1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Written Language & Literacy
  4. Volume 27, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 27, Issue 2
  • ISSN 1387-6732
  • E-ISSN: 1570-6001
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This paper revisits the problem of the derivation of phonographic signs in Mayan writing (cf. Mora-Marín 2003). The primary goal is to evaluate Lacadena’s (2010a, 2010b) proposal that the Mayan syllabary was initially derived through the wholesale adoption of a Mixe-Zoquean-based script. Lacadena argued that Mayan <CV> syllabograms based on consonants shared by both Mayan and Mixe-Zoquean generally lack acrophonic explanations, while <CV> syllabograms for consonants exclusive to Mayan can be explained either by Mayan-based acrophony or graphic modifications of existing graphemes (i.e. addition of graphic elements, or coinage of digraphs). After (1) preparing a more comprehensive dataset of Mayan syllabograms using the Maya Hieroglyphic Database (Looper and Macri (1991–2025)), and (2) conducting a more thorough review of the literature for possible acrophonic derivations and the nature of graphic modifications and seemingly digraphic combinations, the paper carries out a statistical test of a syllabary development model based on Lacadena’s proposal, concluding that such model is not viable, and that on present evidence, the Mayan syllabary was mostly an autochtonous invention.

© 2024 John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00089.mor
2026-01-20
2026-02-17

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/wll.00089.mor
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Attinasi, John Joseph
    (1973) Lak T’an: A Grammar of the Chol (Mayan) Word. PhD Dissertation, University of Chicago.
  2. Baudez, Claude-François
    (1994) Maya Sculpture of Copan. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Blair, Robert Wallace
    (1964) Yucatec Maya Noun and Verb Morphosyntax. PhD Dissertation, Indiana University.
  4. Boot, Erik
    (2003) The Human Hand in Classic Maya Hieroglyphic Writing. https://www.mesoweb.com/features/boot/Human_Hand.pdf
  5. (2014) On (Some of) the Principles and Structures of Graphic Sign Substitution in Classic Maya Writing. InVisualizing Knowledge and Creating Meaning in Ancient Writing Systems, edited byShai Gordin, pp.215–259. Berliner Beiträge zum Vorderen Orient, vol. 23. Gladbeck, Germany: PeWe-Verlag.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bricker, Victoria R.
    (1986) A grammar of Mayan hieroglyphs. Middle American Research Institute, Publication 56. New Orleans: Tulane University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Campbell, Lyle
    (1984) The implications of Mayan historical linguistics for glyphic research. InPhoneticism in Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing, edited byJohn Justeson and Lyle Campbell, pp.1–16. Albany: State University of New York.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. (2000) Time Perspective in Linguistics. Time depth in historical linguistics, ed. byColin Renfrew, April McMahon, and Larry Trask, 3–32. Cambridge: The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. (2017) Mayan history and comparison. InThe Mayan Languages, edited byJudith Aissen, Nora C. England, and Roberto Zavala Maldonado, pp.43–61. London and New York: Routledge/Taylor and Francis Group. 10.4324/9781315192345‑3
     https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315192345-3 [Google Scholar]
  10. Closs, Michael P.
    (1986) Orthographic Conventions in Maya Writing: The Rule of Phonetic Complementation. Anthropological Linguistics281:229–252.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Coe, Michael D.
    (1976) Early steps in the evolution of Maya writing. Origins of religious art and iconography in Preclassic Mesoamerica (Latin America studies series, 31), edited byHenry B. Nicholson, pp.107–22. Los Angeles: Ethnic Arts Council of Los Angeles.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. DATAtab Team
    DATAtab Team (2024) DATAtab: Online Statistics Calculator. DATAtab e.U. Graz, Austria. URL: https://datatab.net
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Englehardt, Joshua D.
    (2015) Archaeological Paleography A Proposal for Tracing the Role of Interaction in Mayan Script Innovation via Material Remains. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Englehardt, Joshua D., and Michael D. Carrasco
    (2019) The Role of Interregional Interaction in Mesoamerican Script Development. InInterregional Interaction in Ancient Mesoamerica, edited byJoshua D. Englehardt and Michael D. Carrasco, pp.83–117. Louisville: University Press of Colorado. 10.5876/9781607328360.c003
     https://doi.org/10.5876/9781607328360.c003 [Google Scholar]
  15. Fahsen, Federico
    (1988) A New Early Classic Text from Tikal. Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing 17. Washington, D. C.: Center for Maya Research.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. 2002 Rescuing the Origins of the Dos Pilas Dynasty: A Salvage of Hieroglyphic Stairway #2, Structure L549. Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Crystal River, Fl. famsi.org/cgibin/print_friendly.pl?file=01098. Accessed05/06/06.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Fash, Barbara, Alexandre Tokovinine, and Ian Graham
    (2022) Yaxchilan. Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions3.41. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Fox, James, and John S. Justeson
    (1984a) Polyvalence in Mayan hieroglyphic writing. InPhoneticism in Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing, edited byJohn Justeson and Lyle Campbell, pp.17–76. (Institute for Mesoamerican Studies Publication, 9). Albany: State University of New York.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. (1984b) Appendix C: Conventions for the transliteration of Mayan hieroglyphs. InPhoneticism in Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing, edited byJohn Justeson and Lyle Campbell, pp.363–370. (Institute for Mesoamerican Studies Publication, 9). Albany: State University of New York.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Graham, Ian
    (1967) Archaeological Explorations in El Peten, Guatemala. Middle American Research Institute Publication 33. New Orleans: Tulane University.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. (1979) Yaxchilan. Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions3.21. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. (1982) Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Volume 3, Part 3: Yaxchilan. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Gronemeyer, Sven
    (2006) The Maya site of Tortuguero, Tabasco, Mexico: Its History and Inscriptions. Acta Mesoamericana171. Markt Schwaben: Verlag Anton Saurwein.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Grube, Nikolai
    (1994) Observations on the History of Maya Hieroglyphic Writing. InSeventh Palenque Round Table, 1989, edited byMerle Greene Robertson and Virginia M. Fields, pp.177–186. San Francisco: The Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. (2004) The Orthographic Distinction between Velar and Glottal Spirants in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing. InThe Linguistics of the Maya Script, edited bySøren Wichmann, pp.61–82. University of Utah Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Hopkins, Nicholas A.
    (1967) A Short Sketch of Chalchihuitán Tzotzil. Anthropological Linguistics91:9–25.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. (1994) Days, kings, and other semantic classes marked in Maya hieroglyphic writing. Paper presented at the93rd Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Atlanta.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. (2018) Saltillo: Not Just a Town in Northern Mexico. InTiempo detenido, tiempo suficiente: ensayos y narraciones mesoamericanistas en homenaje a Alfonso Lacadena García-Gallo, edited byHarri Kettunen, Verónica Amellali Vázquez López, Felix Kupprat, Cristina Vidal Lorenzo, Gaspar Muñoz Cosme, María Josefa Iglesias Ponce de León, pp.265–274. Belgium: European Association of Mayanists WAYEB.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Houston, Stephen D.
    (1993) Hieroglyphs and History at Dos Pilas: Dynastic Politics of the Classic Maya. Austin: University of Texas Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. (2011) All things must change: Maya writing over time and space. InElizabeth Hill Boone & Gary Urton (eds.), Their way of writing: scripts, signs, and pictographies in pre-columbian America, pp.43–76. Austin: University of Texas Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Houston, Stephen D., John Robertson, and David S. Stuart
    (2000) The Language of Classic Maya Inscriptions. Current Anthropology411:321–356. 10.1086/300142
     https://doi.org/10.1086/300142 [Google Scholar]
  32. Justeson, John S.
    (1984) Appendix B: Interpretations of Mayan Hieroglyphs. InPhoneticism in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing, edited byJohn S. Justeson & Lyle Campbell, pp.315–362. Institute for Mesoamerican Studies Publication No. 9. Albany: State University of New York.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. (1986) The origin of writing systems: Preclassic Mesoamerica. World Archaeology71:437–458. 10.1080/00438243.1986.9979981
     https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1986.9979981 [Google Scholar]
  34. (1989) The Representational Conventions of Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing. InWord and Image in Maya Culture. Explorations in Language, Writing, and Representation, edited byWilliam F. Hanks and Don S. Rice, pp.25–38. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. (2012) Early Mesoamerican Writing Systems. InThe Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology, edited byDeborah L. Nichols and Christopher A. Pool, pp.830–844. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195390933.013.0063
     https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195390933.013.0063 [Google Scholar]
  36. Justeson, John S., and James A. Fox
    (1989) Hieroglyphic evidence for the languages of the Lowland Maya. Unpublished manuscript used with permission of the author.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Justeson, John, and Terrence Kaufman
    (1993) A Decipherment of Epi-Olmec Hieroglyphic Writing. Science2591:1703–1710. 10.1126/science.259.5102.1703
     https://doi.org/10.1126/science.259.5102.1703 [Google Scholar]
  38. (1997) A Newly Discovered Column in the Hieroglyphic Text on La Mojarra Stela 1: A Test of the Epi-Olmec Decipherment. Science2771:207–210. 10.1126/science.277.5323.207
     https://doi.org/10.1126/science.277.5323.207 [Google Scholar]
  39. Justeson, John S., and Peter Mathews
    (1990) Evolutionary Trends in Mesoamerican Hieroglyphic Writing. Visible Language241:88–132.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Justeson, John S., William M. Norman, Lyle Campbell, and Terrence Kaufman
    (1985) The Foreign Impact on Lowland Mayan Language and Script. Middle American Research Institute, Publication 53. New Orleans: Tulane University.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Kaufman, Terrence
    (1976) Archaeological and Linguistic Correlations in Mayaland and Associated Areas of Meso-America. World Archaeology81:101–118. 10.1080/00438243.1976.9979655
     https://doi.org/10.1080/00438243.1976.9979655 [Google Scholar]
  42. (2015) Initial glottal stop in Mayan languages. Unpublished note circulated by email May of 2015. URL: https://www.albany.edu/ims/pdlma-web/Kaufman-2015-initial_glottal_stop_in_Mayan.pdf
  43. (2016) Proto-Sapotek(an) Reconstructions. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340926033_proto-Sapotekan_Reconstructions_Kauman_2016/references
  44. (2020) Olmecs, Teotihuacaners, and Toltecs: Language History and Language Contact in Meso-America. Unpublished manuscript. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Terrence_Kaufman/publication/340721651_MALP_2020/links/5e9a4336299bf13079a24ec9/MALP-2020.pdf. AccessedJuly 2020. 10.13140/RG.2.2.27129.42081
     https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27129.42081
  45. Kaufman, Terrence, and John Justeson
    (2001) Epi-Olmec hieroglyphic writing and texts. Austin: Texas Workshop Foundation.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. (2004) Epi-Olmec. InThe Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World’s Ancient Languages, edited byRobert D. Woodard, pp.1071–1108. Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. (2007) The History of the Word for Cacao in Ancient Mesoamerica. Ancient Mesoamerica181:193–237. 10.1017/S0956536107000211
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536107000211 [Google Scholar]
  48. Kaufman, Terrence, and William Norman
    (1984) An outline of Proto-Cholan phonology, morphology, and vocabulary. InJohn S. Justeson & Lyle Campbell (eds.), Phoneticism in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing, pp.77–166. Institute for Mesoamerican Studies Publication No. 9. Albany: State University of New York.
     [Google Scholar]
  49. Kettunen, Harri
    (2018) On the Graphic and Lexical origins of Maya Syllabograms. InTiempo detenido, tiempo suficiente: ensayos y narraciones mesoamericanistas en homenaje a Alfonso Lacadena García-Gallo, edited byHarri Kettunen, Verónica Amellali Vázquez López, Felix Kupprat, Cristina Vidal Lorenzo, Gaspar Muñoz Cosme, María Josefa Iglesias Ponce de León, pp.275–304. Belgium: European Association of Mayanists WAYEB.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Knorozov, Yuri V.
    (1952) Древняя письменность центральной Америки. Советская этнография (Ancient writing of Central America. Soviet ethnography) 31:100–118.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. (1958) The problem of study of the Maya hieroglyphic writing. American Antiquity231:284–291. 10.2307/276310
     https://doi.org/10.2307/276310 [Google Scholar]
  52. (1965) Principios para descifrar los escritos mayas. Estudios de Cultura Maya51:153–188.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Lacadena García-Gallo, Alfonso
    (2010a) Historical Implications of the Presence of Non-Mayan Linguistic Features in Maya Script. InThe Maya and Their Neighbours: Internal and External Contacts Through Time. Proceedings of the 10th European Maya Conference, Leiden, December 2005, edited byLaura van Broekhoven, Rogelio Valencia Rivera, Benjamín Vis and Frauke Sachse, pp.29–39. Acta Mesoamericana, vol. 23, Verlag Antonn Saurwein, Markt Schwaben.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. (2010b) On the Origins of the Maya Script. Paper presented atThe Maya Meetings, March 16–19, 2010. Casa Herrera, Antigua, Guatemala.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Law, Danny, John Robertson, Stephen Houston, Marc Zender, and David Stuart
    (2014) Areal shifts in Classic Mayan phonology. Ancient Mesoamerica251.357–66. 10.1017/S0956536114000273
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536114000273 [Google Scholar]
  56. Looper, Matthew G., and Martha J. Macri
    (1991–2024) Maya Hieroglyphic Database. Department of Art and Art History, California State University, Chico. URL: www.mayadatabase.org/
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Looper, Matthew G., Martha J. Macri, Yuriy Polyukhovych, and Gabrielle Vail
    (2022) MHD Reference Materials 1: Preliminary Revised Glyph Catalog. Glyph Dwellers Report711.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Macri, Martha J.
    (2000) A Yukatekan origin of the Maya script. Paper presented at the39th Conference on American Indian languages, American Anthropological Association, San Francisco.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Macri, Martha J., and Matthew Looper
    (2003) The New Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs. Volume One: The Classic Period Inscriptions. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Macri, Martha J., and Gabrielle Vail
    (2009) The New Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs. Volume Two: The Codical Texts. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Martin, Simon, Joanne Pillsbury, Miriam Doutriaux, Reiko Ishihara-Brito, Alexandre Tokovinine
    (2012) Carved Bowl [PC.B.208]. InAncient Maya Art at Dumbarton Oaks, Pillsbury, edited byJoanne Pillsbury, Miriam Doutriaux, Reiko Ishihara-Brito, Alexandre Tokovinine, pp.108–119. Pre-Columbian Art at Dumbarton Oaks 4. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Martin, Simon, Marc Zender, and Nikolai Grube
    (2002) Notebook for the XXVIth Maya Hieroglyphic Forum at Texas, March 2002. Department of Art and Art History, the College of Fine Arts, and the Institute of Latin American Studies. The University of Texas at Austin.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Mayer, Karl Herbert
    (1987) Maya Monuments: Sculptures of Unknown Provenance, Supplement 1. vol. 4. Berlin: Verlag Von Flemming.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Mora-Marín, David F.
    (1997) The Origins of Maya Writing: The Case for Portable Objects. InU Mut Maya VII, edited byTom and Carolyn Jones, pp.133–164. Arcata: Humboldt State University.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. (2000) The syllabic value of sign T77 as k’i. Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing461:8–45. Washington, DC: Center for Maya Research.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. (2001) The Grammar, Orthography, Content, and Social Context of Late Preclassic Mayan Portable Texts. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University at Albany, New York.
  67. (2003) The Origin of Mayan Syllabograms and Orthographic Conventions. Written Language and Literacy6(2):193–237. 10.1075/wll.6.2.04mor
     https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.6.2.04mor [Google Scholar]
  68. (2008a) Full Phonetic Complementation, Semantic Classifiers and Semantic Determinatives in Ancient Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing. Ancient Mesoamerica191:195–213. 10.1017/S0956536108000345
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536108000345 [Google Scholar]
  69. (2008b) Análisis epigráfico y lingüístico de la escritura maya del período Preclásico Tardío: Implicaciones para la historia sociolingüística de la region. InXXI Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 20071, edited byJuan Pedro Laporte, Bárbara Arroyo y Héctor E. Mejía, pp.853–876. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología.
     [Google Scholar]
  70. (2009) A Test and Falsification of the “Classic Ch’olti’an” Hypothesis: A Study of Three Proto-Ch’olan Markers. International Journal of American Linguistics75(2): 115–157. 10.1086/596592
     https://doi.org/10.1086/596592 [Google Scholar]
  71. (2010a) La epigrafía y paleografía de la escritura preclásica maya: nuevas metodologías y resultados preliminares. InXXIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 20091, edited byBárbara Arroyo, Adriana Linares Palma, and Lorena Paiz Aragón, pp.1045–1057. Guatemala City, Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología.
     [Google Scholar]
  72. (2010b) Consonant Deletion, Obligatory Synharmony, Typical Suffixing: An Explanation of Spelling Practices in Mayan Writing. Written Language and Literacy131: 118–179. 10.1075/wll.13.1.05mor
     https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.13.1.05mor [Google Scholar]
  73. (2016) A Study in Mayan paleography: The history of T168/2M1a ʔAJAW ‘Lord, Ruler’ and the origin of the syllabogram T130/2S2 wa. Written Language and Literacy191:35–74. 10.1075/wll.19.1.02mor
     https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.19.1.02mor [Google Scholar]
  74. (2019) Problems and Patterns in the Study of Olmec Hieroglyphic Writing. InThe Chinese Writing System and Its Dialogue with Sumerian, Egyptian, and Mesoamerican Writing Systems, edited byKuang Yu Chen and Dietrich Tschanz, pp.239–269. Rutgers University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  75. (2020a) Mayan T757/AP9, the “Gopher” Sign, and Its Iconographic Counterpart in Epi-Olmec/Isthmian Writing. Notes on Mesoamerican Linguistics and Epigraphy21. https://davidmm.web.unc.edu/2020/07/11/note-2/
     [Google Scholar]
  76. (2020b) A Previously Unidentified Example of T1/HE6 ʔu on the Painted Stone Block from San Bartolo Sub-V. Notes on Mesoamerican Linguistics and Epigraphy111. https://davidmm.web.unc.edu/2020/12/12/note-11/
     [Google Scholar]
  77. (2020c) Updates on the Paleography of T168/2M1a ʔAJAW ‘lord, ruler’ and T130/2S2 wa. Notes on Mesoamerican Linguistics and Epigraphy91. https://davidmm.web.unc.edu/2020/10/26/note-9/
     [Google Scholar]
  78. (2020d) The Cascajal Block: New Line Drawing, Distributional Analysis, Orthographic Patterns. Ancient Mesoamerica311:210–229. 10.1017/S0956536119000270
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536119000270 [Google Scholar]
  79. (2022a) Evidence, New and Old, Against the Late *k(’) 〉 ch(’) “Areal Shift” Hypothesis. InFestschrift for Lyle Campbell, edited byWilson Silva, Nala Lee and Thiago Chacon, pp.130–163. Edinburgh University Press. 10.1515/9781474488143‑011
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9781474488143-011 [Google Scholar]
  80. (2022b) A Study of T670 and Two Lexical Determinatives in Mayan Writing. Glyph Dwellers Report761:1–23.
     [Google Scholar]
  81. (2023) Evidence for lexical and phonetic determinatives in Mayan writing: The case of T713. Ancient Mesoamerica, First View. Published online27 February 2023. 10.1017/S0956536122000335
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536122000335 [Google Scholar]
  82. (2024a) The Duplication Diacritic: A Case Study of Variation and Change in Mayan Writing. Ancient Mesoamerica, First View. 10.1017/S0956536123000317
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536123000317 [Google Scholar]
  83. (2024b) Some Observations on the Historical Development of CVC Phonograms in Mayan Writing. The Codex32(3):35–55. Pre-Columbian Society at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
     [Google Scholar]
  84. Sarles, Harvey B.
    (1966) A Descriptive Grammar of the Tzotzil Language as Spoken in San Bartolomé de los Llanos, Chiapas, México. PhD Dissertation, University of Chicago.
  85. Saturno, William, Karl Taube, and David Stuart
    (2005) The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala, Part I: The North Wall. Ancient America, 71. Barnardsville, North Carolina: Center for Ancient American Studies.
     [Google Scholar]
  86. Schele, Linda, Nikolai Grube, and Federico Fahsen
    (1994) The Xukpi Stone:: A Newly Discovered Early Classic Inscription from the Copan Acropolis. Part II, Commentary on the text (version 2). Copan Notes1141:1–8. Copán, Honduras: Copán Mosaics Project and the Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia.
     [Google Scholar]
  87. Stross, Brian
    (1990) Mesoamerican writing at the crossroads: The Late Formative. Visible Language241:38–61.
     [Google Scholar]
  88. Stuart, David
    (1987) Ten Phonetic Syllables. Research Reports in Ancient Maya Writing 14. Barnardsville, NC: Center for Maya Research.
     [Google Scholar]
  89. (1988) The Río Azul Cacao Pot: Epigraphic Observations on the Function of a Maya Ceramic Vessel. Antiquity621:153–157. 10.1017/S0003598X00073634
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003598X00073634 [Google Scholar]
  90. (1995) A Study of Maya Inscriptions. Ph.D. Dissertation, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
  91. (2001) A Reading of the “Completion Hand” as TZUTZ. Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing, No.491. Center for Maya Research, Washington, DC.
     [Google Scholar]
  92. (2002) Spreading wings: A possible origin of the k’i syllable. Mesoweb.com 〈www.mesoweb.com/stuart/notes/Wings.pdf〉.
  93. (2003) On the Paired Variants of TZ’AK. Mesoweb: 〈www.mesoweb.com/stuart/notes/tzak.pdf〉.
     [Google Scholar]
  94. Thompson, Eric J.
    (1962) A Catalogue of Maya Hieroglyphics. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  95. Voss, Alexander W.
    (2001) Los Itzaes en Chichen Itza: los datos epigraficos. Los investigadores de la cultura maya9(1):152–173. Campeche: Universidad Autónoma de Campeche.
     [Google Scholar]
  96. Warkentin, Viola M., and Ruth M. Brend
    (1976) Chol Phonology. Foundations of Language141:87–101.
     [Google Scholar]
  97. Weathers, Nadine
    (1947) Tsotsil Phonemes with Special Reference to Allophones of B. International Journal of American Linguistics131:108–111. 10.1086/463934
     https://doi.org/10.1086/463934 [Google Scholar]
  98. Wichmann, Søren
    (1995) The Relationship Among the Mixe-Zoquean Languages of Mexico. Provo: University of Utah Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  99. (2006) A Mixe-Zoquean Loanword in the Late Preclassic Murals of San Bartolo?Mesoweb: www.mesoweb.com/articles/wichmann/Loanword.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  100. Zender, Marc
    (1999) Diacritical Marks and Underspelling in the Classic Maya Script: Implications for Decipherment. MA Thesis, Department of Archaeology, University of Calgary.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00089.mor
Loading
A reappraisal of the development of the Mayan Syllabary
Written Language & Literacy 27, 218 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.00089.mor
/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00089.mor
/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00089.mor
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): acrophony; Mayan epigraphy; Mixe-Zoquean; orthographic conventions

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error