The society of the Maya were among the Mesoamerican societies which left a significant impact on Central America's history and culture. The Maya were more professional compared with their neighbors generally in most areas, which include architecture, agriculture plus astronomy, nevertheless what has enthralled explorers as well as archaeologists essentially the most is their completely unique hieroglyphic writing system, that they devised about 2,300 years in the past.
What they have are very advanced, complex as well as visually striking glyphs. Their calligraphic style and complex phonetic system are distinct from any other writing system globally. The reason is, the ancient Maya devised their writing system independently from the rest of the world.
More About The Mayan Writing System
It's among the 3 systems on earth which have nothing common with some other writing system - Chinese and Sumerian simply being the other 2. Although the system is known as hieroglyphic since it visually looks like the system utilized in ancient Egypt, the two systems do not have anything in common and aren't related by any means.
Deciphering the Code
One other entertaining fact regarding the Maya hieroglyphic writing system is that it was the very last of the 3 systems to be deciphered. The very first endeavor to decipher this system commenced in 1950, with a vital breakthrough happening during the 1970s, however nevertheless you can find continuing projects in this region and not every thing has been deciphered.
Regardless of whether the Maya hieroglyphic writing system is founded on phonetic signs, it is quite distinctive from the phonetic system as we know it. The system which most western countries use these days are simpler compared to the writing system of the Maya.
Almost all countries in Europe as well as North America employ the Latin alphabet, which is comprised of 26 signs. Cyrillic alphabet are use by some Slavic countries such as Bulgaria and Russia , yet even that has just about 33 signs.
If you compare the writing system of the Maya to the rest that is used today in the modern world, the Maya writing system is surely breathtaking. The list of signs the Maya utilized is known as the Syllabary, due to the fact that every sign in their language signifies a full syllable.
Mayan Vowels and Syllables
In the syllabary, the sound is made by way of integrating a consonant with one of the vowels; in the language of the ancient Maya there were a total of 5 vowels. The Maya implemented a different glyph for each syllable, that is why there were more than 800 glyphs to select from whenever writing. Several of the glyphs when deciphered were learned to have a number of meanings (polyvalent glyphs).
Similar to the way we write today, the ancient Maya wrote their glyphs in rows and columns. Even so, the way in which their texts are read differs. In the event that the text has just 2 columns, the way in which the text is read is left to right just as we usually read these days. In the event that the text has way more columns, various rules apply:
If texts have an even number of colums then it would be read like this: first the first two columns are read left to right; next the next set of two columns are read left to right and so forth until eventually there are no more sets of two columns remaining.
If there is an uneven number of text columns then they are read like: the initial column is read on its own top to bottom; then the 2nd two columns are read together left to right.
Find out more for yourself
There's a whole lot more than can probably be said regarding the ancient Maya as well as their one of a kind writing system; nevertheless, the very best way to experience this is to discover for yourself simply by going to the ancient Maya ruins found in Central America as well as listening to the expert guides sharing with you the the interesting story of the Maya civilization.
What they have are very advanced, complex as well as visually striking glyphs. Their calligraphic style and complex phonetic system are distinct from any other writing system globally. The reason is, the ancient Maya devised their writing system independently from the rest of the world.
More About The Mayan Writing System
It's among the 3 systems on earth which have nothing common with some other writing system - Chinese and Sumerian simply being the other 2. Although the system is known as hieroglyphic since it visually looks like the system utilized in ancient Egypt, the two systems do not have anything in common and aren't related by any means.
Deciphering the Code
One other entertaining fact regarding the Maya hieroglyphic writing system is that it was the very last of the 3 systems to be deciphered. The very first endeavor to decipher this system commenced in 1950, with a vital breakthrough happening during the 1970s, however nevertheless you can find continuing projects in this region and not every thing has been deciphered.
Regardless of whether the Maya hieroglyphic writing system is founded on phonetic signs, it is quite distinctive from the phonetic system as we know it. The system which most western countries use these days are simpler compared to the writing system of the Maya.
Almost all countries in Europe as well as North America employ the Latin alphabet, which is comprised of 26 signs. Cyrillic alphabet are use by some Slavic countries such as Bulgaria and Russia , yet even that has just about 33 signs.
If you compare the writing system of the Maya to the rest that is used today in the modern world, the Maya writing system is surely breathtaking. The list of signs the Maya utilized is known as the Syllabary, due to the fact that every sign in their language signifies a full syllable.
Mayan Vowels and Syllables
In the syllabary, the sound is made by way of integrating a consonant with one of the vowels; in the language of the ancient Maya there were a total of 5 vowels. The Maya implemented a different glyph for each syllable, that is why there were more than 800 glyphs to select from whenever writing. Several of the glyphs when deciphered were learned to have a number of meanings (polyvalent glyphs).
Similar to the way we write today, the ancient Maya wrote their glyphs in rows and columns. Even so, the way in which their texts are read differs. In the event that the text has just 2 columns, the way in which the text is read is left to right just as we usually read these days. In the event that the text has way more columns, various rules apply:
If texts have an even number of colums then it would be read like this: first the first two columns are read left to right; next the next set of two columns are read left to right and so forth until eventually there are no more sets of two columns remaining.
If there is an uneven number of text columns then they are read like: the initial column is read on its own top to bottom; then the 2nd two columns are read together left to right.
Find out more for yourself
There's a whole lot more than can probably be said regarding the ancient Maya as well as their one of a kind writing system; nevertheless, the very best way to experience this is to discover for yourself simply by going to the ancient Maya ruins found in Central America as well as listening to the expert guides sharing with you the the interesting story of the Maya civilization.
About the Author:
More ideas and info on the ancient Mayans at Mayan History. Visiting Mayan Ruins a hassle? It's easy with Onejungle Adventures: Look for the amazing trips available at Maya Riviera Tours.
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