The ancient Maya world.

• Author: Barton, Edward Read
• Position: UPFRONT - Letter to the editor

Louis Werner's article on "The Maya War of the Words" in the December 2006 issue of Americas was a very interesting article. What particularly caught my attention was a copy of a page from the Dresden codex on page 47, which "depicts Venus as the war god." Though not identical, this particular picture reminded me of some of the work of Maurice Cotterell and how through mathematical formulas he has been able to theoretically decode some of these ancient hieroglyphs. As I am writing this letter, I am looking at plate 23, the Amazing Lid of Palenque and Cotterell's The Lost Tomb of Viracocha, published by Bear & Company in 2003. Plus there are plates 9 through 24 in Cotterell's The Supergods...