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Mayan Writing

Date post: 08-Jan-2016
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Mayan Writing. Mayan Writing Andrea M. Ranada. Andrea Ranada. The Maya Scribe. Typical appearance: Hair wrapped with a head cloth A “stick bundle” attached to the head cloth The occasional stick-like tool included in the headdress A sarong tied at the waist (its length may vary). - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Mayan Writing Mayan Writing Andrea Ranada Mayan Writing Mayan Writing Andrea M. Ranada
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Page 1: Mayan Writing

Mayan WritingMayan Writing

Andrea Ranada

Mayan WritingMayan WritingAndrea M. Ranada

Page 2: Mayan Writing

The Maya ScribeThe Maya ScribeTypical appearance:

•Hair wrapped with a head cloth

•A “stick bundle” attached to the head cloth

•The occasional stick-like tool included in the headdress

•A sarong tied at the waist (its length may vary).

•Scribes had a special status in society

•Some kings and queens were also scribes

•The Maya worshipped the gods of writing, one of them being Rabbit God.

Page 3: Mayan Writing

Mayan Writing SurfacesMayan Writing Surfaces

Page 4: Mayan Writing

Limestone Limestone

•Limestone is abundant in the Yucatán peninsula

•Freshly excavated limestone is fairly soft and easily manipulated, but eventually hardens upon exposure to air

•The picture on the left is from the Tablet of the 96 Hieroglyphs at Palenque on limestone.

Page 5: Mayan Writing

Volcanic Volcanic TuffTuff

•Found at Copán (limestone was rare in this region)

•Extremely durable under the humid conditions of the area

•Produced remarkable three-dimensional sculptures

•The picture above depicts the Moon Goddess with the Rabbit God. It is from a bench in the scribal compound of Copán.

Page 6: Mayan Writing

Plaster and PaperPlaster and Paper

•Plaster (calcium carbonate) is commonly used on the walls of ancient Mayan architecture •Plaster can be found on the surface of all four Maya codices, suggesting that the scribes did not directly write on the paper, but more on plaster-like surfaces

• Amate is the paper used by the Maya; it is made from the inner bark of wild fig trees

Papermaking process:

•Boil inner bark fibers

•Soak it in lime

•Layer fibers in grid formation

•Compress to combine the layers into a sheet

Page 7: Mayan Writing

Other Other SurfacesSurfaces

•Jade

•Pottery

•Wood

•Bone

•Shell

Page 8: Mayan Writing

Mayan Writing ToolsMayan Writing ToolsCarving and Incising Tools

•No evidence that it was made of metal•Most likely stone chisels were used on monumental stone•On bone, wood, and shell, hafted obsidian blades were probably used

Brush and Quill Pens

•Brush pens supposedly similar to traditional Chinese brush pens•Quill pens were used for more thinner lines and more precise designs

Inkpots and Inks

•The Maya used conch shells cut in half lengthwise as inkpots •Black and red pigments were typically used on the codices

Page 9: Mayan Writing

The Maya CodicesThe Maya Codices •The inner bark of wild fig trees were used to form the sheets of paper.

•Horizontal sheets were made and folded accordion-style to form the Maya books

•These folded sheets had script and illustrations on both sides and possibly wood or leather served as covers.

•The Maya books served a general purpose of presenting calendrical and celestial systems, including but not limited to:

Venus cycle tables Eclipse tables Pictures of ceremonies & deities Multiplication tables A 260-day sacred almanac

Page 10: Mayan Writing

The 260-day countThe 260-day count

Page 11: Mayan Writing

The Paris CodexThe Paris Codex•Katuns (20 years)

•Tuns (360 days)

•The grand cycle is 13 katuns, and after 13 katuns, history is supposed to repeat itself. •The codex only documents 11 katuns (at least 2 pages are missing).

•The center of each codex page has an image of the deity that rules that katun (one katun is documented per page).

•Hieroglyphic text about prophecies and rituals frames these images.

Page 12: Mayan Writing

The Madrid CodexThe Madrid Codex •Also known as the Tro-Cortes, because at some point the codex split into two parts (1st part Tro, 2nd part Cortes) and was found at separate occasions in Spain

•This codex seems to be purely about divination

•It does not contain astronomy, prophecies, or multiplication tables, but it does contain a 260-day almanac.

Page 13: Mayan Writing

The Grolier CodexThe Grolier Codex•A recent discovery

•Only half (10 pages) of it has been found

•It primarily deals with the 582-day Venus cycle

•Each page deals with one part of the cycle

•Each part has a sinister deity dominating that part of the cycle

•The deities are sinister because the Mesoamerican mentality considers all aspects of the planet as “ill-omened”.

Page 14: Mayan Writing

The Dresden CodexThe Dresden Codex•Consists of several 260-day almanacs as well as Venus, eclipse, and multiplication tables.

•The almanacs were divided vertically into t’ols

•Each division corresponds to a sacred Maya year (tzolkin)

•Each year is a period of 260 days, or a tonalpohualli

•Each t’ol has a calendrical glyph with hieroglyphic text within four glyph blocks above it

•Each calendrical glyph indicates a day in the sacred calendar, and right below it is an image of a god or some sort of protagonist, such as the Moon Goddess.

Page 15: Mayan Writing

ConclusionConclusion•The purpose of Mayan writing, specifically in codices, is to document celestial events and calendrical systems.

•The Grolier and Dresden codices deal with more astronomical instances.

•The Paris Codex concerns katuns and tuns.

•The Madrid Codex remains purely divinatory.

•The content of the four codices all truly represent the remarkable achievements of the ancient Maya.

Page 16: Mayan Writing

The EndThe End


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