﻿THE 
  FOREMOST 
  ACHIEVEMENT 
  OF 
  ANCIENT 
  AMERICA 
  

  

  113 
  

  

  Courtesy 
  of 
  The 
  Carnegie 
  Institution 
  of 
  Washington 
  

  

  THE 
  ALTAR 
  OE 
  STELA 
  2, 
  AT 
  THE 
  RUINS 
  OE 
  IXLU, 
  PETEN, 
  GUATEMALA 
  

  

  This 
  beautiful 
  example 
  of 
  Maya 
  stone-carving, 
  when 
  first 
  seen 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Morley, 
  on 
  April 
  

   10, 
  1921, 
  was 
  tightly 
  clasped 
  in 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  breadnut 
  tree 
  which 
  was 
  growing 
  on 
  top 
  

   of 
  it. 
  When 
  this 
  tree 
  was 
  felled 
  the 
  next 
  day 
  and 
  the 
  altar 
  beneath 
  turned 
  face 
  upward 
  for 
  

   the 
  first 
  time 
  in 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  thousand 
  years, 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  have 
  six 
  columns 
  of 
  hieroglyphs 
  

   sculptured 
  on 
  its 
  top 
  in 
  an 
  almost 
  perfect 
  state 
  of 
  preservation, 
  or 
  32 
  in 
  all. 
  It 
  has 
  been 
  

   possible 
  to 
  decipher 
  only 
  the 
  first 
  five 
  of 
  these, 
  namely, 
  the 
  first 
  and 
  second 
  signs 
  in 
  the 
  

   first 
  column 
  and 
  the 
  first, 
  second, 
  and 
  third 
  in 
  the 
  second 
  column. 
  These 
  five, 
  however, 
  

   record 
  the 
  date 
  of 
  this 
  altar 
  as 
  having 
  been 
  10.2.10.0.0 
  2 
  Ahau 
  13 
  Chen 
  of 
  the 
  Maya 
  era 
  

   (620 
  A. 
  D.). 
  

  

  Maya 
  graphic 
  system 
  stands, 
  represent- 
  

   ing, 
  as 
  stated 
  previously, 
  a 
  stage 
  in 
  the 
  

   development 
  of 
  v^riting 
  found 
  nowhere 
  

   else 
  in 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  This 
  change 
  in 
  the 
  character 
  of 
  writ- 
  

   ing 
  symbols, 
  from 
  signs 
  representing 
  

   ideas 
  to 
  signs 
  representing 
  sounds, 
  was 
  

   fundamental, 
  and 
  its 
  far-reaching 
  effects 
  

   cannot 
  be 
  overstated. 
  It 
  soon 
  made 
  pos- 
  

   sible 
  an 
  enormous 
  expansion 
  in 
  the 
  sub- 
  

   jects 
  which 
  could 
  be 
  expressed 
  by 
  

   writing, 
  and 
  it 
  ultimately 
  enabled 
  man- 
  

   kind 
  to 
  write 
  about 
  everything 
  he 
  could 
  

   talk 
  or 
  even 
  think 
  about 
  ; 
  in 
  short, 
  it 
  re- 
  

   duced 
  his 
  universe 
  to 
  black 
  and 
  white 
  — 
  

   the 
  written 
  word. 
  

  

  Any 
  graphic 
  system, 
  therefore, 
  which 
  

   stands 
  at 
  this 
  crucial 
  point 
  in 
  the 
  evolu- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  writing 
  is 
  worthy 
  of 
  closer 
  study 
  

  

  and 
  cannot 
  be 
  devoid 
  of 
  general 
  interest, 
  

   and 
  in 
  the 
  following 
  pages 
  the 
  writer 
  has 
  

   endeavored 
  to 
  present 
  to 
  the 
  readers 
  of 
  

   the 
  National 
  Geographic 
  Magazine 
  a 
  

   brief 
  description 
  of 
  its 
  principal 
  charac- 
  

   teristics. 
  

  

  AZTEC 
  WRITING 
  SIMPLER 
  THAN 
  THAT 
  0E 
  

   THE 
  MAYA 
  

  

  However, 
  before 
  describing 
  the 
  Maya 
  

  

  be 
  

  

  hieroglyphic 
  writing, 
  it 
  will, 
  perhaps 
  

   easier 
  to 
  begin 
  by 
  describing 
  the 
  writing 
  

   of 
  the 
  Aztec, 
  the 
  dominant 
  Indian 
  tribe 
  

   of 
  the 
  Valley 
  of 
  Mexico, 
  who 
  had 
  attained 
  

  

  high 
  degree 
  

  

  of 
  civilization 
  long 
  before 
  

  

  their 
  conquest 
  and 
  practical 
  annihilation 
  

   by 
  the 
  Spaniards 
  under 
  Cortez, 
  in 
  1521. 
  

  

  The 
  Maya 
  hieroglyphic 
  writing 
  was 
  

   much 
  older 
  than 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  Aztec, 
  and 
  

  

  