Scribe carries time
Oldest Known Writing In the Americas
Carbajal Block Stone
Carbajal stone is precursor to Maya Glyphs








Phonetic or sound based syllables.
All syllables combine consonant+vowel.
Over 800 known syllable glyphs so far.
These 800 form a syllabary utilized by epigraphers or those
who study hieroglyphs.
Differs from alphabetic and picture writing (called
logograms).
Alphabets use letters that make up sounds that make up
syllables that make up words…
Logograms and ideographs often use a one image=one
word or idea format.
Hieroglyphs like the Mayan glyphs follow few such rules.
The Basics of Writing in Mayan
Glyphs
 Most samples are from stone monuments or stelae,
architecture in the form of murals, sculpture and
reliefs, on ceramic vessels, and more rarely in Maya
codices or bark books.
 Most Maya writing is from the Classic Period cities and
temple complexes (100-800 CE)
 Maya speakers today cannot read the glyphs after a
millennium of tumultuous change
Maya Classic CityState ruins of Tikal
Dozens of sites like Tikal
exist in the northern
and central lowlands
and the southern
highlands of central
America. It was at this
central area that the socalled “collapse” of the
Maya took place by 950
CE or about 1000 years
ago.
Mesoamerica
The Maya existed within
the larger civilization
sphere we refer to as
“Mesoamerica.” They
emerged as a cultural
group at least 3000 years
ago and left the most
extensive written record
of any group in the PreColumbian Americas.
The Mayan Core
The Mayan civilization
consisted of three phases
before the Spanish Conquest
and Columbian Exchange of
500 years ago-
THE PRECLASSIC (?-100
BCE)
THE CLASSIC (100-800
CE)
THE POSTCLASSIC (10001500 CE)
Most Maya glyphs are known
from the classic city-states like
Tikal or Palenque in the
lowlands between modern
Mexico and Guatemala.
Examples of Mayan Writing
 Polychrome Vases
 Incised Vases
Stela or carved
stone monuments
These sculptured
stones often depict
rulers and describe
traditional state
politics and history.
Codices or
Bark Books
This is a page from the
rarest of all Maya
writing forms often
referred to as a Codex or
bark book. They were
actually more like
playscripts that lined
the upper walls of
temples and were read
and performed by Maya
priests and priestesses
before elites,
commoners and slaves
of a city-state.
Example of Maya
name glyphs
At Palenque the tomb of
Lord Pacal ruler of late
Classic Palenque was
discovered inside the
largest pyramid. This
breakthrough allowed
Archaeologists to link an
actual ruler with the
ruler and lineage name
glyphs found all over the
city.
Tomb of Pacal
Here is the
tomb and the
body of Lord
Pacal with
Jade mask.
Note the
glyphs on top
of the
sarcophagus
lid.
Ancient Scripts can
be complex!
Color drawing of
the many
elements on
Pacal’s
sarcophugus or
tomb lid. What
in the world is
going on????
Let’s start easy- with the PACAL Name Glyph
Lord Pacal’s
name glyph in
full. It can be
written and
seen at
Palenque in a
number of
forms.
Epigraphy or
Reading the glyph
Pacal glyph. A
single glyph to
represent the
word
“SHIELD” or
Pacal in Classic
Maya
linguistics.
Phonetic
syllabary to
“write” Pacal
Right of the glyph for
the word “PACAL” or
Shield are the three
syllables used to ‘spell’
the same name.
PA is the first syllable
at the top right corner.
Can you find it on
your handout? Look
for P and A sound
box.
Epigraphy
Moving down from
PA we have the
syllable glyph for
KA in the middle
right hand of the
image.
Can you find KA on
your syllabary chart?
Look at K and A
conjunction.
Epigraphy
concluded
Finally, can you
find the AL or LA
syllable glyph on
this image and in
your syllabary
chart? Its stylized
but readable!
Your Turn!
 Now see if you can write
Lets try to
your name in Maya glyphs
write our
using the chart supplied.
names in
Then exchange it with a
Mayan
classmate you do not
syllabic glyph
know and see if you can
form.
decipher the name of your
Hint: Good Q for
extra credit on
classmate???
MidTerm!!!