The Code Of Kings

by Linda Schele

Building on her classics A Forest of Kings and The Blood of Kings, Linda Schele and her world-renowned team take readers on a brilliant and visually dazzling guided tour of the seven most popular and significant Maya ruins.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Archaeology, Anthropology, Native American

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Linda Schele was an American Mesoamerican archaeologist who was an expert in the field of Maya epigraphy and iconography. She played an invaluable role in the decipherment of much of the Maya hieroglyphs.

Reviews

[Elizabeth K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let it never be said there wasn't a lot of information here. And it got started straight out of the gate, too. Each section looked at a very specific feature from a different Mayan site, and went over the iconography and glyphs in detail, alongside illustrations so you could follow along. I was gratified to see that I'm making a very incremental improvement (VERY INCREMENTAL) in understanding the visual structure. Although it was still notable at those times when the authors would point out "now this is a very unusual figure," which is, you know, compared to all those other bird nose-person head-snake mouth figures. Rest assured, I get that it's all relative, but STILL. And I know that Mayan artists were perfectly capable of creating very realistic depictions of people and animals, and that ceremonial and institutional architecture was intentionally stylized and abstracted, but after a while (A LONG WHILE) of reading with my finger to try to follow what was going on in a frieze, I was sometimes thinking "MY DUDES, one thing that will really sell an animal is if the face is toward the top/front. In that general direction. Top/front. The face." I'm being facetious; the scope of the work is magnificent and overwhelming.

I worked harder to understand this content than I did in some of my college courses. SORRY MOM.

[Matt Kelland · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best archaeology books I've ever read. It's a detailed, yet accessible study of several major Mayan sites, explaining the way the buildings are constructed and the numerous inscriptions, and how they relate to Mayan life and belief. It provided a fascinating insight into Mayan society and left me with a whole new appreciation for not just the sites but the way they were used and what they represented in the spiritual and political worlds.
If you've ever read Erich Von Daniken and wondered about the Palenque sarcophagus with the bizarre carving of the "spaceship pilot", this will open your eyes. The carvings are explained in enormous detail, and the meaning of every part of the image is made clear.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in Mayan archaeology, architecture, writing, sorcery, history, religious belief, or social structure.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in depth analysis of seven Maya sites:Tikal,Copan,Chich'en Itza,Seibal, Uxmal, Palenque and Iximche.
I have been to two of the seven and Schele's work is incredibly helpful in understanding these sites.
The black and white drawings help you to look at the various stellae and other items: altars, plazas, courts, and murals.
The concordance of Maya personal names of kings and Nobles-extordinarly handy with its key to pronounciation. (and anybody who tries to speak a living Maya language knows how difficult is it to voice a "k"-for example-with the glottis closed.)
Love this book.

[Mike Hammari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided the most incredible experience visiting these sites. I've seen all sorts of ruins in my travels but this was the first time I really knew what I was looking at. To use it as a reference at the site was a completely different experience and the background specific to the location provided the exact necessary context to understand.

[Mike Petty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think if you haven't been or aren't planning to go to these sights, then the information is too dense and without context. I don't recommend it if you don't plan to visit

[AskHistorians]

Schele and Mathews explore seven sites from across the Maya world in depth to get an understanding of the diversity and variety of settlements archaeology and epigraphers have uncovered. With such detailed descriptions of buildings, artwork, and history of these seven settlements it will leave you yearning to go out and research other cities in an attempt to match their level of detail.

[Sharon Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Research.

[Kassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was dense, with lots of dates, names and facts, and I didn't feel like finishing it.

[Kennedy Mesker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Code of Kings was instrumental to my knowledge on the relevance of Ancient Maya Creation Myth on the Maya. I based my Research Paper on the premise of this book, and I think it's a fantastic resource. It separates the discussion by cities, providing archaeological evidence of the glyphs written about the Creation Myths and the significance of one or the other.