern Honduras was one of the great cities of the Classic Maya. Explorers found ruined temples, plazas, and more hieroglyphic inscriptions and sculpted monuments than in any other site in the New World. But the stones were silent, the script undeciphered. At last, an international team of scholars is solving the puzzle of Copan and the ancient Maya. William Fash shows how decipherment of the Maya inscriptions, together with new tomb finds, have unlocked the secrets of Copan's history. He describes the city's rise and fall, discusses all aspects of life in Copan, and presents photographs and drawings of the site's spectacular architecture, sculpture, and jade artifacts.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Written by an archaeologist for others in the profession, this book presents a short history of Copan, a well-excavated ruin in Honduras. Prevailing theory is that Mayan stelai commemorate real people and events. The researchers at Copan have recognized a dynasty of 16 kings beginning with K'inich Yax K'uk Mo' in 426 A.D. and ending with Yax Pac in 820 A.D. During those four centuries, the city-state of Copan rose, flourished, and declined. Fash, director of the Copan Mosaics Project, celebrates more than a century of work at this site: the reader learns as much about Mayan archaeological progress as about Copan. Magnificent photographs and drawings enliven a dry text. This excellent report from a major research site should be in all academic collections that support archaeology.
- Ken St. Andre, Phoenix P.L.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Copán's role in the development of Maya archaeology is charted in lavishly illustrated detail. -- New Scientist

Highly recommended. -- Choice

Superb.... Fash is ideally suited to the task ....handsomely produced ....outstanding. -- Science --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; Reprint edition (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500277087
• ISBN-13: 978-0500277089
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,423,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > History > Americas > Central America > Honduras

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great pictures and artists renditions, January 18, 2008

By 

Douglas E. Libert "howitt" (parkersburg wv) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Scribes, Warriors, and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya, Revised Edition (Paperback)

the first 60 pages talks mainly about archaeological expeditions to Copan and who sponsored them etc. so there was little about the scribes,warriors or kings,but later it picked up.Copan appeared to be the "capital" city of loosely affiliated outlying villages with questionable allegiances. Since the allegiances were changing, Copan (rather the rulers of Copan and their families and associates)developed a rich ceremonial life with grandiose buildings,costumes,calendars etc.in order to impress the commoners into accepting the ruling class' authority.At least that is one interpretation offered in the book.Also the book seems to stress the deforestation theory for the demise of Copan,saying that "sucess"in agriculture and population growth brought about heavy erosion due to overuse of timber.Copan was never able to form alliances to any substantial degree with any other major city and in fact there is evidence of bitter rivalry between some of the smaller cities as well as the major ones.I was unaware before reading this book that alot of the Mayan temples were built by the rulers of Copan as a form of sacred ancestor worship.There are great photos of alot of the more profound discoveries of Copan particularly the Eccentric flints from the Hieroglyphic stairway.the author claims that presently there is no flint napper alive today who could duplicate this feat.I also enjoyed the descriptions of the "Bat" houses and their possible sinister uses to shelve "sacrificial victims".There is also a good picture of the way alot of these Mayan temples would have been painted because today all we see too often if the bare limestone facings.The deep reds and greens must have made for a real sacred appearance that would no doubt astonish.Was the message--"Your link to the nether-world,get it here"reinforcing the status and authority of Copan's rulers.whose to say,maybe they actually did have a fast tract to the nether-world,at least till they ran out of trees?

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but not fantastic either, April 27, 2007

By 

Jorge I. Villanueva (Phoenix,Az) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Scribes, Warriors, and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya, Revised Edition (Paperback)

I will be visiting Copan at the end of the month so i picked up this book to get some information about the place.Overall the book is really good with lots of pictures which deifinetly is a plus with me.The explanations are very good altough i found myself re-reading some of them often because the author uses a lot of technical terms.The book is to big so i will not carry it with me when i visit Copan.It would have been a plus if the book would have been smaller.One thing that i didnt like was the fact that the author spends too many pages explaining Copan's relationship with other cities in the area.I would have loved to read more about the people of Copan, their daily lives and their beliefs.But again, good introduction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Copan Is the Athens of the New World, June 27, 2010

By 

C. K. Marks "Kosmo" (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Scribes, Warriors, and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya, Revised Edition (Paperback)

"Scribes" is a very good and highly illustrated book about the Mayan presence at Copán, perhaps the greatest Mayan city in terms of art and architecture. Fash's prose is well-written and lucid, though at times a little dry and academic, perhaps making some folks wish for the bouncy style offered by some magazines. Nevertheless, the book is well put together, has an adequate index and no obvious factual mistakes or typos. One could take a book such as this to Copán itself and use it to help illuminate the ancient city's magnificent ruins and museum replicas. Moreover, I'm sure the hardbound edition would make a very good coffee table book!