Mayan Work 2025·26
An assortment of drawings taken mostly from Mark Pitts' "Mayan Glyphs" books, where (unless otherwise stated), nearly all of these drawings originate from. Epigraphy is the study of inscription, and all of these drawings come from original Ancient ruins. The most identifiable are listed last, with original stone inscriptions.
source: Dintel 26. Yaxchilán, Chiapas. Clásico Tardío. Museo Nacional de Antropología.
Two Bound Kings
"An example of Classic Mayan hieroglyphic writing. Here, Caracol Altar 23 depicts high-ranking captives from nearby cities, taken by the autority of the k'uhulajaw of Caracol, K'inich Joy K'awii. The central text starts with a Calander orund date and commemorates a k'altuun event."
source: Carnegie Mellon University, "Maya Calendar and Mesoamerican Astronomy"
To Ancient Mayans specifically, "art," "painting," and "writing" were all the same word - tz'ib. This shows us that, to the Maya, composing a hieroglyphic text was painting, and painting a scene on a ceramic vessel was also writing¹.
Therefore it should come as no surprise that the Popol Vol, or Mayan Book of Creation, is not a single monument, but rather a series of artworks, paintings, and inscriptions across Mesoamerica.
This partial epigraphic drawing shows Yax Balam, on of the Hero Twins in the Mayan creation story, holding what appears to be the right side of a serpent bar.
¹https://mayan.org/civilization/scribes/
A Short 200
This glyph from Palanque, Mexico depcits a time period of 200 years. More specifically, it denotes a lak'tun, a period of 10 k'atuns, with each k'atun denoting a period of 20 years². So, 20 x 10 = this many years.
Another inspiration of mine, fellow educator and Maya enthusiast Mark A. Romero, also did a rendition of this lak'tun I'd like to share here:
Lady Xoc of Yaxchilán
Lady K'ab'al Xook of Yaxchilán was a Mayan queen and the principal wife (and aunt) of the King Itzamnaaj Bahlam II, who ruled Yaxchilán on the bank Usumacienta River in Chiapas, Mexico from 681 - 742.
