Andrea M. Ranada
Introduction
Although it no longer exists, the ancient Maya culture is celebrated and gloriously
depicted through its surviving architecture, codices, pottery, and steles. The society reflected by
such artifacts existed from 900 B.C. up to 1519 A.D., the year of the Spanish conquest. Before
its collapse, the Maya civilization established cities including Chichén Itzá, Tikal, Palenque, and
Copán, all of which are located in the Yucatán peninsula in Central America. They were initially
influenced by the Olmec people, followed by the Teotihuacan, Toltec, and ultimately by the
Aztec (Longhena 2000: 14). The ancient Maya civilization is divided up into three periods, the
Preclassic (900 B.C. to 250 A.D.), the Classic (250 A.D. to 900 A.D.), and the Postclassic (900
A.D. to 1500 A.D.) periods. Under the influence of the Olmec during the late Preclassic period,
Mayan architecture expanded and became more complex. However, the civilization did not
reach its pinnacle until the Classic period, in which distinguished works of art such as
monumental sculptures, polychrome pottery, and ornaments flourished (Longhena 2000: 16).
During the Postclassic period, the Maya civilization declined. Several factors are attributed to its
collapse, including warfare and the disintegration of the environment. It is fortunate, however,
that about half of Mayan writing can be deciphered. Finally having the ability to translate the
inscriptions that are so prevalent in ancient Mayan architecture and pottery allows us to analyze
and understand the mentality of this fallen civilization.
Aside from monuments and pottery, Mayan writing is also present in ancient
manuscripts, or codices. Currently, there are four surviving codices: Paris, Grolier, Madrid and
Dresden. The Paris and Madrid Codices are mostly divinatory in nature, while the Grolier and
Dresden Codices have more of an astronomical content (Coe and Kerr 1998: 175-181). The
mere presence of these concepts in the Paris, Grolier, Madrid, and Dresden codices hints at their
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significance; more importantly, the content in the codices itself remarkably reveals the
complexity and brilliance of these calendrical and celestial systems used by the ancient Maya.
Given the purpose of documenting Maya calendrical and celestial content, the Maya codices
generally contain astronomical tables and sacred calendars that reflect the magnificence and
ingenuity of the Maya.
The Maya Scribe
It is important to take into consideration the characteristics and importance of the Maya
scribe in order to achieve a full understanding of the Maya script. Maya scribes bear the title of
ah k’u hun or ah k’un, “he of the holy books” (Coe and Kerr 1998: 91-92). The translation of
this title helped in identifying the Maya scribes and their status in ancient paintings as well as
distinguishing the typical look of the Maya scribe. The occurrence of the ah k’u hun title
typically coincides with the following physical appearance: hair wrapped with a head cloth, a
“stick bundle” somehow attached to the forehead or head cloth, the occasional stick-like tool
included in the headdress, and a sarong tied at the waist (its length may vary). Coe and Kerr
suggest that the “stick bundles” are quill pens that are part of a calligrapher’s toolkit and that the
presence of a “stick bundle” may also signify a literate person. Although the high status of the
Maya scribe is graphically depicted on numerous paintings, such evidence also suggests that
kings and queens were scribes as well. An inscription on a monument located at Copán
translates a ruler, Popol Hol, proclaiming himself to be a “lettered person king” (Coe and Kerr
1998: 98). Moreover, a polychrome vase from the Late Classic period shows an enthroned
leader wearing the ah k’u hun headdress. In addition to respecting scribes, the Maya also
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worshipped the gods of writing, one of them being rabbit god; an eighth century vase features the
rabbit god writing on a folded codex with a brush.
Given that scribes were highly regarded in Mayan society, it is reasonable to conclude
that Mayan writing and perhaps the content of these scripts bear a considerable degree of
importance as well. In essence, Mayan script had little room for individual expression; it is used
to depict histories, cycles, and other important data. Fundamentally, “their task was to record on
stone the king’s actions and the heavenly cycles, and to write mythological and oracular texts on
codices” (Longhena 2000: 24). As much as the scribe is allowed to apply his or her own style to
the script, what is actually written is typically dictated or simply copied.
Mayan Writing Surfaces
Mayan writing is present on a wide array of surfaces, including limestone, volcanic rock,
plaster, paper, pottery, wood, jade, bone, and shell (Coe and Kerr 1998: 130). Among these
surfaces, unfortunately, wood is the least found; most of the woodcarvings that display Mayan
script have decayed due to the humidity of the lowland area.
Monumental Stone: Limestone
Limestone is abundant in the Yucatán peninsula. Freshly excavated limestone is fairly
soft and easily manipulated, but eventually hardens upon exposure to air (Coe and Kerr 1998:
130-131). Due to its malleability, limestone was the stone surface of choice by most Maya
masons, artists, and scribes. Site examples include Palenque lithographic panels and inscribed
columns from Xcalumkin. Although it was easy to work with, limestone varied in quality and
therefore in some instances susceptible to poor preservation. The now illegible and faded carved
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stelae on the standing monuments of Calakmul were essentially made up of a poor-quality
limestone.
Monumental Stone: Volcanic Rock
Interestingly, most of the rocks at Copán are volcanic and not sedimentary, like limestone
(Coe and Kerr 1998: 131-132). In fact, limestone is rare in this region. The volcanic rock used
by the Maya artists was extremely durable and produced magnificent three-dimensional
sculptures and elaborate inscriptions. This includes a full-figured glyph from Stela D in Copán.
Accordingly, these stone surfaces were prepared, with the inscriptions first being painted
on before being carved. Coe and Kerr (1998: 132-133) support this notion in that, “the most
compelling evidence is in the nature of the writing itself, which clearly mimics in stone the
movements of flexible brush tips.” Most stone inscriptions are limited to the Classic Period as
well (Thompson 1985: 28).
Plaster
Plaster is a common material used on the walls of ancient Mayan architecture (Coe and
Kerr 1998: 134). Plaster, or calcium carbonate, was used to protect the surface of the
architectural material, with another thin layer of plaster slurry simultaneously serving as a
surface for mural painting. Sascab, a sand-like and somewhat chalky material, is sometimes
mixed with plaster to form this plaster slurry. Murals on plaster walls can be found in
Bonampak; the murals there typically depict Maya hierarchy.
Paper
Amate is the paper used by the ancient Maya (Coe and Kerr 1998: 143). Previously
assumed to originate from maguey fiber, amate derives from the inner bark of wild fig trees. The
Mayan papermaking process is comparable to the process used in modern Mexican villages,
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which consists of the inner bark fibers boiled and soaked in lime, layered in grid formation, and
then pounded to combine the layers. Plaster and /or gesso can be found on the surface of all four
Maya codices, suggesting that “the scribes actually never wrote directly on paper at all, but on
miniature mural surfaces laid over that paper: uncoated bark paper would simply have been
simply have been too rough and porous for their delicate calligraphy, and for the instruments
they were using” (Coe and Kerr 1998: 145). In addition, the bark paper is coated with ahar, a
mixture of starch, rice powder, quince kernels, and other substances.
Other Surfaces: Wood, Jade, Bone, Shell, and Pottery
Wood may have been used more often as a surface than stone, but as mentioned earlier,
most of these carvings have disappeared (Coe and Kerr 1998: 136). Sapodilla, a reddish-brown,
durable wood, was the wood of choice, being manageable while still green and iron-hard after
curing. Instances of Mayan script carvings on jade are extremely rare, and inscribed texts on
bone and shell ornaments are typically undecipherable (Thompson 1985: 27). Potter vessels, on
the other hand, often have highly decorative painted hieroglyphs on its surfaces.
Mayan Writing Tools
Carving and Incising Tools
The carving and incising tools used by the Maya on their monuments can only be
surmised. Coe and Kerr (1998: 146-146) note that there is “absolutely no information” on such
tools, and that the only thing that is certain is that metal was not used. The authors suppose that
stone chisels were used. In terms of woodcarvings, bone, and shell, Coe and Kerr suggest that
hafted obsidian blades were used, particularly because obsidian is capable of acting like a scalpel
and able to slice through even the hardest materials.
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Brush and Quill Pens
As with carving and incising tools, brush pens used by the Maya have not survived; the
use of a brush is only assumed through paintings of scribes on pictorial ceramics. Apparently the
supposed brush pens are similar to the traditional Chinese brush pen, which consists of a wooden
tube-like handle and animals hairs inserted on one end to form a tip (Coe and Kerr 1998: 146148). Quill pens were supposedly also used in Maya script, with this supposition similarly
stemming from paintings of scribes on Classic vases. Also, the appearance of certain scripts
(including the Dresden Codex) suggests that it is impossible for its style to be created with a
brush pen.
Inkpots and Inks
The Maya used conch shells cut in half lengthwise as inkpots (Coe and Kerr 1998: 150151). Black and red pigments were used in the codices. Particularly, hematite (an iron oxide
pigment) was used in the Dresden, Madrid, and Grolier codices.
The Maya Codices
Currently there are four surviving Maya codices: the Paris, Grolier, Madrid, and Dresden.
Only four remain because religious authorities destroyed many of them during the Spanish
occupation. These religious missionaries believed that the Maya books perpetuated paganism
(Sansores 1987: 17). It is also possible that the Mayas who converted to Christianity destroyed
them. According to 16th century Spanish documentation, few codices also remain because some
codices were buried with Maya priests (Thompson, 1985: 23). Remnants of painted lime flakes
in tombs at Uaxactun provide evidence that codices were in there, since lime was used to coat the
pages of a codex.
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As mentioned earlier, the inner bark of wild fig trees were used to form the sheets of
paper. Horizontal sheets were made and folded accordion-style to form the Maya books
(Longhena 2000: 20). These folded sheets had script and illustrations on both sides and possibly
wood or leather served as covers. As far as content, the glyphs in the four codices are phonetic
rather than ideographic (thus relying more on sounds rather than symbols), making the script
more complex and therefore harder to decipher. This suggests that writing had “become a
domain of a restricted intellectual caste” (Longhena 2000: 21). Overall, the Maya books served
a general purpose of presenting calendrical and celestial systems, including but not limited to: a
260-day sacred almanac, Venus cycle tables, eclipse tables, pictures of ceremonies and deities,
rituals, and multiplication tables (Thompson 1985: 23). While the Maya codices record
abbreviated information about celestial events and the like, it is interesting to note that none of
the four Maya books document the activities of any historical people (Maxwell 1997).
The Paris Codex
The Paris Codex is also known as Codex Perez or Codex Peresianus, because when the
codex was found by Leon de Rosny in 1859, it was wrapped in a piece of paper with “Perez”
written on it (Thompson 1985: 25). This codex mostly details the divinatory aspects of katuns
and tuns, the new year ceremonies, and a condensed 260-day almanac (Thompson, 1985: 65).
Katuns or k’atuns are approximately twenty years while tuns are three hundred and sixty days.
The grand cycle is one of thirteen katuns, and after thirteen katuns history is supposed to repeat
itself (Coe and Kerr 1998: 181). The codex, however, only documents eleven katuns, because
only eleven pages are intact, with one page per katun. In this case, at least two pages of the Paris
Codex are missing, most likely the first and the last page because of its accordion-style folds.
The center of each page of the codex has an image that depicts the deity that rules the particular
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katun documented on that page (Thompson 1985: 25). Additionally, a good amount of
hieroglyphic text frames each image. The glyphs depict prophecies and other divine rituals
(Longhena 2000: 21). In terms of appearance, the Paris Codex is in a rather poor condition,
especially the reverse side of the codex (Thompson 1985: 25). Also, the paintings of the deities
and the glyphs are not meticulously painted, suggesting that the codex was hastily copied from
an earlier codex.
The Madrid Codex
The Madrid Codex is also called the Codex Tro-Cortes, because at some point the codex
split into two parts and was found at separate occasions in Spain (Longhena 2000: 21). The first
part was called the Tro manuscript and the second part was called Codex Cortes. Around 1875
Leon de Rosny recognized that the two parts made up one codex, and the Madrid Codex became
whole again (Thompson 1985: 26). This codex seems to be a book purely about divination; it
does not contain astronomy, prophecies, or multiplication tables. Madrid does contain a 260-day
period, as well as almanacs and prophecies about daily rituals (Longhena 2000: 21). In
comparison to the other codices, the images seem to be carelessly produced; the deities are
portrayed in a grotesque and crude manner (Thompson 1985: 26). The glyphs are also hastily
written, typically misshapen, and irregularly spaced.
The Grolier Codex
The Grolier Codex is a recent discovery and is mostly an astronomical book on the Venus
cycle (Longhena 2000: 175). Only one half of the codex has been found, and as a whole, the
codex deals primarily with the 584-day synodic cycle of Venus (Coe and Kerr 1998: 175). Each
page is concerned with one part of the cycle, with a sinister deity dominating each phase of the
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cycle (Coe and Kerr 1998: 163). The deities are sinister because the Mesoamerican mentality
considers all aspects of the planet as “ill-omened.”
The Dresden Codex
The Dresden Codex, out of the four codices, is the most examined and recognized codex
of all. It is made up of an agave fiber strip, 141 inches in length, folded into 78 sides (Longhena
2000: 21). Most of the script is red or black, and the images of the deities and the glyphs were
written with extreme care (Thompson 1985: 24). Coe and Kerr (1998: 177-178) claim that “the
Dresden is entirely ritual-astronomical, and tied to the workings of the complex Maya calendrical
system.” The codex also consists of several 260-day almanacs as well as Venus, Mars, eclipse,
and multiplication tables. The Dresden almanacs were divided vertically into t’ols (Hofling
1989: 53). Each division corresponds to a sacred Maya year (sometimes called tzolkin) and each
year is a period of 260 days, or a tonalpohualli (Sansores 1987: 18). Basically, each t’ol has a
calendrical glyph with hieroglyphic text within four glyph blocks above it (Hofling 1989). Each
calendrical glyph indicates a day in the sacred calendar, and right below it is an image of a god
or some sort of protagonist, such as the Moon Goddess. Overall, Thompson (1985: 65) describes
Dresden “as a mixture of simple divination and a compilation of astronomical data, doubtlessly
used in the more important branches of that work--for matters of church and state--in contrast to
the simple almanacs of everyday life. Most archaeologists agree that Dresden is the most valued
of the extant Maya codices.
Conclusion
The differences and similarities among the Paris, Madrid, Grolier and Dresden codices
illustrate that the purpose of Mayan writing, specifically in codices, is to document celestial
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events and calendrical systems. The fundamental difference among the three styles lies in their
content, with the Grolier and Dresden codices dealing with more astronomical instances, the
Paris Codex with katuns and tuns, and the Madrid Codex remaining purely divinatory. However,
this difference suggests an underlying similarity that the content of the four codices all truly
represent the remarkable achievements of the ancient Maya.
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Bibliography
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Hofling, C.
1989 The Morphosyntactic Basis of Discourse Structure in Glyphic Text in the Dresden
Codex. In Word and Image in Maya Culture: Explorations in Language, Writing and
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Longhena, M.
2000 Maya Script: A Civilization Revealed Through the Signs. Abbeville Press
Publishing, New York.
Maxwell, J.
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Sansores, W.
1987 Maya Writing: Hieroglyphs, Books of Chilam Balams, Place Names. Produccion
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Thompson, J.
1985 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: An Introduction. University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman.
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