Proskouriakoff, Tatiana A., 1909-1985

born January 23, 1909, Russia ; died August 30, 1985, Cambridge, Massachusetts

<p>at Carnegie Institution Proskouriakoff participated in expedition to Copan and Chichen Itza as draftsperson and illustrator ; Proskouriakoff contributed to studies of the Maya by producing architectural reconstruction drawings ; promoted to staff member at the Carnegie Institution in 1943 ; became a Research Associate at the Peabody Museum, Harvard.</p>

<p>at the Peabody Museum Proskouriakoff's prepared an illustrated catalog of jade pieces from Cenote of Sacrifice and Chichen Itza ; in 1958 Tatiana became an Honorary Curator of Maya art at the Peabody Museum.</p>

<p>Tatiana wrote several works from 1944 to 1977 including: An Inscription on a Jade Probably Carved at Piedras Negras (1944), An Album of Maya Architecture (1946) and Jade from the Cenote of Sacrifice (1974)</p>

<p>Tatiana won several awards for her contribution to Archaeology including the A.V. Kidder Medal in 1984</p>

<p>Tat’yana Avenirovna Proskuriakova (Татья́на Авени́ровна Проскуряко́ва) ; Russian-American Mayanist scholar and archaeologist ; contributed significantly to the deciphering of Maya hieroglyphs and writing system of of Mesoamerica ; moved to the USA with her parents in 1916 ; graduated from the College of Architecture in Pennsylvania, 1930 ; 1936-1937 took part in two seasons of archaeological expedition to Piedras Negras, Mexico ; suffered from Alzheimer's disease.</p>

<p>member of the American Anthropological Association ; named Woman of the Year in the Pennsylvania State University in 1971 ; part of Proskouriakoff's ashes was buried in the "J-23" building on the Acropolis in Piedras Negras depicted in her archaeological reconstructions.</p>

<p>born in Tomsk, Siberia ; daughter of aristocrats ; traveled to the United States when father supervised the manufacture and sale of weapons to Russia.</p>

<p>struggled to find job in architecture during Great Depression ; volunteered to draw for curators at Penn Museum ; her work impressed the archaeologist Linton Satterthwaite ; Proskouriakoff produced series of reconstructive drawings depicting ancient Mayan cities ; further expeditions and in-the-field drawings allowed her to study the diversity of the architectural styles in Honduras, Mexico, and Guatemala ; famous sketches were first published as An Album of Maya Architecture in 1946.</p>

<p>second book, A Study of Classic Maya Sculpture 1950 ; analysis of the motifs of Mayan art ; developed method of style dating stelae (freestanding carved stone monuments) ; permitted time placement in monuments without decipherable dates ; charted changes in art styles during 600-year span.</p>

<p>Proskouriakoff became honorary curator of Mayan art at Peabody Museum of Harvard ; awarded the fifth Alfred V. Kidder Medal in 1962 for discovery that Maya recorded dynastic histories. The Alfred V. Kidder Medal, which Proskouriakoff designed in 1950</p>