Proskouriakoff, Tatiana (1909–1985)

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Proskouriakoff, Tatiana (1909–1985)

Russian-American archaeologist and epigrapher. Born Jan 23, 1909, in Tomsk, Siberia, Russia; came to US in 1916; died 1985; dau. of Avenir Proskouriakoff (chemist) and Alla Nekrassova (physician); Pennsylvania State University, BS in architecture, 1930.

Began work at Museum of University of Pennsylvania; participated in Museum's expedition to Piedras Negras (1936) and made drawings of archaeological reconstructions of sites, including Chichén Itzá, Tikal, and Yaxchilán; made major discovery regarding dynastic sequence of political reigns of Piedras Negras rulers and published pioneering work "Historical Implications of a Pattern of Dates at Piedras Negras, Guatemala" (1960); for her discovery that ancient Mayans were recording their own history, received Alfred V. Kidder Medal (1962); served as honorary curator of maya art at Peabody Museum; awarded Order of Quetzal by Guatemala (1984). Other major works include An Album of Maya Architecture (1946), A Study of Classic Maya Sculpture (1950).