The Mayan written language was suppressed after the Spanish conquest but scholars have worked to decipher it from the few remaining texts and inscriptions. Early efforts were hindered by inaccuracies but analyzing patterns in dates and symbols allowed some sounds and meanings to be determined. Comparing the written language to modern spoken Mayan dialects and sharing findings was crucial to progress. While opinions differed, collaboration increasingly allowed the complex syllabic nature and historical meanings of texts to be understood, reviving local Mayan heritage.

1. By Sarah Macedo
Cracking the Maya Code

2.  After the Spanish conquest, the
Mayan language was viewed as
“pagan” writing and a threat to the
Christian conversions.
 As a result, all of the texts were
burned under orders from people
like Diego de Landa the in the 16th
century.
 Wit in the next few centuries, the
written language completely
disappeared because it was against
the law and punishable by death.
 Instead, Mayans learned how to
write using the Spanish characters.
 Only four books and the words
carved into stone still remain.
 From that, scholars have worked for Diego de Landa
over a century at deciphering their
complex writing system.
Cracking the Maya Code

3.  One of the first things to do was observe
as many examples of the written
language as possible.
 In the case of the Maya, this was done
through the re-discovery of ancient ruins
like Palenque and the revival of lost
Mayan texts found in Mexico, Spain, and
France.
 Accuracy in any copies of the materials is
crucial because any little detail could
hinder further development or lead to
false conclusions.
 Early Mayan epigraphers based their
conclusions on work done by
artists, such as Jean Fredrick What Valdec drew versus what the
Valdec, whose hand drawings contained
inaccuracies and the simplification of the actual sign was.
signs to meet their own expectations. By
having the preconceived notion that the
temples were built by an Asian
civilization, Valdec interpreted certain
symbols as elephants in the text. The
advent of cameras allowed people to see
the actual images for the first time
without traveling to the site. Cracking the Maya Code

4.  Another crucial element of deciphering
is the recognition of patters.
 In 1810 Constantine Rafinesque realized
that since no more than four dots
(symbolizing the number one) appear in
one sequence, the number five was
represented by a bar
 Tatiana Proskouriakoff realized that the
stelas she was studying followed a time
pattern of being dated every five years
and were accompanied by similar
symbols. This made her realize that they
actually told the history of Mayan rulers.
 A Russian linguist used the study of the
various passages to verify that at least
some of the symbols coincided with
Mayan sounds. An illustration of
Proskouriakoff’s observations
Cracking the Maya Code

5.  After counting 800 distinct
symbols, the language was
considered to be a limited
logographic system (having too
many for syllable
representation but too few for a
completely logographic
language)
 However, it was later discovered
by David Stuart that the same
sound could be represented by
several different symbol
variations
 This enabled people to
understand the level of
creativity and art that went into This chart illustrate some of the 800
this language; they soon Mayan symbols
discovered that signs could
vary, be combined together, and
overlap with one another.
Cracking the Maya Code

6.  Much of the early work on the
written Mayan language centered
around the declarations and
approval of Mayan “specialist” Eric
Thompson. He claimed the
language was not syllabic and that
the writing on the stelas carried no
historical meanings.
 However, many of his theories were
later proved to be wrong (as
illustrated by the examples on slide
5).
 Working together and sharing
information was vital to the cracking Eric Thompson
of the Mayan language, however. By
sharing pictures of the images and
sending groups down to study them
together, historians have achieved
major breakthroughs.
Cracking the Maya Code

7.  Another important element in the
understanding of the Mayan
language was to learn about the
spoken Mayan language still known
by native populations today
 By knowing what sounds make up
specific words, the syllabic writing
system could be deciphered.
 For example, it is known that “k’in”
is sun and “chik’in” is West based on
the spoken language. The fact that
they share the same morpheme
enabled epigraphers to recognize
the morpheme in its symbol form The Mayan symbol for West
 While the study of ancient
languages is typically dominated by
English/Spanish names, the Mayan
people were evolved in the naming
of some of the discovered rulers
Cracking the Maya Code

8.  The “cracking of the Mayan
code” was more than just the
answer to a mystery; it was
the key to a people’s history
 Local Mayans are now able to
learn about their ancestry and
the culture that disappeared
after the arrival of the
Spanish
 They are learning how to read
these symbols and The teaching of the Mayan language to
understand their lost children and community members in
language and heritage for the Mexico
first time in centuries.
Cracking the Maya Code

9.  “Cracking the Maya Code”. Nova. PBS. 8 April 2008.
Television.
IMAGES TAKEN FROM:
 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/cracking-
maya-code.html
 http://users.skynet.be/fa039055/lifedeat.htm
 Screen shots from “Cracking the Maya Code”
Cracking the Maya Code