Maya Literature
An Aztec book, or codex (ca 1500 AD)
It's possible that the Maya learned how to write from
the Olmec, but there aren't any examples
of early Olmec writing, so more likely it was the Maya who invented writing
in the Americas. Like most other writing systems, Maya writing is a syllabary,
not an alphabet (compare Sumerian
cuneiform or Egyptian
hieroglyphics or Chinese.)
Maya writing is not very difficult to read once you get some practice. You can begin by reading the numbers. One dot means one, two dots mean two, and so on. A bar means five, and two bars on top of each other mean ten.
Now you can begin to read words. The main root part of each word is in the middle of the picture, and then prefixes and suffixes are added on around the corners and edges.
Maya people used their writing mainly to carve inscriptions on their stone buildings telling who made the building and when.
When the Maya were losing power to the Aztec, the Aztec also learned how to write from the Maya. So Aztec writing is closely related to Maya writing.
Maya writing is not very difficult to read once you get some practice. You can begin by reading the numbers. One dot means one, two dots mean two, and so on. A bar means five, and two bars on top of each other mean ten.
Now you can begin to read words. The main root part of each word is in the middle of the picture, and then prefixes and suffixes are added on around the corners and edges.
Maya people used their writing mainly to carve inscriptions on their stone buildings telling who made the building and when.
When the Maya were losing power to the Aztec, the Aztec also learned how to write from the Maya. So Aztec writing is closely related to Maya writing.
A page from the Madrid Codex
To find out more about Maya literature, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your library:
Ancient Rome (Eyewitness Books), by Simon James (2004). For kids.
Handbook of Mediterranean Roman Pottery, by John W. Hayes (1997). Hayes has been the leading expert on Roman pottery for the last several decades.
Roman Pottery, by Kevin Greene (1992). Greene is another pottery expert, particularly interested in what pottery can tell us about the Roman Economy.
Aztec
Inca
South America after 1500 AD
North America before
1500 AD
North America after
1500 AD
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