Words of the Maya

words

MAYA of the

a lost lexicon

words

MAYA of the

tz’i

i

winik

Itz’in winik “younger brother”

words

MAYA of the

a lost lexicon

Christina Shook

Table of Contents

1

The Ancient Maya Civilization

2 3 4 4 6 8

the ris e and fall of an e m pi re convers ion to catho li c i s m decipherment

Reading the Ancient Glyphs 12 13 18 22 24

s y llabale g ly ph s s y llabary w o rd g ly ph s di rect i o n s n at ural ele m e n t s

Building Words 28 30

emblem glyphs toponyms

Basic Numbers 40

44

bas e t w en t y n um erals

b i b li o g raph y

“For a people to lose their history is a tragedy; to recover it, almost a miracle.”

—Breaking the Maya Code

words of the maya

• •

Bird Jaguar the Great, king of Yaxchilan, holds a ceremonial scepter over three sacrificial victims.

2

chapter one

The Ancient Maya Civilization

The ancient Maya are one of history’s most extraordinary and unusual civilizations.

• • •

Inhabiting southeastern Mexico and Central America from roughly 1800 bc until the 16th century ad, the ancient Maya are considered legendary for their intricate writing system, elaborate

calendar, monumental architecture, and precise astronomical observations. They were one of the earliest civilizations to invent the zero, to accurately calculate the solar year, and to be able to predict solar eclipses.

They participated in human sacrifice and bloodletting rituals that were a means of appeasing and communicating with their many gods. They were also a culture obsessed with the concept of time. Their priests studied the sophisticated calendar system and astronomical calculations to advise rulers on the best dates to plant and harvest crops, to make sacrifices, and to wage war. Wars were often coordinated to align with the rising of the planet Venus in the sky; human sacrifices were scheduled for days deemed particularly unlucky. To the ancient Maya, science and religion were one and the same.

3

words of the maya

• • • •

The Rise and Fall of an Empire

Classic and Postclassic Eras The southern lowland region of the Maya empire flourished during the time known as the Classic period (c. a d 250–a d 900). Citizens lived in populous, independent city-states overseen by royal family dynasties. City-states like Palenque, Tikal, Copán, Calakmul, and Caracol often fought each other for political control. They built many large-scale architectural projects, including stepped pyramid structures and monumental

abandoned by a d 900. The decline in population

carved stone slabs called stelae that documented

is indicated by the cessation of large-scale

the genealogy and accomplishments of the royal

architectural construction projects and monument

families. The Maya made significant progress

inscriptions. The reason for the collapse of the

in artistic and intellectual development during

region remains unknown. However, the northern

this era and participated in trade with distant

region of the Yucatán continued to prosper in

civilizations. Though scribes recorded detailed

what is known as the Postclassic period. The cities

information over thousands of handwritten books

of Chichen Itza, Coba, and Uxmal rose to power

called codices, none have survived from this time

until the Yucatán region was conquered by the

period. Beginning in the 8th century, the cities of

Spanish in the 16th century.

the southern region started to decline, and were

4

the ancient maya civilization

An artist ’s rendition shows what Maya architecture may have looked like before succumbing to the effects of erosion and time.

Spanish Conquest of the Yucatán Peninsula When their campaign began in 1521, they found

shields. The largest impact, however, came from

the politically fragmented culture of the Yucatán

the introduction of European diseases like small

city-states to be a deterrent—there was no central

pox, influenza, and tuberculosis that did not

power to overthrow. It took the Spanish 170

exist in the Americas. Because the Maya had no

years to thoroughly defeat the Maya, concluding

immunities to these illnesses, the viruses ravaged

with the fall of Tayasal in 1697. The natives’

the population, reducing the population by 75 to

primitive weaponry—flint-tipped spears, stones,

90 percent.

and bows and arrows—were no match for the conquistadors’ broadswords, lances, crossbows, and light artillery. Maya soldiers’ only protection came from light cotton armor and wooden

5

words of the maya

•

Conversion to Catholicism

As the Spanish conquistadors continued with

When de Landa received word that some of his

their mission to vanquish the native civilizations

new converts were secretly continuing to worship

of Mesoamerica, Franciscan monks began to

their old gods, he ordered an Inquisition upon

convert the native peoples to Catholicism.

the natives. He confiscated and burned all of their

One particular friar, Diego de Landa, made an

books, imprisoned Maya nobles, and subjected

immense impact on the future of Maya culture.

commoners to torturous examinations. De Landa’s

De Landa practiced a zero tolerance approach to conversion, and was known to use extreme measures to get a point across. He believed that in order to effectively destroy a culture, he must first learn everything he can about it.

He established a close relationship with the Maya, and intently observed their language,

toward the Maya, and in 1566 de Landa was sent home to Spain to stand trial for his Inquisition.

Though his actions were officially condemned by a committee, he was absolved of his crimes and appointed as the new bishop of the Yucatán only a few years later.

writing, art, customs, religion, and lifestyle.

Although Diego De Landa’s Relación de las cosas

He composed his studies into a manuscript he

de Yucatán is full of misinterpretations, it has

titled the Relación de las cosas de Yucatán,

proven to be an instrumental resource in the

chronicling what he believed to be a Maya

modern decipherment of the Maya script.

translation of the Latin alphabet.

6

peers did not agree with his views and treatment

the ancient maya civilization

• •

K’a’ay u-saknich ik’il “it ends, the white flower-wind”

“White flower-wind” was a euphamism the ancient Maya used to refer to a person’s soul.

7

words of the maya

• • •

Decipherment

1832

constantine rafinesque is the first person to decode a Maya glyph when he realises the dots and bars in the Dresden Codex are part of a counting system.

1880

ernst förstemann studies the Dresden Codex and deciphers the elaborate astronomy tables and calendar round.

1881

alfred maudslay uses large-format cameras to capture the first high quality, detailed photographs of Maya ruins and stelae.

The meaning of the ancient script was lost in the decades following the Spanish Conquest. The arduous process of interpreting the script began less than two hundred years ago.

8

the ancient maya civilization

• • • •

1958

tatiana proskouriakoff discovers that inscriptions on stelae documented records of royal family dynasties.

1930

1981

david stuart realizes that Maya scribes often used different glyphs to describe a word.

eric thompson catalogues every known glyph into a numbered system.

1952

1973

yuri knorosov discovers that the script is uses both syllable glyphs and word glyphs

linda schele & peter mathews, two students of epigraphy, decipher the names and full life stories of six Palenque rulers.

Misunderstandings of the imagery depicted in the

he brought along a team technical artists to take

glyphs lead to many setbacks. Early epigraphers,

accurate plaster casts, impressions, drawings, and

specialists in the study of ancient scripts, believed

large-format photographs of the stone carvings.

the ancient civilization was related to either the

After six expeditions to Maya ruins and thirteen

Babylonians, Phoenicians, or ancient Hindus. This

years of preparation, Maudslay published his work

misconception clouded their perception of the

in 1902 as a five-volume compendium. Entitled

imagery in the glyphs. Most of the early explorers

Biologia Centrali-Americana, the book opened the

of the city ruins were not skilled illustrators, and

study of Maya glyphs to epigraphers across the

were unable to draw the glyphs as anything more

globe. In fact, many of the major breakthroughs

than scribbles. When a British archaeologist by the

in decipherment came from people who never

name of Alfred Maudslay ventured to the ruins,

stepped foot in Central America.

9

Here, Lady Waak Tuun communicates with a Vision Serpent during a bloodletting ritual.

10

chapter two

Reading the Ancient Glyphs

By learning to read the inscriptions found on stone carvings, ancient legends can be rekindled.

•

The classic Maya script is a system made of ornate symbols called glyphs. These glyphs were carved and drawn in a wide variety of styles—some are very simple and geometric, others are elaborately

detailed. The ancient Maya considered the acts of writing and painting to be the same, and used one word to describe both tasks—tz’ib. Maya scribes were some of the most well-educated and exalted members of their societies, often holding proud and prestigious titles like aj k’uhuun (“the keeper of the holy paper,”) or aj itz’aat (“wise one.”)

11

words of the maya

• •

Syllable Glyphs

One of the main components of the classic Maya

not yet been discovered, and may not have ever

script is the syllable glyph, or syllabogram—a

existed in the classic Mayan language. Though

glyph that represents a single phonetic syllable,

they used familiar vowel sounds—a, e, i, o, u—many

usually a pairing of one consonant and one

common consonants like r, f, and d did not exist

vowel. By combining multiple syllabograms

in the classic tongue.

together, Maya scribes could spell many words and immortalize legends in stone. There are approximately 150 known Maya syllabograms.

Some consonant and vowel combinations have

Over the next few pages, a complete listing of all known syllabograms can be viewed in a chart system called a syllabary.

Pronunciation Most ancient Maya syllables are pronounced as they are in modern-day Spanish. Vowel sounds are pronounced “short,” as illustrated in the chart to the right. When a word is written with two of the same vowels consecutively, it signals a “long” vowel pronunciation.

12

short vowels

long vowels

a = “ah” as in father

aa = “ay” as in lake

e = “ey” as in day

ee = “ee” as in feet

i = “ee” as in keep

ii = “aye” as in bite

o = “aw” as in off

oo = “oh” as in oak

u = “oo” as in duke

uu = “yoo” as in use

reading the ancient glyphs

pure vowels

b’ • • •

a

e

i

o

u

13

words of the maya

ch • • • •

a

e

i

o

u

14

ch’

h

j

k

reading the ancient glyphs

k’

l

m

n

a

e

i

o

u

15

words of the maya

p •

a

e

i

o

u

16

s

t

t’

tz’

reading the ancient glyphs

tz

w

x

y • •

a

e

i

o

u

17

words of the maya

• • •

Word Glyphs

Maya scribes often supplemented their writing with glyphs

Ajaw lord

that stood for whole words and phrases, called logograms.

There are about 500 known logograms. When a logogram resembles the thing it is referring to, it is called a pictogram.

These were often used when naming important people and deities. Though there are hundreds of words with dedicated logograms, it would also be acceptable to spell out those words with syllabograms if desired. By using a combination of logograms and syllabograms, Maya scribes were able to

Haab year

compose words, phrases, and names with great variety.

Just as there is often more than one syllabogram for a single syllable, many common Maya words had multiple logograms.

Some logograms were used for more than one word. The next few pages showcase a small sample of the many logograms from the ancient Maya lexicon.

Janahb flower

18

reading the ancient glyphs

• • • •

B’ahlam jaguar

Chan sky, snake

Chok to scatter

Ch’ok youth

Hul to arrive

Huun book, paper

Itz’aat sage

Ixik woman

Jol head, skull

Joy accession

Jul to pierce

K’al close, tie

19

words of the maya

•

20

K’in day, sun

Lakam big

Mam ancestor

Mo’ macaw

Muyal cloud

Naab pool

Nal maize

Och enter

Pakal shield

Pet jewel, island

Suutz’ bat

Winik person

reading the ancient glyphs

• •

Lakam-Tuun big stone, stelae

21

words of the maya

Sak

white • • •

Ik’

black

Xaman north

Ochk’in west

K’an

yellow

Nohol south

22

reading the ancient glyphs

• • • •

Lak’in east

Cham red

The ancient Maya were obsessed with placing themselves in time and space. Not only were dates of events of utmost importance, the location at which they took place mattered as well. The Maya associated a color with each of the four cardinal directions. Red was given to the East, the most important of the directions as it is the birthplace of the sun.

Black was associated with the West, as it was the sun’s dying place each evening. The cities of the North were known to receive lush, cool rains, and thus was associated with the color white. The South, known for its arid desert, was paired with the color yellow.

23

words of the maya

• • • • •

K’ak’ fire

24

Ik’ wind

reading the ancient glyphs

•

Ha’ water

Kab earth

The ancient Maya were very connected to their natural environment. They believed they were in a partnership with nature, as opposed to feeling the need to have control over the elements and natural forces.

As a society consisting largely of farmers, agriculture was at the center of importance. One of the most prominent crops the Maya farmers grew was maize, prized for its long storage life and the ability to grind it into flour.

25

words of the maya

• •

chapter three

Building Words

By combining syllable and word glyphs, Maya scribes could spell thousands of words.

If two syllabograms ending in the same vowel are combined, the second vowel becomes silent. Because the Maya only had glyphs for syllables ending in a vowel, scribes used this rule (called

synharmony) to write words that ended with a consonant sound. In this example, the o of the second “po” remains silent.

When reading or writing a compound glyph block, the general rule of thumb is to read the glyphs left-to-right first, then topto-bottom. Of course, Maya scribes often strayed from this system—usually for aesthetic purposes.

26

• • •

tuun

po

po

Pop-tuun stone mat

27

words of the maya

• • • •

Tikál

Emblem glyphs were often used to name the territory that a particular ruler or royal family controlled. Maya rulers were considered to be intermediaries between the gods and mortal K’uhul holy

humans, and were believed to be partially divine themselves.

They were often addressed as k’uhul ajaw—“holy lord.” We can see the affixes k’uhul and ajaw attached to the top and left edges of nearly all emblem glyphs, with the main sign

Ajaw lord

28

describing the family or ruler’s name.

building words

• • • • •

Copán

Palenque

Yaxchilan

Yaxha

29

words of the maya

wi

โ ข

ti

ki

ox

Ox-witik copรกn

The names for city-states were usually written out phonetically. These glyphs are called toponyms.

Because these were composed of syllabograms and logograms, we are able to see that the modern-day names of these locations are actually quite different from what the names the ancient Maya called them by.

30

building words

nal

• •

witz

k’an

K’an-witz-nal Yellow Mountain ukanal

ha’

lakam

Lakam-ha’ Great Waters palenque

31

words of the maya

• • •

chapter four

Basic Numbers

Mathematics was the key that unlocked the mysteries of the stars in the night sky.

Though they only had access to stone and wooden tools, the Maya were remarkably advanced in the areas of mathematics and astronomy. They observed and diligently recorded the

passage of the sun, moon, planet Venus, and stars. Their observations lead them to develop a unique calendrical system, called the calendar round, in which they divided a 52-year cycle into a system of 18 months of 20 days.

The Maya were also one of the first civilizations to invent the zero. The glyph for the number zero was depicted in different ways, but it most often resembled the image of an empty shell.

32

• • • •

33

words of the maya

• • • • •

•

• •

• • •

1

2

3

•

• •

• • •

6

7

8

•

• •

• • •

11

12

13

•

16

34

• •

17

• • •

18

basic numbers

• • • • 4

•

5

• • • •

The Maya used a base twenty counting system, utilizing dots and bars to represent values

9

10

between one and nineteen.

• • • • 14

15

• • • •

19

35

Tzutz to end

Glyph illustrations are by Mark Van Stone Text copyright Š 2014 Christina Shook All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Printed and bound in Oakland, California

Bibliography

Image credits

Astrology Wikia. ‘Maya Cardinal Directions’. Web.

Coe, Michael D., and Mark Van Stone. Reading the

30 Nov. 2014.

Maya Glyphs. 2nd ed. London: Thames & Hudson,

Breaking The Maya Code. David Lebrun, 2008. DVD. Calvin, Inga. Hieroglyphic Decipherment Guide. 2012.

Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Coe, Michael D., and Mark Van Stone. Reading the Maya Glyphs. 2nd ed. London: Thames & Hudson, 2001. Print.

Kettunen, Harri, and Christophe Helmke.

Introduction To Maya Hieroglyphs. 2010. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Pitts, Mark. Writing In Maya Glyphs. 1st ed. 2008.

Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

ReligionFacts. ‘Mayan Religion’. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Trupp, Tony. ‘Decline’. The Mayan Kingdom. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Wikipedia. ‘Diego de Landa’. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Wikipedia. ‘Maya Civilization’. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Wikipedia. ‘Maya Blue’. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.

Wikipedia. ‘Mexican Inquisition’. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

2001. Print.

Graham, Ian. Yaxchilan Lintel 15. Digital image.

Latin American Studies. Web. 13 November 2014.

Proskouriakoff, Tatiana. Reconstruction drawing of inside of Vaulted Archway. Digital image.

Architecture, Restoration, and Imaging of the Maya Cities of Uxmal, Kabah, Sayil, and Labná. Web. 13 November 2014.

Thompson, Eric. Yaxchilan Stela 11. Digital image.

Hidden in Plain Sight. Web. 13 November 2014.

This book was written and designed by Christina Shook in 2014 as part of the Typography 2 course at the Academy of Art University, under the instruction of David Hake.

The book was printed by the designer, using an Epson Stylus Photo 1400 inkjet printer on Epson Presentation Matte paper.

The book was hand-bound by the designer.

The typefaces used are Avenir, designed by Adrian Frutiger for Linotype in 1988; and Archer, designed by Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones for Hoefler & Frere-Jones in 2001.

The blue color used throughout the book was inspired by the indigo pigment the Maya often used in their paintings, remarkable for its extreme resistance to weathering.