Songheart Feb. 19, 2014 David Stuart David Stuart, born in 1965, is an archaeologist and epigrapher specializing in the study of ancient Mesoamerica, especially Maya civilization. He is renowned for his work in deciphering the Maya hieroglyphic script, starting at a young age. He is currently Schele Professor of Mesoamerican Art and Writing in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin. His father is the archaeologist George E. Stuart and the writer Gene S. Stuart. He spent much of his childhood accompanying his parents on archaeological digs and expeditions in Mexico and Guatemala. He developed an a strong interest in Mayan hieroglyphs and decipherment at a young age, starting at 9. Shortly thereafter he made original contributions to the field and began working closely with the Mayanist Linda Schele. He gave his first scholarly paper at the age of 12, at the Third Palenque Round Table meetings. He worked hard on his decipherment, and in 1984 received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1984, at the age of 18, the youngest ever to obtain this award. Stuart has continued to make major contributions in the field of epigraphy, particularly related to the decipherment of the Maya script used by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. In 1995, he was appointed the Bartlett Curator of Maya Hieroglyphs at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University, and was a Senior Lecturer at Harvard's Department of Anthropology before beginning at the University of Texas at Austin in 2004. Over the years Stuart has conducted field research at numerous archaeological sites, including Coba, Palenque, Yaxchilan, Piedras Negras, Copan, Dos Pilas, La Corona, Calakmul, San Bartolo and Xultun. His work often focuses on the documentation of Maya sculpture and inscriptions. He remains actively engaged as a member of several excavation projects in Guatemala and Honduras.
