Wolfgang Gockel
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Gockel was a German
archaeologist, best known for his efforts at deciphering the Mayan hieroglyphs
.
Gockel's early life did not seem to predestine him for the study of archaeology. He was born in Rönsahl, a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia. After completing his schooling in Bochum
, he first began an apprenticeship as a machinist
. However he quickly abandoned the factory for the high seas. After qualifying as an able bodied seaman
, he traveled the world (1963–1969). It was at this time that his interest in archaeology was awakened.
Gockel served in the German Bundeswehr
(1969–1975), eventually becoming a helicopter
pilot. In 1975, he completed his university qualifying examination and began his studies of archaeology in Cologne
, Bonn
and Göttingen
, with a concentration on the near east, Assyriology
and classical archaeology
. He completed his M.A. in 1979 with a thesis on sculpture in Mesopotamia
and Elam
from the early Sumerian to the early dynastic period. During his studies of "Altamerikanistik" (pre-Columbian
ethonology) at the "Völkerkunde-Institut" in Bonn (1975–1977), he was introduced to the problem of reading the Mayan hieroglyphs
, which would occupy him till the end of his life.
After completing his degree, Gockel was engaged as a tour guide and free-lance archaeologist working on excavations and special projects for museums and private collectors. While working on one such (totally unrelated) project at the Uffizi Gallery
in Florence
in the Spring of 1987, Gockel spent his evenings puzzling over the Mayan hieroglyphs
. He quickly developed a new approach which he found extremely promising and commenced work on a decipherment of the dynastic inscriptions at the ruined Mayan city of Palenque
in Chiapas
, Mexico
.
Gockel's work, which was ready for publication in the Fall of 1988, created a furor - partially because his results disagreed radically with those of other scholars and partially because he chose to make his work public first in the popular German weekly magazine Stern , which the other major German news sources regarded with some skepticism . The prestigious Süddeutsche Zeitung
took a more positive view .
The scholarly publication was reviewed negatively in Spektrum der Wissenschaft, the German edition of Scientific American
, with replies to the review by Gockel and one of the referees who approved the Stern publication. A scheduled conference at the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim
, where Gockel was to face his critics, did not materialize.
Gockel's Palenque book was translated into Spanish and published in Mexico
in 1995. The Spanish edition and some manuscript drafts of uncompleted work have only recently become available on line.
In addition to his work on the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphs
, Gockel published a number of works on Latin America
and the Middle East
.
Wolfgang Gockel died at his home in Helsinki
, Finland
, on 3 March 2005.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
archaeologist, best known for his efforts at deciphering the Mayan hieroglyphs
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...
.
Gockel's early life did not seem to predestine him for the study of archaeology. He was born in Rönsahl, a small town in North Rhine-Westphalia. After completing his schooling in Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, he first began an apprenticeship as a machinist
Machining
Conventional machining is a form of subtractive manufacturing, in which a collection of material-working processes utilizing power-driven machine tools, such as saws, lathes, milling machines, and drill presses, are used with a sharp cutting tool to physical remove material to achieve a desired...
. However he quickly abandoned the factory for the high seas. After qualifying as an able bodied seaman
Able Seaman (occupation)
An able seaman is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination of these roles.-Watchstander:...
, he traveled the world (1963–1969). It was at this time that his interest in archaeology was awakened.
Gockel served in the German Bundeswehr
Bundeswehr
The Bundeswehr consists of the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities...
(1969–1975), eventually becoming a helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
pilot. In 1975, he completed his university qualifying examination and began his studies of archaeology in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
and Göttingen
Göttingen
Göttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
, with a concentration on the near east, Assyriology
Assyriology
Assyriology is the archaeological, historical, and linguistic study of ancient Mesopotamia and the related cultures that used cuneiform writing. The field covers the Akkadian sister-cultures of Assyria and Babylonia, together with their cultural predecessor; Sumer...
and classical archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. He completed his M.A. in 1979 with a thesis on sculpture in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and Elam
Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
from the early Sumerian to the early dynastic period. During his studies of "Altamerikanistik" (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...
ethonology) at the "Völkerkunde-Institut" in Bonn (1975–1977), he was introduced to the problem of reading the Mayan hieroglyphs
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...
, which would occupy him till the end of his life.
After completing his degree, Gockel was engaged as a tour guide and free-lance archaeologist working on excavations and special projects for museums and private collectors. While working on one such (totally unrelated) project at the Uffizi Gallery
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in the Spring of 1987, Gockel spent his evenings puzzling over the Mayan hieroglyphs
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...
. He quickly developed a new approach which he found extremely promising and commenced work on a decipherment of the dynastic inscriptions at the ruined Mayan city of Palenque
Palenque
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
in Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Gockel's work, which was ready for publication in the Fall of 1988, created a furor - partially because his results disagreed radically with those of other scholars and partially because he chose to make his work public first in the popular German weekly magazine Stern , which the other major German news sources regarded with some skepticism . The prestigious Süddeutsche Zeitung
Süddeutsche Zeitung
The Süddeutsche Zeitung , published in Munich, is the largest German national subscription daily newspaper.-Profile:The title literally translates as "South German Newspaper". It is read throughout Germany by 1.1 million readers daily and boasts a relatively high circulation abroad...
took a more positive view .
The scholarly publication was reviewed negatively in Spektrum der Wissenschaft, the German edition of Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
, with replies to the review by Gockel and one of the referees who approved the Stern publication. A scheduled conference at the Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim
Hildesheim
Hildesheim is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
, where Gockel was to face his critics, did not materialize.
Gockel's Palenque book was translated into Spanish and published in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1995. The Spanish edition and some manuscript drafts of uncompleted work have only recently become available on line.
In addition to his work on the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphs
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...
, Gockel published a number of works on Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Wolfgang Gockel died at his home in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, on 3 March 2005.
Major publications
- Die Geschichte einer Maya-Dynastie. Entzifferung klassischer Maya-Hieroglyphen am Beispiel der Inschriften von Palenque,1988, Mainz:Verlag Philipp von Zabern.
- Historia de una dinastía Maya. El desciframiento de los jeroglíficos mayas de acuerdo con las inscriptiones de Palenque, 1995, Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Diana
- Syrie, Libanon, 1988, München: Nelles Verlag. [English and French translation available].
- Mexiko, Das zentrale Hochland und Yucatán-Von den Stätten der Maya und Azteken zu barokken Kirchen und Konventen, 1998, Köln: DuMont (3ed, 2005).
- Guatemala, Belize, Honduras und El Salvador, Maya-Städte und Kolonialarchitektur in Mittelamerika, 1999, Köln: DuMont.
- Irak, Sumerische Tempel, Babylons Paläste und heilige Stätten des Islam im Zweistromland, 2001, Köln: DuMont.
External links
- http://www.gockelmayatheory.com
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mayacode/