Linda Schele
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Linda Schele in 1994. Linda Schele (October 30, 1942 – April 18, 1998) was an American
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...
n archaeologist who was an expert in the field of
Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...
epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
and
iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
. She played a central role in the decoding of much of the
Maya script Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, is historically the native writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered. The earliest inscriptions found which ...
. She produced a massive volume of drawings of stelae and
inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...
s, which, following her wishes, are free for use to scholars. In 1978, she founded the annual ''Maya Meetings'' at The University of Texas at Austin. She was from Hendersonville, TN, a northern suburb of Nashville. Her mother Ruby Richmond was active in historic preservation at Historic Rock Castle in the 1980s.


Early life

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Linda Schele began taking commercial art courses at the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...
in 1960 and graduated in Education and Art in 1964. With an increasing interest in literature, she spent another four years in Cincinnati's graduate program and obtained her master's degree in Art in 1968. She married the architect David Schele in 1968, and started teaching Studio Art at the University of South Alabama, remaining there till 1980, by which time she was Professor.


Work

In 1970 she traveled with her husband, David Schele, to photograph Mesoamerican monuments in
Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...
on behalf of the University. An obligatory visit to
Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamha ("big water" or "big waters"), was a Maya city-state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD ...
the next summer turned into a 12-day stay spent drawing and studying Maya architecture. Fascinated by the art, Schele decided to investigate the culture and history of the ancient people who had created the city. Mentored by Merle Greene Robertson, Schele worked with Peter Mathews and Floyd Loundsbury to decipher a major section of the list of Palenque kings, presenting her work in the 1973 conference ''Mesa Redonda de Palenque'', organized by Robertson. This meeting established the previously unknown Linda as a major figure in the Maya studies, not only of art and history, but also of dirt archaeology and epigraphy, and her work stimulated several later discoveries, by herself and others. In 1975, Schele was invited to the Second International Archaeoastronomy Conference at Colgate to present an exploratory paper on Palenque hierophanies and their link to emblem and skull variant glyphs, which she later published in 1977. A strong supporter of collaborative scholarship, Schele became a Fellow in pre-Columbian Studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., in 1975. Alongside Peter Mathews; David Kelley; and one of her longtime mentors, Floyd Lounsbury, she participated in a series of miniconferences at Dumbarton Oaks which pushed further developing and refining of the Palenque series and also opened new epigraphic frontiers. She focused on the study of word ordering in Maya inscriptions for the next two years there. Still attending graduate school, Schele founded the Maya Hieroglyphic Workshop in Texas in 1977 which consisted of 21 consecutive seminars concerning Maya hieroglyphic writing and introduced more people intrigued by the Maya field than many other books from that time that were considered "popular". Twenty years later, the workshop expanded into what is known as the Maya Meetings at Texas, and includes a symposium of research papers by major scholars and the Forum on Hieroglyphic Writing. By this time in her life, Schele realized her destiny as a Mayanist; she enrolled as a graduate student in
Latin American Studies Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, histor ...
at the University of Texas shortly before resigning from her position at South Alabama. She was awarded a Doctorate in Latin American studies by the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
in 1980. She continued her teaching career there, in the department of Art/Art History. At the time of her death, she was the John D. Murchison Regents Professor of Art in the department. Schele joined the ''Copán Mosaics Project'' in the mid 1980s, working with David Stuart, Barbara Fash, and Nikolai Grube on the texts of that site. In 1986, Schele and Stuart identified Copan's dynastic founder, K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’. Shortly after, she began a related series called the ''Copán Notes'', reports on epigraphy and iconography, which were aimed at rapid dissemination of information amongst Maya scholars. In 1986, Schele co-curated a ground breaking exhibition and catalog of Maya art, "The Blood of Kings: A New Interpretation of Maya Art", with Mary Miller, a project initiated by InterCultura and the
Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, w ...
, where it opened in 1986, and the two co-authored the catalog to the exhibition, which was published under the title "The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art". The exhibition spoke of an obsession with royal descent, of incessant warfare, and of bloody sacrifice and self-mutilation which was inconsistent with the models proposed by previous generations of Mayanists. According to
Michael D. Coe Michael Douglas Coe (May 14, 1929 – September 25, 2019) was an American archaeologist, anthropologist, epigraphy, epigrapher, and author. He is known for his research on pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, particularly the Maya civilization, Maya, an ...
, the catalog presented by Schele and Miller "might as well stand as the most influential book on the Maya published in the past half-century." She also began taking an interest in the culture of the contemporary Maya. For a decade beginning 1988, she organized 13 workshops, along with Nikolai Grube and Frederico Fahsen, on hieroglyphic writing for them in
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
and
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. Michael D. Coe claims that "Linda's most important contribution to Maya scholarship" is represented in her book ''Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path'' published in 1993 with David Freidel and Joy Parker.


Death

On April 18, 1998, she died of
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
, aged fifty-five. Upon being diagnosed with this disease, Schele planned ahead knowing she would not have long to live and resumed her lectures until a few days before her passing.Coe 2000:135 Just before her death, she established the Linda Schele Precolumbian Endowment, which provides financial support for the Linda and David Schele Chair in Mesoamerican Art and Writing at UT Austin.


Recognition

Her doctoral dissertation, "Maya Glyphs: the Verbs" was published in 1982 and won "The Most Creative and Innovative Project in Professional and Scholarly Publication" an award given by the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the
Association of American Publishers The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP lobbies for book, journal and education publishers in the United States. AAP members include most of the major commercial ...
. ''The Blood of Kings'' was awarded the Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award of the College Art Association for the best exhibition catalogue of 1986. She was awarded diplomas of recognition of the '' Museo Popol Vuh'' and the '' Universidad Francisco Marroquin'' by the government of
Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...
in March 1998.


Texas Notes

The Texas Notes were informal reports produced by Linda Schele and others between 1990 and 1997 to allow for the quick dissemination of results in the rapidly evolving field of Maya epigraphy. *''Redating the Hauberg Stela'', by Linda Schele, Peter Mathews, and Floyd Lounsbury (September 1990) *''The Palenque War Panel: Commentary on the Inscription'', by Linda Schele (September 1990) *''A Proposed Decipherment for Portions of Resbalon Stair'', by Linda Schele and Peter Mathews (September 1990) *''Untying the Headband'', by Linda Schele, Peter Mathews, and Floyd Lounsbury (September 1990) *''Ba as "First" in Classic Period Titles'', by Linda Schele (September 1990) *''The Nal Suffix at Palenque and Elsewhere'', by Linda Schele, Peter Mathews, and Floyd Lounsbury (September 1990) *''A Proposed Reading for the "Penis-Perforation" Glyph'' by Federico Fahsen and Linda Schele (April 1991) *''Further Adventures with T128 ch'a'' by Linda Schele (April 1990) *''A Substitution Pattern in Curl-Snout's Name'' by Linda Schele and Federico Fahsen (September 1991) *''Curl-Snout Under Scrutiny, Again'' by Federico Fahsen and Linda Schele, (September 1991) *''Tzuk in the Classic Maya Inscriptions'' by Nikolai Grube and Linda Schele, (September 1991) *''New Readings of Glyphs for the Month Kumk'u and their Implications'' by Linda Schele, Peter Mathews, Nikolai Grube, Floyd Lounsbury, and David Kelley (September 1991) *''Some Observations on the War Expressions at Tikal'' by Linda Schele (September 1991) *''A Proposed Name for Rio Azul and a Glyph for "Water"'' by Linda Schele (September 1991) *''A War at Palenque During the Reign of Ah-K'an'' by Matthew G. Looper and Linda Schele (September 1991) *''Some New Ideas about the T713/757 "Accession" Phrases'' by Linda Schele and Khristaan D. Villela (December 1991) *''The Lunar Series in Classic Maya Inscriptions by Linda Schele'', Nikolai Grube, and Federico Fahsen (October 1992) *''El Zapote and the Dynasty of Tikal'' by Linda Schele, Federico Fahsen, and Nikolai Grube (October 1992) *''Naranjo Altar 1 and Rituals of Death and Burials'' by Nikolai Grube and Linda Schele (November 1993) *''Un verbo nakwa para "batallar o conquistar"'' by Nikolai Grube and Linda Schele (November 1993) *''Pi as "Bundle"'' by Linda Schele and Nikolai Grube (December 1993) *''Creation and the Ritual of the Bakabs'' by Linda Schele (December 1993) *''The Helmet of the Chakte'' by Linda Schele and Khristaan Villela (March 1994) *''Tikal Altar 5'' by Nikolai Grube and Linda Schele (March 1994) *''Some Revisions to Tikal's Dynasty of Kings'' by Linda Schele and Nikolai Grube (March 1994) *''The Last King of Seibal'' by Linda Schele and Paul Mathews (March 1994) *''An Alternative Reading for the Sky-Penis Title'' by Linda Schele (March 1994) *''Notes on the Chronology of Piedras Negras Stela 12'' by Linda Schele and Nikolai Grube (August 1994) *''New Observations on the Oval Palace Tablet at Palenque'' by Linda Schele (October 1994) *''New Observations on the Loltun Relief'' by Nikolai Grube and Linda Schele (August 1994)


Bibliography

*''The Bodega of Palenque'' (Schele and Peter Mathews 1979) *''Sacred Site and World View at Palenque'' (Schele 1981) in Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Mesoamerican Sites and World Views *''Maya Glyphs: The Verbs'' (Schele 1982) *''The Mirror, the Rabbit, and the Bundle : Accession'' (Schele 1983) *''The Founders of Lineages at Copán and Other Maya Sites'' (Schele 1986) Copán Note VIII *''The Blood of Kings'' (Schele and Mary Ellen Miller 1986) *''A Forest of Kings'' (Schele and David Freidel 1990) *''Maya Cosmos'' (Freidel, Schele, and Parker 1993) *''Hidden Faces of the Maya'' (Schele and Jorge Perez de Lara 1997) *''The Code of Kings'' (Schele and Peter Mathews 1998)


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * *


External links


The Linda Schele Drawing CollectionThe Maya MeetingsEdgewalker : A conversation with Linda Schele
a documentary
The University of Texas Digital Repository
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schele, Linda 1942 births 1998 deaths American Mesoamericanists Women Mesoamericanists Mayanists Mesoamerican epigraphers 20th-century Mesoamericanists University of Cincinnati alumni University of Texas at Austin faculty Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Texas American women archaeologists 20th-century American archaeologists 20th-century American women American women academics