MAYA HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING

Workbook for a Short Course on Maya Hieroglyphic Writing

Second Edition, 201 1

J. Kathryn Josserandt and Nicholas A. Hopkins

Jaguar Tours

Tallahassee, FL 32308-4025
3007 Windy Hill Lane

(850) 385-4344
JaguarTours@nettally.com
This material is based on work supported in part by Ihe National Science Foundation (NSF) under
grants BNS-8305806 and BNS-8520749, administered by Ihe Institute for Cultural Ecology of Ihe
Tropics (lCEr), and by Ihe National Endowment for Ihe Humanities (NEH), grants RT-20643-86
and RT-21090-89. Any findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication
do not necessarily reflect Ihe views of NSF, NEH, or ICEr.

Workbook © Jaguar Tours 2011

 CONTENTS

Contents
Credits and Sources for Figures iv
Introduction and Acknowledgements v
Bibliography vi
Figure 1-1. Mesoamerican Languages x
Figure 1-2.The Maya Area xi
Figure 1-3. Chronology Chart for tbe Maya Area xii

PART 1: The Classic Maya and Maya Hieroglypbic Writing

Figure 14. A FamilyTree of Mayan Languages 2

Mayan Languages 3
Chronology 3
Maya and Earlier Writing 4
Context and Content S
Tbe Writing System 5
Figure 1-5. Logographic Signs 6
Figure 1-6. Phonetic Signs 6
Figure 1-7. Landa's "Alphabet" 6
Figure 1-8. A Maya Syllabary 8
Figure 1-9. Reading Order witbin tbe Glyph Block 10
Figure 1-10. Reading Order of Glypb Blocks 10
HieroglyphicTexts II
Word Order II
Figure 1-11. Examples of Classic Syntax 12
Figure 1-12. Unmarked and Marked Word Order 12
Figure 1-13. Backgrounding and Foregrounding 12-B
Figure 1-14. Examples of Peak Events 12-C
Text Composition 13
Figure 1-15. Yaxchilán Untel 8 14
Figure 1-16.Toniná Monument 22 14
Figure 1-17. Genres of Speech in ChamulaTzotzil 16
Uterary Style 17
The Maya LiteraryTradition 17
Figure 1-18. Quiriguá Stela C, East Side 20
The Poetry of Classic Maya Inscriptions 21
Visual Composition of tbeTexts 21
Figure 1-19. Leiden Plaque 22
Figure 1-20. Yaxchilán Stela 12 22
Figure 1-21. Copán Stela J 23
Figure 1-22. PalenqueTablet of tbe Cross 24
Figure 1-23. Yaxchilán Untel 1 24
The Interplay ofText and Image 25
Figure 1-24. Tikal Stela 22 26
Figure 1-25. Dumbarton Oaks Relief Panel 1 27
Figure 1-26. Quiriguá Altar of Zoomorpg O 28
Figure 1-27. Piedras Negras Shell Plaques 28
On Interpreting Inscriptions 29
Figure 1-28. Yaxchilán Untel 10 30
Figure 1-29. Correlation between Maya and European Calendars 32
Part 11: Maya Numbers and the Calendar 33

Proto-Cholan and Modem Chol Number Names 33

Figure JI-!. Bar-Dot Numbers 34
Bar-Dot Numbers 35
Figure JI-2. Bar-Dot Numbers and Head Variants 36
Fancy Ways to Write Numbers 37
Figure 1I-3. Head and FuJl-Figure Variants 38
The Calendar and the Maya "Fascination withTime" 39
The Long Count 39
TheTime Periods 39
Figure I1-4. Initial Series Glyphs (ISIG andTime Periods) 40
The lnitial Series 41
Modem Notation for Long Counts 41
Figure 1I-5. Period Endings 42
Period Endings 43
Calendar Round Dates 43
Figure JI--6. Month Names (tbe Haab� 44
The Haab' or Solar Year 45
Figure I1-7. Day Names (the Tzolk'in) 46
The Tzolk'in or Sacred Almanac 47
Day Numbers 47
The "Luck of the Day" 47
Figure 1I-8. Calendar Round Dates for the First Days of this Creation 48
Day Names as Personal Names 49
The Combination of Haab' andTzolk'in 49
Tying Calendar Round Dates to AbsoluteTime 49
Fixing Dates to the Long Count 50
The Supplementary Series 50
Figure 1I-9. Lords of the Night 51

Lords of the Night (Glyphs G and F)

Figure 1I-10. Lunar Series Glyphs 52
53
The Lunar Series (Glyphs A-E and X) 53
Figure 11-11. 819-Day Count Expressions from Palenque 54
The 819-Day Count 55
Figure 11-12. Distance Numbers 56
Distance Numbers 57
Figure 11-13. Word Order in Sentences 58
Word Order 59
Figure 11-14. The Event Verb ut 'to come to pass' 60
Events and the Event üne 61
Background and Foreground 61
Figure 11-15. Examples of the Use of the Verb uf and the Conjunction i 62
Episodes and Peak Events 63
The Zone ofTurbuJence Surrounding the Peak 63
Figure 11-16. Zones ofTurbuJence Surrounding the Peak 64
Divisions of theText 65
Figure 1I-17. Tikal Stela 3 1 66
Figure 11-18. Palenque, PalaceTablet 67
Figure 11-19. Piedras Negras Stela 36 68
The Grarnmar and Lexicon of the Classic Inscriptions 69
The Counting Board 70
Figure JI-20. A Maya Counting Board 71
part 111: Hieroglyphic Grammar and Lexicon 73

A Brief Outline of Grammar 73

Verbs 73
Figure III-l. The Pronoun u- and Sorne of its Variants 74
Figure III-2. Aspect Markers on Three Verb Classes 74
Subject and Object Markers 75
The Pronoun u-: He, She, Jt and More! 75
Aspect Markers 75
Figure III-3. "Birth" Glyphs 76
Figure 1I1-4. "Accession" Glyphs 76
Figure 1I1-5. "Scanering" Glyphs 77
Figure 1I1-6. "Conjuring" Glyphs 77
Figure 1 I1-7. "Warfare" Glyphs 78
Figure III-S. "Capture" Glyphs 78
Sorne Cornmon Verbs 79
Figure III-9. "Death" and "Burial" Glyphs 80
Other Verbs 81
Non-verbal Predicates 81
Figure III-IO. "Lord" and "Lady" Glyphs 82
Figure III- I I. Deity Narnes 82
Nouns 83
Figure III- 12. Emblem glyphs 84
Figure 1I1-13. Relationship Tenns 84
Relationship Glyphs 85
Figure III- 14. Terms for Directions 86
Adjectives 87
Directions 87
An Aside: A Bit of Epigraphic History 88
Color Tenns 88
Figure IlI- 15. Color Tenns 89

Figure IV-1. Piedras Negras Stela 36 90

Part IV: Ho", to Approach a Hieroglyphic Inscription 91

The Color Conventions 91

The Algorithrn 91
A Sample Jnscription 93
Figure IV -2. Piedras Negras Stela 3 3 95
Figure IV-3. Layout, Piedras Negras Stela 36. %
 CREDITS

Fig. 1-1. Mesoamerican Languages. Kathryn Josserand and Nicholas A. Hopkins, 2005 .
Fig. 1-2. The Maya Area. Detail from Fig. 1- 1 .
Fig. 1-3. Chronology Chart for!he Maya Area. C oe 2005:10.

Fig. 1-4. A Family Tree of Mayan Languages.

Fig. 1-5 and 6. Logographic and Phonetic Signs. Drawings from John Montgomery 2002.
Fig. 1-7. Landa's "Alphabet" Tozzer 1941: 170.

Fig. 1-8. A Maya Syllabary. Montgomery 2002:132- 133.

Fig. 1-9. Reading Order within tbe Glyph Block. Drawings from Linda Schele* and Karen Bassie.

Fig. I-IO. Reading Order of Glyph Blocks. YAX St 12, drawing by Linda Schele.

Fig. 1-1 1 . Examples of Classic Syntax. (a) PNG Alt 2 (John Montgomery), (b, e) PAL Tablet of
the 96 Glyphs (Schele).

Fig. 1-12. Unmarked and Marked Word Order. PAL Tablet of tbe Cross, Tablet of tbe Slaves
(Schele).

Fig. I - l 3. Backgrounding and Foregrounding. PAL Tablet of the Cross (Schele)

Fig. 1-14. Examples of Peak Events. PAL Sarcophagus, drawing by Merle Greene Robertson.
Fig. 1-15. YAX L 8, drawing by 1an Graham (Graham and von Euw 1"..,7:27).

Fig. 1-16. TNA M. 22, drawing by Linda Schele.

Fig. 1-17. Geores of Speech in Chamula Tzotzil, from Gossen 1"..,4:5Q..5 1.
Fig. 1-18. Quirigua St C, drawing by Annie Hunter (Maudslay 1889-1902).
Fig. 1-19. Leiden Plaque. Unknown artist.
Fig. 1-20. YAX St 1 2 drawing by Linda Schele.

Fig. 1-2 1 . CPN St J, drawing by Linda Schele. Mat layout by Katbryn Josserand.

Fig. 1-22. PAL TC caption, drawing by Linda Schele.

Fig. 1-23. YAX L 1, drawing by lan Graham (Graham and von Euw 1""'7:13).
Fig. 1-24. TIK St 22, drawing by William Coe (Jones and Satterthwaite 1982:Fig. 33).
Fig. 1-25. Collage constructed from Coe and Benson 1966, layout by Nicholas A. Hopkins.

Fig. 1-26. QRG Altar of Zoomorph O, detail of drawing by William Coe (Sharer, Shortman and
Urban 1983:insert).

Fig. 1-27. PNG Shell Plaques, drawing by Tatiana Proskouriakoff (Coe 1959)

Fig. 1-28. YAX L. !O, drawing by lan Graham (Graham anbd von Euw 1977:31).
Fig. 1-29. Long Count- Christian Correlations, adapted from Morley 1946.

'Schele drawings in possession of the authors andlor at FAMSl.org.

 INTROOUCTION ANO ACKNOWLEOGEMENTS
After a cou pl e o f years worki ng with L inda Schele i n the fi rs t workshops o n Maya
hi eroglyphic wr iti ng at tb e U niversity o f T ex as at Austi n in tbe 1970s, K athryn Josser an d and 1
took on the job of carryi ng the wo rks ho ps to tb e mass es and went o n the ro ad, l eading week end

an d St Pau l to Miami. T he goal of tb es e intr odu cto ry wo rks ho ps was to introduce beg inners to tbe
wo rks ho ps at mus eu ms, u niversi ties, and pri vate study grou ps fro m Los A ng el es to New York C ity

ess enti als of Maya wr iti ng and encour ag e tbem to go on to tbe T ex as worksho ps and "get their
noses pi erced," the metapho r we took fro m the Mix tec Co dex Nu ttal l fo r i ni tiatio n i nto the
co mmu nity of g lyphers . F ro m 1987 to 2006, tbe year of K athr yn's u nti mely deatb i n P alenque, we
taught mor e tb an s event y wo rk s ho ps at sorne t hirty diff erent. venu es asfar soutb as C hiapas and
Gu atemala. Early on we develo pe d our own style of teachi ng hier og lyphic wr iti ng and a wo rkbook
fo r use i n ou r wo rkshops. T his wo rk book went witbout major changes fo r twenty years; a pag e o r
so would be added pe riodically as new ideas wer e developed.

T his wo rk book co nstitu tes a s eco nd editio n of ou r bas ic i ntrodu ction to Maya wr iting. I t
pres er ves mos t of tb e materi al fro m tbe first wo rkbook , bu t adds mo re material, g eneral ly drawn
fro m our 1991 g rant report to Natio na1 Endo wment of Hu manities (Handbook ofClassic Maya
/nscriplions, Parl/: The Weslern Lowlands. Final P erfor mance Repor t, NEH G rant RT-21090-
8 9 ). T he additions go beyo nd tb e bas ics and intr oduce tb e user to ou r wo rk o n Maya ins criptio ns
as li ter atu re, a to pic we frequent ly 1 ectu red abou t i n co nju nction witb our worksho ps. Our analys is
of tbe texts as literature co mes fro m t wo sou rces: an i ntern al anal ysis of tb e texts tb ems el ves, an d an
i nti mate acqu aint an ce wi tb mo dern Maya stor yt ell ers, part icul ar ly in tb e C ho l ar ea. W e started fi eld
wo rk on C ho l i n 1978, and wit hin a few years had begu n to appreciate s imilarities in C lassic and
mod ern narr ati ves tbat refl ected a very co ns ervative tra ditio n of literatur e, oral and written. B ringing
tog etber tbos e two er as of Maya li teratu re has been our majo r co ntr ibu tio n to co ntempo rar y Maya
studies.

part 1: The C iassic Maya and Maya Hieroglyphic Writing introdu ces tbe Maya and

narr ati ve texts and modern Maya narr atives and for mal s peech. Part 11: An Introduction to
the pr incipies of Classic Maya writing and goes o n to point out tb e similariti es bet wee n tbe C lassic

Classic Maya Inscriptions co nt ains mos t of what tb e origi nal editio n of the wo rk book inclu ded,

co mments o n dis cou rs e featu res. part 111: Hieroglyphic Grammar and Lexicon pres ents o u r
begi nning witb nu mbers, going o n to a det ai led dis cussion of tb e calendar, and ending witb sorne

an d adj ecti ves. Part IV: How to Approach a Hieroglyphic Inscription is a step-by-s tep guide
version of Cl assic Maya g rammar and tb en lists co mmo n ex amples of hi eroglyphi c verbs, nou ns,

to our metb odo logy of mo ving fro m tb e easy to tb e difficult in fi rs t look ing at an inscri ptio n, witb a
sample tex t 10 illustr at e tbe technique (g et you r co lo red pe ncils ready!) .

I n ass embling ou r workbooks, we have reli ed g reatl y o n tb e wo rk of other col leagu es.
T hank Go d fo r the peo ple who produce the drawings o f hierog lyphi c mo nu ments! Ou r wo rk
beg ins when a goo d drawing is produ ced. I n fact, ou r wo rk usual ly has begu n after no t only tbe
dra wing is produ ced, bu t a bas ic l evel o f anal ys is has been prepared by an epig rapher, resolving
pro bl ems and sk etching out the co ntents of an i ns cri ptio n. Fo r this prel im inary tr eatment, we owe
debts of g ratitude to many peo ple, and tb e credits fo r thei r wo rk used here are fou nd separ atel y,
belo w.

Nichol as A. Ho pki ns
Jaguar Tours

T al lahassee, FL 32308-4025
3007 WI ndy Hill L ane

(850) 385-4344, fax 385-5252

JaguarTours@ netta ll y.co m

Janu ar y, 2011
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Valentini, P. J. J.
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Winters, Diane
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of Oklahoma Press.
 Figure 1-1. Mesoarnerican Languages

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o

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 FigLUe 1-2. The Maya Area

o Mérida

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MAYA

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ITZAJ

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....
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LENKA
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_ � ........,

l
Q'ANJOB'AL! ACHI POQOMCHI''''
JAKALTEKO/ AWAKATECO POQOMAM
l
(
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........, MOCHO'."
K'ICHE' /
/. ..� KAQCHIKEl
. : TZ'UTUJIL .·0

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E NAWA
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\ San Salvador
CHIKOMUSELTEKO
Guatemala
 Figure 1-3. Chronological Table (Cae 2005: lO)

SOUTHF.R:-; ARF.A
1)ATES Pr:RlO1)S CE1'TRAI. �ORTlU':RN SIGNIFICANT
AREA ,\REA DEVf.LOPMf.NTS
Glibnh:d Pilcinc Ú)'.a.st Hi�hl:mds

15.\0
Splll/ish COJUIUt¡¡
:h.lec �lixco Vicjo Indc¡xndcnt
Late
sllltcs
Post...
Xoconocho Hj[f.hl,w4o'IY-SIII.10

Classic T;¡y;w!
\Iayapan ÚUKU� ofM"J'upun
1200 �......._._---_ .. __ • •_o•••••• _••••• _. ___ .. -. ......... - . . -.. - --_... _ ....-_.. ... , , ...... __._--....... . .
Tahil Ayampuk Taltee
Early
P lumbil.te Chichen Toltu hiJtMony in l-Ufulun
Post-
Classic

925 1/'¡(tc urril:( in YU(411111

Terminal Bay:M Puuk. Maya e/as,sl( ,Uu.)'tI ¡·ol/apse.
Couumillhwtpa QucnS:¡nto
Clusic Pulu,. asunJ(lncy
Tcpcu J
('''hichcn
I!OO .-,...... -. _----- ........._----.....__ .- ········____··n . . __ .--...--.. .. ... -... . .--...... -.. _ . .. � ..�. BUllampuk muruJs
Late Am..t le- Tcpeu 2
;:"1)' Cuba Htit"lolMllya ál'ili;:.aliotf
Classic I
P;unplona
600 " . .
' �" '.�' . .... . . ..� .. ...... . ........� ................ �.-- . .
............... ... ..... ...............
RúXtf IJfJlltl.lllrb Pdlll al
P"lmlplt

Early
) Regional rrolinruuan inur/ámu "",1
�pcr.tnza Tuk'ol 2 slyles., m./lluna
Classic Tiquisalc
I AC1nceh

250 Fim /o1Pland Mil)''' JIII",I

t
Aurora SUID al Tiral
M.!tz¡tnel
,\1) Late
Lit.
BC S,oInlaQ:u-a I-Iolmull .H'IISÚVt' pyramid·bul/JinX Itf
Predassic Pn:d:lSSic
Il:Ipanstyks low/(uuls
Crucero Chikand
)00 ........... ...... ...... ... ....... .-..... ..�)jr?!l�!�....... .. . ......_�. ... _.._. .............._......
Sprt'tld oflZ4lJHm át;i/j;w/úm•
talt'llJar. lPrilinX
L.ts Charcas M:unom
Middl. :\liddlc
Predassic
Preclass ic
('oOnchas
J::llrlím IOIPlanJ ,Hay"
l'il/af,rs
Arcv¡¡Jo Xc. Swascy
.. .
¡ocotal
1000 .
... .... . . .. .. ... ..... ............... -_..................
...� ... _.........._. _ ....._..._...._.....

J::aT�y OJmu mjfut'n(r on

Cuadros PaájhColIst

Early C hcrla Brf,"lIImxs o[SO(l"'

Preclassic Oc.. llrufíjjealio,.

Locona
OTi�¡'1J O/T;IJIt�&( 'ift. pot/rry.
Ban. jigurint's
1800

Archaic Cluntu(o IkHzc

Archolic
HUIIIIJ'lJ.jisninx. Xllz}urinx

)000
.............. _ .......

Chronological Table
 1

PART 1:
THE CLASSIC MAYA AND MAYA HIEROGLYPHIC WRITING

The Maya are Native Americans who have occupied parts of what is now southem Mexico
and Central America for thousands of years (Fig. 1-1 ). During the Classic period, roughly the first
millennium of the Christian era, one of the world's most advanced civilizations flourished in this

advanced mathernatics, extensive knowledge of astronorny, the world's most accurate calendar, and a
area, and it was the Maya who were the bearers of this great tradition. The Classic Maya had

writing system which they used to record the major events of their history.

After about AD 1000, Maya civilization went into a decline, and Ihe high culture maintained
by the royal courts disappeared over much of the area. By the time Europeans arrived in the
sixteenth century AD, Maya high culture survived on1y in northem Yucatan, where the first
missionaries were able to record basic information on the calendar, the writing system, and other
aspects of Maya culture and society. But the Europeans then crushed resistance to foreign rule,
bumed the books of knowledge, and destroyed what remained of native high culture. The Maya
rulers were replaced or merged with the Colonial Spanish govemors, and the rest of the Maya were
reduced to the status of subjugated peasantry.

Today, there are several million speakers of Mayan languages living in the Maya area:
perhaps a million speakers of Yucatec Maya in Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo (Mexico);
another million speaking various languages in the foothills around the base of the Yucatan
peninsula, in Chiapas (Mexico) and northem Guatemala, and over a million speakers of other
Mayan languages in highland Guatemala. For the most part, until recent times, these Maya were
subsistence farmers practicing a simple life style far removed from the glory of their ancestors'
courts. But many aspects of Oassic culture have survived the centuries, and the Maya in various
regions still use the ancient calendar, calcu1ate by the same mathematics, and tell stories with
rnythological and historical content using the rhetorical devices of Classic literature.

A combination of archaeology, epigraphy (studying the monuments left by the Classic

Maya), and ethnohistory (information in the documents preserved from the sixteenth century and
later Colonial period), and the knowledge and lore of the modem Maya has made it possible for us
to reconstruct much of Classic culture. One of the most exciting recent developments has been the
near total decipherment of the Classic Maya writing system, so that we can now read the Maya's
own records of the alfairs of their rulers over a span of close to a thousand years.

Building on 150 years of slow, careful scholarship and suddenly booming, much of this
decipherment has taken place in the last thirty years. Things are now moving so fast Ihat knowledge
is well ahead of Ihe textbooks; there are few places to read about what is currently known. Much of
the cornmunication between scholars, and most of the cornmunication of scholars with the genera!
public, has taken place in workshops.

The term "Maya area" usually refers to all Ihe area where Mayan languages are spoken now
or are known to have been spoken in the past This covers the eastem parts of Ihe Mexican states of
Chiapas and Tabasco, all of the states of Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo; Belize; all of
Guatemala except the Pacific coastal plain; and the westernmost parts of El Salvador and Honduras
(Fig. 1-2).

Within this area there are severa! geographical regions. The most basic division is between
Lowlands (to the north) and Highlands (to the south). This Lowland division corresponds roughly
2

Figure 1-4. A Farnily Tree of Mayan Languages

PROTO·MAYAN

Huastecan (Gulf Coasl)

2000 BC
2000 BC
Yucatecan (Yucalan Peninsula)
Weslem Mayan Eastcm Mayan
(Lowlandsl (Highlands)
1500BC 1500 BC

1000 BC
Grealer 1000 BC
Cholan·TzOlzilan

500BC
500BC
Mam· Aguucatec­
Tectiteco Ixil

BCfAD BCfAD
Cholan
Quiche::m

500AD
500AD

W E

TIe Tzo
1000 AD 1000 AD
U p

1500 AD
1500AD

/ / /
/"
HUA YUC CHL TZO CH] KAN MOCH MAM IXL

'QUIChe\ � �
QUI USP POQ KEK

Huaslec Yucule<: Mayll / T leltal Kanjobal

I I I
�
i\
ChOI Chuj Mocho Mam 1 i1 ' om Kekch,
T�zil Tojolabal Acatec Aguacal�c
Chicomuceltec LacamJon Choolal Muchu Tecli¡cc Cakchl QUe Poqonchl
Mopan Choni Jacallcc Tl.ulujiJ Uspanltt
Ilzu
 3

to the area of high culture, where hieroglyphic inscriptions are found, except that the adjacent
highland foothills are also included in this Maya Classic area - parts of the Highlands of Chiapas,
the Guatemalan Cuchumatanes, the Maya Mountains of Belize, and the western highlands of
Honduras are included in the Classic Maya area along with the adjacent Lowlands of the Yucatan
Peninsula.

Mayan Languages

There are over fífty distinct languages in the Mayan family of languages, all ultimately
descended from a single language (proto-Mayan) spoken sorne 4000 years ago, in the Archaic
period of New World prehistory. As speakers of this language spread out over the area their
descendants now occupy, they lost contact with one another and different regional languages
emerged, similar to one another because of their common heritage, but no longer mutually
intelligible. Linguists group these languages into four major groups: Huastecan, Yucatecan,
Westem and Eastem Mayan (Fig. 1-4). Of these groups, Yucatecan and Cholan (part of Westem
Mayan) were the main languages of the Classic region. Speakers of other languages were surely
involved in peripheral areas, and there is considerable evidence of bilingualism and interaction
between languages.

Cholan predominated in the southern Lowlands, where the Preclassic and Early Classic
cultures flourished. Yucatecan was the language of the northem Lowlands, more important in the
Late Classic and Postclassic--and the area where Europeans fírst recorded Maya culture.
Epigraphers use both Cholan and Yucatecan languages in their research, but recognize that sorne
variety of Cholan is normally the language of the southem monuments, although the influence of
Yucatecan is seen in the language of the late northem sites and the Postclassic Cadices (the four
books which survived the 16th century bookburning: the Dresden Codex, Paris Codex, Madrid
Cadex, and the Grolier Cadex, named after the collections which house them).

ChroDology

The development of cultures in southem Mesoamerica defines a series of periads whose

names reflect what is going on in the Mayan area and adjacent areas at the time (Fig. 1-3). The early
time periad, before the development of the Olmec civilization, is referred to as the Archaic (up to
about 2000 BC). The periad of Olmec cultural predominance, 2000 BC to about AD 150, is called
the Preclassic of Forrnative, since it foreshadows later developments. The periad of transition, when
the Maya began to display the traits of social stratification and divine rulership, begiDS in the Late
Preclassic and runs through the Protoclassic (approximately AD 150-3(0).

The Classic periad is arbitrarily taken to begin with the appearance of the first monuments
known to be recorded in a peculiarly Mayan way, around AD 300 (e.g., Tikal Stela 29, AD 292).
From this point through the Classic, monuments were dated with what is called the lnitial Series, a
standard set of data which fixes the recorded event in time, and gives us an absolute chronology of
Maya history. The lnitial Series is based on a system used by the Olmecs, but the data are recorded
in a new way, and this pattern becomes standardized throughout the Mayan area. The Classic periad
ends with the last known monuments with dates recorded in that fashion, around AD 900- 1000.
Later dates use the sarne calendar, but do not give the full set of information and allow for a degree
of speculation about just when the events took place.

(AD 600-900), basically the periods before and after the fall of Teotihuacan in Central Mexico,
The Classic perlad is traditionally divided into Early Classic (AD 300-6(0) and Late Classic

which had repercussions all the way into the Mayan area. Many scholars now divide the Classic
4

into much finer subdivisions, distinguishing Early, Middle, Late and Terminal Classic periods, as
well as the sub-divisions of the Post Classic period necessary to account for the later cultural
developments in lhe northem Yucatan arca

Another way of dating events i n the Mayan area is to use the dates used by the Maya
tbemselves. This approach sidesteps lhe problems involved in correlating lhe Mayan calendar with
the European one, but has the disadvantage of being absolutely meaningless to aDyone DOt
cognizant of Maya dates. On tbe other hand, when you are working with a monument which
records all the events in the Mayan calendar, it is bothersome to have to keep cODverting them to

chronology chart is an easy guide to tbe conversion between the two chronological systems (see tbe
European equivalents, so sooner or later you give up and begin to work in Mayan time. A

chart iD Fig. 29, below).

Maya and Earlier Writing

The writing system used by tbe Classic Maya grew out of earlier writing developed by tbeir
neighbors to tbe West, tbe Olmec, who spoke languages of tbe Mixe-Zoquean family (unrelated to
Mayan). The earliest evidence of high culture in Mesoamerica is found in the Olmec or Mixe­
Zoque area. At one time or anotber, from tbe second through tbe first millennium BC, the Olmec
and related cultures covered a large expanse of territory. Altbough tbe Olmec heartland is tbought
of as tbe Gulf Coast lowlands of Veracruz and Tabasco, tbeir presence can be detected as far north
as tbe Valley of Mexico, in the Balsas River drainage of Guerrero, and in tbe Highlands of Oaxaca.
To tbe soutb, Olmec and related cultures are found across tbe Isthmus of Tehuantepec to tbe Pacific
Coas!, up into the Chiapas highlands, and along tbe Chiapas and Guatemalan Pacific coast to El
Salvador. Long before tbe Maya, tbe Olmec recorded dates witb tbe calendar and time-counting
system which the Maya would later use (seen on Chiapa de Corzo, Stela 2, dated 36 BC, and on
Tres Zapotes, Stela C, dated 31 BC). A newly-discovered monument (La Mojarra, Stela 1; AD 156)
shows tbat tbey also recorded royal affairs in a well-developed hieroglyphic scrip!, but few long
inscriptions have been found; most examples are fragmentary andlor very brief (Meluzin 1987;
Winfield 1988). John Justeson suggests tbat Maya writing derives from the Greater Izapan script, a
variant of tbe southeastem Mesoamerican writing tradition associated witb Mixean languages. The
soutbem Veracruz, Tabasco and Chiapa de Corzo variant was associated with the Zoquean
languages, and botb variants contrast with tbe Oaxacan logographic script tradition, tbe forerunner
of central Mexican writing (Justeson 1989:28).

The Iinguistic evidence - especially borrowed words - indicates tbat Mayans had contact
with speakers of Mixe-ZoqueaD during an early period iD tbeir history. The words tbe Maya
borrowed from Mixe-Zoque indicate that the Olmecs were culturally and socially superior to the
early Maya (Campbell and Kaufman 1976); Mayas also borrowed tbe trappings of royalty and
much of the iconography associated with rulers from tbe Olmec. In the first century BC, after
centuries of contact, Mayas began to emulate tbe social organization of the Mixe-Zoque. The new
Maya kings dressed in ceremonial c10thing adomed with the symbols of Olmec rulership and
religion, carried out ceremorues similar to tbose depicted on earlier monuments, recorded their acts
in a script derived from Mixe-Zoquean writiDg, dated lhem according to tbe system used earlier by
tbe Olmecs, and even called royal children unen, a Mixe-Zoquean word for 'child' (Hopkins 1991).

But whiJe they were not tbe inventors of these cultural institutions, the Maya promptJy put
their own stamp on them, and Maya Classic culture is not just a continuation of what had gone
before. The traDsfer of writing from one language group to anotber seems to have resulted in
fundamental changes, so tbat Maya writing probably developed beyond tbe point reached by Olmec
antecedents, and in any case lhe Iiterary production of the Olmec is dwarfed by the di verse quality
 5

and sheer quantity of texts left by the Maya. Because of its origins i n a foreign language, the
elements of Maya writing are not always understandable from Mayan data; the names of many of
the calendric signs and the phonetic values of many of the basic glyphs have no meaning in Mayan
languages that is related to the objects depicted.

Context and Content

The Maya wrote in almost every conceivable medium. Most of what we have from the
C1assic is on the best preserved materials, stone and ceramics. But we also have inscriptions carved
in bone and wood, modeled in stucco, painted on walls, scratched on rocks, and wrinen on papero In
fact, much early writing and much routine, non-ceremonial, writing must have been on perishable
materials, and we have only a small sample of the whole from which to make our educated guesses.

To appreciate the bias that the loss of writing on perishable material gives us, imagine that
the archaeologists of the future have no writing from our culture except that recorded on stone,
paper having been bumed and plastic melted in the holocausto and metal having rusted away. They
would have little to go on but monumental architecture: comerstimes and carvings over doorways.
They would be limited to reading about who was govemor, mayor and on the city council when
public buildings were inaugurated, and would be treated to any number of grand slogans and
famous quotations, but would have no direct descriptions of what was going on. In a way, this is
similar to what we have from the Maya. What is recorded on the Classic monuments are the affairs
of royalty, including ceremonies which obviously had great meaning for the population at the time.
A number of monuments are in fact just like our comerstones, and were carved to record the
dedication of a building by a ruler. Many monuments were erected on the occasion of the end of a
time period (usually a 20-year cycle called a k'atun), and say simply that So-and-So was king .
when the katun ended, and did the ceremonies that kings were expected to do on those occasions.
Other monuments memorialize the accession of a king to power, or celebrate the anniversary of his
accession; still others record the capture of important personages in battle.

We are fortunate that the Maya, in recording these events, often took the opportunity to go
beyond the simple statement of the deed, and gave us important infonnation about the actors: their
birth dates, the dates of their accession to power and other events in their lives; their parentage, their
royal titles, and the deities and mythological beings they are emulating in their royal acts.

Since a prorninent ruler may be the protagonist of any number of monuments during his or
her life, and be mentioned in later monuments by descendants or successors, a considerable amount
of data may be accumulated over a series of inscriptions, and our knowledge of many rulers is as
ample as what we know about many of OUT own historical figures. Whether this infonnation is
accurate, or whether we are innocent victims of a misleading propaganda campaign, is of course no
more certain with data from Maya monuments than it is with any other kind of historical so urce.
However, we are told very little about anyone but rulers and their immediate families, their subordi­
nates, and their captives. What i s being recorded is not Maya history, it is the history of the Maya
elite, and we have no direct infonnation from the wrinen record about the rest of society.

The Writing System

Classic Maya writing makes use of a range of types of signs, sorne more related to
phonological units, the others more related to conceptual units. These may be called phonetic and
logographic signs, respectively. The same word may be wrinen in the same text in a variety of
ways, making use of the possibilities offered by these two types of signs as well as by graphic
variants and stylistic variations in the visual representation of the individual signs. The Classic
6

F igu re 1-5. Logographic Signs

ftI)
I
�
SIY-ya-j(a)
'

CHUM-wa-ni
(2
•

/ �
. I ! ! !

CHOK ch'ah TZAK

siyaj chumwan' chok ch'ah tzak

sjy-aj-� ehum-wan--� ehok-� eh 'ah tzak-(i

was boro was seated threw incense conjured

Figu re 1-6. Pho netic Signs

170 LANDA'S RELACION DE L¡\S COSAS DE YUCATAN

wishto. Forexample ®� atfajes of rhis peopll!. Mainkati me:lOs 1<1 do noc

wi:ih"j [hey wrice ir in p:ms in this way:

• l • lé

Theo they 3dd:1t rhe end, the p:1Ct which is joined.

Ha means Wllter, and, because [he sound of Ihe
Icltee H has a h. in from of it) [hey write ir ae Befe foUows {heíe a b c:'�

B e T E H

CA K L L M N o o

A�
p

(he bcginning with /1 and at the cnd in this way. Thi, langu:lge is wid'lout [he lenees which are

�]
noc given hece, and ir has others, which ir has
added from auts ro represent ocht=r chings of
which ir has need; bu( already they do not use ac
They ,lso wrote itinpam,bur alt ¡hese characcers of theits, especially che young
peo��<: who nave le;1rncd ours.nt

a ha

in borh ways. 1 should noc place ir here noc should

1 treat it, except ro give a full account of the

Figu re 1-7. Landa's "Alphabet"

 7

Maya demonstrate an impressive ability to use word play, iconography, and other linguistic and
visual dimensions to create truly magnificent monuments as rich in their literary style as Classic
Maya art is in its iconographic displays.

A logographic sign, a "sign that represents a word" (G. Stuart 1988:7) is often simply a
picture of a major element of the act or object represented. The meaning of many of these signs has
been established by an examination of the scenes which accompany the text in which the glyph
appears. Examples of this kind of sign (Fig. 1-5) incJude a hand dribbling dots, representing the
"scattering" event (the giving of an offering, usually by dropping incense into a tire). A profile of a
seated torso represents the act of enthronement, i.e. , the "seating" of a lord. Almost any figure
bearing a certain kind of headband, the symbol of ruJership, signifies 10rd'.

Other signs appear to be logographic but their origins are obscure: a hand holding a fish
represents the vision experience which follows certain acts of bloodletting (Winters 1 99 1); the
uptumed head of an unidentified reptilian or amphibian creature cJearly represents birth. Still other
apparently logographic signs, including many of the calendar signs, have no discernible visual
referent. Their origins are perhaps lost in antiquity, being derived from earlier writing systems
based on other languages (e.g., Olmec writing, which represented a Mixe-Zoquean language; cf.
Campbell and Kaufman 1976).

Because it represents a particular word or meaning, a given logographic sign occurs in

compounds which have related meanings. However, different logographic signs are used to
represent various grarnmatical c1asses, including nouns, verbs, and attributives. The grarnmatical
function of a sign is ofien c1arified by accompanying morphological affixes, sets of phonetic signs
which spell out derivational or inflectional morphemes. Whether or not they are so marked, the
grammaticaJ function of logographic signs can usually be inferred from the syntactic context At the
present time, we believe that most glyphic affixation is inflectional rather than derivational (cf.
Schele 1 982, Bricker 1986, Hofling 1987), which means that what is usually represented by the
logographic sign is an inflectable stem: either a root which serves as a stem, or a stem formed from
a root with derivationaJ affixes.

Phonetic signs (Fig. 1-6) most often represent syllables, usually of the shape CV
(consonant plus vowel). Many of these signs were listed in a sixteenth century Maya "alphabet"
recorded by Diego de Landa, bishop of Yucatan (Fig. 1-7). Por many years Landa's "alphabet,"
included in a manuscript which was discovered in Europe in the nineteenth century (Tozzer 1941),
was considered by scholars to be at best useless and at worst a fabrication (Valentini 1 880), as its
relation to the signs in codices and monumental texts was unclear. It was not immediately obvious
how the values given by Landa made sense out of any part of the inscriptions.

Now that the values of many phonetic signs have been independently established, we can
reinterpret Landa's text and understand the phonetic values assigned to the glyphs he cites. It
appears that Landa elicited the set of signs by asking for the Spanish letters by their names: a, be,
ce, de, etc. He was given Maya syllable signs in response. Landa was thinking alphabeticaJly and he
expressed dismay at the "ponderousness" of the writing system and the seemingly iITational
behavior of his informants. Landa gives as an example (Tozzer 1 94 1 : 168) the spelling of the word
le 'rape', remarking that he "having made them understand that there are two letters, they wrote it
with three," adding at the end the whole word. The Maya text drawn into Landa's manuscript makes
it c1ear that the informant wrote just what he was asked for: " e-le-e, le," the names of the letters
which spell the word, and then the whole word. Landa must have said "Escíbame 'lazo', ele-e, le"
C'Write 'rope', L, E, le"), and was given just that sequence of syllable signs in response. Many of
Landa's signs have now been confirmed as phonetic signs (cf. D. Stuart 1987).
8

Figure 1-8, A Maya Syllabary

:::l em � �
��
= � m Q � � � (Xl;)
;:..;';
, "

:¡:
' c

�
'

o �
g� � Gi
'
,

® �

�
�
!@ ):8 t! �
.-

� � �
..
� §® � . �
;'¡':'
�
� �
Q) c(3 ��
� .. O
0
�� � ��
�
� (®� �
�
� fIlrlB C) �
�� @ § � �� 00Ql I!EB � G IMJIl!l!l
_.,

(--..J , - �
e a. /JI - N
-
N
- 3 >< >-

:::l

o O�
©� W
En I m 8 -;;
'-'

�
-"

.- r.��Tj � ] [)
@ ¡;..
� � � cm �
<
.o

'"

!lll
V>

Q) �
D
�

..:.
oC
§ � ¡¡;

�
t;EJ
�t¡;j
� � � � �
M� � � (2) � S [B
:o � .c::
() ()
.- ..lII:: -
..lII:: E
 9

In contrast to logographic signs, a given phonetic sign can occur in a variety of compounds
which have no common element of meaning, but which share common phonological elements.
Wbile Ihe syllabary that has been identified to date is not complete (not all consonant-vowel
combinatioos are represented) no major dimensions of contrast are missing from Ihe system
(Stuart 1987:46-47). The distinction between syllables having glottalized and non-glottalized
consonants, for instance, is clearly maintained in writing, although confusion in Colonial and
modem language sources, ignorance of Mayan phonology, and unresolved questions of
decipherment have led sorne scholars to argue Ihat this is not Ihe case (Jones 1984, Coggins 1988).
AIl vowels and all but Ihe rarest consonants (t', p ' ) have been identified in at least sorne syllabic
representations (Fig. 1-8). The inventory of Irnown signs grows constantly as scholarship advances.

Mayan words typically end in consonants rather Ihan vowels, and by conventioo a final
syllabic sign often represents C alone ralher Ihan CV, as first noted by Ihe Russian scholar Yuri
Knorosov ( 1 952, 1 956). There is a statistically notable preference for such final syllable signs to
have Ihe same vowel as Ihe stem, or to have a phonetically similar vowel. This reflects Ihe cornmon
Mayan allopbonic pattem in whicb final consonant pbonemes are followed by subphonemic
aspiration in Ihe form of an "echo syllable" composed of the (devoiced) coosonant and a voiceless
repeat of Ihe preceding vowel. Thus, Ihe name of Ihe Palenque ruler Pakal, sometimes represented
by the logographic sigo for 'shield', may be spelled with tbree syllable signs, pa-ka-la 'Shield'. In
accordance wilh Ihe conventions for writing words ending in a consonan!, Ihe last vowel, a synhar­
moníc repeat of Ihe preceding vowel, is to be ignored.

In the transcription of Maya words written bieroglyphically, G. Stuart ( 1 988) has set the

signs are transcribed in capital letters: P AKAL, 'Pakal (name), sbield'. Phonetic signs are
current standards by simplifying the scheme proposed by Fox and Justeson ( 1984a). Logographic

transcribed i n lower case: pa-ka-Ia. Final synharmonic vowels to be ignored, oc pbonetic

complements, are written between parenlheses: pa-ka-l(a), 'Pakal'; K'IN-(ni), 'SUD, day'.

CombinatioDS oC glypbs usually appear in "glypb blocks" (G. Stuart 1988:8) which are
roughly square. Tbese blocks often feature a larger, central, main sigo, wilh one or more smaller
affixes attached to tbe main signo Glypb blocks have also been called "glygers" (from "glyph
group," Kelley 1 976) or "collocations" (Bricker 1986). In earlier researcb, the affixes were also
called "prefixes," "superfixes," "subfixes," or "suffixes," according to Iheir position to Ihe left,
aboye, below, or to !he rigbt of lhe main sign (Fig. I-9). Jt is now generaIly accepted Ihat affixes
may freely altemate between tbe prefix and superfix positions, on the one hand, and between the
subfix and suffix positions on Ihe olher. Consequently tbe terro prefix is applied to any affix wbicb
is to Ihe left or aboye Ihe main sign, wbile SufrIX is applied to any affix which is below or to Ihe
rigbt of Ihe main signo Within a glyph block, Ihe reading order of elements is basically left to right,
top to bottom, with prefixes being read before tbe main sign, suffixes after it. A rule of tbumb

including many glypb blocks whicb have no clear main sign, but an educated reader has little
would be to read Ihe upper left-band comer first. There are many exceptions to this general rule,

trouble following Ihe order of affixes.

There is a close but not inevitable correspondence between Ihe graphic unit (a glyph block)
and Ihe syntactic unít (a word, i.e., a stem and its affixes). On the other hand, there is considerable
artistic play wilh !he representations of a gi ven word or phrase, even wilhin Ihe same text. A single
text may contain instances of a phrase written wilh various glyphs distributed across two or more
glyph blocks, along with instances of the same pbrase compressed into a single glyph block, or
appearing as part of a glyph block. These possibilities are often manipulated for effect: a name or
10

( S ':;-
prefixes �

( ; ;
P. ;: fi; " /-
· ') Figure I-9. Reading Order within the Glyph Block

, ,
\ - - -.==-:.-::;: -
... - - " .Il :1" - - ...

, "
\ /' '\,; 1
I \I

\�
1/ main s i gnll Postfi x
prefi x " " ,
1

-)(
, ',1 1I
\ , ', '
1\ I I

- - - /l ":-_SUhf
�-'''-
iX --,' - _...'
\ _/ \ I
\
) suffixes �
J suffix
,. - - - - - - - ."

�� mr � . @J
two glyphs in overlapping infixing conflation
sequence

[ 1 1 2 J tE E!J BJ f8
@ WJ � � illB �

Figure 1-10. Reading Order of Glyph Blocks

3

6
 11

event may occupy more space when first mentioned, then be compressed into smaller spaces in later
mentions. As with the reading order of affixes within glyph blocks, an educated reader can
disambiguate aH but the most creative selections and arrangements of gIyphic elements.

Hieroglyphic Texts

Glyph blocks are arrayed to forro texts. Short texts may consist of one or more glyph
blocks, arranged in a single horizontal or vertical line, read from left to right or top to bottom. They
may al so be arranged in a line which bends from horizontal to vertical around an image, or
otherwise accornmodates lhe text to the art or architecture it accompanies. In long texts the most
common arrangement of glyph blocks is i n the form of a grid-like rectangle, within which the
blocks are read in double columns, beginning at the top left comer of the tex!. Reading proceeds
from the top left glyph block to the block at its right, then down to the next line to read left to right
again (Fig. 1- 1 0). By convention of modem scholars, vertical colurnns of glyphs are given letters,
left to right, and horizontal rows are numbered with arabic nurnerals from top to bottom. Thus in a
normal long inscription lhe first glyph read is A l , the next Bl, lhen A2, B2; A3, B3; A4, B4, etc.

Word Order

It has long been known that Maya hieroglyphic texts consisted of sets of sentences and that
these sentences displayed the general characteristics of Mayan syntax (Proskouriakoff 1960,
Knorozov 1965: 159-176). The order of elements in a meaningful segment of hieroglyphic text is
directly comparable to the order of words in a sentence, and changes in word order are among the
most cornrnon indicators of informational importance. Normal, expected word order ("unmarked"
order) does not stress any one part of the sentence over any olher part. Unexpected, or "marked"
word order focuses attention on a particular element within the sentence, and thus indicates its
increased importance in lhe development of the narrative.

New information is often presented in marked constructions; old information is down­

played and may even be omitted from a sentence in order to highlight what remains. Important new
information may be repeated several times, or elaborated on by adding extra bits of new inforrnation
in each restatement

In the hieroglyphic inscriptions, normal (expected, unmarked) word order is the same as
most Mayan languages, and is characterized as "verb initial." This refers to the order of words in a
simple Transitive sentence with only three elements - actor (subject), action (verb), and recipient of
the action (object), Ibat is, Subject, Verb, and Object, or, more technically, Agent, Verb, and Patient
In English, the normal order of these elements is SVO, Subject Verb Object ("the boy hit lhe ball ").
For Mayan languages and for lhe hieroglyphic texts, the order of these elements is Verb Object
Subject, or VOS. Any olher order is considered to be "marked."

The mies of Maya grammar require tbat the Subject be marked by a pronoun attached to lhe
verb; for Transitive verbs, this pronoun is prefixed, so it might appear lhat the Subject is now first,
but this is not a change in order, since an independent Subject can still occur (optionaHy), in the
normal, sentence-final position. The third-person verbal pronoun is one of the most common
elements in any Maya language, as it serves two very important functions: besides being a verbal
subject for Transitive verbs, it is a1so the Possessive Pronoun which precedes possessed nouns. Not
surprisingly, the third-person verbal pronoun u (modem Chol i) 'he/she' was one of the earliest
grammatical elements to be deciphered i n Maya hieroglyphs (Glyph number 1 , or T I , in Eric
Thompson's 1962 catalog of Maya glyphs).
12 Figure 1- 1 1 . Examples of Classic SyntaX

VTR: u-CH'AM yax-tun RULERl Ch'uh YOCHIB Ajaw

He-� Chis] first stela Ruler 1 , Holy Lord of Piedras Negras.

VIN: j lIii 7 MANIK CHUM PAX

And then, it carnetobe 7 Manik Seating of Pax.

VPO: CHUM-Iaj ta Ahawle K'inich Ajkal Mo' Nab'.

� as Lineage Lord [was] K'inich Ajkal Mo' Nab',

Figure 1-12. Unmarked and Marked Word Order

· '�
(f§, file
�
O)
. ...

•. ' "
. '
. . · .�.

.
., l'
T .,. ':
O
"
•

. ..
,:-

j CH'AM-hun tu b'ah MAT [ta)91KQSAK

Normal Word Order. The Temporal Pbrase falls at tbe end of tiJe sentence.

8IX7YAX CH'AM-jun tu b'ah CHAK ZOTZ' b'a ajaw.

Marked Word Order: The Temporal Phrase is fronted to tiJe begining.
 Figure 1-13, Backgrounding and Foregrounding

�
� ¡/�1\�1lEII!J m���. : � '
. � o :." ', ' .A"

[tz'akaj] 17 k'in, 7 winaI, 16 tun, 1 k'atun, SIY-aj-hi-l1íll [ta] 5 AHAU 3 ZEC,

lit had beenJ 17 days, 7 months, 16 years and 1 k'atun � [he] was bom on 5 Ahau 3 Zec,

.
�, �'�
.

.'1. ...
1"(:
'

.J
. ..
.•..� .
�.
.

,.-
.....
--
.

'-
¡:;[j '
� '- .
o"
.. � ..
(} ;.?,
.�
.

i u-CH'AM hun tu b'ah [ta] 5 Caban O Zotz'.

and then he took to himself the headband on 5 Caban Seating of Zotz',
12- C

Figure 1- 1 4. Examples of Peak Events

u-noo\K'anMo' H¡X,u-buntanIxSak K'uk', [tal 8 AHAU 13 POP SIY-aj,

Fronting: The Parenta�eStalemeot is fronled 10 tbe beginning of tbe senlence.

4 CHICCHAN 1 AHAl]8KAYAB u-CHl]M-tunSakK'uk' 13 YAX neb'j Sak K'uk'

Senlence Insertion: The Period Endjn¡¡ is i nserted in tbe Dealh Statement.
 13

Sentences with Intransitive verbs or Positional verbs have only two elements, the Verb and
its Subject There is also an Existential verb in Chol and olher Mayan languages, which may occur
in the hieroglyphic texts; it is followed by a single noun phrase, its Subject. Other kinds of
sentences can be formed wilh two elements, oeilher of which is a Verb, properly speaking. In lhese
cases one of the elements acts as a Predicate, the equivalent of a Verb, and lhe other acts as its
Subject. Al! of lhese senteoce types are Verb-ioitial in Chol and most olher Mayan languages, and
normal order for simple sentences in lhe hieroglyphic ioscriptioos seems to be Verb-initial as well.

If other elements are added, beyond lhe verb, its object and its subject, lhen lhe word order is
likely to change. The new elements may occur first, as is usually lhe case with Temporal Adverbs,
or sorne of lhe previous elements may be dropped. Tbis seems to be related to restrictions on lhe
number aod length of oouo phrases following lhe verbo (Rules governiog ruo-oo sentences existed
even for the Classic Maya!) Thus, if bolh Object and Indirect Object are specified (or Object and
Instrument, or Object and Locatioo), lhe Subject may be omitted. Presumably lhe Subject is already
"known" in lhese cases, lhat is, it is "old information." Any deviation from uomarked word order
can be takeo as an indicatioo of special importan ce, or fOregroUDding. lo hieroglyphic texts, lhe
grarnmatical techniques for foregrounding inelude elaboration, frontiog, promotion, and "marked"
syntax or unusual grammar (Josserand 1 989; see al80 Hofling 1989 for a discussion of
highlighting io lhe Dresdeo Codex).

Elaboration can be as simple as adding to a ruler's name-phrase his or her titles, parentage,
and other attributives. Coupletiog, lhe repetition of a syntactic structure with slightly altered lexicon,
can be considered a kind of elaboration, and indicates foregrounding. Fronting usual!y involves
moving a phrase (subject or olher argument) from its unmarked, post-verbal position to a pre-verbal
one. Sentence-initial temporal phrases (e.g., Calendar Rounds) can be considered to have been
fronted from an unmarked post-verbal position, and therefore to have been foregrounded.

Phrases which normal!y occur unmarked as low-Ievel sentence constituents may be

promoted to a higher level in a new sentence. Thus, the information which may be stated in an
unmarked fashion as a temporal adverb (e.g., a Calendar Round), may be foregrounded by
promoting it to Subject of the verb ut 'to come to pass' in an independent sentence. On lhe olher
hand, deletion of expected sentence elements (notably Subjects) in a string of sentences heightens
dramatic tension, and has the effect of foregrounding the information (e.g., the name of the
protagonist) when it is finally stated.

Sentences may be conjoined in such a way lhat one is elearly foregrounded wilh respect to
tbe olher (which is backgroUDded). It is cornmon to mark !he verb of tbe foregrounded clause wilh
the sentence conjunction i 'and then', while the backgrounded verb is marked with the perfective
aspect suffix -ya (writing tbe suffix -y).

Finally, "uou8ual" syotax may also iodicate foregrounding. In botb Classical and modem
Mayan literature, lhe peak events of a narrative are "zones of turbuJence" (Longacre 1 985). This
rurbulence may take the form of a combination of the foregrounding devices just discussed, or it
can be more extreme. Perhaps tbe most extreme examples of syntactic rurbulence in hieroglyphic
texts are those several known instances in w hich an entire senteoce is inserted into the middle of
anotber sentence, as i n tbe text from the Sarcophagus Rim, Palenque.

Text Composition

Maya hieroglyphic texts usually consist of one or more complete sentences; a few texts or
discrete sections of text represent phrases ratber lhan sentences. In these cases, tbe text is narning
14

Fig. 1-15, Yaxchilan Lintel 8

• e D ,

Figure 1-16. Tonina, Monument 22

 15

people or objects; the name of a pictured protagonist may appear near his face or head, or actually

name appears on bis thigh on Yaxchilán Lintel 8 (Fig. 1-15, Graham and von Euw 1 977: 27), or
on the body. This is especially true for captives, such as Bird Jaguar's captive Jeweled Skull, whose

king K'an Hoy Chitam of Palenque, shown as a captive on a monument found at Tonina (Fig. I-16).

Sorne artifacts, particularly small portable objects, bear simple statements giving the
ownership of the object: ''This is the sacrificial bowl of So-and-so" (Houston, Stuart and Taube
1989). Others bear a statement of authorship: "So-and-so painted tbis vase" (D. Stuart 1989b).
Many stone monuments bear, a10ng with their main text, smaller, often incised inscriptions which
have been read as artists' or craftsmen's signatures (D. Stuart 1989b).

Probably the majority of inscriptions, however, and certainly the ones most interesting in
terms of discourse structure, are longer texts. Long texts are usually historical and narrative in
nature, that is, they tell a story, and they inelude specific dates or other temporal references that fix

following: "On such-and-such a date, So-and-so became ruler. So many days later, on another date,
the reported event or series of events firmly in time. Such texts have translations resembling the

he performed a blood sacrifice; so many years after that, it was the end of a major time period."
Tbis genre of texts has the richest known displays of discourse phenomena.

Long historical texts may contain dozens of sentences, recording events which are placed
chronologically with respect to each other through extensive use of dates in the Maya calendric
system. The statement of a date itself may be very elaborate, involving a number of sentences, as in
the Initial Series and Supplementary Series sequences which frequently open Classic texts. Or, a
date may appear in a reduced form, perhaps only a Calendar Round. The events in a text may be
tied to each other by statements of time elapsed (Distance Numbers) between dates (Calendar
Rounds). Or events may be tied to unique chronological landmarks (e.g., Period Endings, ends of
major time periods in the Long Count) to elinúnate any possible chronological ambiguity. The
function of these texts appears to be the recording of bistory, and tbis function is served only if the
chronological place of the various events is elearly stated. A considerable percentage of a bistorical
text, then, may be devoted to chronological markers, and tbese are frequently "fronted," placed at the
beginning of sentences.

So extensive i s the textual use of temporal frameworks, and so elear and precise the
mathematics relating one date to another, tbat the chronology of many inscriptions was thoroughly
understood long before modern scholars had any idea of the historical content of the inscriptions
(cf. Thompson 1960). There was in fact a period in Mayan studies when leading scholars were
convinced that the chronology was the only interpretable content, and that the remaining portions of
the texts were devoted to arcane astrononúcal, astrological, and numerological concems beyond our
comprehension. The major breakthrough in modern Mayan epigraphy has been the demonstration
that the chronology is not the content, but merely the reference point for the important historical
events being recorded by the Maya (Proskouriakoff 1960, 1963, 1964).

An understanding of the chronological framework of a text is essential to decipherment,

since events are not necessarily presented in the order in which they occurred. But beyond matters
of historical content, the manipulation of the time line is a key element in Classic Maya literary
technique. Major internal divisions within a text may be explicitly marked by particular kinds of
breaks in the time-line, and different sections of text may handle their chronology differently
(Josserand 1 99 \ ).

phenomena were marked in Maya hieroglypbic texts (cf. Schele 198 1 , on pronominal cross-
Relationships between sen ten ces in a text also showed that many low-Ievel discourse
16

Figure 1-17. Genres of Speech i n CharnulaTzotzil (Gossen 1 974:50-5 1)

k'op, words or language

lo'ü k'op, ordinary or conversational language

k'op svenlil xk'ixTUJh yo'nton, language for people wilh heated hearts
k'op sventa tahirrwl h'olol, children's improvised garnes
k'ehoh sventa h 'olol, children's improvised songs
sk'op h 'opisyal, oratory for cargoholders
k'op sventa kavilto, court language
k'op sventa chopol ldrsano, emotional or bad language

puro k'op, pure words, oral tradition

'ach' k'op, recent words
ban'i 'ach' k'op, true recent narrative
'ach' lo'iI, recent talk
chubah lo '11, crazy talk
'ixtol k'op, frivolous language
hut k'op, Iies, untrue prose jokes
ban'i 'mol lo'iJ, truly frivolous talk, verbal dueling
mukul k'op, baba k'op, buried or supelficial language
k'ehel k'op, obscure words, proverbs
hak'om k'op, hidden words, riddles
tahimol, tradtitional garnes
sventa muk'ta Idrsano, adult garnes
sventa h '0101, childrren's garnes
'antivo k'op, andent words
ban'i 'antivo k'op, true ancient narrative
sventa ba'yel banamiJ, First Creation narratives

sventa yoxiba/ banamil, Third Creation narratives

sventa xcha 'Iorrwl banamiJ, Second Creation narratives

k'op ta xak' riox, language for rendering holy

sventa bisob satik, for measuring lhe face, crossing oneself
sventa xich' Ho' h '0101, for baptism
sventa nupunel, for marriage
sventa muklumal, for burla!
sventa kirsano, for laymen
sventa h 'abtel xchi 'uk h 'ilol, for cargoholders and sharnans
resa/, prayer
sventa kirsano, for laymen
sventa 'anirrw, for the dead
sventa h 'abtel, for cargoholders
sventa h'iJol, for sharnans
sventa pale, for lhe priest
sventa chopol ldrsano, for evil people (Protestants, witches, etc.)
k'ehoh, song
sventa yahval h'ch'uleletik, for lhe patron of our souls
sventa htotiketike, for lhe saints
 17

reference, gapping, etc.). When discourse models of text linguistics were applied to the hieroglyphic
texts, it was possible to demonstrate that texts also obey higher-Ievel rules of structure, and can be
treated as one or more genres of written literature (Josserand 1986, 1987, 1 99 1 ). Qne such genre
has characteristics similar to those of modem Mayan traditional narratives (Hop1dns and Josserand
in press); this genre ineludes the historical texts of the majority of stone monuments.

Literary Style

The basic grammatical structures of Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions are deliberately

manipulated for artistic effect on many monuments. As in speech, placing phrases out of their
normal or unrnarked order calls attention to them; expressing a concept in an un usual way has the
sarne effect Specific linguistic techniques have the function of highlighting sorne events, while
marking others as background. Narrative tension may be maintained by deleting mention of
subjects through a series of clauses, making the eventual mention of the actor more dramatic. These
and other Iiterary devices are cornmon in long texts, which are themselves divided into coherent
sections not only by changes in chronology and content, but by explicit use of different linguistic
constructions and manners of expressing events and the names of their protagonists (Josserand
1991).

A very important recent advance in the study of Mayan inscriptions is the discovery that
monumental Classic texts are not sterile recitations of the facts of history, but are complex and
carefully planned literary works whose artistry is on a par with (and integrated into) that of the
accompanying architecture and iconography. It is our intent to describe and ilIustrate the elements
of literary technique which have been established to date, and 10 relate them to Ihe pattems of
modem (oral) Mayan literature, specifically tbose of Chol, one of tbe direct descendants of the
language of the southem Classic Maya area (Hopkins and Josserand in press).

The Maya Literary Tradition

Qne feature of culture that distinguishes modern Maya communities from other
Mesoamerican groups is the richness of their oral tradition. Across the Maya area, from
Guatemalan and Chiapas highlands to nortbem Yucatan, the Maya not only have a rich inventory of
tales to tell, they also tell them very well. The stories, whether they relate the origin of the Sun and
Moon, recite famous events of the past, or simply tell about a recent hunting trip, are well crafted.
There is a strategy 10 the telling, and a rhythmic, repetitive style of narration that is characteristically
Mayan.

Studies of Mayan languages (e.g., Gossen 1974; Fig. 1- 17) show tbat there is a range of
speech styles, from the less structured, less predictable extreme of casual conversation to the highly
structured, almost inflexible, pattems of prayer. Between these two extremes lie intermediate types
of speech, such as the ritual speech of civil and religious authorities, or the formal style employed
for traditional narratives.

Qther Mesoamerican groups have formal and informal speech pattems, and a common
feature of Mesoamerica is the respect given to the good speaker. Being able to speak well is a prime
factor in getting social recognition. Each language or language family has its own ways of marking
speech as formal. Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, is famous for ils honorifics - suffixes like -
tzin which attach to nouns lo make them special. While often called 'diminutive' and translated as
'little', this suffix (the inspiration for the modem Mexican Spanish lendency to add -ilo 'diminutive'
lo nouns) aClually has more of an honorific sense Ihan one of small size: no nan-tzin 'our holy
mother', ta'-tzin-tli 'veneraled falher' (Sullivan 1976:37-40).
18

Mayan languages rnark fonnality by the de vice of repetition (Brody 1986), especially what
are called couplets (Nonnan 1980). A couplet is a pair of similarly structured words, or phrases, or
sentences, which differ only slightly in meaning. For us, rhyme is phonological rhyme, playing
one word or syllable against another that sounds almost like it For the Maya, rhyme is semantic,

consider this excerpt from a Tzotzil Maya prayer 01ogt 1 969:646-647).

and they play words against one another for their meaning, not for their sound. To take an example,

En el eh 'ul nompre yos hesukristo kahval In the divine name of Jesus Christ my Lord,
K'usi yepal 'un htot, So much my father,
K'usi yepal 'un kahval, So much my lord,
Ta hk'an ti eh 'ul pertonale 1 beseech your divine pardon,
Ta hk'an ti eh 'ul lesensiae, 1 beseech your divine forgiveness,
Ti ta ch'ul ha meshae, At the holy head of the table,
Ti ta eh 'ul chak meshae ... At the holy foot of the table...

The prayer begins with an invocation (A): "En el eh'ul nompre Yos, Jesukristo, Kahwal;"
"In the holy name of God (the Father), Jesus Christ (the Son) and Our Lord (the Holy Spirit)". It
also ends with a similar phrase (Amen), and these two lines fonn a couplet which opens and closes
the prayer. In between, each pair of lines fonns a couplet. The first couplet (B) plays my father
against my lord; the second (C) plays divine pardon against divine forgiveness, the third (D)
plays head of the table agaiDst root of the table, and so on. The rhyme scheme of this prayer is A
B B CC DO... A. That is, the text cODsists of a series of couplets (BB, CC, DO, etc.), nested between
the opening and closing invocations. themselves forming a framing couplet (A. .. A). Sometimes the
pattem of repetition is like a mirror iDversion ABCCBA. This i s called a chiasmic structure, or
"nested couplets. " lf this repetitive pairing of Iines sounds somehow familiar, i t may be because
couplets are not exactly alien to our own poetic tradition, as we can see in this excerpt from Psalm
29 (Guilbert 1977:40):

The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice;

the voice of the Lord i s a voice of splendor.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees;

The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe

the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon...

and stri ps the forests bare.

Here we see couplets involving pairs like powerful voice: voice of splendor; breaks the
cedar trees : breaks the cedars of Lebanon; like a calf: like a young wild OX, and so on. lt is
apparent that the language from which this text is traDslated had a couplet rhyming tradition like that
of the Maya. In fact, one of the most useful discussions of couplets we have found is in a
commentary on the Psalter (Guilbert 1 978). In Maya culture, couplets a1so occur in ritual speech, as
in the Tzotzil Maya oath of office for the Senior Alcalde Viejo (excerpt from Cancian 1965:223,
refonnatted):
Ah, Beloved Ancient Father,
has your earth arrived, has your mud arrived,
here beneath the foot, here beneath the hand,
of Señor Esquipulas.
Beloved Ancient Father?
 19

Couplets also figure in Ihe rhetorical structure of narrative texts, as in the Chol story about

peak events - in this story a set of nested couplets marks the action climax as Lak Mam (Lightning)
the Lightning god, Lak Mam. In modem narratives, the frequency of couplets i ncreases around

Ihrows lightning boIts at a water animal who has him by Ihe foot

Che jale 'ora, And Ihen it happened,

k'iñlaw 'ab'i, flashing, Ihey say,

ñup'/aw 'ab'i, crashing, they say,

b'a' lú' ñijka 'i b'ajiñ lak mami.

Iza' tyojmijiñ chajki, Ughtning exploded,
when Our Grandfalher shook himself.
Tza jach 'i ñijka 'i b'a, He just shook himse1f,
IZa' tyojmi jiñ chajki. and lightning exploded.

Tza' tyikijiñja'. The water dried up.

Tza sajp 'í jíñ ja ', The water went down,
ma che' ku 'añixja'. there wasn't any water any more.

K'iñlaw, Aashing,
ñup'law 'ab'i 'año crashing, they say, it was.

'Añ 'i chañilja', The water animal

IZa' chami. died.

A very important recent discovery i s Ihat not onJy couplets, but many other literary devices
attested in modem Maya narratives (cf. Hopkins and Josserand 1986), are a1so found in the histor­
ical narratives inscribed in hieroglyphics OD Classic Maya monuments (Josserand 1 986). A good
example is Quirigua Stela C (Fig, 1- 18; Hopkins 1995).

Quirigua Stela C is one of several C1assic inscriptions Ihat talks about the events Ihat took
place on Ihe Creation date, 1 3.0.0.0.0, 4 Ahau 8 Cumku. The text on Ihe east side of Ihe monument
begins wilh Ihe Initial Series date of Ihe CreatioD. It Ihen relates the setting of three stones, each by
a different deity, each in a different place, each called a different "throne stone." The text closes with
a back reference to the Creation date and an attribution of the event to the Creator God Itzamna,
caBed the Six Sky Lord.

The reader Ihen moves from Ihe east to Ihe south face of Ihe monurnent, where Ihe Ruler I of
Quirigua is pictured dancing iD Ihe guise of Itzamna - he (lhe Lord) has Ihe axe of number Six in
his eye and the erossed bands of the Sky in his mouth. The text moves to Ihe west si de of Ihe stela,
where a new Initial Series introduces an earlier 6 Ahau stela erection, presurnabIy by an ancestor of
Ruler 1, Ihen moves forward to the contemporary "scattering" by Ruler I on 6 Ahau.

The structure of the text on the east side is one of nested couplets. The opening date
( 1 3.0.0.0.0, 4 Ahau 8 Cumku) is coupleted by Ihe closing line, "Thirteen b'ak'tuns were completed; "
this is couplet set A. The second couplet (B) refers to Ihree stones being set, without details. The
third set (C) is a triplet describing the details of Ihe stone setting. One of Ihese statements uses a
distinct verb for Ihe event and arranges Ihe details (the deity acting, the place, and name of the throne
stone) in a different order. This is the peak event, and the actor is Itzamna. The chiasmic structure
of Ihe text is, Ihen, ABCCCBA.
20

FIgure 1- 18. Quirigua, Stela e, &st Side

ISIG 1 3 bak'tuns o k'atuns o tuns o winals o k'ins, 4 Ahau 8 Cumku Creation Event

Three stones were sel.

Erected a stone the Paddler Gods, in the Sky place, lhe Jaguar Throne stone.

Erected a stone the B1ack God, in Big Town place, the Snake Throne stone

And !hen, it happened: placed a stone ltzamna, !he Water Throne stone, in !he Sky place.

. ' ;G,\, (
�.
�
(
.
l'

It was the First Three Stones (Hearth).

Ended 1 3 bak'tuns under the authority of Six Sky Lord.

 21

Quirigua Stela e

Al 1 3.0.0.0.0, 4 Ahau 8 Cumku, tbe ereation Event took place.

B1 Three stones were sel
el The Paddler Gods erected a stone, in tbe First Five Sky place;
it was tbe Jaguar Throne Stone.
e2 The Black Deity erected a stone, in tbe Large Town place;
it was tbe Snake Tbrone Stone.
e3 And tben it carne to pass tbat Itzamna set a stone,
tbe Water Throne Stone, in tbe Sky place.
B2 This was tbe First Three Stones (tbe First Hearth).
A2 1 3 b'ak'tuns were completed, under tbe supervision of tbe Six Sky Lord.

The Poetry of Classic Maya Inscriptions

Hieroglyphic texts are very poetic in tbeir structure, as are traditional Mayan texts, whetber
they be prayers and ritual s or tales of gods and heroes. The grammatical structures which
characterize these language styles are formal and constrained. Where our poetry is govemed by
pattems of meter and rhyme, theirs is revealed in pattems of repetition and paired phrases
(coupleting), in stanza structures and parallel constructions, and in word plays of many kinds.
The antiquity of the l iterary device of coupleting has long been suspected from its
widespread occurrence across the Maya area. Now we are able to confirm tbat suspicion witb actual
written evidence. The Leiden Plaque, an early Tikal text, is in fact our earliest recorded exarnple of
Maya poetry. The text records a single event, tbe accession to office of tbe Early Oassic Tikal ruler
Zero Bird, in A.D. 320. But note how the date is coupleted with the event (Fig. 1 - 1 9): "Seated was
tbe montb Yaxkin; seated was the ruler Zero Bird. "

Visual Composition oC the Texts

The structures which are so obvious when tbe hieroglyphic text is cut apart and rearranged
on the page i n structural analysis - or when a translation i s laid out in verse form disappear
-

almost completely when the poetically-structured text is poured into tbe normal double-colurnn
format of a Maya monumenl
But the text structure i s not always lost completely. Sometimes, in fact, it is used
strategically to emphasize a poinl In Stela 12 of Yaxchilan (Fig. 1-20), two statements are coupleted
witb one anotber, and are visually matched as well. The deatb of Shield Jaguar, stated in tbe left half
of tbe tex!, is paired witb tbe accession of his son and successor Bird Jaguar in tbe right half of tbe
text, and the structural elements of tbe two statements correspond point for poinl
Thus, tbe Maya scribes were well aware of the elements of text language structure, and
could use them visually when they wished. However, the conventions of Maya monumental
literature did not require tbat the structure be displayed visually. On the contrary, a famous
example from Copan (Copan Stela J, Fig. 1-2 1 ) shows just how well a literary structure can be trans­
formed into sometbing else. The text on one face continues to defy epigraphers, who can read each
of tbe text segments which delineate tbe features of a god mask, but have no idea how tbey are to be
put together. The text on the otber face has been resolved: it has two sections, and each is recorded
on a strip of flattened reed, the two strips then being woven together to form a mat, symbol of
rulership.
22

Figure 1-19. Leiden Plaque

,'RONT
IlACK

rr' -,
(

I 'SIU

I
R bnk'tuns

/l -
�, 'o

14 k'utuns

II � -
�
J tun�

I �
1 winal

O�
1 2 k'ins

t'O'¡;;)
r'-ml�
, Eb

S'..ed was Ihe ,"unlh

� �
05
·
Y"kin �
S,," "' ru"r was

Z"O I �ct

8 o
A
I e
On () b.: 1 2 Yaxkm

E� � ; 1 1 Ahau H Tz�c

tlew away the spirit of

2 ���� was �catr.:d as ruler

3 � lDg
4 �ilMm
SH1ELD JAGUAR BIRO JAGUAR

(namc and tilles) (name and tilles)

5����
o .IJ·@). ·
o�
I
l O 'uns und 6 k'ins lu,er, 6
:mJ rhen it l'ame lo be

��
Figure 1-20. Yaxchi1an, Stela 1 2
 23

Figure 1-2 1 . Copan, Stela J

FRONT BACK
- -- -
- --

GOO MASK MAT WEAVE

Episode
Episode 2
1
24

�!

A • e o , e

,o

Figure 1-23. Yaxchilan, Lintel l

 25

The Interplay of Text and Image

The description of the content, character and conventions of the images in Maya art is the
traditional arena of the art historian and student of iconography. Several recent book s and artieles
have addressed the narrative quality of Maya 8ft, notably Berlo ( 1 983), Clancy ( 1986), and Reents
(1989). Schele and Miller (1986) review elements and canons of Maya art, and discuss Maya art as
"a complex symbolic language with profoundly important social functions" (Schele and Miller
1986:41).
Otber conventions relate to the interplay of the text and the accompanying i mages. Karen
Bassie has recently presented a new synthesis of these unwritten rules of composition and their
funetion in elarifying and augmenting the information given separately in the text and image
portions of monuments (Bassie 1 990). A very cornmon pattem is to frame the image with blocks of
text, forcing the eye to move across the image of the protagonist (or the topic of the text) in order to
follow the reading order of the hieroglyphic inscription.

On the Tablet of tbe Cross from Palenque (Fig. 1-22), the caption texts are arranged
around the heads of the figures in the central image, identifying the actor and aetion portrayed in
eaeh. Another example of the same phenomenon is found on Yaxehilan Lintel l (Fig. 1-23), which
shows two fi gures, each framed by the text whieh relates his or her aetions. The caption text is
strategically divided across eaeh figure's head, so that a portion of bis name phrase ends the first
segment, and the name phrase continues as the beginning of the next segmenl Thus the reader's
eyes must move across the rulers body to continue with tbe texl

As an altemative to the first pattem, the text may frame the focused action itself rather than
the protagonist, as on the katun-enclosure (twin pyramid complex) stelae ofTikal (Fig. 1-24 shows
the text and image of one of one sueh stela, Stela 22). On these stelae the focused event, a Period­
Ending scattering rite (shown as drops descending from an outstretched hand), intrudes into a space
framed by the texl The obligatory reading order requires the eye to move aeross the image of
scattering.

Jt is elear from these examples and many others that there are two layers of composition in
tbese texts. The inner layer is tbat of the poetic structuring of the language of the text, involving
couplets and other rhetorical devices. The outer l ayer is that of the visual composition of the
monument, in wbich the text is played against the images. This second, outer, layer of composition
often ignores the first, and may disguise it beyond easy recognition. Elements in the text are placed
not where their role in the language of the text would be emphasized, but where they contribute best
to tbe overall visual impact of the monumenl

On Dumbarton Oaks Relief Panel 1 (Fig. 1-25), from a site subsidiary to Piedras Negras),
the protagonist is framed by a text relating his birth, his parentage, his accession to an office
(kahal, not supreme rule) and his death, further relating these events to the dynastic rule of the
major site, Piedras Negras. As the protagonist stands holding his spear, he is framed by a text
which begins with the time before his birth, surrounds him with the events of his Jife, and ends by
relating time passed after his death. Not accidentally, his headdress touches his name glyph, behind
his head (at G3).

The same kind of convention is reflected on Palenque's Tablet of the Slaves, a wall
panel featuring a warrior rather than a supreme ruler. While the focused event in the language of the
text is the accession of his patron the king, visually the protagonist's image is surrounded by the
major events of bis own life, and his name glyph lies just aboye and behind bis head.
26

Figure 1-24. Tikal, Stela 22

A 8

10

11

12
 27

Figure 1-25. Dumbarton Oaks Relief Panel 1

A B e D E F G H 1
28

Figure 1-26. Quirigua, Altar of Zoomorph O

Ruler's Name and Title

A 8 e
A 8 e

D E F G
D E F G

- --

¿ ¿
L L

H 1
H J

K L
K L

Figure 1-27. Piedras Negras, Shell Plaques (Proskounalwtf)

 29

There are other ways of making an protagonist's name more prominent in the text. On the
Altar of Zoomorph O at Quirigua, the text reads around the monument in a counter-clockwise
direction, starting in the middle with an Initial Series, near lhe dancing figure. The reader moves
around lhe monument to follow lhe readin g order, and lhe orientation of lhe glyph blocks changes
accordingly in each section. But well into lhe tex!, doubtless around the peak event, lhe protagonist's
name appears in glyph blocks lhat are roughly twice the size of lhe other glyphs (Fig. 1-26); this is
lhe Oassic Maya equivalent of switching from normal 1 2-point type to 24-point Garamond Bold.
Finally, a technique which often reflects internal text structure involves changes in the
reading order of glyphs wilhin a glyph block or between glyph blocks. Normal reading order is
left-to-right, top-to-bottom, in double columna, but there are any number of exceptions to this
general rule. A particularly fetching example is the text on the Piedras Negras Shell Plaques from
Burial 5. The reading order (shown in Fig. 1-27) is different for each plaque, a little game the artist
has played to give this piece even more charro.

On Interpreting Inscriptions

Mayan monumental texts have at least two major layers of composition: lhe poetic structure
of the text language itself, and the artistic array of the text in relation to an image or space. In the
composition of the language of lhe text, use is made of traditional rhetorical devices, such as
couplets. In the artistic array of lhe text, there are other conventional mechanisms used to make
names appear more prominent or stress sorne relationship the artist wishes to point out Only a few
of lhe techniques which have been identified have been discussed here.
The medium on which lhe text is to be displayed has an effect on the possibilities which
exist for artistic expression. A slim vertical shaft of stone (sucb as a stela) forces text and image
into a different kind of space than the rectangular lintel or lhe wide, horizontal extension of a wall
panel. Different opportunities are presented by a single monument and an integrated series of
monuments. These factors affect lhe outer layer of composition, the array of an inscription in its
context
However, it appears to be lhe case that the differences in treatment which lhe various media
demand do not significantly affect lhe inner layer of composition of the text, the language of the
inscriptions, as much as they do the outer layer of composition. Similar language and text
construction is found across media boundaries. The language of the text on the Leiden Plaque is
not unlike lhat of the stelae.
In view of the regular occurrence of lhe devices whicb have been noted, Maya monumental
inscriptions must be understood as literary and artistic creations of the highest order. There are
many phenomena in the language of Classic texts which we used to think of as Maya mistakes -

glyphs out of normal order, distance numbers leading nowhere, names deleted at critical points -
but wbicb we now have identified as elements in a repertory of devices used for literary effect By
lhe same token, we should understand that unexpected changes in reading order, in placement and
relative size of glyphs, etc., are not evidence of haste, clumsiness, drugs or drunken stupor on the
part of lhe sculptors, but are elements deliberately manipulated for lheir literary effect
On Yaxchilan Lintel 10, the last monument to be carved at Yaxchilan, lhe glyphs are much
bigger at the beginning of lhe text lhan at lhe end (Fig. 1-28). For most of lhe tex!, lhe glyphs are to
be read left to right within each glyph block (after the Calendar Round beginning, A2a-A2b, B2a­
B2b, etc.) About halfway down the last double column, the text abruptly scales down lhe size of the
 30

Figure 1-28. Yaxchilan, üntel lO

A B e D E

III
6

8
 31

glyphs (beginning with the distance number expression at ES), and employs a somewhat unusual
intemal reading order: within the glyph blocks, each of which contains four glyph complexes of
roughly equal size, the glyphs are to be read top to bottom on the left half, then top to bottom on the
right half.
A few years ago, the prominent art historian Mary Miller, in an oral presentation, dismissed
the relative size of the glyphs in the latter part of tbis inscription as the result of excessive haste:
"things were happening so fast they couldn't get it a11 in," a sort of Maya equivalent of the badly
spaced "Plan Ahead" sigDS wbich begin with proper spacing but crowd the later letters.

and poorly executed." But they a1so note that the final passage of the text (ES-F8, the section where
More recently, Martin and Grube (2000: 1 37) characterized this lintel as "cramped in style

the glyphs are "cramped") contains the "most interesting infonnation" in the text: it records the
capture of the last ruler of Piedras Negras, Ruler 7, by the ruler of Yaxcbilan. In other words, this is
the peak event of the narration, a fact that is being marked by the scribes through the use of a
distinct size of glyphs and a distinct reading order. This is not hasty composition or poorly
executed writing. It is a deliberate use of a1tematives to draw our attention to the most important
event of the narration.
If we are to give to the Maya the credit due for their literary and artistic creations, we must
go beyond faciJe i nterpretations. What we are seeing on the Classic monuments is not hastily­
composed first drafts, but painstakingly crafted and artfuIly arranged literary texts incorporated into
the iconography and architecture of the buildings and plazas where they were placed, in an
impressive expression of a truly exceptional literary tradition. To the recognized arts and sciences
of the Classic Maya - art, architecture, writing, mathematics, calendrics and astronomy - we must
add the art and science of literature, the practice of wbich incorporates a11 of the others.
32

Figure 1-29. Correlation between Maya and European Calendars

LONG COUNT - CHRISTIAN CORRELATIONS

Adapted from S. G. Morley The A ncien! Maya, 1 946

8 . 1 I.¡ . O . 0 . 0 7 Ahau 3 X.ul l0 3 1 1 , Sept. 1 9. 9.0.0.0 3 Ahau 3 Zo t.. z AO 6 1 3 , May 12
8. 1 1.¡ . 5 . 0 . 0 1 3 'hau 1 8 ZOLZ AD 322, Aus. 6 9 . 9.5;0.0 9 Ahau 1 8 Uo AO 6 1 8 . Aprll 16
8 . 1 1 1. 1 0 . 0 . 0 6 Ahau 1 3 Z 1 p JulY 1 1
'0 3 2 7 . 9 . 9. 10.0.0 2 Ahau 1 3 Pop .lO 6 2 3 , March 21
5 . 1 11 . 1 5 . 0 . 0 1 2 At.au 8 Uo A D 332, Juno t I¡ 9 . 9 . 1 5.0.0 8 Ahau 1 3 CumKu Ao 628 , feo. 23
a. 15.0.0.0 5 Ahau 3 Pop AO 3 3 7 . May 19 9 . 1 0. 0 . 0 . 0 1 Ahau 8 Kayab AO 6 3 3 . Jan. 27
8 . 1 5 . 5 . 0. 0 11 A ha u 3 Cumku A O 3�2. 'prll 23 9 . 1 0.5.0.0 7 Ahau 3 Pax AO 6 3 8 . J an . 1
8. 1 5 . 1 0 . 0 . 0 4 Ahau 1 8 P.x AO J�7. Mareh 28 9 . 1 0 . 1 0 . 0 . 0 1 3 lnau 1 8 Kanl<ln .lO 6 1¡ 2 , Doc . 6
8.1,.1 5.0.0 l a Ahau 1 3 Muan lO 3 5 2 , Mareh 1 9. 10.15. 0.0 6 Ahau 1 3 Ha e AO 6 4 7 . Nov. lO
a. l ó . D . D . D 3 A.h.lu 8 KmkJ.n AO 357. fe •• 3 9. 1 1 .0.0.0 1 2 .uw.u a C4l1 J.l) 652, Oct. ' "
8. 16.5.0.0 9 Ah;lu 3 Hac AO 362. JiU). 8 9. 1 1 . 5.0.0 5 Anau 3 �e AD 657, Sept. 1 8
8 . 1 6 . 1 0. 0 . 0 2 Ahau 1 8 Zac lO 3 6 6 , Oee . 13 9. 1 1 . 1 0.0.0 1 1 lhau l a Chen A O 6 6 2 , A ug . ' 2 3
8. 1 6 . 1 5 . 0 . 0 8 Ahau 1 3 rax AO 37 1 . N o v . 17 9 . 1 1 . 1 5 . 0. 0 � Ahau 1 3 Mol AO 667. July 2 8
8.17.0.0.0 1 Ahau 8 Chen AO 316 , Oct . 21 9; 12.0.0.0 1 0 Ahau 8 YaxKln AO 6 7 2 , July 1
8 . 1 7 . 5 . 0 .0 7 Ahau 3 Mol A O )81 , Sept. 25 9.1 2.5. 0.0 3 Ahau 3 Xul AO 6 7 7 . J"'e 5
8.17.1 0.0.0 1 3 Ahau 1 8 Xul AO 3 8 6 . AuS. 30 9. 12.10.0.0 9 Anau 1 8 Zot� AO 682, Hay 10
8 . 1 7 . 1 5. 0 . 0 6 Ahau 1 3 T.ee AO 3 9 1 , l u g . ij 9 . 1 2. 1 5 . 0. 0 2 Ahau 1 3 Z l p A O 687, Aprll 1 �
8.18.0.0.0 1 2 Anau 8 Zot. AO 3 9 6 . July 8 9 . 1 3. 0 . 0 . 0 8 ,,", u 8 uo AO 6 9 2 . Horeh 1 8
8 . 1 8. 5 . 0 . 0 5 Ahau 3 Zlp lO � 01 , JlnO 1 2 9 . 1 3 . 5. 0 . 0 1 Ahau 3 Pop AO 6 9 7 . reb. 20
8. 1 8 . 1 0 . 0 . 0 11 Anau 1 8 Pop lO 4 0 6 , Hay 1 7 9 . 1 3 . 1 0.0.0 7 Anau 3 Cumku AD 702. Jan. 26
8 . 1 8 . 1 5. 0 . 0 4 Ahay 1 8 Cumku AO �1 ' , Aprl1 2 1 9.13.\5.0.0 1 3 Ahau 1 8 P.x AO 706 , Oeo. 31
8 . 1 9.0.0.0 1 0 Anau 1 3 Koyab l O " 1 6 , March 25 9 . 1 4 . 0. 0 . 0 6 AhaU 1 3 · Muan AO 7 1 1 . Oee. 5
8.1 9.5.0.0 3 Ahau 8 Pax AO � 2 1 . reb. 2 7 9.1 �.5.0.0 1 2 Ahau 8 Kankln AO 7 1 6 . Nov. 8
8 . 1 9 . 1 0. 0 . 0 9 Ahau 3 Muan A O 4 2 6 . reb. 1 9.1�. 10.0.0 · 5 Anau 3 Hae AO 7 2 1 . OeL 13
8. 1 9 . 1 5. 0 . 0 2 Ahau 1 8 Hae AO � 3 1 . Jan. 6 9 . 1 4 . 1 5.0.0 11 Ahau 1 8 Zac AO 7 2 6 . Sept 1 7
9 . 0.0.0.0 8 �u 1 3 C e h AO " 3 5 , Oec . 11 9 . 1 5.0.0.0 • Ahau 1 3 Yax AD 7 3 1 . Aug. 22
9.0.5.0.0 1 A.hau 8 lac lO '1 4 0 , Nov. 1� 9.1 5.5.0.0 10 Ahau 8 Chen AO 7 3 6 . July 26
9 . 0 . 1 0. 0 . 0 7 Ahau J rox lD ij 4 5 , Oct . 19 9. 15. 10. 0 . 0 3 Ah�u 3 Mol .lO 7� 1 , Juno 30
9 . 0. 1 5 . 0 . 0 1 3 Ahau 18 Hol A O 450. Sept 2 3 9 . 1 5. 1 5 . 0 . 0 9 Ahau 1 8 Xul AO 7 � 6 . JlXle �
9. 1 .0.0.0 6 Ahau 1 3 taxkln AO � 5 5 . Aug. 28 9 . 1 6 . 0. 0 . 0 2 Ahau 1 3 nee AO 7 5 1 . Hay 9
9 . 1 . 5. 0. 0 t 2 Ahau 8 Xul AO '1 6 0 , Aug . 1 9 . 1 6 . 5 . 0. 0 8 Ahau 8 Zo,. AO 7 5 6 . Aprll 1 2
9.1. \0.0.0 5 Ahau 3 T�ec AO 1 6 5 . J ul y 6 9.16. 10.0.0 1 AhaU 3 Zlp AO 7 6 1 . Moreh 1 7
9. 1 . 1 5.0.0 1 1 Ah�u 18 Zlp AO 410, Juno 1 0 9 . 1 6 . 1 5. 0 . 0 7 Ahau 1 8 Pop AO 7 6 6 . Feb. 19
9. 2.0.0.0 � Ahau 1 3 uo AO � 7 5 . May 1 5 9 . 1 1. 0 . 0 . 0 1 3 Ahau 1 8 Cl.llll ku AD 771 . JU\ 2.11
9.2.5.0.0 1 0 Ahau 8 Pop AO 480. Aprll 18 9.1 7.5. 0.0 6 Ah.u 1 3 Kayab AO 7 7 5 . O o e . 2 9
9 . 2. 1 0. 0 . 0 3 AMu 8 Cumku AO .85 . Harch 23 9 . 1 7 . 1 0. 0 . 0 1 2 A M u 8 Pax AO 780 . Oee. 2
9.2.1 5.0.0 9 Ahau 3 Kayab AO 490. reb . 25 9 . 1 7 . 1 5 . 0; 0 5 Ahau 3 Huan AO 7 8 5 . Nov. 6
9.3.0.0.0 2 Ahi.u 1 8 Muan AO 195. Jan . JO 9 . 1 8.0.0.0 1 1 Anau 1 8 Hae AO 7 9 0 . Oct . 1 1
9 . 3. 5. 0 . 0 8 Ahau 1 3 Kankln AO 500. Jan. � 9 . 1 8. 5 . 0 . 0 • Ahau 1 3 Ceh AO 7 9 5 . Sept. 15
9 . 3 . 1 0. 0 . 0 1 Ahau 8 Hae AD S O l¡ , De c . 9 9 .. 1 8 . 1 0 . 0 . 0 1 0 Ahau 8 :üc AO 8 0 0 , AU¡. 19
9 . 3. 1 5 . 0 . 0 7 Ahau 3 Ceh AO 5 0 9 . H o v . 13 9.18.15.0.0 3 Ahau 3 ru AO 80 5 . July 2�
9 . ij . 0 . 0 . 0 1 3 Ahau 1 8 Yax AO 51 4 , Oct. 18 9 . 1 9 . 0. 0 . 0 9 Anau 1 8 Hel AO 8 1 0 . June 28
9 . � . 5 . 0. 0 6 Ahau 1 3 Che n AO 51 9 . Sept. 22 9 . 19 .5.0.0 2 Ahau \ 3 hxkln AO 8 1 5 , JI.J1. 2
9.�.10.0.0 1 2 Anau 8 Hel AO 5 2 � . Aug. 26 9 . 1 9. 10.0.0 8 ,,",u 8 Xul AO 8 2 0 . May 6
9. � . 1 5 . 0 . 0 5 Ahau 3 raxKln AO 5 2 9 . July 3 1 9 . 1 9 . 1 5 . 0. 0 1 Ahau 3 r.ee AO 8 2 5 . Aprll 10
9.5.0.0.0 11 Ahau 1 8 TZ8e AO 5 J � . J u l y 5 10;0.0.0.0 7 · Anau 1 8 Zlp AO 830. Harch 1 5
9.5.5.0.0 � Ahau 1 3 Zot. AO 5 3 9 . Jl.f1e 9 10.0.5;0.0 1 3 Ahau 1 3 Uo AO 8 3 5 . r eb . 1 7
9.5.10.0.0 1 0 ,,",u 8 Z l p AO 5U� . Hay 1 3 1 0. 0 . 1 0 . 0 . 0 6 Ana u 8 Pop AO 8 � 0 . J an . 22
9.5. 1 5.0.0 3 Ahau 3 uo A O 5�9. Aprll 17 1 0� 0. 1 5 . 0 . 0 1 2 Ahau a Cumku AD 8.11 .11 , Deo . 2 6
9.6.0.0.0 9 AMu 3 Uayeb AO 55� . Hareh 22 10.1 .0.0.0 5 · Ahau 3 Kay.b AO 8 � 9 . Nov. 30
9.6.5.0.0 2 Ahau 1 8 Kayab AO 5 5 9 . reb . 2� 10.1 .5.0.0 1 1 Ahau 1 8 Muan AD 8 5 4 , Nov •.11
9.6. 1 0.0.0 8 Ahau 1 J Pax AO 5 6 � . Jan. 29 10. 1 . 1 0.0.0 4 Ahau 1 3 KU\l<.ln AD 8 5 9 . Oct . 9
9.6.1 5.0.0 1 Ahau 8 Huan AO 5 6 9 . Jan. 2 1 0. 1 . \ 5 . 0 . 0 l a Ahau 8 Ka c AD 8 6 4 , Sept. 12
�.7.0.0.0 7 Ahau 3 Kank1n AO 5 7 3 . Oec . 7 10.2.0.0.0 3 A.hau 3 Can AD 8 6 9 , Aug. 17
3.7.5.0.0 1 3 Ahau 1 8 Ceh AO 5 7 8 , Nov. 11 1 0. 2 . 5. 0 . 0 9 Ah�u 1 8 Yax AD 8 1 � . July 22
9 . 7 . 1 0. 0 . 0 6 Ahau 1 3 Zae AO 583 . Oct. . 16 10.2. 10.0.0 2 Anau 1 3 Chen .lD 8 7 9 , June 26
9 . 7 . 1 5.0.0 1 2 Ahau 6 Yu- AO 5 8 8 , Sept 19 1 0. 2 . 1 5 . 0 . 0 8 Ahau 8 Mol .lO 8 8 1 ¡ . Hay 30
9 . 8. 0 . 0 . 0 5 Ahau 3 Chen AD 5 9 J . Aug. 24 10.3.0.0.0 1 Ahau 3 Y a x k 1 n AD 8 8 9 . Hay �
9.8.5.0.0 11 Ahau 1 8 Yaxl<.ln AO 5 9 8 . July 2 9 1 0. 3 . 5 . 0 . 0 7 Ahau 1 8 T1.eo AO 8 9 4 , Apr ll 8
9 . 8 . 1 0. 0 . 0 u Ahau l J Xul A O 603 . July � 1 0. 3. 1 0 . 0 . 0 1 3 Atl.i.u 1 3 Zot.z AO 8 9 9 . March 1 3
9.8. 1 5.0.0 1 0 lhau 8 Tzac AO 608. J un . 7 1 0.3.15.0.0 6 Ahau 8 Z l p AO 9 0 � . febo 16
10.4 .0.0.0 1 2 Ahau J Vo AO 9 0 9 . Jan. 20