David H. Kelley

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This article is about the Canadian archaeologist and epigrapher. For the American philosopher and author, see David Kelley.

For the American television and film producer, see David E. Kelley.

David Humiston Kelley (born April 1, 1924, Albany, New York) is a Canadian archaeologist and epigrapher, most noted for his work on the phonetic analysis and major contributions toward the decipherment of the writing system used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, the Maya script.

From the late 1950s, he was one of the first Mayanist scholars to give credence to the theories of the Russian linguist and ethnographer Yuri Knorozov concerning the phonetic and syllabic nature of the Maya script, which would later lead to breakthroughs in the script's decipherment. Kelley's landmark 1962 paper, Phoneticism in the Maya Script, would provide important corroborating data of the phonetic interpretation of Maya glyphs, which ran counter to the then-prevailing view that the script lacked phonetic elements.

In addition to his work on scripts and linguistics, he has worked on calendrics and archaeoastronomy. He is co-author with Eugene Milone of Exploring Ancient Skies: An Encyclopedic Survey of Archaeoastronomy (Springer, 2005).

He is also interested in long-range cultural contacts, including trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic voyages.

He has tried to establish various mediaeval and ancient genealogies. An early example is "A New Consideration of the Carolingians," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 101 (1947), and a recent example is "The Political Role of Solomon, the Exilarch, c. 715-759 CE", Foundations (Foundation for Medieval Genealogy), vol. 2 (2006), nos. 1 and 2.

Kelley is a professor emeritus in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Calgary.

[edit] Published works

Academic papers and books published by Kelley include:

  • Kelley, David H. (January 1962). "Glyphic Evidence for a Dynastic Sequence at Quirigua, Guatemala". American Antiquity 27 (3): pp.323–335. doi:10.2307/277799. 
  • A Cylinder Seal from Tlatilco, American Antiquity, Vol. 31, No. 5, Part 1 (Jul., 1966), pp. 744-746
  • Astronomical Identities of Mesoamerican Gods Journal of History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy Supplement, Vol. 11, p.S1
  • Maya Astronomical Tables and Inscriptions, Native American Astronomy. Edited versions of papers presented at a Symposium, held at Colgate University, September 23-26, 1975, Edited by Anthony F. Aveni. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1977., p.57
  • Deciphering the Maya script, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1976
  • A History of the Decipherment of Maya Script, Anthropological Linguistics 4:1-48. 1962.
  • Exploring Ancient Skies: An Encyclopedic Survey of Archaeoastronomy by David H. Kelley (Author), Eugene F. Milone (Author), Springer, 2004

[edit] References

Coe, Michael D. (1987). The Maya, 4th edition (revised), London; New York: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27455-X. OCLC 15895415. 
Coe, Michael D. (1992). Breaking the Maya Code. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05061-9. OCLC 26605966. 
Harris, John F.; and Stephen K. Stearns (1997). Understanding Maya Inscriptions: A Hieroglyph Handbook, 2nd edition, Philadelphia, PA: University Museum Publications, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. ISBN 0-924171-41-3. OCLC 34077021. 
Hennick, Calvin (2007-06-21), “Upton seeks to preserve mysterious chamber: Origin of cave a case for archeologists”, The Boston Globe (The New York Times Company), <http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/06/21/upton_seeks_to_preserve_mysterious_chamber/>. Retrieved on 2007-11-09 
Houston, Stephen D. (1989). Reading the Past: Maya Glyphs. London: British Museum Publications. ISBN 0-7141-8069-6. OCLC 18814390. 
Martin, Simon; and Nikolai Grube (2000). Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. London; New York: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05103-8. OCLC 47358325. 
Schele, Linda (1992). "A New Look at the Dynastic History of Palenque", in Victoria R. Bricker (Volume ed.), with Patricia A. Andrews: Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American Indians, Vol. 5: Epigraphy, Victoria Reifler Bricker (General Editor), Austin: University of Texas Press, pp.82–109. ISBN 0-292-77650-0. OCLC 23693597. 
Schele, Linda; and David Freidel (1990). A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya, Reprint, New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-688-11204-8. OCLC 145324300. 
Stengel, Marc K. (January 2000). "The Diffusionists Have Landed". The Atlantic Monthly 285 (1): pp.35–39, 42–44, 46–48. Boston, MA: The Atlantic Monthly Co. ISSN 1072-7825. OCLC 92689345. 

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