Through seeing stones: Maya epigraphy as a mature discipline

Maya script�the most elaborate and extensive system of native writing in the New World�was in active use across the Yucatan Peninsula from 300 BC�AD 1700. Maya epigraphy began in the late nineteenth century, developing through the efforts of key figures, often with oblique approaches from other disciplines. Today, the research landscape is increasingly virtual; new discoveries have been combined with greater precision in translation, providing unique access to the complex interactions of Maya society, where the elite shared a language across political boundaries that was incomprehensible to most of their subjects.