origin
Mayan hieroglyphic writing system may have developed from a less complicated system of early Central American civilization, such as Olmec, which only used words and images (hieroglyphics), or it may have developed completely independently; Scholars have different opinions on this. What is more certain is the time when the Mayans started their writing system: the second half of the pre-classical period in the Middle Ages, about 300 BC. However, the more complex writing system of this era will almost certainly have earlier and simpler precedents in Mayan culture in previous centuries. Since the early classical period, the number of stone tablets with inscriptions has increased significantly, and the language reached full maturity and prosperity throughout the classical period (AD 250-900).
source
The best preserved examples of Mayan characters usually come from stone tablets, and the most common are the elements of altars, stone tablets and architectural sculptures, especially around doorways and stairs. Pottery is another important source of writing because ships usually carry paintings or inscriptions. Although there are far fewer examples of painting, it also exists in caves and the inner walls of some buildings. Another source, although the text example is short, is jade, greenstone, shells and bones made of lettering handicrafts. Finally, there is a book. These screen folding scrolls written on bark paper have been used all the time. Since the 9th century, they have become the media of choice for Mayan writers, because the inscriptions on the monuments have almost disappeared. Unfortunately for future generations, only three examples survived the destruction of tropical climate and enthusiastic Spanish priests, which can be traced back to the late post-classical period. Three surviving manuscripts-interestingly, written only in black and red ink-are currently in museums in Paris, Madrid and Dresden. A few pages of the fourth Mayan script can also survive and be placed in the anthropology section of the National Museum of Mexico.
system
The meaning of a given text must be interpreted from the triple combination of images that literally represent real objects or actions (hieroglyphs); Symbols (glyphs) symbolically representing objects or actions (adjectives, prepositions, plural numbers and numbers can also be expressed); And phonetic glyphs (such as vowels or consonants and vowels) representing sounds, correct pronunciations, prefixes, suffixes, pronouns and tenses. Therefore, Mayan characters are a combination of symbols representing syllables (syllables) and words (linguistic signs). Sometimes this concept can be expressed in other ways. For example, jaguar can be represented by a picture of jaguar head or a phonetic glyph ba-la-ma or a combination of jaguar head and glyph ma.
Although there are about 65,438+0,000 different symbols in Mayan characters, scribes use 300 to 500 symbols at any time. Although Maya has only five vowels and 19 consonants, it actually has 200 syllables. This is because it can represent the combination of vowels and consonants, and a sound can also be represented by several different symbols. In addition, with the passage of time, the language has evolved into some inscriptions and innovations, which can produce more beautiful symbols, and the old symbols with increasingly abstract signs can be combined or reduced through simplification. However, symbols representing the whole word are always more common than syllable symbols, which may be due to the Maya's reverence for the sanctity of tradition and language.
When reading MAYA text, start from the upper left corner, read two blocks horizontally, and then move down to the next line.
Signs and symbols are arranged in blocks and placed in two columns. When reading text, read two blocks horizontally from the upper left corner, and then move down to the next line. In very short text, glyph blocks are placed in one line, read from top to bottom in vertical text and read from left to right in horizontal text. Sentences follow the structure of verb-object-subject, and put adverbs before verbs when necessary.
Mayan civilization
Maybe only a small number of Mayan elites can read, maybe only nobles and priests. Interestingly, women in this position are not prohibited from learning to read and write. The restriction on who can read accords with the belief that writing is sacred. In fact, the Mayans believed that writing was invented by the gods Izamuna and popov in the sacred texts, and Bartz, the brother of the heroic twins, and Hong Quan, the monkey scribe (Xiongnu God), were the patrons of writing and art. These two gods are often depicted on Mayan pottery. They write manuscripts with pens or brushes. Although literacy is almost certainly limited, ordinary people may be able to recognize common symbols, such as symbols representing dates and rulers.
The actual production of the text may be limited to the priest scribe assigned to the palace workshop. Artists often sign on stone tablets, pottery and sculptures, but the words are obviously absent, which shows that the scribes do not enjoy the status of other craftsmen. In fact, the scribe may not be regarded as the author, but as the recorder of the declaration of God and divine ruler. This can also be seen from the very formulaic nature of Mayan characters, in which formal phrases are often repeated. The most common themes of Mayan characters are the history of the real world and myths, the words that declare the ownership of specific objects, and the buildings and monuments dedicated to specific gods.
heritage
Maya's writing system will continue to influence the Aztecs and other great Central American civilizations, and they will incorporate more phonetic elements into their writing on the basis of Maya's progress. The Mayan writing system was used until the Spanish conquest, but later this "pagan" writing was banned. Although the Mayan characters were deliberately destroyed and the Mayan language was banned, the Mayans still used it in secret until18th century.