Galina Gavrilovna Yershova, or Ershova (russian: Гали́на Гаври́ловна Ершо́ва; born 17 March 1955) is a Russian academic historian, linguist, and

epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

, who specialises in the study of the ancient civilisations, cultures, and languages of the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

. As an Americanist scholar, her area of expertise is in the field of

Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...

n studies, and in particular that of the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

Maya civilisation The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, archit ...

, its historical literature, and its

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable form ...

. Yershova is a former student and

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

of the Russian linguist and epigrapher

Yuri Knorozov Yuri Valentinovich Knorozov (alternatively Knorosov; russian: link=no, Юрий Валентинович Кнорозов; 19 November 1922 – 31 March 1999) was a Soviet-Russian linguist, epigrapher and ethnographer, who is particularly renown ...

, renowned for his central contributions towards the decipherment of the

Maya script Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, is historically the native writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered. The earliest inscriptions found which ...

. , Yershova is a senior fellow at the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

' Institute of Archaeology at the

Russian State University for the Humanities The Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH, RGGU; russian: Росси́йский госуда́рственный гуманита́рный университе́т, РГГУ, translit=Rossijskij gosudarstvennyj gumanitarnyj universit ...

(RGGU), and director of the RGGU's Centre for Mesoamerican Research. She has authored approximately two hundred papers in scientific, art, and literature publications, including some eight monographs on Maya writing, history, and

archaeoastronomy Archaeoastronomy (also spelled archeoastronomy) is the interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky, how they used these phenomena and what role the sky played in their cultur ...

References

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External links

Sesenta años descifrando la escritura maya
Conference by Galina Yershova in the Museo Popol Vuh of the

Universidad Francisco Marroquín Francisco Marroquín University (Spanish: ''Universidad Francisco Marroquín''), also known by the abbreviation UFM, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It describes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical, ...

of Guatemala 1955 births Living people 20th-century Russian historians Russian women historians Linguists from Russia Women linguists Russian Mesoamericanists Women Mesoamericanists Historians of Mesoamerica Mesoamerican epigraphers Mayanists 20th-century Mesoamericanists 21st-century Mesoamericanists 21st-century Russian historians {{Russia-historian-stub