Linda Schele

Linda Schele was a leading figure in the breakthrough decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing during the 1970s and 1980s, demonstrating that Maya inscriptions recorded the lives of historical kings, dynastic successions, and political events. Her work, along with colleagues like Yuri Knorozov and David Kelley, revealed that the Maya were a literate civilization with a rich historical record rather than a people governed primarily by calendrical ritual.

Linda Schele focused much of her research on the ancient Maya site of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, where she made major contributions to reconstructing the dynastic history of the city's rulers, including Pakal the Great. She was also active at Copán in Honduras and organized the influential Maya Meetings at the University of Texas at Austin, which brought together epigraphers and enthusiasts to advance the field collaboratively.

Linda Schele co-authored several landmark books on Maya civilization, including 'The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art' with Mary Ellen Miller and 'A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya' with David Freidel. These publications were instrumental in communicating the decipherment of Maya writing and the reconstructed political history of Maya city-states to both academic and general audiences.

Linda Schele's entry into Maya studies began when she attended the first Mesa Redonda de Palenque in 1973, a scholarly gathering focused on the inscriptions of Palenque. Her background in studio art gave her a unique ability to visually analyze and draw complex glyphic inscriptions, and within a few years she became one of the most prolific epigraphers in the rapidly advancing field.