ThePARI Journal

A quarterly publication of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute

Volume XIV, No. 1, Fall 2013

In This Issue:
The YUK Logogram in
The YUK Logogram
in MayaHieroglyphic
Maya Hieroglyphic Writing
Writing
by OCTAVIO Q. ESPARZA OLGUÍN
Octavio Q. Esparza Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Olguín & Erik ERIK VELÁSQUEZ GARCÍA
Velásquez García Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
PAGES 1-5

• Recent epigraphic work with several in-

Patterns in the scriptions, particularly texts coming from
Dresden Codex two sites in southern Quintana Roo,
reveals the existence of interesting substi-
by
tutional patterns in the structure of a well-
Cara Grace Tremain
known glyphic collocation. Particularly
PAGES 6-12 relevant are a pair of nominal clauses
• from Resbalón Hieroglyphic Stairway III
(blocks CX14, CX15, and CX16) and Pol
The Further Box Stela 3 (G7 and H7). Both clauses likely
Adventures of Merle reference the king known as ‘Sky Witness,’
(continued) ruler of the Snake dynasty between ca. ad
a
by 561-572, to whom an important victory
Merle Greene Robertson over Tikal is ascribed in ad 562 (Martin
PAGES 13-16 2005; Martin and Grube 2000, 2008). Both
also demonstrate a very similar structure
(Figure 1), being composed of a variant
Joel Skidmore of the T217 ‘hand’ sign, followed by the
Editor
joel@mesoweb.com
familiar sequence T134 no and T255 ma,
then the undeciphered T650 ‘black cross,’ b

Marc Zender
and finally T561 CHAN and T23 na.1 Figure 1. Nominal clauses of Sky Witness in the
Associate Editor Several of these elements are of course texts of Southern Quintana Roo: (a) Resbalón
marc@mesoweb.com well known from the name of Sky Witness. Hieroglyphic Stairway III, CX14, CX15 y CX16;
The critical sign in these collocations (b) Pol Box Stela 3 (drawing by Octavio Esparza
is the rare T217 variant, apparently an and Vania Pérez). Drawings by the authors unless
The PARI Journal
otherwise noted.
202 Edgewood Avenue extended hand, whose use is also rather
San Francisco, CA 94117 restricted within Maya writing, appearing decipherment, there are nonetheless some
415-664-8889
journal@mesoweb.com most often in the name of Sky Witness, but indications that allow us to propose a
perhaps also in the names of other Snake tentative reading.
Electronic version kings. Although the rarity of this sign in In this case, we propose that the
available at: the corpus of Mayan inscriptions presents sign sequence T217var.-no-ma must cor-
www.mesoweb.com/
pari/journal/1401
a stumbling block to a secure phonetic respond to some nominal element with
which the name of Snake rulers begin,
ISSN 1531-5398 1
Catalog numbers for hieroglyphs (e.g., T23) since in the texts of Resbalón and Pol Box
are in reference to Thompson (1962). this sequence of signs initiates nominal

The PARI Journal 14(1), 2013,1-5. 1

 Esparza and Velásquez

clauses. Now obviously the sequence ...-no-ma is very

similar to the title Yuhkno’m, carried by many rulers
of the Snake dynasty (Figure 2). Seen in this way, we
might consider that the ‘extended hand’ sign corre-
sponds to a logogram with the phonetic value YUK.
That is, in such cases, YUK-no-ma would replace
a what is otherwise written yu-ku-no-ma, both cueing
the term yuhkno’m, probably built on the well-attested
root yuhk “shake”2 or even “earthquake”3 (Esparza and
Pérez 2009; Velásquez and Esparza n.d.). See Table 1
for attestations of this root in various Mayan languages
(see also Zender 2010:Table 3).
By way of example, consider the lengthy snake
dynasty king lists on vessels K6751 and K1372 (see
Martin 1997; see also Guenter 2001). Several of these
names are preceded by the common Snake king title
b Yuhkno’m, written in abbreviated fashion as yu[ku]. In
the case of the eleventh ruler
in this sequence, however,
these components appear to
have been substituted by the
‘extended hand’ (Figure 3).
If this is a true substitution,
then the ‘extended hand’
c should have the value YUK.
Figure 5. The YUK logo-
Nonetheless, these argu-
gram in a collocation from
Figure 2. Names of three Snake rulers with the Yuhkno’m ments remain insufficient to the platform of Temple XIX,
appelative: (a) Yuhkno’m Ch’e’n I, Dzibanche Monument 5; (b) support this decipherment, Palenque (u-YUK?-ka-ba,
Yuhkno’m Ti’ Chan, Caracol Stela 3 (after Beetz and Satterthwaite);
and we must look for other uyuhk kab, “his union with
c) Yuhkno’m Yichaak K’ahk’, Calakmul Tomb 4 of Structure 2
(drawing by Simon Martin). examples of the ‘extended the earth”). Drawing by
hand’ sign in order to test the David Stuart.
suggestive YUK value. As it
turns out, one interesting context appears in the texts of
the Cross Group and Temple XIX at Palenque (Figures
4 and 5). In these texts a verbal phrase (or similar predi-
cate construction) referencing the birth or creation of
several Palenque patron gods is spelled either u-T217-
ka-ba or u-T217-KAB. This phrase has been the subject
of investigation by several other epigraphers, and there
a b
is an earlier proposal for the reading of the T217 variant
Figure 3. Nominal clauses of Ruler 11 of the Dynastic vases: (a) ‘extended hand’ sign. As David Stuart (2005:78-79) notes
K6751 (drawing by Simon Martin); (b) K1372. with respect to the example from the bench of Temple
XIX (Figure 5):

2
David Stuart (2001) was the first to note the yuhk root in
Mayan inscriptions, in the context of the expression yu[h]klaj
kab[an] “the earth shook,” in the stucco text of Temple XVIII of
Palenque. More recently, Marc Zender (2010) demonstrated that
yuhk was an affective verb appearing in several different contexts
in Mayan writing, though most commonly in the Yuhkno’m title
a b of Snake kings.
3 Erik Velásquez first proposed the meaning of the Yuhkno’m
Figure 4. Birth expressions in the texts of Palenque: (a) u- title as “mover” or “shaker,” taking into account the attested mean-
YUK?-KAB, uyuhk kab, “his union with the earth,” Palenque, ings of the root yuhk “move, shake,” as well as the -(V)n antipas-
Temple of the Foliated Cross alfarda; (b) u-YUK?-ka-ba, uyuhk sive and -o’m agentive suffixes (Velásquez and Pallán 2006:342;
kab, “his union with the earth,” Palenque, Tablet of the Temple Velásquez n.d.:Note 2). Shortly afterwards, Marc Zender (2010:13)
of the Cross (drawings by Linda Schele). arrived at a similar conclusion.

2
The YUK Logogram in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing

Proto-Mayan *yuk intransitive verb “shake, move” (Kaufman and Norman 1984:137)
Proto-Ch’olan *yuhk intransitive verb “shake, move” (Kaufman and Norman 1984:137)
Colonial Ch’ol nigquel intransitive verb “temblar” (Hopkins et al. 2008:105)
(incompletive aspect)
Ch’ol yujk-el noun “temblor”(Schumann Gálvez 1973:101)
yujquel noun “temblor” (Aulie and Aulie 1978:144)
yujkelum noun “temblor”
yujkel noun “terremoto” (López et al. 2005:247, 248)
Chontal yucän transitive verb “mecer”
yucum adjective “movible”
yucume verbal noun “mecer, mecida”
yuc’än transitive verb “agitar”(Keller and Luciano 1997:300, 301)
Ch’olti’ yuclu verb “mezclar” (Robertson et al. 2010:334)
Ch’orti’ yuhk noun “shaking or trembling, spasm, convulsion”
(Wisdom 1950:770)

yuhku verb “shake a thing” (Wisdom 1950:770)

yujkb’ar noun “temblor”
yujkreme’n intransitive verb “menear”
yujkun transitive verb “columpiar, mecer, colear la vaca, etc.,
menear” (Pérez Martínez et al. 1996:267-278)
yujkb’ar noun “terremoto” (Boot 1997:34)
yukb’ar noun “terremoto” (Hull 2005: 177)
yujku uba / affective verb “mecerse”
yujku’ix uba
yujku / yujku’ix transitive verb “mecerlo”
yujk’bar noun “temblor” (Schumann n.d.:57, 116)
Colonial Tzeltal yuclaghan affective verb “turbarse el agua con viento” (Ara 1986:F.55v)
Tzotzil yuq’uel verb “agitar(se), sacudir” (Delgaty 1964:60)
yuk’ilanel verb “agitar” (López et al. 2005:584)
yuk-ba noun “temblor de tierra” (Swadesh et al. 1991:94)
Colonial Yucatec yukba intransitive verb “temblar la tierra y temblor o terremoto”
(Arzápalo Marín 1995:376)

yuk ba verb “menearse o temblar la tie[rra] y agua”/

“temblar la tierra, moverse haciendo ruido, y
temblor o terremoto” (Acuña Sandoval 1993:469, 606)
Yucatec yúuk transitive verb “menear, revolver algún líquido”
(Bastarrachea et al. 1998:93)

Table 1. The root yuhk and its meaning in Mayan languages.

3
 Esparza and Velásquez

The next two blocks are also familiar from parallel state- in other texts from southern
ments in the Cross Group. The first of these, at I2, is a pos- Quintana Roo, such as upattuun
sessed noun U-“hand”-ka-ba that likely derives from a “his stone-forming” on Pol Box
transitive verb construction where the palm-down hand
is a verb root and the direct object ka-ba, for kab “earth.” Stela 2 (Figure 6). And the same
Lounsbury made note of the very same glyph in the Cross structure can be seen in the name
Group temples (often with the single logogram KAB re- of another ruler of the Snake
placing the ka-ba) and saw it was always in association dynasty: K’altuun Hix (Figure
with a divine birth date or event. He brilliantly surmised 7). Here, the transitive verb k’al
that it was a metaphor for “birth” and related to a series of “tie, bind” is combined with the
Ch’ol expressions such as ilan panimil, “to see the world,”
noun tuun “stone,” just as they
and perhaps most relevant to the glyph in question, täl lum,
“touch earth.” Building on Lounsbury’s discovery, there is are in the well-known period-
the possibility that the downturned hand sign of the glyph ending expression k’altuun “a
is a logogram read TAL, a transitive root in both Ch’ol and stone-tying.”
Ch’orti’ for “to touch something,” giving a fuller reading To come full circle, one final
U-TAL-KAB, or u-tal-kab, “it is his earth-touching.” piece of evidence that the T217
As can be seen, the TAL reading tentatively variant ‘extended hand’ might
proposed by Stuart proceeds from an observation by register the value YUK can be
Floyd Lounsbury, and was in turn based on a Ch’ol found in the nominal clause
Mayan metaphor for birth. There are neither phonetic of Sky Witness appearing on a
substitutions nor complementation to support a specific bloodletting bone discovered
reading of TAL for the ‘extended by the archaeologists Enrique Figure 8. The nomi-
nal portion of the
hand.’ For this reason, we might Nalda and Sandra Balanzario in
bone bloodletter
reasonably continue to entertain 2005 (Nalda and Balanzario n.d.; from Dzibanche
a YUK value if it could be shown Velásquez n.d.; Velázquez and Temple II (yu-ku-no-
to generate a sensible meaning in Nalda 2005:31). This bloodlet- ma UT?-tu-T650var-
this context. As it turns out, there ter (Figure 8) was discovered CHAN-na K’UH-
are several Ch’orti’ expressions above the pelvis of the pri- ka-KAN-AJAW,
Figure 6. The pos-
linking the root yuk (and the stem mary occupant of a tomb located Yu[h]kno’m Ut(?)
sessed compound
yuhk) to the idea of birth, such as within Dzibanche Temple II Tu[...] Chan, k’uh[ul]
noun upattuun, “his (also known as the Temple of the Kaan[u’l] ajaw.
stone-fashioning,” Pol
yuk k’ux, defined as a “convulsion
suffered during labor or until the Cormorants).
Box Stela 2 (drawing Distinct from the examples of the name of Sky
by Octavio Esparza placenta is expelled” (Wisdom
1950:770-771). The Ch’orti’ ex- Witness already discussed on the monuments of Pol
and Vania Pérez).
pression perhaps reveals some Box and Resbalón, and from the namesake Ruler 11 of
connection, either natural or metaphorical, between the Dynastic vases, here it is the syllables yu-ku-no-ma
birth labors and earthquakes. (rather than the T217 variant ‘extended hand’) which
On the other hand, the Ch’orti’ word yuhk also precede the characteristic ‘eye and black cross’ (T650
means “thing joined, joint, union” (Wisdom 1950:770). variant) and “sky” (CHAN-na). All of these other
This, too, might make a reasonable metaphor for birth in elements are shared by the disparate spellings of the
combination with the other elements of the glyph block: name of Sky Witness, making a strong case for the
u-YUK?-ka-ba, uyuhk kab, “his union with the earth.” possibility that the syllables yu-ku(-no-ma) and the
Such a meaning would come quite close to another ‘extended hand’ (YUK?) substitute for one another in
considered by Stuart (2000:30), namely “his encounter this context.
with the earth.”
Still another possibility, though more speculative, Acknowledgments
is that u-YUK?-ka-ba We would like to express our gratitude in no uncertain
might instead be ren- terms to Dmitri Beliaev, Marc Zender, and Rogelio
dered uyuhkkab “his Valencia Rivera for their useful comments and excel-
earth-union,” a possessed lent suggestions, and also to Vania E. Pérez Gutiérrez
compound noun formed for her assistance with the images used throughout this
from the combination of paper. Equally, our most sincere thanks to the archae-
a verbal root and a noun ologists Enrique Nalda Hernández (†) and Javier López
and well attested in other Figure 7. The name of Camacho, whose work at the sites of southern Quintana
contexts (see Lacadena K’altuun Hix, Snake ruler, Roo has provided the hieroglyphic texts which made
2003). Examples of such Naranjo Stela 25 (drawing this study possible.
constructions appear by Ian Graham).

4
The YUK Logogram in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing

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Boot, Erik Robertson, John S., Danny Law, and Robbie A. Haertel
1997 Vocabulario breve de maya ch’orti’. Manuscript. 2010 Colonial Ch’olti’: The Seventeenth-Century Morán Manuscript.
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Delgaty, Colin C.
Schumann Gálvez, Otto
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Esparza Olguín, Octavio Q., and Vania E. Pérez Gutiérrez
Stuart, David S.
2009 Archaeological and Epigraphic Studies in Pol Box, Quintana
2000 Las nuevas inscripciones del Templo XIX, Palenque.
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Arqueología Mexicana 8(45):28-33.
Guenter, Stanley P. 2001 Earthquake! Mesoweb: www.mesoweb.com/stuart/notes/
2001 The Preclassic Snake Kingdom: Further Investigations of the Earthquake.pdf
Painted King List. Manuscript. 2005 The Inscriptions from Temple XIX at Palenque: A Commentary.
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Hopkins, Nicholas A., Ausencio Cruz Guzmán, and Kathryn
Josserand Swadesh, Mauricio, María C. Álvarez, and Juan R. Bastarrachea
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Hull, Kerry
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famsi.org/reports/03031/03031.pdf 1962 A Catalog of Maya Glyphs. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Kaufman, Terrence S., and William M. Norman Velásquez García, Erik
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López, Pablo Gómez Jiménez, and Pablo González Casanova Velázquez Morlet, Adriana, and Enrique Nalda Hernández
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Manuscript. The PARI Journal 11(2):1-16.

5
Patterns in the Dresden Codex
CARA G. TREMAIN
University of Calgary

A frequently referenced yet poorly understood deity,

Goddess I has suffered from a long tradition of mis-
identification. Much confusion and disagreement over
this goddess persists in the literature but an analysis
of her appearance and associated texts allows for some
improved understanding. This article demonstrates
that naming patterns within the Dresden Codex can be
applied to eroded or absent texts to aid in the correct
identification of this female deity. More than that, these
newly-identified structures can also aid in the advance-
ment of ancient Maya codex studies.

Early Studies of Goddess I

The first systematic study of the deities in the codices
was made by Paul Schelhas in 1904. He classified each
deity using a letter designation, and his system was
later adopted by other scholars. He recognized two god-
desses, whom he labeled Goddess I and Goddess O. He
named Goddess I “the water goddess” and described
her as an aged female with clawed feet and a brown
body wearing a serpent headdress and commonly de-
picted pouring water from a jar (Schelhas 1967:31). He
expressed uncertainty about her name glyph but paired
it with what was later discovered to be one of the name
glyphs associated with a youthful goddess (though he
himself did not actually identify a youthful goddess in
his studies). Goddess O was identified as “a Goddess
with the features of an old woman” and her name glyph
was recognised to have “wrinkles of age around the
eye” (Schelhas 1967:38). This deity was only identified
in the Madrid Codex and was described as an aged
female frequently represented working at a loom.
Günter Zimmermann (1956) later applied an
entirely different classification to these deities. He
dropped Schelhas’s letter designations for a numbered
series prefixed by the letter G, labeling the youthful god-
dess not described by Schelhas as G22/Goddess I and
assigning the label G24/Goddess O to the aged goddess
Schelhas had identified as Goddess I (Zimmermann
1956:167). This led to a great deal of confusion in the lit- Figure 1. The Moon Goddess, Dresden Codex,
erature. Furthermore, Schelhas had correctly identified detail of folio 49a and associated name glyph
and separated two aged goddesses but Zimmermann (from Kingsborough 1831-1848).
had combined them. Eric Thompson also studied the

The PARI Journal 14(1), 2013, 6-12.

deities in the codices, and it is through his work that been equated with the day sign Caban (Kelley 1976),
the association of Goddess I with the moon became a and with the head variant of the number one (Thompson
popular notion (1939). He argued that there were young 1972:47), but although they share some formal similari-
and old aspects of the “Moon goddess”: one associated ties they cannot be equated. The apparent Caban infix
with floods and destruction and another associated with in the portrait glyph is the same as the T171 prefix and
beneficial aspects. is commonly known as the “Caban curl”
The first steps to resolving the confu- (Taube 1992:64). Like others before him,
sion created by the early studies were Thompson (1939:132, 141) suggested
taken by David Kelley in 1976. He rec- that it resembled a lock of hair, which
ognized four distinct deities: (1) the aged probably developed to become a symbol
goddess with clawed feet and serpent of women (Bassie-Sweet 1991:99). Since
headdress; (2) a goddess associated with kab is the Yucatec Maya word for “earth”
the ‘wrinkled’ head glyph; (3) a youthful and “honey” it has been suggested that
goddess; and (4) the actual Moon god- Goddess I may be an earth or honey god-
dess. Kelley (1976:69) argued that the dess (Bassie-Sweet 1991:98, 2008:210; Vail
deity with the wrinkled head glyph iden- 1996:116). Thompson (1938, 1950, 1972:47)
tified as Goddess O by Schelhas is in fact suggested that the Caban curl was simi-
an aged version of Goddess I. This deity lar to the symbol for the phonetic sound
was only identified in the Madrid Codex. u in Landa’s alphabet (Tozzer 1941:170),
The youthful goddess identified by itself similar to the Yucatec Maya word
Zimmermann as G22 and by Thompson uh “moon.” But, as Ardren (2006:29) and
Figure 2. The Youthful aspect
as the “Moon goddess” is the youthful Brisko (1994) have pointed out, none of
of Goddess I (from Villacorta
version of this goddess. Later scholars and Villacorta 1993).
the early colonial sources indicate any
such as Andrea Stone (1990), Karl Taube association of this deity with the moon.
(1992:64), and Gabrielle Vail (1996:115) have supported The T58 prefix was long ago deciphered as SAK
this interpretation. They also support the identification “white,” perhaps in association with the white light
of four distinct female deities. of the moon (Thompson 1972:47) or the similar term
Consequently, the work by Kelley and others has sakal meaning “weaver” (Thompson 1939:132; 1972:47).
demonstrated that Goddess I does not represent the Bassie-Sweet (2008:202) has proposed that the “white”
Moon goddess. The only appearance of the Moon god- association might refer to cotton, salt, or even white corn.
dess—whose name glyphs include the T181 or T683 Kelley (1976:69) and Vail (1996:115) claim that William
‘moon’ signs—appears on page 49a of the Dresden Gates (1932) refers to Goddess I as “the White Lady,”
Codex (Figure 1). Karen Bassie-Sweet (2008:201) notes but I could find no evidence of this in his publication.
that, unlike this illustration, none of the other depic- Adam Herring (2005:74) notes that in colonial Yucatec
tions of youthful goddesses in the codices feature the sak can refer to newly-made works such as “worked
moon sign on their bodies. Despite the glyphic and stones” (sak laktun), “clean paper” (sak hu’un), or “fresh
iconographic advances since Kelley’s study, scholars still laundry” (sak nok’). It would be interesting if the use of
routinely misidentify Goddess I as the “Moon Goddess” the T58 prefix had similar associations in the name of
(Milbrath 1995, 1996, 2002; Schele and Friedel 1990:366, the goddess.
413; Taube 2006:263; Taylor 1992). Whether classified as Nonetheless, the “white” association is not limited
Goddess I or the “Moon Goddess,” this female deity is to Goddess I. The T58 prefix is used throughout the
portrayed in the Dresden Codex as a youthful goddess Dresden to name other deities, including Goddess
and is often identifiable from her long black hair and
bare chest (Figure 2).

Hieroglyphic Research
The identification of the female deities in the codices has
relied in large part on their associated hieroglyphic texts. T171.1026 T58.1026 T171.1026.102
Those associated with Goddess I have been identified as
the portrait glyph T1026, prefixed by either T171 or T58,
Figure 3. Name glyphs
and sometimes postfixed by T102 (Figure 3).
associated with Goddess I (from
Various readings for the T1026 glyph have been sug- Villacorta and Villacorta 1993).
gested but the best supported and most widely accepted
decipherment is IX(IK) “lady” (Stuart 1998:396, Note 7;
see also Vail and Stone 2002:210). The glyph has often T58.1026.102

7
 Tremain

Figure 4. Dresden Codex, folios 16c and 17c (detail). The three name glyphs for Goddess I at the right of the
almanac each have the T171 prefix and T102 postfix. None have a corresponding visual representation of the
goddess (from Villacorta and Villacorta 1993).

Figure 5. Dresden Codex, folios 17b (detail) and 18b. The prefixes used to name Goddess I at the
beginning and end of the almanac are identical, despite different name glyphs being used within the
almanac (from Villacorta and Villacorta 1993).

O, God H, and God B. Some scholars have attributed meaningful ways and might reflect the fact that deities
instances such as these to scribal errors. Yet in her study have more than one manifestation, each perhaps associ-
of the Madrid Codex, Vail (1996:59) found that although ated with a different name (Vail 2000).
there is generally a close relationship between an al- The postfix T102 is well known as the phonetic
manac’s text and its iconography, this is not always a syllable ki, where it most likely serves as a phonetic
one-to-one correspondence. Consequently, she argues complement or extension to T1026 IX(IK), leading to
that not all of these instances are scribal errors and may the reading ixik “lady” (Vail and Stone 2002:210). Both
instead reflect the fluid nature of deities. She proposes Vail and Stone (2002:207, 210) and Ardren (2006:31) have
that these so-called errors are actually patterned in read T171 as KAB and suggest that the goddesses’ name

8
Patterns in the Dresden Codex

Figure 6. Dresden Codex, folios 19a (detail), 20a, and 21a (detail). Based on the naming patterns observed for
Goddess I, the name glyphs above the first and last images of Goddess I can be reconstructed as T171.1026
(from Villacorta and Villacorta 1933).

Figure 7. Dresden Codex, folios 21c and 22c (detail). The column of hieroglyphs at the far right of the image
shows a name glyph for Goddess I but no corresponding image. The third image of the goddess does not
have the T0126 portrait glyph in the corresponding text above her image. The name of the second goddess
probably serves for this third goddess (from Villacorta and Villacorta 1933).

is to be read as Ixik Kab “Lady Earth.” Alternatively, the T102, which would seem to suggest that the text is nam-
reading Kab Ixik would make better sense of the order of ing between two to four different goddesses, various
the glyphs, in which case the name would mean “Earth scholars have failed to differentiate between naming
Lady.” By contrast, the T58 prefix in place of T171 leads glyphs and images of the goddesses and have suggested
to a reading of Sak Ixik “White Lady” (Bassie-Sweet that the glyphs represent various titles or names for the
2008:202). Although there are two different prefixes to same goddess (Brisko 1994; Kelley 1976; Thompson
the T1026 glyph, and occasions when it is postfixed by 1939:163, 1972:47; Vail 1996).

9
 Tremain

Goddess I in the Dresden Codex lock of hair. Interestingly, the only example in which the
hair of a goddess is not visible is the only time in which
To better understand the loosely defined group of fe- she is not named by either the T171 or T58 prefix, but
male deities in the Dresden Codex known as “Goddess rather the T45-semblant sign HUL (see Dresden Codex,
I,” an analysis of her appearance and name glyphs was folio 21b).
undertaken. As previously mentioned, the aged version Adornment also does not differ significantly
of Goddess I has been identified only in the Madrid between goddesses identified with the T171 or T58
Codex and therefore this paper focuses exclusively on prefixes. In every image, the goddess wears an earspool
the youthful version of Goddess I. Most of her appear- and necklace (apart from four images in which the neck
ances in the Dresden Codex occur within the almanacs area is obscured). The bracelet is another common piece
on pages 16-23. of adornment, and there were only seven instances in
Since various scholars have suggested that there which the goddess does not wear a bracelet, and five
is not a recognizable difference between the god- instances in which the wrist area was obscured. A much
desses labeled with the T171 and T58 prefixes, images less common adornment was a nose bar, occurring only
of Goddess I were categorized according to her nam- six times.
ing glyph to verify whether or not this was true. This Finally, an analysis of the textiles worn by the god-
method of identification resulted in ten images with desses demonstrates that the most common representa-
T171 as a prefix and T102 as a postfix, thirteen images tion of Goddess I is bare chested but wearing a skirt,
with only the T171 prefix, one image with the T58 prefix with only one representation of a full length huipil.
and T102 postfix, and twelve images with only T58 as a There is no significant difference between the frequency
prefix. There were eight images of the deity associated of short and long skirts. In only one instance is the god-
with a problematic glyph and seven with eroded texts. dess not wearing any visible textiles, yet even here she
Problematic glyphs included unclear or absent portrait should probably not be considered naked, because she
glyphs. This provided a total of fifty-one images of is “clothed” both by her adornments and her elaborate
Goddess I. hairstyle.
In order to verify whether or not there were recog- Consequently, there is no significant difference
nizable differences between the goddesses labeled with between the appearances of goddesses named by the
the T171 and T58 prefixes, specific aspects of Goddess I’s T171 prefix and the goddesses named by the T58 prefix.
appearance were studied: type of headdress, hairstyle, Attention was thus turned to the presence of what seem
adornment, and textiles. It became apparent that there to be naming patterns within the text.
was no significant difference in the presence or absence
of the T102 postfix in the images. This makes perfect Goddess I Naming Patterns
sense, since the best glyphic explanation of the postfix
is as a redundant phonetic complement ki to the T1026 One of the most noticeable patterns from the texts of
logogram IX(IK). Consequently, the images with the Goddess I is that in every instance where a name glyph
T102 postifx were amalgamated with those images that of Goddess I is given without a corresponding image,
did not have the postfix. A separation based on the T171 the glyph has the T171 prefix, and often also has the
and T58 prefixes was maintained to verify the presence T102 postfix (see Figures 4, 5, 7). This may suggest that
or absence of differences between these prefixes. the T171 prefix was the standardized name glyph for
The analysis demonstrated that the greatest per- Goddess I. That is, because it would have been so fa-
centage of goddesses do not wear a headdress, which miliar, perhaps an accompanying image was not always
is similar to Vail’s (1996:161) findings for depictions of necessary. In line with this, Goddess I with the T58 SAK
goddesses in the Madrid Codex. Ten different varieties prefix may have always been illustrated because she
of headdress are worn, including one that incorporates was a less familiar aspect.
the T58 SAK “white” sign (see Figure 5, second figure Another noticeable pattern concerns almanacs
from right). This headdress is not limited to Goddess I, containing the names of several goddesses. In these
however, since it is also worn by male deities such as almanacs, the initial and final name glyphs will always
God A and God D (see Dresden Codex, folios 13, 14, and have identical prefixes (Figure 5). A recognizable pat-
53). tern naming the goddesses within the almanacs was
Whereas the goddess does not appear to wear a not identified, but since the initial and final glyphs are
headdress that defines her identity, it appears that the always identical, it suggests that there was a structure to
hairstyle of the goddess is a much more characteristic almanacs involving more than one goddess. Perhaps the
trait. It is very common for Goddess I to have one or same goddesses were always required to begin and end
more strands of hair visible in the image that accompa- these almanacs.
nies her name glyph. As already mentioned, Thompson This principle was applied against some of the erod-
and others have suggested that the Caban curl in the ed images in order to try and identify the name glyphs.
T1026 portrait glyph and the T171 prefix represents a One example in which this principle was applied with

10
Patterns in the Dresden Codex

success is shown in Figure 6. Most of the text in this the various name glyphs for Goddess I employed by
almanac is eroded, but a comparison with other facsimi- scribes in the Dresden Codex reflected the goddess’s
les of the Dresden Codex, including Kingsborough’s various manifestations.
edition—which Thompson (1950:26) suggested was
accurate enough to be used for checking subsequently Acknowledgements
damaged glyphs—allows a reading of the initial glyph I would like to thank Karen Bassie-Sweet and Geoffrey
as the T1026 portrait head with the T171 prefix. Using G. McCafferty for their contributions to, and assistance
the structural pattern discussed above, I propose that with, this study.
the end of this almanac would originally have featured
the same collocation. References
A final noteworthy pattern is the principle of a delet-
ed text subject. Four images of Goddess I in the Dresden Ardren, Traci
Codex do not have a corresponding name glyph. Three 2006 Mending the Past: Ix Chel and the Invention of a
of these examples are part of an almanac with more than Modern Pop Goddess. Antiquity 80:25-37.
one goddess (Figure 7). Since there seem to be regular
patterns involving the glyphs in these almanacs, I sug- Bassie-Sweet, Karen
gest that there was a pattern involving the images as 1991 From the Mouth of the Dark Cave: Commemorative
well. I suggest that the name glyph associated with the Sculpture of the Late Classic Maya. University of
preceding image names these goddesses, and that the Oklahoma Press, Norman.
scribes may have felt no need to repeat her name several 2008 Maya Sacred Geography and the Creator Deities.
times throughout the same almanac. Examples of de- University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
leted subjects are also known in Maya hieroglyphs from
the Classic period, so there is some precedent for this Brisko, Jo Ann Roman
feature. Consequently, the name glyph of these females 1994 Maya Goddesses: By What Name Do We Call Them?
can be suggested even without a text directly above her In U Mut Maya V, edited by Carolyn Jones and Tom
image. Jones, pp. 197-206. Carolyn and Tom Jones, Arcata,
By applying the patterns discussed above it is pos- CA.
sible to increase the number of identified goddesses in
the Dresden Codex. In comparison to the original num- Gates, William
bers, the goddesses with the T171 prefix are increased 1932 The Dresden Codex. Maya Society Publication 2. John
by four images from twenty-three to twenty-seven, and Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
the goddesses with the T58 prefix are increased by two
images from thirteen to fifteen. Although this is only Herring, Adam
a small change, a 15% increase in both data sets is still 2005 Art and Writing in the Maya Cities, A.D. 600-800:
significant, and it illustrates that a better understanding A Poetics of Line. Cambridge University Press,
of Goddess I can be reached even without the discovery Cambridge.
of new texts, merely by paying close attention to naming
patterns within well-known sources. Milbrath, Susan
1995 Gender and Roles of Lunar Deities in Postclassic
Conclusion Central Mexico and the Correlation with the Maya
Area. Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl 25:45-94.
This paper has explored the representation of Goddess 1996 Postclassic Maya Metaphors for Lunar Motion.
I in the Dresden Codex through visual appearance and In Eighth Palenque Round Table, 1993, edited by
associated name glyphs as a means of overcoming a Martha J. Macri and Jan McHargue, pp. 379-391.
long tradition of misidentification. The analysis demon- Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.
strated that there is not a clear separation between the 2002 New Questions Concerning the Authenticity of the
appearances of goddesses named with the T171 prefix Grolier Codex. Latin American Indian Literatures
and those named by the T58 prefix. Additionally, no Journal 18(1):50-83.
significant difference was noticed for goddesses whose
names included the T102 postfix. Several suggested Kelley, David Humiston
naming patterns can be applied to eroded or absent 1976 Deciphering the Maya Script. University of Texas
texts to aid in the correct identification of Goddess I. Press, Austin.
Since there is no clear difference between the naming
texts of Goddess I and her visual appearance it does Kingsborough, Edward K.
appear that the variety of texts represent various titles 1831-1848 Antiquities of Mexico: Comprising Fac-Similes of
or names for the same goddess. Just as Vail (2000) has Ancient Mexican Paintings and Hieroglyphs. Robert
suggested for the deities in the Madrid Codex, perhaps Havell, London.

11
 Tremain

Schele, Linda and David Freidel 2000 Pre-Hispanic Maya Religion: Conceptions of Divinity
1990 A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. in the Postclassic Maya Codices. Ancient Mesoamerica
Quill William Morrow, New York. 11:123-147.

Schelhas, Paul Vail, Gabrielle, and Andrea Stone

1967 [1904] Representation of Deities of the Maya Manuscripts, 2002 Representations of Women in Postclassic and Colonial
2nd ed. Selma Wesselhoeft and A. M. Parker, Maya Literature and Art. In Ancient Maya Women,
trans. Papers 4(1). Peabody Museum of American edited by Traci Ardren, pp. 203-228. AltaMira Press,
Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Walnut Creek, CA.
Cambridge, MA.
Villacorta C., J. Antonio, and Carlos A. Villacorta
Stone, Andrea 1933 Códices Mayas. Tipografía Nacional, Guatemala.
1990 The Two Faces of Eve: The Grandmother and the
Unfaithful Wife as a Paradigm in Maya Art. Paper Zimmermann, Günter
presented at the 89th Annual Meeting of the American 1956 Die Hieroglyphen der Maya-Handschriften. De Gruyter,
Anthropological Association, New Orleans. Hamburg.

Stuart, David
1998 “The Fire Enters His House”: Architecture and Ritual
in Classic Maya Texts. In Function and Meaning in Classic
Maya Architecture, edited by Stephen D. Houston, pp.
373-425. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

Taube, Karl Andreas

1992 The Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan. Studies in Pre-
Columbian Art and Archaeology 32. Dumbarton
Oaks, Washington, D.C.
2006 The Classic Maya Gods. In Maya: Divine Kings of
the Rainforest, edited by Nikolai Grube, pp. 262-277.
Könemann, Cologne.

Taylor, Dicey
1992 Painted Ladies: Costumes for Women on Tepeu
Ceramics. In The Maya Vase Book, Volume 3, edited by
Justin Kerr, pp. 513-525. Kerr Associates, New York.

Thompson, J. Eric S.
1939 The Moon Goddess in Middle America, with
Notes on Related Deities. Contributions to American
Anthropology and History 5:24-29. Carnegie Institution
of Washington, Washington, D.C.
1950 Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: Introduction. University of
Oklahoma Press, Norman.
1972 A Commentary on the Dresden Codex: A Maya
Hieroglyphic Book. American Philosophical Society,
Philadelphia.

Tozzer, Alfred M.
1941 Landa’s Relación de las Cosas de Yucatán: A Translation.
Papers 18. Peabody Museum of American
Archaeology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Vail, Gabrielle
1996 The Gods in the Madrid Codex: An Iconographic and
Glyphic Analysis. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Dresden Codex, folio 17 (from
Anthropology, Tulane University. Villacorta and Villacorta 1993).

12
The Further Adventures of Merle (continued)
MERLE GREENE ROBERTSON

Uaxactun
Because Uaxactun is only about 20 km north of Tikal, I
shall discuss it now, although it was somewhat later that
I did work there (1970). This time Don Hart, a student of
mine from Stevenson School, Pebble Beach, California,
and Bob Robertson, my husband, were with me. The
caretaker of the ruins was the policeman Aldana. He
hunted all over, in the rain, for stelae. He built scaffolding
in front of one very tall stela. I was perched on top, with
no way to get down, so he maneuvered huge sheets of
plastic that I always carried with me so I could work up
there. To dry the paper, he then used pine sticks to build
a fire at the base of the stela, but the smoke all came up
to where I was working. I was gagging on smoke, my
face wrapped in a wet handkerchief, but my eyes were
crying continually. We were having so much rain that it
was hard to believe that there are long periods of time
(sometimes six months and sometimes a year) during
which Uaxactun gets no rain at all. We did have a field
day though, even if most of it was in the rain. One of
the first stelae I did a rubbing of was Stela 1, which had
the upper portion broken off in ancient times (Figure 1).
A typical example of Cycle 8 early carving, it showed a
heavy chain attached to the side of the belt supporting
a grotesque ornament. Another Early Classic stela was
Stela 3 with a head dangling from the back-mask that
is identical to the head held in the crook of the arm of
the Tikal Stela 31 lord (Figure 2). Another stela I did a
rubbing of at Uaxactun was the unusual Stela 5, a war-
rior armed with an atlatl (spear thrower) in his left hand
and a macuahuitl (wooden club into which obsidian
blades were set) in his right hand, both unusual weap-
ons in Classic art (Figure 3). I don’t know if it was the
surprising atlatl or the perky parrot balanced on top of
his headgear that intrigued me the most. A bustle-like
arrangement of feathers hangs from the striding figure’s
waist, in the manner of the Teotihuacan-related warriors
at Tikal.
As no one had worked at Uaxactun since the
Carnegie staff of Ed Shook, Jesse Jennings, and Ledyard
and Robert Smith, the Aldanas, caretakers of the ruins,
were more than happy to see us. It was not an easy place
to get to at the time we went. With no place to stay, and Figure 1. Uolantun Stela 1. As this is the only monument found on
it raining most of the time, the Aldanas took us right the only mound at Uolantun, Morley postulated in The Inscriptions
into their very comfortable home, where kids, chickens, of Peten that this tiny site was an offshoot of nearby Uaxactun.

The PARI Journal 14(1), 2013, 13-16. 13

 Robertson

Figure 3. Uaxactun Stela 5.

Figure 2. Uaxactun Stela 3.

detailed drawings of the entire Aldana compound.
I first became acquainted with Ed Shook when I was
rabbits, and a pig lived happily together. Don played working in Antigua, Guatemala, the city of “Eternal
soccer with the Uaxactun kids, who were happy to Spring.” Ed and his wife Ginny lived in the beautiful
have someone who new the game, but as usual, he hurt old ruined cathedral at the edge of town that has be-
his leg—no more use to me in helping with rubbings. come the most upscale gorgeous hotel in Antigua, Casa
I made dozens of paper dolls for the Aldana children; Santo Domingo. I have visited it when Ed and Ginny
they loved it but didn’t realize that some children must lived there and also when it became the “in place” for
have different outfits for school, for play, etc. as they had elegant weddings. Ed always had a large library that he
only two changes of clothes, both alike. As Blanca didn’t sold, and then acquired another library which he also
have a doll, I made one for her from an old tee shirt and sold. I believe his last library was the one he sold to the
stuffed it with pieces of cloth, then made its yellow hair archaeological museum in Villahermosa, Mexico. Of
from nylon rope. And of course this doll had to have a course each library had fewer of the rare books than the
dress. We hated to leave Uaxactun, we were having so one before it. Ed started his work as a young man of
much fun despite the rain. In my field book I made many 21 in Campeche, Mexico. I have his diary during that

14
The Further Adventures of Merle

time with such perfect handwriting, I couldn’t believe aguada. There was no trail, nor was there any water in
it. This from Ed—getting him to write anything was like the lanai vines—everything dry. When we arrived, quite
pulling teeth. dehydrated, there was no water at all in the aguada.
Sadoval said he did not know where the stela was.
Jimbal Don and I started hunting and found it immediately, of
Jimbal is half way between Tikal and Uaxactun. I had course. Right away we saw that the entire upper portion
been asked by John Graham from UC Berkeley and had been sawed off. Sandoval just shrugged his shulders
Harvard to go in and do a rubbing of the monument and said we would turn around and go back. I told him
in late June 1970. I had asked Sr. Sandoval, who was at that we would not go back, that Don and I were too beat,
that time keeper of Tikal, and his helper, to take us in, and without water could not possibly do it. I still had
starting at 5:15 the next morning, and to bring their own the drinking water in my canteen, but I was not going to
water. He did not want to go, and quoted such a high share that with them. I proceeded to do the rubbing of
price to take me, that he was sure I would have to refuse. what was left of the stela instead.
But, as I had already been paid for two round trips from We then put up my tent and placed our cooking pots
San Francisco, and expenses while doing this, I had no all around the edge to catch water if it rained. We had
choice but to pay his price. He told me that we didn’t nothing to eat that didn’t need water for its preparation
need to bring any water because there was plenty in the except one tiny can of tomato juice apiece. Don and I

Figure 4. Jimbal stela.

15
 Robertson

got in our tent to get some sleep. In the middle of the her with “our” name engraved on it.
night we heard pelts of rain coming down. Out of the Sayaxche is where jaguar hunters would bring their
tent we jumped to get the water in the pots. The rain had pelts to be sold to someone going back to civilization.
then stopped, and there was no water in the pots. We Can’t be done today. Jacques VanKirk, whose partner in
got back in the tent. There was muddy water on its floor. Mexico had committed a crime and told the police that
So we slurped up this muddy water with our mouths on it was Jacques and not he who had done it, had been
the floor of the tent. No, we did not get sick. Returning put in the position of being an outlaw from the Mexican
to Tikal the next morning was torture. We were so dehy- police. He was hiding out in Sayaxche, and had become
drated that when we were picked up by the Tikal jeep one of the jaguar hunters. He had at one time been a
at the airport, we were literally holding each other up, hunter of polar bears in Alaska, as well as other weird
and were taken directly to the kitchen and given coffee occupations. He came to remote Sayaxche with only his
that was already made, into which we poured the whole gun, his wife Parney, and his two little girls, nothing
bowl of sugar. We were sure we knew who had stolen else; he had to escape so fast. Who was out to kill him,
the upper portion of the Jimbal Stela. we never found out, but when he went out jaguar hunt-
ing, he told his wife that if anyone came to their camp,
Sayaxche she was to shoot first and think after. Their home at the
As we spent so much time in Sayaxche, a small two- edge of the Petexbatun River was a small tree house
street village at the junction of the Pasion River and the built on stilts so it wouldn’t get flooded. They climbed
Petexbatun Lagoon, something should be said about it a wooden ladder up into the tree house. They would
now. It became home away from home. Julio Gadoy was pull the ladder up when they were in. The one room
the owner of this tiny two-room—what shall I call it?— was about ten feet by ten feet with every inch taken up.
not really a hotel or a house, just someplace where we A bed was built on one side of this room, and a double
stayed and where from season to season as we worked bunk on the opposite side, and a very narrow bunk was
in El Petén, we stored our equipment. Julio became a on the third side. The fourth side was taken up with a
very good friend and a big help so many times. There tiny cupboard. A coffee-like table was in the middle of
was no store in Sayaxche, so when we wanted to buy the floor, with just enough room to squeeze around it.
eggs, Julio would have his young son go scampering You sat on the bunks to eat or talk. Five people lived
into the woods to find as many as he could. They were in this tiny room that wasn’t big enough for even one
very good fresh eggs. Julio’s little porch looked right out person. They cooked on a campfire underneath this tree
on the Pasion where we could see all of the cargo being house. Jacques was what we called our “hiding guide.”
sent by cayuca up and down the river. Here is where He would take us into off-the-beaten-track sites like
we met so many interesting people who often became Itzan, where howler monkeys interrupted me when I
good friends, like Trudy Blom. Trudy was the wife of was doing a rubbing by firing branches down at me all
Franz Blom, the Tulane University archaeologist. Trudy the time. When I first met Don Robertson in Mexico City,
lived in San Cristobal at her home Na Balom where she he told me the story of how they had gotten their apart-
befriended all of the Lacandon Indians. She was also ment, when apartments were hard to find. The woman
a wonderful photographer documenting much of the who owned the apartment told the Robertsons that the
life of the Lacandons. No matter what the occasion— people who had lived there before left suddenly, leaving
breakfast, dinner, a public meeting, or whatever, she a closet full of little girls clothes and clothes for adults,
was always dressed as if going to a fancy ball—loads of all sorts of personal belongings, including a polar bear
jewlery. She visited me once in San Francisco when she rug (maybe he really was a polar bear hunter). Putting
was on her way to Switzerland to meet with her family. two and two together, we knew it was the apartment of
Was it the isolation we were all feeling or the comrade- Jacques VanKirk.
ship of being together in so remote a place as Sayaxche? Today Sayaxche is quite a village, and the headquar-
All of the Peace Corps people made their headquarters ters for driving, yes driving, into Seibal. It was when I
here, as did doctors helping out in El Petén. While was working at Seibal that one noon we heard a terrible
we were there a heart specialist, a pediatrician, and a crash. A yellow bulldozer was hacking its way into the
dentist spent time there. Sayaxche was, also, the home site, preparing for this new road. There are now several
of Tranquil Flores and his family. Tranquil was a young hotels, a grocery store, a mechanics shop, and much
fellow whose family was from Belize. Tranquil worked more in Sayaxche. The lodge in the Petexbatun is now
with me all through El Petén. Later, when he married, he the very best place, and really the only place, to stay
had a little girl he named Merle. I was so proud. I have for those going into the sites in the region—Dos Pilas,
since met this Merle and had a silver bracelet made for Aguateca, Tamarindito, and Seibal.

16