372 



DISCOVHEIY 



able antiquity. As the late Dr. F. \V. Hodges, of the 

 Bureau of American I'-thnology, remarked : " The 

 earliest inscriptions now extant probably date from 

 about the beginning of the Christian era, but such is 

 the comple.xity of the glyphs and subject-matter, even 

 at this early period, that, in order to estimate the age 

 of the system, it is necessary to postulate a far greater 

 antiquity for its origin. Indeed, all that can be safely 

 accepted in this direction is that many centuries must 

 have elapsed before the Maya hieroglyphic writing 

 could have been developed to the highly complex 

 stage where we first encounter it." 



A brief examination of any Maya text reveals the 

 presence of certain elements which occur repeatedly 

 in the glyphs, but in varying combinations. Two or 

 three small but separate signs frequently go to the 

 making of each glyph. So numerous are the com- 

 binations and permutations of these, however, that 

 the student might at first sight suppose that a great 

 number of signs were employed in Maya writing. But 

 closer observation will convince him that these ele- 

 mentary symbols are in reality few in number. His 

 difiSculty lies in identifying them and gaining experience 

 of the different forms they take. In Egyptian texts 

 the simple phonetic signs are unchanging under all 

 circumstances of composition. Like the letters of our 

 alphabet, they never vary, and may be recognised as 

 unfailingly. But in the Maya texts the normal form 

 of the clement may be altered for reasons of space, 

 individual peculiarities of style, or artistic symmetry. 

 It has been ascertained, however, that each glyph 

 holds one essential element, which was seldom altered, 

 and that it is only in the case of accessory or supple- 

 mentary elements that any great variation was per- 

 missible. But it is rare to find two glyphs which have 

 the same meaning and the same elements precisely 

 alike in drawing, contour, and general appearance. 

 It is as if the letters of our alphabet were not stan- 

 dardised in form, but were subject to the caprice of each 

 individual writer or printer. Such dissimilarities are 

 often due to differences in the materials in which the 

 glyphs are delineated, as well as to careless drawing 

 and actual mistakes — for errors, and those not a few, 

 have been encountered both in examples of the numeral 

 system and the writing proper. These conditions 

 render progress slow and results uncertain. 



Sometimes the pebble-shaped outline or " cartouche " 

 of a glyph is altered to a " head-shape " ; that is, the 

 customary form is changed to the contour of a human 

 head. The symbols usually confined to the outline 

 are transferred to this " head-shape," or cunningly 

 adapted to its physiognomy in a manner which speaks 

 volumes for the artistic ability of the Maya sculptors 

 and scribes. These " head-variants," as they are 

 called, are puzzling enough when the meaning of a 



glyph in its original form is already known. When 

 it is unknown, they are baffling indeed. 



The glyphs as a whole have been divided into two 

 groups : astronomical, calendric, and numerical signs 

 (that is, glyphs used in counting time), and those 

 having an explanatory function of some sort. The 

 great majority of the symbols already deciphered 

 belong to the first group. The second, which is much 

 the smaller, in all probability relates the facts of Maya 

 history. 



As regards the question whether the system is 

 phonetic or pictorial in character, much difference of 

 opinion exists. Three principal theories have been 

 advanced to account for the nature of the Maya 

 writing. Some authorities believe the glyphs to be 

 phonetic, each representing a fixed sound and entirely 

 dissociated from the presentation of any thought or 

 idea. Others regard them as ideographic, each 

 representing in itself some complete idea or conception, 

 while a third school supposes them to partake of the 

 nature of both types. It is obvious that the first 

 theory cannot be accepted in its entirety. The glyphs 

 unquestionably show traces of phoncticism, but all 

 attempts to reduce them to a phonetic system or al- 

 phabet have signally failed. 



The theory that they are ideographic has a larger 

 following. But Brinton pointed out that a native 

 writer was able to give Landa a written character for 

 an unfamiliar sound (as, for example, that of a Spanish 

 letter), and that the characters the Maya scribe em- 

 ployed for this purpose were certainly used in the 

 native writings. These facts led Brinton to think 

 that some sort of phonetic writing was not unknown 

 to the Maya ; and, indeed, both the inscriptions and 

 the manuscripts establish the soundness of this con- 

 tention. 



As we have seen, the phonetic sounds of certain 

 glyphs relating to days and months are known from 

 Landa's work, in which they are accompanied by their 

 Maya names in European letters. In these, at least, 

 he was not mistaken, as we glean from certain native 

 manuscripts which record the names of the glyphs for 

 the days and months in the same manner. One, for 

 example, is known as yax, a picture of a tree-stump, 

 which means " region " or " place." Another is kin, 

 " sun," and when these symbols arc combined, tliey 

 are known as yaxkin, " sun-region," or " warm 

 region " — " the south." Similarly, the character re- 

 presenting the phonetic value kin is also found as an 

 element for the words hkin, " east," and chikin," 

 " west," each of which has kin as its last syllable. These 

 elements are thus manifestly phonetic. But this 

 notwithstanding, the glyphs alluded to have meanings 

 quite independent of their mere phonetic values. 

 Primarily, their function is to convey the ideas of 



