Tatiana Proskouriakoff
Tatiana Proskouriakoff ( Russian Татьяна Авенировна Проскурякова ; born January 10, jul. / 23. January 1909 greg. In Tomsk , Russian Empire ; † 30th August 1985 in Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA ) was an American Altamerikanistin and illustrator of Russian origin who made fundamental research and observations on Maya culture.
Life
Tatiana Proskouriakoff came to the USA as a child in 1915 . After completing an undergraduate degree in architecture at Pennsylvania State University , she worked as an archaeological illustrator . Her ability to productively combine ethnographic , artistic, architectural and archaeological knowledge enabled her to create an overall picture of Mayan culture that is still remarkable today. Proskouriakoff worked from 1937 at the Carnegie Institute and from 1958 to 1977 at the Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Harvard University . In 1962 she was awarded the Alfred V. Kidder Medal , and in 1984 she received the highest order in the State of Guatemala , the Order of the Quetzal . In 1981 she became an elected member of the American Philosophical Society .
meaning
Tatiana Proskouriakoff made a special contribution to the deciphering of the Maya script ; Although her final breakthrough was not yet achieved, she initiated a fundamental turning point in Mayan research with an article on the character of the inscriptions of the Mayan site Piedras Negras and with studies of the stelae in Tikal and Chichén Itzá , because she recognized that the inscriptions refer to events from the life of Mayan rulers and identified numerous verbs in this context (such as born, died).
Others
The urn containing Tatiana Proskouriakoff's ashes was buried in the archaeological site of Piedras Negras, Guatemala.
Publications
- An album of Maya Architecture . Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington 1946.
- A Study of classic Maya sculpture . Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington.
literature
- Nikolai Grube : Maya. God kings in the rainforest . Könemann-Verlag, Cologne 2000. ISBN 382901564X .
Web links
- Short biography with pictures (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Member History: Tatiana Proskouriakoff. American Philosophical Society, accessed January 24, 2019 .
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Proskouriakoff, Tatiana |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Proskouriakoff, Tatiana Avenirovna; Проскурякова, Татьяна Авенировна (Russian spelling) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American archaeologist and illustrator |
DATE OF BIRTH | January 23, 1909 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Tomsk , Russian Empire |
DATE OF DEATH | August 30, 1985 |
Place of death | Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA |