Art and Writing in the Maya Cities AD 600-800

Art and Writing in the Maya Cities AD 600800 examines an important aspect of the visual cultures of the ancient Maya in southern Mexico Guatemala Belize and Honduras. During a critical period of cultural evolution artistic production changed significantly as calligraphy became an increasingly important formal element in Maya aesthetics and was used extensively in monumental building sculptural programs and small-scale utilitarian objects. Adam Herring''s study analyzes art works visual programs and cultural sites of memory providing an anthropologically-informed description of ancient Maya culture vision and artistic practice. An inquiry into the contexts and perceptions of the ancient Maya city his book melds epigraphic and iconographic methodologies with the critical tradition of art-historical interpretation.