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Gordon Whittaker

Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs: A Guide to Nahuatl Writing First Edition

by Gordon Whittaker (Author)

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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.

ISBN-10

0520380371
ISBN-13

978-0520380370
Edition

First
Publisher

University of California Press
Publication date

April 19, 2021
Language

English
Dimensions

7.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
Print length

224 pages
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From the Publisher

Two page spread depicting Acamapichtli and his successor, Huitzilihuitl

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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."

― New York Review of Books

"Extremely rewarding, this first handbook ever on Aztec writing is already a classic." ― Hispanic American Historical Review

From the Back Cover

"The fascinating world of Aztec glyphic writing, magnificently explained by an erudite expert in the ancient art of tlacuilolli.”—María Castañeda De La Paz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

"Drawing from a deep knowledge of global writing systems and many years’ experience studying Aztec hieroglyphs, Whittaker has compiled a must-read primer that is accessible to novices and advanced students alike. His illumination of the general structures of a bona fide written Nahuatl that appears to have emerged from Teotihuacan, detailed analyses of copious examples drawn from an array of codices from the Basin of Mexico, and careful attention to changes that came as a result of contact with Spanish should fascinate all readers.”—Stephanie Wood, Director of the Wired Humanities Projects, University of Oregon

"Aztec writing was an ancient system that developed explosively in the face of cultural needs arising from the terrible shock of the Spanish conquest and colonization. It is a historical case worthy of study to understand the catalysts of the creative power of the human being. In this book, Whittaker analyses the system from the perspective of a noted expert in Aztec history, language, and culture.”—Alfredo López Austin, Emeritus Professor of History at the Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

"At last! Gordon Whittaker has written a book that many of us have long wished for. He presents the Aztec glyphs in all their complexity and playfulness, and he does so in terms that any careful reader can follow. Whittaker is the perfect guide to the Nahuas’ glyphic universe, for not only does he have a deep knowledge of all the existing sixteenth-century pictorial sources, but also he has an excellent grasp of the Nahuatl language. Readers at all levels will, in their different ways, find the time they spend with this work to be richly rewarding.”—Camilla Townsend, Distinguished Professor of History, Rutgers University, and author of Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs

"This book definitively resolves the centuries-deep enigma of Aztec hieroglyphic writing. Avid general readers and Mesoamerican experts alike have longed to understand the Aztecs through their own script. Now, thanks to Gordon Whittaker, they can at last.”—Benjamin D. Johnson, University of Massachusetts Boston and NEH Xolotl Project

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; First edition (April 19, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520380371
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520380370
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.35 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #186,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25 in Aztec History
- #402 in Foreign Language Instruction (Books)
- #584 in Native American History (Books)

Customer Reviews:
135 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Rob

Great so far...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

Great so far! I enjoy the loose writing style and occasional sarcasm. I will write an updated review when I finish the book. One quick note, Mr. Whittaker could use a comic book fan in his crew. The "S" on the Superman costume is the Kryptonian symbol for "hope." So the whole China/Chaoren analogy is bogus, but I get the concept.

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Amazon Customer

Good for a textbook use!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

If by chance you want to learn or teach Nahuatl - for what ever reason this book covers the interpreting of the hieroglyphs in manuscripts (which are the only example sources we have.) This is not a grammar for the Nahuatl language itself. You will find that elsewhere.

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DD

This book is beautiful, a pleasure to hold, to open, to skim, even just to look at the cover.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

Gordon Whittaker, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and author of an extensive field of works on the Aztec people, has left us this token of his life's work.

Although it evinces a deep and thorough subject knowledge, it is actually extremely accessible. The quantity of images (carefully and clearly reproduced), and their placement in context, makes accessible the mental processes of this very alien civilisation.

And it even has exercises! Each chapter ends with some test examples, and there is a full set of answers at the end of the book.

This is a work that anyone curious about exotic civilisations can enjoy.

Helpful

Amazon Customer

An introduction to the making of hieroglyphic writing from the scribe's point of view

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 1, 2022

Verified Purchase

Offers a way to understand Aztec hieroglyphs as an actual writing system within its cultural context rather than as a collection of pictures. The grammar approach might at first seem off-putting but with attention yields an avenue into what might otherwise remain merely exotic and foreign.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

a reader

excellent (new) condition as announced

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 21, 2022

Verified Purchase

Speedy shipment; excellent condition as announced. Entirely satisfied. Many thanks.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 11, 2022

Verified Purchase

It was not exactly what I was looking for when I decided to look into Aztec hieroglyphics. With that being said, a good book to learn from and one that I may get back to after studying more in depth on Mayan Hieroglyphics.

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Yuri

Every student of Pre-Columbian Languages/History/&c. should own this book.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 21, 2021

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This volume contains content that goes beyond what one can be casually found on the internet. It provides detailed insights into what would otherwise be seen as a 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 to familiarize oneself with.

11 people found this helpful

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M.R.

I’ve learn so much.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 4, 2021

Invaluable knowledge

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Petitgars

A must for Aztec research

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on September 27, 2021

Verified Purchase

With many books on the Aztec era in my library including copies of three Codices, I always found it very difficult to make sense of the glyphs, symbols and writing; to understand what was transpiring in the complex glyphs/images seen in so many publications. In his Introduction, the author is correct that he is the first one to fill the void that exists in our understanding of Aztec writings. He has done an amazing job!

The book itself is securely bound with heavy paper and laid out with beautifully reproduced glyph examples complete with detailed explanations to help the reader understand. The publisher deserves credit for a beautiful publication of the authors work..

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