Recently, their descendants have started to learn the script once again from the scholars who have deciphered it. The Yucatec Maya continued to use the Mayan script until at least the 16th century. Today most Mayan texts can be read, though there are still some unknown glyphs.Ī gripping account of the decipherment of the Mayan script can be found in Breaking the Maya Code, by Micheal D. His ideas were not welcomed by other Mayanists, but he was eventually proved correct.įurther progress in the decipherment was made during the 1970s and 1980s when more linguistics began to take an interest in the script. The first major breakthrough in decipherment came during the 1950s when a Russian ethnologist, Yuri Valentinovich Knorosov, proposed that the Mayan script was at least partly phonetic and represented the Yucatec Mayan language. This became known as the Landa Alphabet and helped with the decipherment of the script, even though it was based on the false premise that the script was alphabetic.įor a long time many scholars believed that the script did not represent a language at all, or that it wasn't a complete writing system. In about 1566, the first bishop of Yucatan, Diego de Landa, compiled a key to the Mayan syllabary consisting of 27 Spanish letters and the Mayan glyphs with similar sounds. Recent archeological finds indicate that the Mayan civilisation started much earlier: around 3,000 BC. The earliest known writing in the Mayan script dates from about 250 BC, but the script is thought to have developed at an earlier date. If no sign is used before the date, the default equal to (=) will be used.The Mayan civilisation lasted from about 500 BC to 1200 AD, with a classical period from 300-900 AD. To search the 'Date Added' field, use the greater than, less than, or equal to (>,>=,=. Example search forms: chum*, *chum, *chum*. If you know the Maya word starts with 'chum' you can search for chum* to retrieve all words that begin with chum. A wildcard (*) is used in place of the unknown. Wildcards can be used in any field except the date field. To view all entries leave fields blank and click the Search button.
Word Search Use one of the fields below to search the dictionary. Click on the links below to view and print the dictionary.Ĭlick on a letter to acquire an alphabetical lists of words and syllables.Ĭlick on a letter to acquire an alphabetical lists of words. Individual search results can be printed through a link on the results page.
This dictionary is an on-going project with continuous additions and corrections, therefore the ability to print the dictionary is split into two sections: Introductory Sections and the Dictionary Entries. Welcome to the Maya Hieroglyph Dictionary Please Read - Anticipated Dictionary Progress A major aim of the Maya Hieroglyph Dictionary is for it to be 'user-friendly', so that words can be looked up either by the Maya word or by their English or Spanish translation. The Maya Hieroglyph Dictionary also provides analyses of the word or compound and cross-references to similar words and compounds. Each entry will eventually include a picture of the hieroglyph as well as its transcription and a translation in English and Spanish. The Maya Hieroglyph Dictionary provides translations and analyses of about 1,000 Maya hieroglyphic words and compounds, arranged in alphabetical order.
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