Customer Reviews

Yaxchilan: The Design of a Maya Ceremonial City

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If you have an interest in the details of the ancient Maya city of Yaxchilan, as I do, this book is an overflowing mine of sparkling diamonds. Tate has provided, in the second half, details of each building whose ruins and inscriptions have been found, with some black and white pictures to provide context, and proposed building dates. In addition there is a list of inscriptions by date and English 'translations' of the inscriptions as known by Mayan epigraphers in 1991. In the first half Tate provides an analysis of the elaborate and varied iconography of the monuments, how the iconic elements evolved over time. Possibly my favorite part is her analysis of the artists, the designs and techniques that identify them, and the monuments each potentially contributed to.

Put together, all this detail is a treasure-trove of information from which to imagine the life of the people of this city, living here in the eighth century CE and leaving their artistry and political propaganda for us to ponder. The glue that ties it together is to go to the ruins and walk amongst what is left of their buildings, climb their stairways, and sit on their benches listening to the monkeys and birds above you in the trees.

This book is nice because I love the Mayan city of Yaxchilan, and it is really difficult to visit. The book is more for academic/college than general reading. I would have preferred that the book include more photos.