Professor
Ph.D. Yale University, 1987
Research Interests
I specialize in the comparative study of royal courts, body concepts, the "built environment," the meanings of color, graphic systems, either writing or imagery, and the dynastic civilization of the ancient Maya in Mexico and Central America. Specific interests include Maya cityscapes, decipherment and interpretation of Maya hieroglyphic writing, lexicography, comparative historical linguistics, multi-spectral study of eroded texts and imagery, origins and extinction of writing systems, and critical evaluation of recent work on cultural theory and gender studies.
I have worked extensively in Belize and Guatemala, at the sites of Caracol, Dos Pilas, Piedras Negras, Tamarindito, with epigraphic study at Bonampak, under the Yale Documentation Project, and, more recently, at Copan, under the direction of Hieroglyphic Stairway Project at Harvard. A Maya glyphic dictionary project is now beginning with colleagues from the University of Texas and Brigham Young University.
The Piedras Negras Project addressed the need to create an "urban biography" that might relate to dynastic intention, evolving function of buildings and city sectors, and the final implosion of the city through societal decay and external assault. A future project is being planned for the city of El Zotz, Guatemala, in the Maya "heartland" near Tikal, Guatemala.
Selected Books and Monographs
The Memory of Bones: Body, Being and Experience among the Classic Maya. Co-authored with David Stuart and Karl Taube. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press (2006) )
The First Writing Script Invention as History and Process, edited volume. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press (2004).
A Thematic Bibliography of Ancient Maya Writing, with Zachary Nelson. Provo, UT: Research Press. Provo: Research Press (2002).
The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing. edited with Oswaldo Chinchilla, and David Stuart. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press (2001).
Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya. volume 1.,edited with Takeshi Inomata. Boulder, CO: Westview Press (2001).
Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya. volume 2, edited with Takeshi Inomata. Boulder, CO: Westview Press (2001)
Form and Function in Classic Maya Architecture, edited volume. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Harvard University (1998).
Classic Maya Place Names, with David Stuart. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Harvard University (1994) .
Hieroglyphs and History at Dos Pilas: Dynastic Politics of the Classic Maya . Austin, TX: University of Texas Press (1993).
Reading the Past: Maya Glyphs. London: British Museum Press (1989).
Courses Taught
For current and scheduled courses taught by Professor Houston, S. D.
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