MAYA GLYPH BLOG

2011-11-19T20:45:00.001+01:00

Maya Glyph Blog has been silent for some time, I simply was too busy with research and preparations for upcoming presentations at the VII Mesa Redonda de Palenque and the 16th EMC in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Recently the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia opened a website on the upcoming VII Mesa Redonda de Palenque.

Information on the 16th European Maya Conference can be found at the Wayeb website.

Tomorrow my trip starts. First to Mexico City for a bit of research and visiting museums and sites, then to Palenque. After that two days in Holland and off to Copenhagen!

Maya Glyph Blog will be updated in early 2012 with two more syllabaries and explanatory notes (Early and Late Yaxchilan). Ancient MesoAmerica News Updates and Maya News Updates will be back with news items as soon as I return.

Best and hope to see you in either Palenque or Copenhagen,
Erik

2010-09-05T15:17:00.043+02:00

Maya Glyph Blog 2010, No. 3: Tikal - The Preliminary Early Tikal (El Petén, Guatemala) Maya Syllabary (Updated October 17, 2010)
The third installment at Maya Glyph Blog presents the Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary. For introductory remarks on syllabaries, see Maya Glyph Blog 2010, No. 1.
The Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary is based on the hieroglyphic texts composed between circa A.D. 300 - A.D. 550. In this time period for instance monuments now known as Tikal Stela 1, 3, 29, 31, and 39 were erected, the Hombre de Tikal statuette and the Tikal Marcador were carved, as well as a number of ceramics were produced. The examples of the hieroglyphic signs in the syllabary in large measure are derived from these particular texts. A first version of the Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary was prepared for the Maya Meetings in Antigua this year, but I could not travel to Guatemala due to insufficient funds (bummer!).

The syllabary for Early Tikal is not completely filled in. This is due to the fact that the various monuments from this time period have not survived in perfect condition and not all subject matters are covered in the texts that are available. The Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary has been prepared by digitally cutting and pasting single glyph signs from the black-and-white line drawings of the monumental inscriptions prepared by the Tikal Archaeological project, directed by William R. Coe (1990, Tikal Report 14, "Excavations in the Great Plaza, North Terrace, and North Acropolis of Tikal", University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) as well as several other publications illustrating other monuments and hieroglyphic texts from early Tikal (e.g., Hombre de Tikal, Marcador).
This syllabary follows the lay-out of the other syllabaries (see Coe & Van Stone [CVS], Chichen Itza [CHN], Xcalumkin [XLM]) and consists of four parts. Each of the four parts of this syllabary is accompanied by an annotated list of the Classic Maya epigraphic syllable inventory. As with the Chichen Itza and Xcalumkin syllabary, I present these preliminary notes to assist in the identification of all syllabic signs included in the Early Tikal syllabic grid.

Abbreviations used
CAY = El Cayo
CHN = Chichen Itza
CVS = Coe & Van Stone (referring to the syllabary)
T+number = refers to a sign from the 1962 Thompson catalog
TIK = Tikal
XLM = Xcalumkin
YAX = Yaxchilan

The Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary, Part 3: 'a-hu
(This part of the syllabary has been extended and corrected on October 17, 2010, including the above illustration)
NB: I prefer to open the "vowel signs" with a glottal stop, /'/ (in contrast to some epigraphers and the original Coe & Van Stone syllabary)
'a - A most common variant for 'a in Early Tikal is 'a1, and its horizontally inverted variant 'a2. Note that the internal u-shaped element can point upwards or downwards (and does not change value of the sign). 'a3 is used in spellings as 'a-'AN and [K'AN]'a-si-ya
'e - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for 'e
'i - 'i1 and 'i2 are common variants for the syllabic sign T679 'i (compare CVS 'i1)
'o - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for 'o
'u - 'u1, 'u2, and 'u4 are clearly variants of one of the most common sign for 'u (see CVS 'u1, 'u11). 'u3 is an allograph appearing a couple of time in early texts at Tikal, depicting some kind of vessel (the vessel can be found inverted as well, but not at Tikal). 'u5 is a graphic variation of CVS 'u3 and 'u8, while at Early Tikal 'u6 and 'u7 are a continuation of one of the earliest allographs for 'u (see Boot 2006, "Early Maya Writing on an Unprovenanced Monument: The Antwerp Museum Stela," Figure 10)

ba - At present I have been able to identify only two examples of T501 ba at Early Tikal. ba1 occurs in a compound possibly spelling CHAK-ka-[ba]KAN-ya (see Boot 2009, "The Updated Preliminary Classic Maya-English, English-Classic Maya Vocabulary of Hieroglyphic Readings," p. 46). Intriguingly, this syllabic sign ba is placed with an oval cartouche reminiscent of the day sign cartouche. In rare instances common hieroglyphc signs that are used to spell day names, and which have common syllabic or logographic values, are employed in non-calendrical contexts within part of or a complete day sign cartouche, e.g. HIX in 'IX-HIX wi-[tzi]'AJAW (YAX Lintel 17), HIX in 'IX-HIX wi-tzi-'AJAW (YAX Lintel 43 - full day sign cartouche for HIX), 'AJAW in 'AJAW-wa (CAY Lintel 1), the ba in BAH-ka-ba (K3844). While for a long time the day sign cartouche has been taken to be a semantic marker to distinguish day signs from any other sign, I would add that actually also context, that is calendrical context, ultimately establishes its operation to identify the inner sign or sign compound as a day name. Otherwise the sign for ba within a day sign cartouche can not explained (as this particular sign is used for the day name Imix; there is at present no evidence that that first day of the Maya calendar was known as ba or bah). ba2 is the same sign for ba as in ba1, but without the day sign cartouche
be - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for be
bi - One sign, T585, for bi has been identified at Early Tikal, but in two slightly different graphic variations, bi1 and bi2
bo - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for bo
bu - bu1 and bu2 are both found in the same text on Tikal Stela 31. However, bu2 is a bu1 "written incorrectly." Both occur in spellings 'u-[TZ'AK]bu-ji, but at one point the scribe forgot to add the small circular elements to the scroll to distinguish bu from mu (bu is a digraph; the mu & bu signs do get confused more often in Maya writing; note for example a spelling 'u-te-bu which should have been 'u-te-mu to identify the bench, tem, on which it is written at Calakmul; see Boot 2010, "You're Stuck With How You Wrote It: Mistakes, Lapses, and Glitches in Maya Script," paper presented in May 2010, University of Zürich/Bibliothek Werner Oechslin, Einsiedeln, Switserland, in press)

cha - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for cha (but see probable Early TIK se)
che - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for che
chi - Two graphic variations for the hand sign chi; note that there is a small space between thumb and forefinger in chi1, which is absent in chi2
cho - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for cho
chu - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for chu

ch'a - Two possible variants for ch'a; ch'a1 is a variant of the common sign (compare CVS ch'a3), but with three elements. ch'a2 does lack a characteristic of ch'a signs, namely the small curls/scrolls on top. It is found placed on the forehead of a fox-like head, which may invoke, albeit very tentative, a spelling ch'a-CH'AMAK > ch'amak "fox" (see TIK Marcador, H3)
ch'e - No text at Early Tikal or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'e (but in 2006 Yuri Polyukhovich circulated a manuscript in which he tentatively identified a ch'e sign in a Tonina inscription; this proposal is under review)
ch'i - No text at Early Tikal or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'i (but I should note that some epigraphers are considering T77 [T72, T76, T81] and variants, a possible k'i syllable, as a ch'i syllable)
ch'o - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'o
ch'u - No text at Early Tikal or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'u

ha - The one allograph for ha recorded at Early Tikal (in a collocation ha['i]; the 'i sign would have occupied the center open space)
he - This is the Early Classic graphic representation of the sign for he, which has a shell-like shape much different from the more oval shape of the later variations (compare CVS he)
hi - The full form of the common hi sign (compare CVS hi2)
ho - At present the single example of the syllabic sign for ho, part of a spelling [ho]ma (probably a partial survival of ch'a-[ho]ma)
hu - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for hu

The Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary, Part 3: ja-mu
(This part of the syllabary has been extended and corrected on September 19, 2010, including the above illustration)
ja - ja1, ja2, and ja3 are all used in final (postfix) position, while ja4 is used as prefix. All four ja signs are graphic variations of the common T181 ja sign (compare CVS ja2). As can be seen, in these graphic variations the absence or presence of the small circular elements (2, 3, or 4) is not diacritic
je - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for je
ji - ji1 and ji2 are graphic variations of the common sign for ji (compare CVS ji1); ji3 and ji4 are graphic variations of the other common sign for ji (compare CVC ji2). The amount of u-shaped elements in those last signs can greatly vary, from 2 to 7 (as in Early TIK ji4). Depending on context, the ji3 and ji4 signs can even be abbreviated to one single u-shaped element (in a collocation ch'a-ji-lu on many small mold-made disk-shaped bottles, e.g. K5810; not found at Tikal)
jo - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for jo
ju - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for ju

ka - ka2 and ka3 depict the complete fish (ka derived by way of acrophony from kay "fish"), while ka1, through the principle of pars pro toto, just depicts the fish fin
ke - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for ke
ki - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for ki
ko - The common sign T110 for ko (compare CVS ko1), in two variants. ko1 has two cross-hatched bars, while ko2 has three
ku - The common sign T528 for ku (compare CVS ku1)

k'a - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for k'a
k'e - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for k'e
k'i - k'i1 and k'i2 are the two graphic variations of the T77 "wing" sign for k'i in Tikal's early monumental art (both Stela 31), while k'i3 is found employed in a text on a ceramic vessel (MT9, part of Problematic Deposit 22). k'i3 has "double wings," a possible hint to its iconic origin, k'iy "spread out (wings)," as suggested by David Stuart. As noted at other occasions, there are some epigraphers who are investigating the possibility that this sign represents the value ch'i (both proposals are under review and not yet definitive), as such the query
k'o - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for k'o
k'u - The Early Classic form of the bird's nest with eggs (k'u' "nest") for k'u (compare CVS k'u2)

la - Also in the Early Tikal texts there is a wealth of graphic variation in the signs for la. la1, la3, and la4 just represent minimum graphic variation, while la2 is simply a reduction of la1 to one element. la5 is a variation in that the scribe has added two small circular elements in the middle of the sign (compare CVS la2, XLM la5)
le - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for le
li - All three signs are commonly employed for li. li3 clearly has the typical Early Classic additional curl, which is lost in li1 and li2
lo - The common T580 sign for lo
lu - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for lu

ma - ma1 would have the full version of ma (compare XLM ma1, CVS ma3), where it not that the central element was superimposed with another sign compound. ma2 is a nearly complete versions of ma, but missing the bottom part. ma3 is an abbreviated version of ma2 due to overlap, while ma4 is just the bottom part of the full version of ma
me - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for me
mi - A graphic variation of the common sign for mi (employed in the "zero" position in the Long Count; mi > mi[h] "nothing")
mo - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for mo (the Burial 48 mural from Early Tikal contains a glyphic compound in which a T533 sign is placed with a circle of dots, the shape of a mo sign; possibly this is a mo [but, alternatively, I propose here, this T533 sign is infixed into T583 JAN, which also has a circumference of dots], and if confirmed in further epigraphic research, it will be added to this Early Tikal Maya Syllabary, which is still in a preliminary state)
mu - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for mu

The Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary, Part 3: na-t'u

na - All graphic variations of na at Early Tikal use the same outer shape, but are internally differentiated. na1, na2, and na3 have one or multiple diagonal lines of dots, much like XLM na1-na3. na4 has short upright lines (possibly hinting at a vegetal iconic origin) and na5 has no internal definition at all
ne - One sign for ne has been employed at Early Tikal, a natural representation of a (jaguar's) tail
ni - Two very different graphic variations of T116 ni; while ni1 is full and exhuberant (carved on Stela 26), ni2 is light and playful (incised on the Hombre de Tikal)
no - Two early graphic variations of the sign for no (compare CVS no), in which it becomes clear that rotation (in this case 90 degrees) does not have an influence on the value of the sign
nu - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for nu

pa - pa1 is the cephalomorphic or head-shaped variant, while pa2 is a local variation of the common pa sign (compare CVS pa1)
pe - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for pe
pi - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for pi
po - The Early Tikal version of the sign for po (compare CVS po2), as employed on a ceramic from Burial 160
pu - The common sign for pu

p'a - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'a
p'e - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'e
p'i - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'i
p'o - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'o
p'u - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'u

sa - This sign for sa is possibly a very abbreviated version of the well-known sa sign (compare CVS sa1, sa2); it appears as such in a spelling ko-sa-ka for kosca[t] "jewel," a Nahuat word as recorded in the text of Tikal Stela 31 and identified first by David Stuart (see Boot 2010, "Loanwords, Foreign Words, and Foreign Signs in Maya Writing," in The Idea of Writing, edited by De Voogt & Finkel. Brill, the Netherlands). I do not consider MVS sa5 a syllabic sign, but a logographic sign SA' (compare Tokovinine & Fialko, 2007, "Stela 45 of Naranjo and the Early Classic Lords of Sa’aal," The PARI Journal, 7[4], note 1), as such the example of this sign found on Tikal MT3 is not included in the syllabary. To me the iconic origin of T278/285:553 SA' can be found in the depiction of a ceramic vessel marked by crossed-bands and over the rim the foam of frotty atole oozes out (compare K0689 to K8008 and to K1387)
se - One probable sign for se, rotation by 90 degrees does not alter the value of the sign (same context on Tikal Stela 31, which remains opaque: ka-k'i?-se?-wa or ka-se?-k'i?-wa, spelling perhaps a foreign word). The query is added as this identification is still tentative and under review. This sign may represent the value cha, but early forms of that very similar sign have small scrolls on top (see the spelling cha-TAN-WINIK on Kerr 1285, an Early Classic vessel)
si - A slightly eroded version of si (compare CVS si1), employed in a(n abbreviated) spelling K'AN-'a-si for the month K'anasiy
so - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for so
su - The sign for su, employed in a spelling ma-su-la

ta - There is a large graphic variation in the representation of the sign T51/53 for ta. ta1-ta5 all are variations of this sign. ta5 is the full form, ta4 is the most abbreviated form (due to overlap). ta6 is the Early Tikal representation of T565 ta
te - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for te
ti - The Early Tikal variant of T59 ti. Rotation in ti1 to ti2 does not alter the value, rotation like this is most commonly dependent on individual scribal text composition
to - The common T45 sign for to
tu - tu1 is the Early Tikal variant of T91 tu (no cross-hatching); tu2 is the Early Tikal variant of T90 tu (with cross-hatching)

t'a - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'a
t'e - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'e
t'i - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'i
t'o - The probable T174 variant for t'o (still under review) (several different sign combinations [digraphs] include T174 and only in combination may have a certain syllabic or logographic value; the sign proposed to represent the value t'o is T174 placed upon a shell-like sign, and a common word in Mayan languages for shell is t'oot' [compare Kaufman 2003, "A Preliminary Maya Etymological Dictionary," FAMSI Report, p. 656, entry pM *t'oot', snail/shell, caracol de mar/caracol de tierra/concha], possibly hinting at the tentative t'o value for this digraph). As such the query below the T174 sign (as it may have been combined with another sign, or is used independently)
t'u - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'u

The Preliminary Early Tikal Maya Syllabary, Part 4: tza-yu

tza - The common sign for tza, as found in a ceramic text
tze - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for tze
tzi - tzi1 may be the abbreviated version of tzi2, the main part of which is not represented due to sign overlap (infixing/superposition)
tzo - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for tzi
tzu - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for tzu

tz'a - Three graphic variations of the common sign for tz'a, in typical Early Classic rendering
tz'e - The possible sign for tz'e, as proposed by David Stuart (2002, "Glyphs for “Right” and “Left”?")
tz'i - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'i
tz'o - The possible sign for tz'o (still under review)
tz'u - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'u

wa - Three graphic variations of the common T130 sign for wa
we - No text at Early Tikal (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for we
wi - Three slightly different graphic variations of the common T117 sign for wi
wo - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for wo
wu - No text at Early Tikal (or in the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for wu (but a sign graphically close to T285 and most commonly employed as superfix may be a candidate for either wu or hu in collocations as wu?/hu?-EYE; however, more recent epigraphic research by several epigraphers, the present author included, in August-September 2010, may lead to an alternative solution)

xa - Early Classic variant of xa (Tikal MT 9), which, unfortunately, only partially survived (bottom element missing [same as top element])
xe - No text at Early Tikal (or in the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for xe
xi - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for xi
xo - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for xo
xu - No text at Early Tikal has yet been identified that includes a sign for xu

ya - Three typical Early Classic variations of the T126 sign for ya
ye - A very clear rendering of the hand sign for ye
yi - Two graphic variations of the T17 sign for yi
yo - Two graphic variations of the T115 sign for yo; yo2 has additional leaf veins, suggestive of the fact that the sign was derived from yop "leaf." T115 may have started out as YOP, and only later it became acrophonically reduced to yo (certain contexts are suggestive of the fact that T115 as YOP and yo remained productive throughout the Classic period). yo1 was produced at the beginning of the sixth century, yo2 was produced at the end of the fourth century
yu - yu1 is an abbreviated version of yu2, due to sign compounding during text composition within limited space (example from Stela 31)
First edit: September 1. Posted: September 9, 2010. Edited: September 13 & 18, 2010. Latest edit, with corrections (including two changes in the illustrated syllabary): October 17, 2010

2010-07-15T16:07:00.027+02:00

Maya Glyph Blog 2010, No. 2: Xcalumkin - The Preliminary Xcalumkin (Campeche, Mexico) Maya Syllabary
The second installment of Maya Glyph Blog presents the Preliminary Xcalumkin Maya Syllabary. For introductory remarks on syllabaries, see Maya Glyph Blog 2010, No. 1.
The hieroglyphic texts at Xcalumkin were all carved in stone and were composed between A.D. 724 (Lintel 2) and A.D. 751-771 (Column 1). This is at present the range of dates at the site, which since the 1960's has been heavily looted. Other dated inscriptions, or any other hieroglyphic text for that matter, may have been looted in the past before the presently known corpus was established and published.
Hieroglyphic texts are distributed among two major architectural groups at Xcalumkin, namely the Hieroglyphic Group and the Initial Series Group.

The syllabary for Xcalumkin is not completely filled in. This is due to the fact that the local corpus is limited and that most texts are relatively short with a limited subject matter (the majority of texts record highly repetitive dedicatory texts in which relatively few substitutions take place). The Preliminary Xcalumkin Maya Syllabary has been prepared by digitally cutting and pasting single glyph signs from the black-and-white line drawings of the inscriptions prepared by Eric Von Euw and Ian Graham (1992, "Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Volume 4, Part 3: Uxmal, Xcalumkin", Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, MA).
This syllabary follows the lay-out of the other syllabaries (see Coe & Van Stone [CVS], Chichen Itza [CHN]) and consists of four parts. Each of the four parts of this syllabary is accompanied by an annotated list of the Classic Maya epigraphic syllable inventory. As with the Chichen Itza syllabary, I present these preliminary notes to assist in the identification of all syllabic signs included in the Xcalumkin syllabic grid.

Abbreviations used
CHN = Chichen Itza
CVS = Coe & Van Stone (referring to the syllabary)
T+number = refers to a sign from the 1962 Thompson catalog
XLM = Xcalumkin

The Preliminary Xcalumkin Maya Syllabary, Part 1: 'a-hu

NB: I prefer to open the "vowel signs" with a glottal stop, /'/ (in contrast to some epigraphers and the original Coe & Van Stone syllabary)
'a - All four signs are graphic variations of T228. Most common are 'a1 and 'a2, when the syllabic sign 'a is found in initial position; 'a3 and 'a4 are recorded as such when the 'a syllabic sign is found in final position. Complete horizontal inversion or rotation of the sign (compare 'a1-'a2 to 'a3 to 'a4) does not change the value of the sign
'e - Two graphic variations for the syllabic sign 'e. At Xcalumkin only the zoomorphic variant of 'e is recorded; the sign seems to represent the head of a toad-or iguana-like creature. While 'e1 is a bit eroded, it is clearly zoomorphic; 'e2, however, has some anthropomorphic characteristics
(The following is very tentative: 'e1 and 'e2 are employed in the spelling ki-ti pa-'a 'e1/'e2-ka-tzi, a nominal/titular phrase which also can be found recorded as ki-ti pa-'a 'i-ka-tzi, and which would generate glosses as kit pa' eka[a]tz and kit pa' ika[a]tz [see my 2009 vocabulary]. What if indeed this is an iguana? Several Western Mayan languages, like Tzotzil and Tzeltal, have initab/initam as "iguana"; could thus the animal head sign, if indeed an iguana head, be syllabic 'i instead of 'e? If so, all these examples would be straightforward kit pa' ika[a]tz. In another context at Xcalumkin, this would either generate 'IX BAK-'e-le or 'IX BAK-'i-le. As written, this is very tentative and needs more research)
'i - Two variants for the common syllabic sign for 'i, T679; the difference is due to the carving technique of the individual artists (here it can be seen that drawings are but an approximation of the original carving style; one needs to be familiar with the drawing conventions to identify the particular carving style. For photographs of these monuments, see Van Euw and Graham 1992. Thompson's T679d is based on an example at Xcalumkin)
'o - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for 'o. The ceramic vessel cataloged as Kerr No. 8017 (which forms part of the collection of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX) has been assigned to Xcalumkin, based on style and contents of its hieroglyphic texts. But this vessel comes from a looted context and as such its exact provenience is unknown. This vessel does record a syllabic sign for 'o in a compound ko-'o-ka-ba/BAH (T757 is employed, a sign which started as a logograph BAH, but which towards the end of the Classic period acrophonically it was reduced to simply ba. In the present example it was most probably employed as syllabic ba, but without another spelling example of this compound, providing a substitution for T757, this is only conjecture)
'u - I have illustrated five signs for 'u; these five signs represent three allographs. 'u1 and 'u3 represent one allograph (T1, T3), 'u2 and 'u5 present a second variant (T513), while 'u4 is unique to Xcalumkin. It seems to be a variant version of a jewel or bead on a belt assemblage or necklace (compare to T232 and CHN 'u7)

ba - ba1 to ba5 are all graphic variations of T501 ba. The differences in the outer appearance of each variant is due to the individual carver and the carving technique or style employed. ba5 is T655
be - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for be
bi - At Xcalumkin only the abstract sign T585 bi has been employed
bo - Two graphic variations for bo, T693
bu - There is only one occurrence of the syllabic sign bu, in the collocation 9-TZ'AK-bu (XLM Misc. 5: B). Normally scribes and sculptors employed individual circular elements on the inner scroll, but this sculptor chose a row of small circles to distinguish the bu sign from mu (compare MVS bu1 to MVS mu1)

cha - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for cha
che - This sign occurs only once in the extant corpus at Xcalumkin, in a collocation [yo]to-che (Column 4: A3) for yoto[o]ch "his/the house (in the sense of home)." The noun oto[o]ch is in the Yucatecan language and is in contrast with common Epigraphic Maya noun oto[o]t, which is in the Ch'olan language. As such the vernacular language was recorded, a precursor to present-day Yucatecan Maya (or perhaps Campechean Maya), which took precedent over the established prestige language used in recording Maya hieroglyphic texts (a language which may have been based in the Eastern Ch'olan language group and probably was pre-Ch'oli'an in origin) (see Houston, Robertson, and Stuart, 2000, "The Language of Classic Maya Inscriptions," in Current Anthropology 41 (3): 321–356 & Lacadena and Wichmann, 2004, "On the Representation of the Glottal Stop in Maya Writing")
chi - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for chi
cho - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for cho
chu - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for chu

ch'a - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'a
ch'e - No text at Xcalumkin or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'e (but in 2006 Yuri Polyukhovich circulated a manuscript in which he tentatively identified a ch'e sign in a Tonina inscription; this proposal in under review)
ch'i - No text at Chichen Itza or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'i (but I should note that some epigraphers are considering T77 [T72, T76, T81] and variants, a possible k'i syllable, as a ch'i syllable)
ch'o - This is the graphic variation at Xcalumkin for ch'o (compare to T758a, see MVS ch'o). The syllable ch'o is derived acrophonically from the noun ch'o'h~ch'o' "rat"
ch'u - No text at Xcalumkin or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'u

ha - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for ha
he - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for he
hi - hi1 and hi2 are variations of the same sign, the visible (non-obstructed or non-overlapped) part of a full sign for hi, namely the digraph T145e:528 hi. hi3 seems to be the singular representation of just the knot element of the digraph T145e:528, rotated 90 degrees and it occurs in the context 'AJ-pa sa-hi-na (XLM Lintel 1), which on Kerr No. 8017 can be found written 'AJ-pa sa-hi-na (with variants for 'AJ, pa, sa, and na, and with a most clear sign for hi)
ho - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for ho (see MVS ho)
hu - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for hu (see MVS hu)

The Preliminary Xcalumkin Maya Syllabary, Part 2: ja-mu

ja - At Xcalumkin the T683b "full moon" sign is represented in ja3 and ja4. Interestingly, the "full moon" does not need to be open at the top side and either two or three dots can occupy the space in the "moon crescent." ja1 is the reduced sign, due to overlap. However, as ja2 indicates, the "reduced sign due to overlap" became an independent sign. ja2 is separated fully from the sign that preceded it (Column 1: A5)
je - This is the local variant of the common T69 (only lower suffix!) je sign
ji - There is some nice variation in the signs for ji. ji1 and ji2 only differ in 180 degrees of rotation (ji2 is superfixed in a collocation 'AJ-ji-pu); each of these variations employs three u-shaped elements. ji3, however, employs five u-shaped elements (see notes to CHN ji)
jo - Two variations for jo. jo1 is a most abstract representation with the "opening" on the right side. jo2 is a more elaborate version, with the opening on the left side (compare to the CHN jo signs plus notes)
ju - These two sign identifications are tentative. ju1 seems to be a good representation of the digraph that depicts a turtle carapace encircled by u-shaped elements (see CVS ju1, but more appropiately see CHN ju1). ju2 seems to be an abbreviated version, with much less u-shaped elements (Cornice 1, Stone VII: A). Compare this reduction of the u-shaped elements to CHN ju2

ka - ka1 is the actual T738b "fish" sign for ka (based on kay "fish," acrophonically reduced to ka); ka2 and ka3 are graphic variants of the "fish fin" reduction or abbreviation of the "full" ka sign (through pars pro toto, "part that represents the whole")
ke - The identification of this hand sign at Xcalumkin as ke is tentative. In contrast to the regular ke signs, this hand seems to contain some kind of round object (compare CVS ke, but actually this is the incorrect hand sign, it should have the thumb on the left side; see Boot, 2003, "The Human Hand in Classic Maya Hieroglyphic Writing," p. 5; recently, Nikolai Grube has shown that the "hand plus monkey" is a fixed sign group and which, in its entirety, has the logographic value KELEM)
ki - ki1 is the full form (the head of a bird with a very distinctive eye element) of this particular ki sign, of which ki3 (rotated 180 degrees) is, tentatively, the reduced form through a process of pars pro toto (just the "eye" element remains; compare to the possible origin of T582 mo [compare CVS mo], the eye of the macaw bird, mo'~mo'o'). ki2 is a variation of ki3 by a different hand
ko - Two local variations of the common T110 ko sign
ku - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for ku. On Kerr No. 8017 a syllabic sign ku can be found in a compound spelling 'AJ-lu-ku for aj luk, a title of some sort (aj "male or general agentive prefix," luk [or abbreviated spelling for lukul?, lukum?] a noun [meaning in this context to be determined]) (dedicatory text along the upper rim, at position N)

k'a - Two local variations, in different scribal/sculptural hands, of the common T669 k'a sign; both k'a1 and k'a2 are variations of T669b
k'e - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for k'e
k'i - T72 is Thompson's catalog rendering (but drawn by Avis Tulloch) of this exact example as employed at Xcalumkin. The sign depicts two wings (reduced to one wing, cataloged as T76, T77, T81) and David Stuart suggested in 2002 that the sign may be based on *k'iy "spread out (wings)" and thus, if correct, k'i was derived acrophonically from *k'iy. Stuart introduced various early examples of the "spread out wings" sign; the example at Xcalumkin is of Late Classic manufacture and the sculptor may have introduced an Early Classic convention to employ this sign. That said, this sign only occurs once in the local corpus (XLM Column 1: A4) and the collocation in which it occurs ('AJ-T72-mi-la-yu) may hint at a non-syllabic employment (T72, T76, T77, T81 as K'A'?) (compare Boot 1995, "Notes on the Inscriptions of Xcalumkin, Campeche, Mexico", in Yumtzilob Vol. 8, No. 2). If future research does provide evidence that this sign is employed as a logograph in this particular context, it will be removed from the preliminary syllabary
k'o - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for k'o
k'u - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for k'u

la - In this Xcalumkin syllabary, I present 6 signs for la. la1, la2, and la3 are graphic variations, in which the sculptors chose to provide less inner detail, but in which the most diagnostic aspects were retained, namely the facial features of an inverted face with a mouth and two eyes. la4 is just one single element of la1, in Thompson's catalog entered as T534 (and as an affix, the first four variations of T178). I have not yet explored the complete evolution of this sign, but possibly T534 originated first and la1, la2, and la3 were derived from T534 by duplication (for some insight into the formal evolution of T139 and T178, see Lacadena, 1995, "Evolución formal de las grafías escriturarias mayas: Implicaciones históricas y culturales," pp. 229-245). T534 is a sign, the graphic origin of which seems to lie in a 180 degrees rotation of T533 'AJAW. Rotation can thus be of great importance in establishing the correct value of a sign. la5 and la6 have a different graphic origin; the signs contain (a) T-shaped element(s) and three stacked circular elements. These la signs (note graphic variations) were cataloged by Thompson as T139, T254, and T534 (bottom sign only!) (see CHN la6 and la7)
le - le1 and le4 are variations of the same sign, an elongated sign with small c-shaped incisions. le2 is another variation, in which the c-shaped elements are reduced to just three within an oblong cartouche. le3 is a variation of this sign; the small elements are retained, but the cartouche has been eliminated. There is some debate among epigraphers if these signs are indeed le (as the sign is different from T188, the common sign for le), or possibly local variants of li; although tentative, the example 'u-wo-jo-le-li/'u-wo-jo-li-le on XLM Capital 5: B seems to provide evidence that these are distinct signs (employing XLM le3 and XLM li1; note spelling yu-xu-?-li4-le4 on XLM Lintel 2: E-F)
li - li1 and li3 are the most commonly employed signs for li at Xcalumkin. li2 is a tentative identification, it looks like the sign contains multiple small compartments in a row (like li1 and li3 have two). The multiple "compartments" clearly distinguish it from the le signs with their multiple c-shaped elements (with the opening on the left or on the right side). It can be found in the compound yu-xu-lu-li2 on XLM Column 1 (at A2). li4 is the local variation of the "worm bird" sign for li (MVS li4)
lo - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for lo
lu - Three local variations of the common T568c sign for lu. lu3 is T654, as cataloged by Thompson

ma - ma1 is the complete, multi-graphic sign for ma, as first identified by David Stuart. This sign, due to overlap, can be reduced to just the top part (ma2, ma3) or the bottom part (ma4)
me - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for me
mi - Occurring only once in the extant corpus at Xcalumkin, this is the sign for mi (T179, which was deciphered by Nikolai Grube)
mo - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for mo
mu - This is the drawing of a very eroded sign for mu, to my knowledge identified first by David Stuart. Although I generally do not include signs at such a high level of erosion, it shows that mu was employed (in a collocation mu-ti on XLM Lintel 3, front, at position B; the published photograph shows conclusive detail, Ian Graham was conservative in his rendering of the sign)

The Preliminary Xcalumkin Maya Syllabary, Part 3: na-t'u

na - na1, na2, and na3 are local graphic variations of the common T23 na sign. Local sculptors, however, detached the two or three circular elements from the inner line to show some kind of diagonal (most clearly in na3). na4 is a human face, containing several rows of those circular elements (unique example at Xcalumkin, to be found in XLM Panel 2: A9b, HUN-na)
ne - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for ne
ni - Three graphic variations of the sign T116 ni, in which ni1 is the most reduced or abstract and ni2 and ni3 are the most elaborate
no - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for no
nu - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for nu

pa - Three graphic variations of the common T586 pa sign; the small inner elements in pa1 and pa3 are unique to the local style at Xcalumkin
pe - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for pe
pi - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for pi
po - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for po
pu - The local variant of pu

p'a - No text at Xcalumkin (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'a
p'e - No text at Xcalumkin (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'e
p'i - No text at Xcalumkin (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'i
p'o - No text at Xcalumkin (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'o
p'u - No text at Xcalumkin (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'u

sa - sa1 and sa2 are two variations of the full version of sa. sa3 and sa4 are abbreviated versions, due to overlap. Note that the central part in sa3 and sa4 has been replaced by zigzag lines, a scribal variation that does not alter the value of the sign
se - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for se
si - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for si
so - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for so
su - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for su

ta - ta1 and ta2 are the local variants of the common sign T565 ta. ta3 has not survived in its complete form due to erosion, but it is a local variant of T103 ta/MVS ta1 (occurring in the collocation PET?-ta3-ja in XLM Lintel 1: B)
te - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for te
ti - Three local variations of T59 ti; rotation has no influence on the value of this sign
to - Local variant of MVS to1, to2, and to4 (MVS to3 is the full, unabbreviated, non-overlapped form, a digraph T45var:563b)
tu - Local variants of T89/T90 tu

t'a - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'a
t'e - No text at Xcalumkin (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'e
t'i - No text at Xcalumkin (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'i
t'o - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'o
t'u - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for [T528]501 t'u

The Preliminary Xcalumkin Maya Syllabary, Part 4: tza-yu

tza - Two graphic variations of the sign for tza, deciphered first by David Stuart
tze - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for tze
tzi - Two local variations of the common sign T507 for tzi (see Stuart, 1989, "Ten Phonetic Syllables")
tzo - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for tzo
tzu - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for tzu

tz'a - Local variations of the common sign for tz'a, deciphered first by Nikolai Grube (1990, "Die Errichtung von Stelen: Entzifferung einer Verbhieroglyphe auf Monumenten der klassischen Mayakultur"); the small, infixed element is not included due to overlap in these examples (by the syllabic sign 'i, in collocations spelling ['i]tz'a-ti) (compare MVS tz'a)
tz'e - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'e
tz'i - tz'i1 and tz'i2 are graphic variations of the well-known sign T248 tz'i, in its main sign form cataloged by Thompson as T563a
tz'o - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'o
tz'u - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'u. Kerr No. 8017 does contain a compound which includes a syllabic sign for tz'u (dedicatory text along the upper rim, at position F: 'a-ma-tz'u, possibly targeting a title a[j] ma[a]tz', aj "male or general agentive prefix," ma[a]tz' "corn gruel")

wa - Two graphic variations of the common sign for wa, T130
we - No text at Xcalumkin (or in the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a syllabic sign for we
wi - Three graphic variations of the common sign for wi, T117. Especially wi2 and wi3 are more abstract and squared
wo - wo1 is the more fluent version of T67 wo. Note that wo2 is the actual sign on which one of the drawings included in Thompson's catalog is based
wu - No text at Xcalumkin (or in the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for wu (but a sign graphically close to T285 and most commonly employed as superfix may be a candidate for either wu or hu in collocations as wu?/hu?-EYE)

xa - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for xa
xe - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for xe
xi - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for xi
xo - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for xo
xu - Two graphic variations of T756a-b, possibly employed as the syllabic sign xu (still under review, as such the query; see Boot 2009, "The Bat Sign in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: Some Notes and Suggestions, Based on Examples on Late Classic Ceramics," available at Mayavase.com)

ya - Four graphic variations for ya. Rotation does not alter the value of this sign, nor do the amount or arrangement of the small circular elements between the two larger u-shaped elements
ye - No text at Xcalumkin has yet been identified that includes a sign for ye
yi - This sign may be a local variation of yi, but as can be seen in the drawing, it is partially eroded. As such the identification is tentative (it occurs only once, and at present the context does not help in establishing its value, XLM Column 2: B2, tu-wi-yi?-bi-?). On Kerr No. 8017 a clear yi syllabic sign can be found in the spelling 'u-ja-yi
yo - Employed only once, the local variant of T673 yo (in this case the clenched hand is produced with the right hand) (compare CHN yo1 and yo2)
yu - yu1 is the local variation of the common sign T61 yu. yu2, yu3, and yu4 are scribal variations typical to Xcalumkin
First edit: July 15, 2010. Last edits: July 25, 2010 & August 21, 2010

2010-05-18T15:33:00.067+02:00

Maya Glyph Blog 2010, No. 1: Chichen Itza - The Updated Preliminary Chichen Itza Maya Syllabary
As first official installment at Maya Glyph Blog I present the updated Preliminary Chichen Itza (Yucatan, Mexico) Maya Syllabary; the previous version of the Chichen preliminary syllabary was posted late 2009 at Mesoweb (section Chichen Itza Resources) and originally was composed for my workshop at the 13th European Maya Conference in Cracow, Poland (November 2009).
The grid used for this syllabary is the same as the syllabary developed by Michael Coe and Mark Van Stone (a slightly adjusted version of their syllabary in "Reading the Maya Glyphs," 2001, Thames & Hudson), as posted online at Mayavase.com, a website maintained by Justin Kerr (clickable in the right hand side nav bar). This makes side-by-side comparison of the site specific and the general all-inclusive syllabary much easier; for instance, if one wants to search for syllabic signs not employed at Chichen Itza or, more appropiately, syllabic signs employed at Chichen Itza only (see ka4, k'u3, and ya3 in the Chichen syllabary). Please take note of the fact that the glyphs as drawn in the Coe & Van Stone syllabary are "polished/idealized" versions of the signs as occurring in their original setting (i.e., on carved monuments, incised objects, or painted ceramic vessels from any part of the Maya area). Many of the Chichen syllabic signs are "imperfect," having suffered some level of erosion.
The updated Preliminary Chichen Itza Maya Syllabary has been prepared by digitally cutting & pasting single glyph signs from black-and-white line drawings by various artists of the inscriptions at Chichen Itza (among them are Ian Graham, Ruth Krochock, Peter Mathews, Alexander Voss, Elisabeth Wagner, and myself). As such the syllabary represents a specific local style, the style of the scribes and sculptors active at Chichen Itza (nota bene: there remains some level of inaccuracy, the hand of each individual artist that drew the inscriptions). The hardness of the stone used for the monuments at Chichen Itza is the reason of the sometimes rather rough exterior look of many of the inscriptions in comparison to the inscriptions of many Classic Lowland Maya sites. Included are the best preserved examples (most inscriptions at Chichen Itza have survived in reasonable good condition).
This syllabary does not cover or include syllabic signs as found on a variety of portable objects at the Castillo structure or from the Cenote of Sacrifice sink hole, as (most of) these objects are clearly of foreign origin (i.e., Calakmul, Izamal, Palenque, Piedras Negras, Xcalumkin region/Campeche).
Each of the four parts of this syllabary is accompanied by an annotated list of the Classic Maya epigraphic syllable inventory. I present these notes to assist in the identification of all syllabic signs included in the grid. When a box within the grid is occupied by two or more signs, each sign is accompanied by a number (the number is only there for easy reference and does not reveal any other information). For example, for the syllable 'a there are three signs in the box, and these will be referred to as 'a1, 'a2, and 'a3. So-called T-numbers (i.e., T228), as employed in the notes, refer to the signs as cataloged by J. Eric S. Thompson (1962, "A Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs," University of Oklahoma Press), of which the list of drawings is available at the FAMSI (Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.) website. Occasionally, I also provide my personal ideas on the iconic origin of (some of) these syllabic signs (especially in case of rare or even unique signs).
Future installments at Maya Glyph Blog will include site specific syllabaries for Ek' Balam, Caracol, Early Tikal, Xcalumkin, and the Dresden Codex (other syllabaries are in preparation; depending on the state of conservation of the local corpus and availability of sufficiently detailed quality drawings). Through the numbering system common and unique syllabic signs can be compared between different site specific syllabaries (using the common three letter site codes established by Ian Graham and extended by Peter Mathews and Berthold Riese; comparing CHN 'a3 to CVS 'a6 [CVS=Coe&Van Stone]). For example, now regional and local differences in paleographic style can be researched. Any future discovery may extend any of the site specific syllabaries and may thus provide additional graphic variants or even new allographs (different graphic signs for the same syllabic value). The fact that a certain syllabic sign (value) is not employed at a certain site may simply indicate that the currently known extant record does not provide a hieroglyphic text that contains a word with that specific syllable (sound combination). Additionally, certain allographs may be region or site specific or even may be employed only in a specific time period.

The inscriptions at Chichen Itza were commissioned between A.D. 832 (Temple of the Hieroglyphic Jambs, West Jamb) and A.D. 998 (High Priest's Grave, Pillar 4), with the majority of inscriptions falling between A.D. 869-890. The most often mentioned individual during this short period was K'ahk' Upakal K'ihnich K'awiil (or simply K'ak' Upakal K'inich K'awil), whose nominal phrase is commonly abbreviated to just K'ahk' Upakal.

The updated Preliminary Chichen Itza Maya Syllabary, Part 1: 'a-hu

NB: I prefer to open the "vowel signs" with a glottal stop, /'/ (in contrast to some epigraphers and the original Coe & Van Stone syllabary)
'a - Included are three common signs that represent the syllable 'a at Chichen Itza. Both 'a1 and 'a2 are graphic variants of T228/T229, a common sign for 'a. In 'a3 one may recognize the head of a turtle; 'a3 may thus be derived through a process of acrophony from the noun 'ahk (or perhaps even 'ahkul) "turtle"
'e - The sign 'e is rare at Chichen Itza; this example is employed in the text on the underside of the Temple of the Initial Series Lintel
'i - Both 'i1 and 'i2 are graphic variants of the common sign T679c 'i
'o - Both 'o1 and 'o2 are graphic variants of the common sign T280 'o
'u - Here I have included a large variety of syllabic signs for 'u. These signs are most commonly employed to write the third person pronoun u-; as this pronoun occurs rather frequently, Maya scribes (here and everywhere in the Maya area) employed a large selection of different 'u signs. Here 'u1 and 'u2 are graphic variants of the same sign (T513); 'u3 is a (most probably human) head unique to Chichen Itza (perhaps the portrait of a Maize God related Moon Deity; if so, possibly derived from uj "moon" through a process of acrophony); 'u4 and 'u5 are graphic variants of the same sign (T1, T3); 'u6 and 'u8 are most probably graphic variants of the same sign (possibly two eye-balls, derived from ut "eye" through a process of acrophony); 'u7 is the Chichen variant of an 'u variant based on a jewel or bead on a belt assemblage or necklace (compare to T232) and probably iconically derived from uh "jewel; bead" through a process of acrophony

(NB: I prefer /b/ above /b'/ as in the Classic Maya inscriptions there seems to be no contrast between the two phonemes)
ba - For the syllable ba the scribes employed various slightly different graphic variants of the common sign T501 ba, here included as ba1 and ba2. In several Late Classic contexts also T757 BAH can be found employed for ba; ba3, as included here, is an eroded version of T757, employed in a collocation tu-T757-hi (other texts at Chichen provide tu-T501-hi)
be - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for be
bi - The sign bi2 occurs commonly in the inscriptions, the sign bi1 occurs only once at Chichen (Casa Colorada). This sign bi1 (and as such all variants of T764[585]) represents a serpent-head (T764, but with a prominent diamont-shaped and cross-hatched element); it may be derived acrophonically from the verb bich'- or bik'- "to zig-zag (like a serpent)." I interpret T585 bi to be iconically derived from T764[585] as a pars pro toto, a part that represents the whole (as T585 is the most diagnostic part of the T764[585] sign)
bo - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for bo
bu - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for bu

cha - The signs cha1, cha2, and cha3 are all graphic variants of the common sign T668 cha; 'a4 is the local variant of T142 cha (in the Thompson catalog: upper sign only!)
che - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified which includes a sign for che (in my earlier research [e.g., my 2005 dissertation] I identified a che sign, but at present I interpret this sign as a local variant of HU'N "knot" employed to spell hun "1" in the theonym Yax Chit Hun Kan Ajaaw)
chi - chi1 and chi2 are but graphic variants of the common T671 chi, an upturned c-shaped hand-sign (see my 2003 essay "The Human Hand in Classic Maya Hieroglyphic Writing," available at Mesoweb.com)
cho - cho1 and cho2 are graphic variants of T590b "jawbone" (T568 is the Chichen cho2 variant); the cho syllabic sign is derived through a process of acrophony from the Ch'olan noun cho'h "jawbone"
chu - Perhaps this is the Chichen variant of T601 chu (as such the question mark); only one occurrence (Temple of the Hieroglyphic Jambs, West Jamb)

ch'a - All three signs are graphic variants of T603 ch'a (but having suffered some level of erosion). ch'a1 and ch'a2 are reduced through only one sign of T603 due to overlap. ch'a3 is a less frequent variant of T609, sporting three dotted circular elements (T634)
ch'e - No text at Chichen Itza or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'e (but in 2006 Yuri Polyukhovich circulated a manuscript in which he tentatively identified a ch'e sign in a Tonina inscription)
ch'i - No text at Chichen Itza or the Maya area in general has yet been identified that includes a sign for ch'i (but I should note that some epigraphers are considering T77 [T72, T76, T81] and variants, a possible k'i syllable, as a ch'i syllable)
ch'o - This is the common graphic variant at Chichen Itza (compare to T758a). The syllable ch'o is derived acrophonically from the noun ch'o'h~ch'o' "rat"
ch'u - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified which includes a sign for ch'u

ha - ha1 and ha5 are graphic variants of the same sign (the "knot"-sign on top of the skeletal head is absent in ha1); ha2 occurs only once (High Priest's Grave, Panel fragment). The signs ha3 and ha4 are graphic variants of the same syllabic sign, a sign unique to Chichen Itza (a double infixation of the "percentage" sign as found on the cheek of the skeletal head into the "knot" of the common ha sign, like ha5)
he - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for he
hi - Both hi1 and hi2 are graphic variants of the common hi sign (actually just reduced to the top element of the digraph T145e:528 hi sign due to sign overlap). Sign hi3 only occurs in the text of the High Priest's Grave; this sign was formerly a sign for ji, but in the Late Classic period (ca. A.D. 750-900) the sounds /h/ (a glottal aspirate or glottal voiced fricative) and /j/ (a velar aspirate or velar voiced fricative) merged and signs that formerly opened with /j-/ (and exclusively were employed in that fashion) were employed to record /-h/ (among other contexts; see Grube 2004 "The Orthographic Distinction between Velar and Glottal Spirants in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing," in The Linguistics of Maya writing, edited by Søren Wichmann)
ho - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for ho
hu - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for hu

The updated Preliminary Chichen Itza Maya Syllabary, Part 2: ja-mu

ja - ja1 is the Chichen variant of the common T683b "moon-sign" for ja; ja2 and ja3 are "half versions" of this sign, due to overlap by a preceding sign
je - je1 is the local variant of the common T69 (only lower suffix!) je; a slightly slanted graphic variant je2 can also be found at Chichen Itza. je3 is an abbreviated version, with only two elements and can be found recorded only once (Casa Colorada)
ji - Chichen Itza scribes/sculptors employed three variants of the common T136 (only lower suffix!) ji. The common variant at Chichen is ji3; however, also graphic variants with four u-shaped elements (ji1 & ji2) and just two (ji4) were employed

The syllabic variants of je and ji can be reduced from four/three elements to just two; as far as my present research shows, scribes/sculptors resisted to reduce these signs any further. This probabably has to do with the fact that reduction is only effective as long as the sign remains easily recognizable. je reduced to just one element would look too much like a ma reduced to just one element (which does exist, see CHN ma1, ma2). A ji reduced to just one element would not be recorgnizable as a potential ji as the single u-shaped element could belong to any sign (or be a reduction of such sign) that employed u-shaped elements (e.g., ju, no, xo). Reduction of graphic signs always led to a reduction to the most diagnostic part of the original sign (generally through a process of pars pro toto, "part that represents the whole") and which would be in contrast to other signs

jo - At Chichen at least three different graphic variants of the common T607 jo sign are employed; the difference lies in the fact where the sign has its opening (jo1 up, jo2 left, jo3 down). Rotation, in this and most cases in Maya inscriptions (but not all!), does not alter the value of this sign
ju - Two graphic variants of the same sign, a turtle carapace encircled by u-shaped elements. This ju sign is a digraph, employing two different graphic signs to arrive at a new sign, in this case ju. Digraphs (and multigraphs) are the scribe's "instrument" to add new hieroglyphic signs to the inventory when the need arises (as such in the early stage of Maya writing there was no ju sign). Note that the series of u-shaped elements can fully encircle the turtle carapace or can be reduced to three elements on top

ka - ka1 and ka2 are local variants of the common T25 "fish-fin" ka sign; ka3 is the actual T738b fish sign for ka (kay "fish" acrophonically reduced to ka) from which ka1 and ka2 are ultimately derived (though pars pro toto, part that represents the whole). ka4, however, is a completely new ka sign, occurring only twice in the Casa Colorada text (A.D. 869-873) and once on Las Monjas Lintel 6 (A.D. 880). This sign represents a serpent head and as such ka3 should be derived from a word for serpent that opens with k-; in the Yucatecan languages (as well as in proto-Mayan) the word for serpent is kaan~kan. Through a process of acrophony the word kaan~kan was reduced to ka, hence the ka4 syllabic sign at Chichen Itza. If indeed derived from a Yucatecan word, this would be a clue to the locally spoken language or vernacular at the time the inscriptions were carved (and actually the language/vernacular of the scribes/sculptors involved)
ke - The common sign for ke (T711)
ki - Three variants for the sign ki (T102), with slight graphic variation
ko - Two graphic variants for the sign ko (T110)
ku - Three graphic variants of the common T528 ku sign, in which outer shape was dictated by its location within a collocation

k'a - Two graphic variants of the common hand signs T669 k'a; k'a1 is a variant of T669a and k'a2 is a variant of T669b
k'e - A possible local variant of the k'e sign; however, it only appears in the same nominal phrase (e.g., Temple of the Four Lintels, Lintel 2)
k'i - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for k'i (see note to ch'i)
k'o - A possible local variant of the k'o hand sign (as such the question mark); it only appears in a nominal phrase (Temple of the Four Lintels, Lintel 2)
k'u - k'u2 is the Chichen variant of T604 k'u; k'u1 is a variant reduced to just the upper element, most probably due to sign overlap. The sign k'u3 is the head of a quetzal bird (k'uk'), normally used as a logogram. However, at Chichen Itza the scribes/sculptors employed it as k'u (e.g., Temple of the One Lintel), thus a sign acrophonically reduced from k'uk'

la - A large variety of graphic variants for la was employed at Chichen Itza; most common are variants la1, la2, la3, and la4. Less common are la5 (the two elements stacked instead of side-by-side). Rotation of the sign is of importance in this case; T534 is 'AJAW, while T534 (rotated 180 degrees) is la. Less frequent employed at Chichen Itza is la7, which actually is a Late Classic rendition of an Early Classic variant of la (T139). Rare is its reduction to just one element, la6 (Halakal Lintel, Underside)
le - Two graphic variants of the common T188 le sign
li - li1 is a zoomorphic sign, among epigraphers referred to as "worm-bird" (as it seems to hold a worm-like element in its beak); li2 and li4 are graphic variants of the common T2/T7/T24 li sign; li4 is a variant of T83
lo - The Chichen variant of the common T580 lo sign
lu - lu1 and lu2 are common variants (compare TT586a-c), but lu3 presents a rare head-variant of the sign. In general, there are not many head-variants present in the inscriptions of Chichen Itza and this rare example is a personified version of a sign commonly not personified (example from Temple of the Four Lintels, Lintel 1, Underside)

ma - ma1 is a rotated version of ma2 and both are reduced versions of ma4, a graphic variant of T71/T74 ma. ma3 is a graphic variant of T142 ma (lower suffix only!), but lacking the cross-hatching (all these signs are actually graphically reduced from a multigraphic sign for ma, T74:617var:142; graphic reduction due to overlap and to its most diagnostic element[s]). ma5 and ma6 are the Chichen variant of the common T502 ma sign; this sign is a digraph, as it employs T533/T534 as an infix to T501 (the "template" to several signs, e.g. HA', t'u). Digraphs came into existence when either a new syllabic (or logographic) value needed to be represented or when scribes/sculptors invented a new allograph for a common sign (T71/74 and T268 are common versions of ma)
me - The T761a "penis" sign is commonly employed as a logogram 'AT in Classic Maya texts (or perhaps 'ACH at Chichen Itza; see Boot 2005, dissertation). However, this particular example at Chichen Itza seems to be employed as a syllabic sign and may represent the value me. The sign is comparable to the sign for "m" (pronounced e-me in Spanish) in the Landa alphabet (a series of syllabic signs in alphbetic order, in which the hieroglyphic signs approximate the sixteenth century pronunciation of the Spanish letters). The value me may be derived from a noun mehen (a common word for "male son of father"), which is (also) a metaphorical expression for "semen" in colonial Yucatec Maya (perhaps in other Mayan languages as well)
mi - The common sign for mi (T163/T173)
mo - The common sign for mo (T582; central element at Chichen Itza covered by infixed sign). It only occurs once at Chichen Itza, in the spelling of the month name mol (mo[lo]) (High Priest's Grave, Pillar 4) (another example can be found at Chichen, on a jade pendant from Palenque as found at the Cenote, also in a spelling mo[lo])
mu - Common signs for mu (T19) (this sign is a syllabic sign reduced from the small infixed sign into T644b, unfortunately not individually cataloged by Thompson; only the small curl element remained [again through pars pro toto])

The updated Preliminary Chichen Itza Maya Syllabary, Part 3: na-t'u

na - na1 and na4 are graphic variants of the common T23 na sign. na2 is a more elaborate portrait version of T537 na; it is the frontal view of a human head with the eyes closed. na3 is also a human head with a closed eye, but now in profile (T1052a; na2 and na3 may thus just be graphic variants due to a switch of front-to-profile depiction)
ne - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for ne
ni - Common graphic variants of the T116 ni sign
no - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified which includes a sign for no (but a small jade fragment from the Castillo, of foreign origin as it most probably came from Calakmul, contains the spelling yu[ku]no-ma)
nu - nu1 and nu2 are but graphic variants of the same sign (nu1 with a cartouche around); nu3 seems to be an allograph (but all three signs may be derived from one original nu sign)

pa - Two variants of the common T586/T602 pa sign
pe - Two variants of T759 sign, which may have the value pe (this proposal by Dmitri Beliaev and Albert Davletshin is still under review), as such the query
pi - pi2 is the full form of pi; pi1 is a reduced version (due to overlap). Also pi3 is a reduced version, in this case the arch or bridge element has been eliminated
po - Perhaps this is a Chichen Itza graphic variant for po, as such the query (Temple of the Hieroglyphic Jambs, East Jamb)
pu - Two graphic variants for pu; pu1 was partly covered by its the succeeding sign (example from the Akab Dzib Lintel, Front)

p'a - No text at Chichen Itza (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'a
p'e - No text at Chichen Itza (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'e
p'i - No text at Chichen Itza (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'i
p'o - No text at Chichen Itza (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'o
p'u - No text at Chichen Itza (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for p'u

sa - Two graphic variants of the sa sign can be identified at Chichen Itza
se - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for se
si - Three graphic variants of the common sign T57 si
so - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for so
su - Two graphic variants of the sign for su

ta - Like the pronoun u-, also the preposition ta occurs frequently at Chichen Itza. To represent this word various syllabic signs were employed. ta1 is the local variant of the common sign T53 ta; ta2 and ta4 are local variants of T103 (do not include the fourth suffix in the Thompson catalog, that is a codical sign for ki)
te - Two graphic variants of the sign te. te1 occurs in the text on the Monjas Annex lintel (front); te2 is employed at the Monjas structure (Lintel 3)
ti - ti1 and ti2 are graphic variants of the common sign T59 ti; ti3 seems to be the head of a King vulture (Sarcoramphus papa, a bird resident to the area of southern Mexico to northern Argentina). Perhaps, and only perhaps, T59 ti is a pars pro toto of the King vulture variant for ti (just employing the "ti-envisioned" fleshy caruncle or protuberance on its beak)
to - to1 and to2 represent a common sign, they are local graphic variants of T138. T138 is a reduced version of T138:563b to (probably due to overlap, and ultimately employed as a sign apart)
tu - tu1, tu2, and tu3 are three graphic variants of the common sign T92 tu

t'a - Possibly this is a syllable for t'a, as first proposed by Elisabeth Wagner in 199o's, to be found in a spelling t'a?-ba (Tomb of Unknown Location, Capstone)
t'e - No text at Chichen Itza (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'e
t'i - No text at Chichen Itza (or the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for t'i
t'o - Possibly this variant of T174 represents the value t'o; this sign, possibly abbreviated due to overlap (the full sign being T174:SHELL), occurs only once at Chichen Itza (Temple of the Hieroglyphic Jambs, West Jamb), is still under review (as such the question mark)
t'u - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for [T528]501 t'u

The updated Preliminary Chichen Itza Maya Syllabary, Part 4: tza-yu

tza - Two local variants of T699 tza; tza1 from the Caracol Panel and tza2 from the Caracol Circular Stone
tze - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for tze
tzi - tzi1 and tzi2 are local graphic variants of the common sign T507a tzi
tzo - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for tzo
tzu - A single example for tzu at Chichen Itza (Yula, Lintel 1, Underside); and it is a head variant (a.k.a. a personified variant or form)

tz'a - Local variant of tz'a (compare to T356), but missing its central po shaped element due to sign overlap
tz'e - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'e
tz'i - Two graphic variants of the common sign T263 tz'i
tz'o - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'o
tz'u - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for tz'u

wa - wa1 and wa2 are graphic variants of the common sign T130 wa; wa3 is a rare sign for wa, a human head looking to the right
we - No text at Chichen Itza (or in the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for we
wi - Two graphic variants for wi (T117); wi1 is less well preserved than wi2
wo - Two graphic variants for wo (T67)
wu - No text at Chichen Itza (or in the Maya area in general) has yet been identified that includes a sign for wu (but a sign graphically close to T285 and employed as superfix may be a candidate for either wu or hu in collocations as wu?/hu?-EYE)

xa - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for xa
xe - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for xe
xi - No text at Chichen Itza has yet been identified that includes a sign for xi (an incised bone fragment of unknown but most probably foreign provenance and found at the Cenote sink hole contains a xi sign in a collocation spelling 'AJ-k'i?-xi-ma)
xo - This sign xo only occurs once at Chichen Itza (Halakal Lintel, Underside); it is partially overlapped by other signs
xu - Two graphic variants of the T756a-b, possibly employed as syllabic sign xu (still under review, as such the query; see Boot 2009, "The Bat Sign in Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: Some Notes and Suggestions, Based on Examples on Late Classic Ceramics," available at Mayavase.com)

ya - ya1, ya2, and ya5 are graphic variants of the common sign T126 ya. The graphic difference is in the central element, either three small round elements (in descending size), a u-shaped element, or a more squeezed u-shaped element. ya4 is a reduced ya5 sign, with one of the halves reduced and as such still recognizable as a reduced variant of ya5. The scribes developed a new sign for ya at Chichen Itza, a human head with a band over the length of the head, ya3 (this sign was cataloged T1051 by Thompson). It occurs in slightly different graphic variants in the hieroglyphic text at the Casa Colorada
ye - Graphic variant of the common sign for ye (T710 & T220; only the first two signs in the Thompson catalog); only occurs once at Chichen Itza (Casa Colorada)
yi - Three graphic variants of the common sign for yi (T18)
yo - Chichen scribes/sculptors employed two yo allomorphs. yo1 and yo2 (a clenched fist with crossed bands, with yo1 the left hand and yo2 the right hand version) are graphic variants of T673 yo; yo3 is a graphic variant of T115 yo. At Chichen Itza these yo signs are employed in completely different word domains. yo1/yo2 in yo-to-ti/yo-TOT and yo-ko spellings, while yo3 is employed in a yo-'OL-la and two yo-'OTOT spellings (all Temple of the Hieroglyphic Jambs)
yu - Two graphic variants of the common sign T61 yu

This concludes the annotated overview of the updated Preliminary Chichen Itza Maya Syllabary. More graphic variants could have been included, but the present selection of signs provides a good overview of the syllabic inventory at the site as employed by Chichen scribes/sculptors. This syllabary furthermore provides insight into the evolution of Maya writing, as the syllabary here assembled was employed in only a relative short period in the Late Classic period

First edit: May 18, 2010. Last edit: May 30, 2010

2009-11-18T23:58:00.003+01:00

Time goes fast, especially when a lot of preparations need to be done. For the workshop "The Inscriptions of Northern Yucatan" at the 14th EMC in Cracow, Poland (November 9-14, 2009), I have prepared a preliminary syllabary of the Chichen Itza inscriptions. A PDF of this syllabary has been posted online at Mesoweb in the section "Chichen Iza Resources." A direct download can be found here. The syllabary has been extended with a couple of additional examples and I hope to have the updated version online next month.
Starting January 2010 I will have a bit more time to direct to posting on this blog.

2009-06-23T17:51:00.003+02:00

The updated vocabulary (April 2009, version 2009.1) has been posted at Mesoweb (one can find the link at the top of the right hand side menu or by clicking here). At present I do not have the time yet to post illustrations for some of the entries from the vocabulary, but I hope to have time for this soon.

2009-03-18T02:52:00.003+01:00

A year goes by fast, much faster as I thought! Research, classes, and a couple of conferences kept me from dedicating time to the vocabulary project. But, the updated vocabulary is currently in its final phase of revision. Spellings of entries are checked, corrections are being made, and some new entries are being added. Very soon the updated vocabulary will be available online through Mesoweb. As a sneak preview, above the cover of the vocabulary.

2008-02-01T16:25:00.000+01:00

The image (photo: Jorge Perez de Lara, originally posted at Mesoweb.com) above is just to illustrate that an online solution has been found, within Blogger instead of outside (which I actually would have preferred, as image size is limited).

When time permits, this blog on Maya Hieroglyphic Writing will officially begin posting entries relative to the Updated Preliminary Classic Maya - English Vocabulary, the latest version of which has entered its final editing phase.

2007-12-16T17:47:00.000+01:00

Maya Glyph Blog .... Still In Preparation
Some things take more time than others ... Finishing the updated version of the Classic Maya - English vocabulary takes more time than anticipated (at present all entries have been checked, over 250 explanatory footnotes have been added, and the location of some 2,500 examples in published hieroglyphic texts are included; the new version does include illustrations, but only of a few pertinent spellings), while additionally I still have to find a web location to put the images for the Maya Glyph Blog ... When fully operational this blog will be announced at Maya News Updates and Ancient MesoAmerica News Updates.

2007-08-12T23:53:00.000+02:00

Maya Glyph Blog - Introductory Note

At the present time this blog is UNDER CONSTRUCTION. As the updated edition of my "Preliminary Classic Maya - English, English - Classic Maya Vocabulary of Hieroglyphic Readings" (Boot 2002, posted at Mesoweb.com) is close to completion, entries for this blog are already in preparation.

When this blog is officially operational I will indicate this at my other blogs:

Maya News Updates

(http://mayanewsupdates.blogspot.com/)

Ancient MesoAmerica News Updates

(http://ancient-mesoamerica-news-updates.blogspot.com/)