Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs - by Gordon Whittaker (Hardcover)

About the Book

"First printing 2020"--Title page verso.

Book Synopsis

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.

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

Review Quotes

"Whittaker's study is grounded in a linguistic understanding of glyphic writing and provides insights into how to read Aztec glyphs that may once have seemed opaque, when only understood iconographically. His innovative transcriptive conventions highlight the flexibility and multimodality of the Aztec system. . . . Of great value to a range of readers. As a comprehensive overview of Aztec writing, it serves as an excellent foundational text for students."-- "Early American Literature"

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

About the Author

Gordon Whittaker is Fiebiger Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the University of Göttingen, where he has held joint positions in the Institute of Ethnology and the Department of Romance Philology. He has written extensively on Aztec language, writing, and civilization.