Deciphering Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: The State of the Art

Abstract

A brief description of the historical approaches to the decipherment of ancient Maya writing is presented in order to provide the background for a description of our current knowledge of the nature and structure of their system. Maya hieroglyphic writing is recognized as a true writing system in that it represents the sounds and structure of spoken language. The writing system is defined as a mixed logographic system containing both pictographic and phonetic elements. Maya hieroglyphic writing appears in the latter part of the Late Preclassic Period (ca. 150 B.c.-A.D. 100) and is primarily associated with documenting political history and legitimacy. Writing was used to record the events of a ruler’s life, validating his right to the throne by documenting his parentage, his accession to power, his conquests, and his performance of important ritual and ceremonial acts. Calendrical information also comprises a major component of Classic Maya inscriptions. Historic events are documented by means of a complex system that both fixes events in time and ties them cyclically to the mythological past.