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Mayan Writing

Mayan Writing. Mayan Writing Andrea M. Ranada. Andrea Ranada. The Maya Scribe. Typical appearance: Hair wrapped with a head cloth A “stick bundle” attached to the head cloth The occasional stick-like tool included in the headdress A sarong tied at the waist (its length may vary).

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Mayan Writing

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  1. Mayan Writing Mayan Writing Andrea M. Ranada Andrea Ranada

  2. The Maya Scribe Typical appearance: • Hair wrapped with a head cloth • A “stick bundle” attached to the head cloth • The occasional stick-like tool included in the headdress • A sarong tied at the waist (its length may vary). • Scribes had a special status in society • Some kings and queens were also scribes • The Maya worshipped the gods of writing, one of them being Rabbit God.

  3. Mayan Writing Surfaces

  4. Limestone • Limestone is abundant in the Yucatán peninsula • Freshly excavated limestone is fairly soft and easily manipulated, but eventually hardens upon exposure to air • The picture on the left is from the Tablet of the 96 Hieroglyphs at Palenque on limestone.

  5. Volcanic Tuff • Found at Copán (limestone was rare in this region) • Extremely durable under the humid conditions of the area • Produced remarkable three-dimensional sculptures • The picture above depicts the Moon Goddess with the Rabbit God. It is from a bench in the scribal compound of Copán.

  6. Plaster and Paper • Plaster (calcium carbonate) is commonly used on the walls of ancient Mayan architecture • Plaster can be found on the surface of all four Maya codices, suggesting that the scribes did not directly write on the paper, but more on plaster-like surfaces • Amate is the paper used by the Maya; it is made from the inner bark of wild fig trees • Papermaking process: • Boil inner bark fibers • Soak it in lime • Layer fibers in grid formation • Compress to combine the layers into a sheet

  7. Jade • Pottery • Wood • Bone • Shell Other Surfaces

  8. Mayan Writing Tools • Carving and Incising Tools • No evidence that it was made of metal • Most likely stone chisels were used on monumental stone • On bone, wood, and shell, hafted obsidian blades were probably used • Brush and Quill Pens • Brush pens supposedly similar to traditional Chinese brush pens • Quill pens were used for more thinner lines and more precise designs • Inkpots and Inks • The Maya used conch shells cut in half lengthwise as inkpots • Black and red pigments were typically used on the codices

  9. 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 • These folded sheets had script and illustrations on both sides and possibly wood or leather served as covers. • The Maya books served a general purpose of presenting calendrical and celestial systems, including but not limited to: • Venus cycle tables • Eclipse tables • Pictures of ceremonies & deities • Multiplication tables • A 260-day sacred almanac The Maya Codices

  10. The 260-day count

  11. The Paris Codex • Katuns (20 years) • Tuns (360 days) • The grand cycle is 13 katuns, and after 13 katuns, history is supposed to repeat itself. • The codex only documents 11 katuns (at least 2 pages are missing). • The center of each codex page has an image of the deity that rules that katun (one katun is documented per page). • Hieroglyphic text about prophecies and rituals frames these images.

  12. The Madrid Codex • Also known as the Tro-Cortes, because at some point the codex split into two parts (1st part Tro, 2nd part Cortes) and was found at separate occasions in Spain • This codex seems to be purely about divination • It does not contain astronomy, prophecies, or multiplication tables, but it does contain a 260-day almanac.

  13. The Grolier Codex • A recent discovery • Only half (10 pages) of it has been found • It primarily deals with the 582-day Venus cycle • Each page deals with one part of the cycle • Each part has a sinister deity dominating that part of the cycle • The deities are sinister because the Mesoamerican mentality considers all aspects of the planet as “ill-omened”.

  14. The Dresden Codex • Consists of several 260-day almanacs as well as Venus, eclipse, and multiplication tables. • The almanacs were divided vertically into t’ols • Each division corresponds to a sacred Maya year (tzolkin) • Each year is a period of 260 days, or a tonalpohualli • Each t’ol has a calendrical glyph with hieroglyphic text within four glyph blocks above it • 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.

  15. Conclusion • The purpose of Mayan writing, specifically in codices, is to document celestial events and calendrical systems. • The Grolier and Dresden codices deal with more astronomical instances. • The Paris Codex concerns katuns and tuns. • The Madrid Codex remains purely divinatory. • The content of the four codices all truly represent the remarkable achievements of the ancient Maya.

  16. The End

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