Introduction to

Mayan Hieroglyphs

Originally presented 12/7/2001

12.19.8.14.6
13 Cimi 4 Mac
 Background On The Maya

• The Mayan civilization was known to exist from 250 AD to 1530 AD, flourishing
between 600 AD and 900 AD (cycle9).

• The Mayan habitat ranged from The Yucatan Region of Mexico in the north and the
Chiapas Region of Mexico in the west, throughout present day Guatemala and Belize, to
El Salvador and Honduras in the south and east.

• Native American descendants of the Mayans continue to live in the same area and still
speak some 30 variants of Mayan, but written Mayan Hieroglyphics had fallen out of use
for 500 years until their rediscovery by European cultures.
 The
Mayan
Habitat
 Mayan
Spoken
Language
Development
Present Day
Spoken
Language
Distribution
Mayan City Occupation History
Histogram of Recorded Mayan Dates
(for Cycle 9)
 The Fall of the Mayan Civilization

Acknowledged conjoined causes of the collapse of “Classic” (city dwelling) Mayan Civilization
during the “terminal classic” era:

• Population growth in general

• Growth of a non-productive elite (and corresponding labor shortage of farming labor)
• Agricultural failure (from over-farming, deforestation, and erosion)
• A loss of faith in political-religious leadership
• An inability or loss of will to defend against outside tribes

Summary: Mayan cities and their culture were not sustainable.

Last Recorded Dates per City
 Decipherment History

• 1827: Constantine Rafineque first decodes number system.

• 1880: Ernst Fostemann breaks numerical calendar.
• 1891: J.T. Goodman deciphers head variant calendar.
• 1915: S.G. Morley completes decipherment of the calendar.

• 1952: Yuri Knorozov proposes the phonetic approach.

• 1958: Heinrich Berlin decodes place names.
• 1960: Tania Proskouriakoff proposes the historical approach.
• 1962: J.E.S. Thompson publishes complete catalog of glyphs.
• 1964: Tania Proskouriakoff decodes ruler names.

• 1990: Linda Schele and David Freidel decode syntax to provide the first sets of complete
translations of inscriptions.
 Mayan Hieroglyph Basics

• Two major types of glyphs: “Affixes” are on the sides and above or below “Main
Signs” and are used are modifiers.
• Both Iconographic (Logographic) and Phonetic glyphs exist and are routinely combined.
• Sources: Codices and Inscriptions
– Codices:
• Written on tree bark, most have been destroyed by Bishop Diego de Landa after
the Columbian conquest.
• Four known codices still exist: Dresden Codex, Paris Codex, Madrid Codex, and
Grolier Codex.
– Inscriptions:
• Carved in stone on buildings and monuments at all Mayan archaeological sites.
Example Inscriptions and Codex

Dresden Codex, Farmer’s Almanac

 The Mayan Calendar System

• The Mayan Calendar is really two

calendars:
• The Tonalamatl (or Tzolkin)
calendar of days
- 260 days in duration.
•The Haab calendar of months - 365
days in duration.

• The Maya also kept track of how many

times these calendars cycled, known as the
“Long Count”.
 The Tonalamatl (Tzolkin) Calendar

• The Tonalamatl (or Tzolkin) consists of

260 days:
You
• 13 day numbers are always numbered are
here
sequentially.
• 20 day names always occur in the same
sequence.

• This day number and day name are written

together for a possible 260 combinations.

• Example: today is “13 Cimi” in Tona

time.
The Tona Day Signs -
Inscriptions, part 1
The Tona Day Signs -
Inscriptions, part 2
The Tona Day Signs -
Codices, part 1
The Tona Day Signs -
Codices, part 2
 The Haab Calendar

• The Haab calendar of months, or solar calendar:

• Is 365 days in duration.
• Consists of 18 periods of 20 days each,
plus one last period of only 5 days.

• 19 Mayan month names:

Pop, Uo, Zip, Zotz, Tzec, Xul, Yaxkin, Mol, Chen,Yax,
Zac, Ceh, Mac, Kankin, Muan, Pax, Kayab, Cumhu, Uayeb

• Each day in the month is numbered 0 through 19,

except Uayeb, whose days are numbered 0 through 4.

• The day number and month name are written together

for a possible 365 combinations.
• For example, today is “4 Mac” on the Haab calendar.
The Haab Month Signs -
Inscriptions, part 1
The Haab Month Signs -
Inscriptions, part 2
The Haab Month Signs -
Codices, part 1
The Haab Month Signs -
Codices, part 2
 The Calander Round

• The Tonalamatl and Haab

calendar dates are typically written
together in Mayan hieroglyphs to form
the calendar round date.

• For example, today’s calendar

round date is
13 Cimi 4 Mac.

• The calendar round date repeats

every 52 years.
 The Long Count

• The Long Count consists of a set of Mayan time periods listed together, and is often listed
prior to the calendar round date to fix the date in a larger temporal context called the initial series.

• Long count format:

cycle . katun . tun . uinal . kin

• Meaning of each place in days:

144,000 . 7200 . 360 . 20 . 1

• For example, today’s long count is 12.19.8.14.6

• The long count cycle repeats every 394 years, 190 days.
• This long count cycle (cycle 12) began on 9/18/1618.
• The next long count cycle (cycle 13) begins on 12/21/2012.
 The Mayan Time Periods

Mayan Time Periods Modern Time Periods

1 kin = 1 day
20 kin = 1 uinal = 20 days
20 uinal = 1 tun = 360 days ~ 1 year
18 tun = 1 katun = 7200 days ~ 2 decades
20 katun = 1 cycle (baktun) = 144,000 days ~ 4 centuries
20 baktun = 1 great cycle (pictun) = 2,880,000 days ~ 8 millinea
20 pictun = 1 great great cycle (calabtun) ~ 160 millinea
20 calabtuns 1 great great great cycle = ~ 3200 millinea
The Initial Series
The Introductory Glyph
Time Period Glyphs: Baktun (Cycle)
Time Period Glyphs: Katun
Time Period Glyphs: Tun
Time Period Glyphs: Uinal (Winal)
Time Period Glyphs: Kin
 Great cycles, great-great
cycles, and beyond...
• Beyond the cycle is the great cycle, the
great-great cycle, the great-great-great
cycle, and so on.

• Underscores the cyclic nature of time - no

beginning or end, just bigger cycles.

• Not always associated with the calendar

- Often used for a numeration notation.
 Number Glyphs: Normal Form

• There are normal forms

and head variants or each
number, from 0 to 19.

• These are the normal

forms in the inscriptions
from 1 to 19:
Number Glyphs: Head Variants, 1-7
Number Glyphs: Head Variants, 8-13
Number Glyphs: Head Variants, 14-19, 0
 Number Glyphs:
Normal Codex Forms
 Number Glyphs: Zero

Zero in the Codices Zero in the Inscriptions

Numeration Example in Codices
 Non-calendar Glyphs

• Mayan Gods

• Glyphs of the Rich and Famous

• Family Relationship Glyphs

• Verb Glyphs

• Colors, Directions, and Other Glyphs

Glyphs of the Mayan Gods
Title
Glyphs
Relationship
Glyphs
Verb Glyphs
Color & Direction Glyphs
 Extra Credit Project

1. Travel to the Quirigua site.

2. Look up the “Stela C” Monument.
3. Find the long count 13.0.0.0.0 inscribed on the monument,
indicating the beginning of cycle 13.
4. Decipher / translate the prediction listed after the cycle
13 long count and tell us all what to expect on Dec 21,
2012 (or Dec 23, depending on which calendar transfer
you believe.)
Optional:
5. Write a book about your version of the translated
prediction and make lots of money. (Be sure to publish
prior to 12/21/2012.)
 Reference Books

1. Morley, S.G.; An Introduction to the study of Maya Hieroglyphs; 1915

2. Thompson, J.E.S.; A Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs; 1962

3. Coe, Michael D.; The Maya; 1966

4. Kelly, Joyce; An Achaeological Guide to Mexico’s Peninsula; 1982

5. Schele, Linda & Freidel, David; A Forest of Kings; 1990

 Web References and Resources:

• General Information and T-shirts:

http://www.halfmoon.org/

• Mayan Calendar Tools:

http://www.pauahtun.org/tools.html

• Mayan Epigraphic Database (MED) Project:

http://www.iath.virginia.edu/med/

• Mayan Glyph Catalog Online (numbered per 1962 Thompson):

http://meca.princeton.edu:8888/alvaradodev/gcat/main.epl