Author Description

Born in Ireland and educated in North America, Burkitt (1869-1945) spent three post-university years working in Boston as a surveyor before traveling to Central America. There he began his long career as an archaeologist and linguist, during which time he compiled numerous notebooks documenting the languages of Guatemala. Only four notebooks have survived; discovered in 1979, they are held at the U. of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. They supply linguistic, cultural, and historical scholars with detailed analysis of the vocabulary, phonology, grammar, and cultural meanings of six Maya languages, including information on diverse dialects for each language, as well as an extensive comparative word list. Weeks and Danien (both U. of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) provide an introductory essay on Burkitt's work and notes at the beginning of each chapter explaining the background of the languages. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)