Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs - Wayeb

Kettunen & Helmke 2011
Maya Hieroglyphs
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
FOREWORD .................................................................................................................................................................... 6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................................................... 6
NOTE ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................... 7
I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 8
1. History of Decipherment .................................................................................................................................. 9
2. Origins of the Maya Script ............................................................................................................................. 12
3. Language(s) of the Hieroglyphs .................................................................................................................... 13
II THE WRITING SYSTEM............................................................................................................................................. 14
4. Conventions of Transliterating and Transcribing Maya Texts .................................................................. 14
5. Reading Order.................................................................................................................................................. 16
6. Compound Glyphs, Infixing, and Conflations ............................................................................................ 17
7. Logograms ........................................................................................................................................................ 18
8. Syllables (Syllabograms) ................................................................................................................................. 19
9. Phonetic Complements ................................................................................................................................... 19
10. Semantic Determinatives and Diacritical Signs ......................................................................................... 20
11. Polyvalence: Polyphony and Homophony ................................................................................................ 20
12. Number of Known Hieroglyphs ................................................................................................................. 22
III GRAMMAR .............................................................................................................................................................. 24
13. Word Order .................................................................................................................................................... 24
14. Verbs ............................................................................................................................................................... 26
15. Nouns and Adjectives ................................................................................................................................... 26
16. Pronominal System ....................................................................................................................................... 27
IV TYPICAL STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE TEXTS ............................................................................................ 30
17. Monumental Inscriptions ............................................................................................................................. 30
18. Ceramics ......................................................................................................................................................... 30
19. Codices ............................................................................................................................................................ 37
20. Portable Artefacts .......................................................................................................................................... 39
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................................ 40
Appendix A: Assorted Texts .................................................................................................................................. 40
Appendix B: Titles .................................................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix C: Relationship Glyphs ......................................................................................................................... 44
Appendix D: Classic Maya Emblem Glyphs ........................................................................................................ 45
Appendix E: Note on the Calendar........................................................................................................................ 47
Mathematics .......................................................................................................................................................... 47
Tzolk’in and Haab ................................................................................................................................................ 49
Calendar Round .................................................................................................................................................... 49
Long Count ............................................................................................................................................................ 49
Initial Series ........................................................................................................................................................... 50
Supplementary Series .......................................................................................................................................... 50
Distance Numbers ................................................................................................................................................ 50
Possible Haab Coefficients for the Tzolk’in Day Names ................................................................................ 51
“Lords of the Night” (Cycle of 9 Days) ............................................................................................................. 51
An Example of the Correlation of the Long Count, Tzolk’in, Haab, and the Lords of the Night ............. 52
2/154