Anthropology 1168 Maya Glyphs

Harvard College/GSAS: 71052

Spring 2015
Tuesday and Thursday, 10-11am; Sever Hall 102
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/71052

Instructor:
Dr. Alexandre Tokovinine, Department of Anthropology
Office: Peabody Museum 35C
Phone & email: 617.496.2059, tokovin@fas.harvard.edu
Office hours: Thursday 2-4pm or by appointment

Course Description
Learn to read and write in Maya glyphs to discover the most spectacular civilization in the Americas in its
own words! This course covers the basics of Maya writing and art using the outstanding visual and
material collections of the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions and Peabody Museum of
Archaeology and Ethnology. It explores the indigenous Maya myths, histories, and stories of life at the
ancient courts of lords and nobles.
The course begins with an overview of Classic Maya writing and its historical and cultural contexts. After
the introductory section on the fundamentals of Maya glyphs, each week will combine a discussion of
the grammar of the Hieroglyphic Mayan with thematic lectures on a range of topics from tags and texts
on drinking cups to parallels between Pre-Columbian, Colonial, and present-day Maya literatures. The
lectures are accompanied by practical translation exercises and quizzes.
The course does not require any prior knowledge of Mayan languages or glyphs. No training in drawing
or epigraphy is necessary.

Course Requirements:
Readings, in-class discussions, and translation exercises are an integral part of the course. Attendance
and active participation are required. There is no midterm and no final exam. Twelve weekly quizzes will
contribute to the final grade. Students will also have an option of completing an extra-credit written
assignment by the end of the reading period (late submissions will be marked down one-half grade per
day late).

Final Sat/Unsat Grade Percentages:

Readings and class participation - 20%
Translation exercises - 20%
Quizzes (12) - 60% (5% each)
Extra-credit assignment - 10%

Academic Integrity

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The rules of academic integrity apply to all exams and assignments for this course, as outlined in the
Handbook for students:

http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k69286&pageid=icb.page355695

Papers and other work should be created for and submitted to only this course. Any student who wishes
to submit work used in a previous course must obtain the prior written permission of the instructor. If a
student wishes to submit the same or similar work to more than one course during the same term, the
prior written permission of all of the instructors involved must be obtained. A student who submits the
same or similar work to more than one course without such prior permission will ordinarily be required
to withdraw from the College or from GSAS. Collaboration in the completion of assignments is
prohibited unless explicitly permitted by the instructor.

Accommodations for students with disabilities

Students needing academic adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability must
present their Faculty Letter from the Accessible Education Office (AEO) and speak with the professor by
the end of the second week of the term. Failure to do so may result in the Course Head's inability to
respond in a timely manner.

Course Readings (available on the course website):

Stuart, David, ed., 2005, Sourceboook for the 29th Maya Hieroglyphic Forum, March 11-16, 2005,
Department of Art and Art History, The University of Texas at Austin (PDFs on the course website)
Kettunen, Harry, and Christophe Helmke, 2010, Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs
http://www.mesoweb.com/resources/handbook/WH2010.pdf
Lacadena, Alfonso, and Albert Davletshin, 2013, Grammar of Hieroglyphic Maya. EMC, Brussels

Tokovinine, Alexandre, 2013, Beginner's Visual Catalog of Maya hieroglyphs

(Additional readings will be available as PDF files on the course website)

Class Schedule

January 27 (T) Maya glyphs: cultural and historical context

Stuart, 2005, pp. 4-12

January 29 (TH) Discovery and decipherment of Maya writing

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 13-20
(2) Houston, S. D., 1988, The phonetic decipherment of Mayan glyphs. Antiquity 62(234):126-135

February 3 (T) Maya writing at a glance (Q1)

Stuart, 2005, pp. 21-36

February 5 (TH) Maya epigraphy (and epigraphers) at a glance

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(1) Houston, S. D., 2000, Into the minds of ancients: advances in glyph studies. Journal of World Prehistory 14:121-
201, pp. 122-142 (only part of the article)
(2) B. Fash, 2012, Beyond the Naked Eye: Multidimensionality of Sculpture in Archaeological Illustration. In
Pillsbury, J., ed., Past Presented: Archaeological Illustration and the Ancient Americas. Washington, D.C.:
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, pp. 449–470

February 10 (T) Numbers & calendar (Q2)

(1) Kettunen and Helmke, 2010, pp. 37-49
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 34-35
(3) Stuart, 2005, pp. 53-54
(4) Stuart, D., 2011, The Order of Days: The Maya World and the Truth About 2012. Harmony Books, New York, pp.
115-184

February 12 (TH) Peabody Museum Maya tour (meet in the lobby of the Peabody Museum)

February 17 (T) The language of Maya glyphs (Q3)

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 40-42
(2) Houston, Robertson & Stuart, 2000, “The Language of Classic Maya Inscriptions,” Current Anthropology 41(3):
321-352

February 19 (TH) Spelling rules, patterns, and controversies

(1) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 5-16
(2) Houston, S. D., D. Stuart, and John Robertson 2004 Disharmony in Maya hieroglyphic writing: linguistic change
and continuity in classic society. In The Linguistics of Maya Writing. S. Wichman, ed. pp. 83-99 University of Utah
Press., Salt Lake City

February 24 (T) Grammar: pronouns (Q4)

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 43-53
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 16-18

February 26 (TH) Tags and tagging

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 116-120
(2) Houston, S. D. and D. Stuart, 1998, The ancient Maya self: personhood and portraiture in the Classic period. Res
33:73-101.

March 3 (T) Grammar: nouns (Q5)

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 42-61
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 19-25

March 5 (TH) Glyphs on pots

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(1) Grube, N., 1990, Primary standard sequence in Chochola style ceramics. In The Maya Vase Book. J. Kerr, ed. Pp.
320-330. New York: Kerr Associates
(2) Houston, S., D. Stuart, and K. A. Taube, 1989, Folk classification of Classic Maya pottery. American
Anthropologist 91(3):720-726
(2) Beliaev, D. D., A. Davletshin and A. Tokovinine, 2009, Sweet Cacao and Sour Atole: Mixed Drinks on Classic
Maya Ceramic Vases. In Pre-Columbian Foodways: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Food, Culture, and Markets in
Ancient Mesoamerica, edited by J. E. Staller and M. Carrasco, pp. 257-273. Springer Science and Business Media,
New York

March 10 (T) Grammar: nouns (continued); adjectives (Q6)

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 62
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 33-34
(3) Houston, S. D., J. Robertson and D. Stuart, 2001, Quality and quantity in glyphic nouns and adjectives. Research
reports on ancient Maya writing 47

March 12 (TH) Personal names

(1) Colas, P. R., 2003, K’inich and King: Naming Self and Person among Classic Maya Rulers. Ancient Mesoamerica
14:269-283
(2) Lacadena, A., 2000, Nominal syntax and linguistic affiliation of Classic Maya texts. In The Sacred and the
Profane: Architecture and Identity in the Maya Lowlands. P. R. Colas, K. Delvendahl, M. Kuhnert, and A. Schubart,
eds. pp. 111-128 Acta Mesoamericana, 10 Verlag Anton Saurwein, Markt Schwaben no classes spring recess

March 17 and 19 – No classes (Spring recess)

March 24 (T) Grammar: tense/aspect and intransitive verbs (Q7)

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 63-74
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 37-45

March 26 (TH) place names and landscapes

(1) Tokovinine, A., 2013, Place and Identity in Classic Maya Narratives. Studied in Pre-Columbian Art and
Archaeology 37. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C., pp. 7-86
(2) Vogt, Evon Z.; Stuart, David 2005 Some notes on ritual caves among the ancient and modern Maya In In the
Maw of the Earth Monster: Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use. James E. Brady and Keith M. Prufer, eds. pp. 155-
185 University of Texas Press, Austin, pp. 164-180

Week 9
March 31 (T) Grammar: intransitive verbs (continued) (Q8)
(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 63-74
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 37-45
(3) Zender, M., 2010, Baj “Hammer” and related affective verbs in Classic Mayan. The PARI Journal 9(2):1-16.

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April 2 (TH) Built environment in Maya art and writing
(1) Stuart, D., 1998, "The Fire Enters His House": Architecture and Ritual in Classic Maya Texts. In Function and
meaning in classic Maya architecture, edited by S. D. Houston, pp. 373-425. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and
Collection, Washington, D.C.
(2) Houston, S. D., 1998, Classic Maya depictions of the built environment. In Function and Meaning in Classic
Maya Architecture, edited by S. D. Houston, pp. 333-372. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection,
Washington, D.C.
(3) Stone, A. and M. Zender, 2011, Reading Maya art: a hieroglyphic guide to ancient Maya painting and sculpture,
New York, N.Y. Thames & Hudson, pp. 100-109

April 7 (T) Grammar: transitive verbs (Q9)

(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 75-78
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 45-54

April 9 (TH) time rituals

(1) Stuart, D., 2011, The Order of Days: The Maya World and the Truth About 2012. Harmony Books, New York, pp.
252-282
(2) Stuart, D., 1996, Kings of Stone: A Consideration of Stelae in Ancient and Maya Ritual and epresentation. Res:
Anthropology and Aesthetics 29/30:148-171.

Week 11
April 14 (T) Grammar: relational nouns and adverbs (Q10)
(1) Stuart, 2005, pp. 56-57
(2) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 54-59

April 16 (TH) Gods and demons of the night

(1) Houston, S. D. and D. Stuart, 1996, Of Gods, Glyphs, and Kings: Divinity and Rulership among the Classic Maya.
Antiquity 70:289-312.
(2) Houston, Stephen D., Stuart, David, 1989, Way Glyph: Evidence for Co-essences among the Classic Maya.
Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing, 30. Center for Maya Research, Washington, DC
(3) Stone, A. and M. Zender, 2011, Reading Maya art: a hieroglyphic guide to ancient Maya painting and sculpture,
New York, N.Y. Thames & Hudson, pp. 38-51, 146-153, 224-227

April 21 (T) Grammar: clitics and particles (Q11)

(1) Lacadena and Davletshin, 2013, pp. 60-62
(2) Wald, R. F. 2004 Telling time in classic-Ch'olan and Acalan-Chontal narrative: the linguistic base of some
temporal discourse patterns in Maya hieroglyphic and Acalan-Chontal texts. In Linguistics of Maya Writing, edited
by S. Wichmann, pp. 211-258. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.

April 23 (TH) Courtly life and politics

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(1) Houston, Stephen, and David Stuart 2001 Peopling the Classic Maya Court. In Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya,
Volume 1: Theory, Comparison, and Synthesis. T. Inomata and S.D. Houston, eds. Pp. 54-83. Boulder: Westview
Press
(2) Tokovinine, Alexandre 2007 Art of the Maya epitaph: the genre of posthumous biographies in the Late Classic
Maya inscriptions. In Sacred books, sacred languages: two thousand years of religious and ritual Mayan literature.
R. Valencia Rivera and G. Le Fort, eds. Pp. 1-20. Acta Mesoamericana, 18. Markt Schwaben: Verlag Anton Saurwein

April 28 (T) – Classic Maya hieroglyphic literature and poetics (Q12)

(1) Hull, K. M., 2012, Poetic tenacity: a diachronic study of kennings in Mayan languages. In Parallel worlds: genre,
discourse, and poetics in contemporary, colonial, and classic period Maya literature, edited by K. M. Hull and M.
Carrasco, pp. 73-122. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.
(2) Lacadena, A., 2012, Syntactic inversion (hyperbaton) as a literary device in Maya hieroglyphic texts. In Parallel
worlds: genre, discourse, and poetics in contemporary, colonial, and classic period Maya literature, edited by K. M.
Hull and M. Carrasco, pp. 45-71. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.

April 30 (TH) – reading period begins

May 7 Optional extra credit assignment due