Merle Greene Robertson was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 artist, art historian, archaeologist, lecturer and Mayanist

Mayanist

A Mayanist is a scholar specialising in research and study of the Central American pre-Columbian Maya civilization. This discipline should not be confused with Mayanism, a collection of New Age beliefs about the ancient Maya....

 researcher, renowned for her extensive work towards the investigation and preservation of the art, iconography and writing of the pre-Columbian

Pre-Columbian

The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...

 Maya civilization

Maya civilization

The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...

 of Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

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Early life

Robertson was born in 1913 in the small town of Miles City, Montana

Miles City, Montana

Miles City is a city in and the county seat of Custer County, Montana, United States. The population was 8,123 at the 2010 census.- History :...

, but, moved to Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls, Montana

Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...

 as a small child. Her schooling was completed in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

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Contributions to study of the Maya

Initially trained as an artist, Robertson pioneered the technique of taking rubbings from Maya monumental sculptures and inscriptions, making several thousand of these over a career spanning four decades. In many cases these rubbings have preserved features of the artworks which have since deteriorated or even disappeared, through the actions of the environment or looters. Robertson was also instrumental in initiating the series of Mayanist conferences known as the Palenque Round Tables, which have produced some of the most significant breakthroughs in Maya research and the epigraphic

Epigraphy

Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...

 decipherment of the ancient Maya script

Maya script

The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...

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In 2004 Robertson received the Orden del Pop

Orden del Pop

The Orden del Pop is an annual award bestowed by the Museo Popol Vuh at Guatemala's Universidad Francisco Marroquín. Created in 1998, the Orden del Pop recognises "the work of individuals who have made significant contributions towards the protection, study and research of Guatemala's cultural...

 award from Guatemala's Museo Popol Vuh

Museo Popol Vuh

The Museo Popol Vuh is home to one of the major collections of Maya civilization art in the world. It is located on the campus of the Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Zone 10, Guatemala City and is known for its extensive collection of pre-Columbian and colonial art of the Mayan culture.The...

, in recognition of her decades of work preserving the country's Maya cultural heritage through her detailed documentation of Maya monuments and hieroglyphic writing

Maya script

The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...

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External links

• Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute (PARI), founded by Robertson
• Merle Greene Robertson's Rubbings of Maya Sculpture, at Mesoweb. Contains online database of selected reproductions and some history.
• Merle Greene Robertson receives the Orden del Pop, video of award ceremony, Museo Popol Vuh (WMV format)