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.
They have very advanced, visually striking and complex glyphs. Their calligraphic style and complex phonetic system are unique from various other writing system across the world. Simply because the ancient Maya developed their writing system on their own from the rest of the world.
The Interesting Mayan Writing System
It is actually on the list of 3 systems on this planet which may have nothing common with various other writing system - Sumerian and Chinese as the other 2. However the system is referred to as hieroglyphic as it visually appears like the system found in ancient Egypt, the two systems have absolutely nothing in common and are certainly not related whatsoever.
Decoding 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.
Even if the Maya hieroglyphic writing system is influenced by phonetic signs, it is extremely dissimilar to the phonetic system as you may know it. The writing system which we are using today 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 Syllables and Vowels
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).
Just like the manner in which we write today, the Maya wrote their glyphs in columns and rows. Yet, the manner in which their texts are read takes a different approach. When the text has just a couple of columns, the manner in which the text is read is left to right like we generally read nowadays. When the text has more columns, diverse 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.
Discover 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.
They have very advanced, visually striking and complex glyphs. Their calligraphic style and complex phonetic system are unique from various other writing system across the world. Simply because the ancient Maya developed their writing system on their own from the rest of the world.
The Interesting Mayan Writing System
It is actually on the list of 3 systems on this planet which may have nothing common with various other writing system - Sumerian and Chinese as the other 2. However the system is referred to as hieroglyphic as it visually appears like the system found in ancient Egypt, the two systems have absolutely nothing in common and are certainly not related whatsoever.
Decoding 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.
Even if the Maya hieroglyphic writing system is influenced by phonetic signs, it is extremely dissimilar to the phonetic system as you may know it. The writing system which we are using today 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 Syllables and Vowels
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).
Just like the manner in which we write today, the Maya wrote their glyphs in columns and rows. Yet, the manner in which their texts are read takes a different approach. When the text has just a couple of columns, the manner in which the text is read is left to right like we generally read nowadays. When the text has more columns, diverse 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.
Discover 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:
Onejungle Adventure Travel is a tour operator with a special focus on adventure vacations in the Mayan Yucatan: Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Find out more at Mexico Travel for more information.
