RESOURCE: Maya glyphs directory (1)

9th Mar 2022

Mexicolore contributors Alejandro J. Garay Herrera and Marie Botzet

We’re delighted to launch a new short visual dictionary of Maya signs, with the generous collaboration of Alejandro J. Garay Herrera and Marie Botzet, both postgraduate students with a major interest in Maya writing systems.
Alejandro (who wrote the texts), from Honduras, is an archaeology graduate from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, currently a PhD candidate at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (Germany) in the department of Ancient American studies. His interests include Mayan languages, Maya writing, pre-Hispanic and Colonial history of the Maya region.
Marie, from Germany, is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn. Her research focus is Maya epigraphy, Classic Period history, and (Classic) Maya women. Her thesis is on a site called El Chorro in the Pasión region. She also runs an instagram page with her friend and colleague Dimitris Markianos, called “ancientmayahistory”.

We will be adding entries continuously to this and subsequent pages...!

AHK or AAK
The zoomorphic AHK or AAK glyph is a representation of a turtle’s head. It is read ahk or aak (the definitive reading is still subject to discussion), which is a common lowland Maya term for “turtle”. Even though this glyph renders the head of a turtle, Maya scribes preferred to annotate the word “turtle” using the turtle’s carapace, but distinguishing it from the carapace itself, which was represented by the glyph MAK, by marking it with a wavy net design with infixed circles or dots. The term turtle was used frequently as part of name phrases of kings. A noteworthy case is that of the kingdom of Piedras Negras in the lowlands of Guatemala, where several kings use AHK or AAK “turtle” as part of their names, like: K’inich Yo’nal Ahk or Itzam K’an Ahk.

Further reading (see below):-
(1), (2: pp. 138-153), (3: pp. 206-207), (4).

AHIIN or AYIIN
This is the glyph AHIIN or AYIIN, read ahiin or ayiin (the definitive reading is still unclear) which represents the head of a crocodile (Crocodylus acutus), and has several characteristics that were noteworthy for the Maya, like the long snout (which is curled to make it fit within a glyph block), the long teeth usually seen protruding from the mouth of this kind of reptile, spots on its skin that mark it as a rugged surface, and interestingly, an eye mark with crossed bands, which could be connected with some myths in which crocodiles are protagonists. One of the most important rulers of Early Classic Tikal (4th century AD) was named Yax Nuun Ayiin (or Yax Nuun Ahiin), which can be roughly translated as “Blue-green or first knot(?) crocodile”. His remains were found interred in Burial 10 of Tikal, lying at the foot of the building known as Temple 34, in that city’s North Acropolis complex, accompanied by an offering that included a headless crocodile next to his body.

Further reading (see below):-
(2: pp. 32-33), (3: pp. 182-183), (5).

K’IN
The flower-like K’IN glyph is used in Maya writing to write the word k’in “sun, day”, but also as part of the title k’inich “great sun, solar, radiant, resplendent” or more literally “sun-eyed”, in reference to the solar deity, K’inich Ajaw. The four-petaled flower usually has small details on its inside, characterized as small dots, sometimes at its centre, on other occasions on its petals. In Maya art, this glyph is used to mark objects that are hot, like ceramic censers, or shining, like the skin of the sun deity when he appears in a full-body representation. This glyph is also portrayed as part of celestial bands, that mark the location of a scene as the heavens, in connection with other signs like EK’ “star”, CHAN “sky, heaven” or UH “moon”.

Further reading (see below):-
(3: pp. 152-153).

MO’
The MO’ glyph you see here is a schematic rendering of the head of the scarlet macaw (Ara macao), which is called mo’ in Classic Maya and many contemporaneous Mayan languages. The area around the eye is marked with dots that give the idea of the bare skin around the eye of the bird, where no feathers grow. The big, curved beak also imitates the natural shape of the one this bird has. The sign for macaw is used in many ways in Maya writing, but it is especially popular as part of name phrases of rulers and other members of the ruling elite. One of the most famous examples is that of K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ of Copan, founder of the dynasty that ruled that city for almost four centuries, whose name can be translated as something like “Solar Blue-Green Quetzal-Macaw”.

Further reading (see below):-
(3: pp. 210-211), (6), (7).

HA’
This is the glyph HA’, which reads in the same way and means “water”. It represents a stylized waterlily flower (Nymphaea ampla) and its presence in Maya iconography is an immediate sign of water or a watery environment. It is also used as the written sign for the day “Imix” or “Imox”, one of the 20 day-names that conform the 260-day ritual calendar among the Maya.

Further reading (see below):-
(3: pp. 172-173).

MAK
This is the glyph MAK which reads mak or mahk, meaning “turtle shell or carapace”. It portrays in a very simple yet natural way the object itself.
A characteristic of Maya writing is that many of the logographs (word-signs) it has in its sign repertoire resemble the object they name. In this case they have separated the turtle shell or carapace from the turtle itself, highlighting the difference between them. The shaded areas that cover the shell mark the object as having a black or darkened surface, helping to distinguish it from another similar sign, which is used occasionally to refer to the turtle itself.
This glyph is used as the main element of the month name Mak, one of the eighteen 20-day months the Maya used on their 365-day calendar, which also included the 5-day period, known as Wayeb’.

Further reading (see below):-
(3: pp. 206-207), (4).

BAAK
This is the glyph BAAK which reads baak (sometimes also written as b’aak or b’ak), which means “bone”. Up until today, in many Mayan languages the word for bone is still the same or very similar to Classic Mayan. This round sign is characterised by the presence of the wavy lines in the middle, which seem to be associated with the suture lines present in the bones of the human body, notably on the skull, where they’re quite visible, though they are not only found there. The upper and lower semicircles with dots in their interior identify this element as part of something bigger, recognising that it belongs to a full human body.
This glyph is also used when talking about war captives, who are also described with the word baak. Rulers of different Maya kingdoms took great pride in stating how many captives they had made throughout their life, using a title that described this feat, e.g. aj 7 baak, “he of the 7 captives”.

Further reading (see below):-
(3: pp. 54-55).

CHAN
This glyph stands for the word chan “sky, heaven”; it is easily recognisable because of its round shape, and the presence of curved or crossed bands, that rest above a comb-like figure on the lower part of the sign. The graphic origin of this sign is not completely clear, but some authors suggest it might be somehow connected to the wings of the Principal Bird Deity, a celestial figure connected to the god known as Itzamnaaj. This sign is usually incorporated into the so-called celestial or sky bands, that populate Maya art in many locations. The celestial bands are usually elongated straight bands, which contain in its interior glyphs or motifs associated with the sky and heavenly bodies, like the moon (UH) or stars (EK’). It is used in Maya art to situate a scene or part of it, in the heavenly realm, beyond the limits of earth.

Further reading (see below):-
(8)

CHAN/KAAN
This zoomorphic glyph represents the head of a snake, which in Classic Mayan was pronounced as chan or kaan (also written as kan); the first form corresponds to Classic Mayan proper, while the second one seems to be an alternative reading that might be either an ancient pronunciation or a form adopted from Yucatec Maya. The reading kaan seems to have been widely used by the members of the so-called “Snake Dynasty”, a powerful polity which had its seat in Dzibanché and Calakmul during the Classic Maya period (300-900 AD), whose Emblem Glyph was characterized by the presence of the snake head in it.
Even though the head aspires to naturality, it still represents a conventionalised form of a snake head, defined by the presence of a blunt snout, scales in different parts, a darkened area over the eye, fangs, and an eye with a pupil defined only by a curved line, resembling a hook. The eye, the darkened area over it, and the fangs are among the most important diagnostic features to identify it.

Further reading (see below):-
(9), (3: pp. 200-201)

EK’
The EK’ glyph stands for the general representations of “star, planet, constellation, heavenly body”. The full form of the glyph is defined by its four extending arms, along with the four eyes placed in between them. Occasionally a reduced form of the sign is used, by cutting half of it, which makes it look like a wavy lowercase “W” with two eyes in its spaces. This sign appears frequently as part of the celestial or sky bands that are used in Maya art to mark a character or location as within the heavenly realm. In other occasions, it marks figures meant to represent constellations among the Maya, like the “turtle”, connected with Orion’s belt, or the “twin peccaries”, which apparently correspond to Gemini. This glyph is also connected with warfare, as part of the so-called “star-war” statements in Maya inscriptions, which seem to describe Maya warfare events between warring kingdoms, but its phonetic value has not been completely deciphered in this context.

Further reading (see below):-
(10), (11: pp. 249-293), (3: pp. 150-151).

B’AAH
This zoomorphic glyph stands for the word b’aah, which is the term the Classic Maya used to name the “pocket gopher”, known in Central American Spanish as tuza or taltuza (Orthogeomys spp.), a kind of rodent that feeds on the milpas (cornfields) and grains. It is a naturalistic representation of the head of this animal, eating some green leaves, with a big ear, small eye and short snout. The cheek is marked with a K’AN cross, a logogram that stands for itself in Maya writing, stating the word k’an “yellow”, in a clear allusion to the yellowish hide of this animal.
This sign is used many times throughout Maya inscriptions as a rebus for the word b’aah “self, image, portrait”, used to introduce the visual representation of a character, usually in the frontal side of stone monuments. The rebus principle means that the sign is not used for its meaning, but because it is homophonous and shares the same pronunciation with another word, making it an ideal substitute when abstract concepts that are hard to represent like “image, portrait”, need to be conveyed graphically with a Maya sign.

Further reading (see below):-
(12: pp. 73–101), (3: pp. 192-193).

TE’
The round glyph TE’ stands for the word te’ “wood, tree, stick” in Classic Mayan. It is characterised by the presence of a line or two, from where two round teeth are coming out. This motif might have been inspired by the resin drops or globules that come out of cracks on trees, although this is not completely certain. Even though the sign itself is used in many ways throughout Maya inscriptions, for example as part of placenames, its diagnostic mark - the line with the two teeth - is very often used as a marker of things made out of wood, appearing incorporated into other things that are made out of this material in the iconography or even in other logograms that represent such objects, as in the sign for “steps” EHB’ or “canoe” JUKUB’, as well as in the trunks of different tree species drawn in multiple examples of Maya art. By using the sign in this way, the Maya artist could tell its target audience that certain objects or elements had the qualities associated with wood, even though the image was a two-dimensional black and white illustration. The usage of the sign in this way is what scholars call a “semantic marker”, and the Maya made extensive use of this resource, to mark certain elements, giving extra details about its aspect, colour, hardness, etc…

Further reading (see below):-
(13: pp. 195–213), (3: pp. 170-171).

YAX
The spiky shell-like YAX glyph is used to write the word yax, which is the Classic Mayan term for the color “blue-green” (sometimes referred to as “grue”), which corresponds to the color spectrum that is visible in the different shades of water, for example, inside a cenote (a natural well in the karstic grounds of the Yucatan peninsula). This sign is distinguishable by its wavy contour, the interior oval which contains two parallel dashes or elongated ovals, and the shaded parallel lines between the oval and its exterior outline. Sometimes, it is used as a rebus in hieroglyphic inscriptions for the homophonous word yax “first, unripe, new, clean”. One famous example is the placename Yaxha’, “green or clean water”, the name of a major archaeological site and its nearby lagoon in northern Guatemala, which apparently has kept the same name since the Classic Maya period, for around 1500 years. The YAX also appears frequently in combination with other signs, in particular with the K’AN “yellow” glyph, forming a couplet that designates abundance, wealth or some kind of benediction.

Further reading (see below):-
(14), (15: pp. 283–299), (16), (3: pp. 122-123).

CHUM
This glyph represents a person’s lower torso and thigh from one side, in a seated position. The evolution of the sign through time made the initial naturalistic representation far more schematic, rendering it by the Late Classic period (600-900 AD) as a compacted upper hump, which corresponds to the torso, superimposed over another one flattened and curved, that will be the thigh. The glyph is read as CHUM which corresponds to a positional verbal root in Classic Maya: chum-, that can be translated as “to seat”. Normally, this glyph will have somewhere on its lower part a sign similar to an oval disk, which identifies it as part of a full body, i.e. it is telling the viewer that this torso and thigh, actually belong to a full or complete body - in other words, they’re part of something bigger.
The idea of seating is very powerful among the Classic Maya elites, which use this verb to state the rulership of a new lord, who was literally “seated in rulership or lordship” (chum ti ajawlel). This idea was extended to time periods, which were also “seated” at the first date corresponding to a given time period. For example, the first day of the month Pop was described in the inscriptions as “the seating of Pop”, and since Pop was the first day of the 365-day year, it was also the first day of the year: hence the “seating” of the corresponding Yearbearer.

Further reading (see below):-
(3: pp. 62-63).

K’AN
The cross with four arms of the same length inside a double circle is noticeably distinguishable from other signs; its reading is K’AN, pronounced as k’an, which can be translated as “yellow, ripe, precious”, all these values can be differentiated from the context where this glyph appears. The geometrical aspect of this sign makes it easy to identify, but its iconographic motivations are not completely clear, nonetheless it has been suggested that it might be derived from the cross-cut trunk of the allspice tree (Pimenta dioica), which shows a cross with strong resemblance to the K’AN glyph when freshly cut.
This glyph is also used as a semantic marker in Maya art, identifying some objects as precious or valuable, specially if they have been carved or if their real world counterparts actually have a surface or skin that has a yellow or yellowish look, like in the case of a gopher’s skin, limestone or objects made of certain kinds of wood. The ripe association is clear, since fruits obtain the yellow color once they achieve a high degree of ripeness. This sign is on many occasions associated with the YAX glyph, creating together a semantic couplet (yax-k’an) that is interpreted as “glorious”, “precious” or “abundant” in the hieroglyphic inscriptions. They also appear together on some iconographic representations, like that of blood or some other “precious” liquid offering, that Maya rulers poured into different objects during certain rituals or ceremonies.

Further reading (see below):-
(14), (3: pp. 126-127), (15: pp. 283–299), (17: pp. 1-6).

PAKAL
The PAKAL glyph, read as pakal and translatable as “shield”, is the representation of a traditional Maya shield from the Classic period. It is a round-shaped wrist shield, that shows a cross-hatched exterior band decorated with equidistant circles around a central element, which varies but is very often shown as a human face. This element might have been a carving or a flayed face, that was stretched over the shield as part of its decoration, and which may have been connected to the idea of striking fear in one’s opponent. The cross-hatching seems to be a way of showing the woven straw that served as the base of the shield, plus wood and cotton, the former used as the base for the whole ensemble.
This glyph is widely known, as it is part of the name of the famous Palenque ruler: K’inich Janaab’ Pakal, which can be translated as something close to “Radiant or Solar Flower? Shield”. On several occasions, the name of this ruler gets shortened just to the last part, Pakal (sometimes spelled as Pacal), which is the denomination under which he has become widely known. In general, shields must have been a prevalent object in Maya society, as they formed the basis – along with spears – of the Maya implements of war.

Further reading (see below):-
(2: pp. 162-168), (3: pp. 86-87), (18).

MUYAL
The MUYAL glyph, read muyal, which translates as “cloud”, seems to have a very old history in Mesoamerica, going back to at least Olmec times in the Pre-classic, as is shown in the monuments from Chalcatzingo (Mexico). Visually it is easy to recognize due to the “lazy-S” motif on its interior, which is a scroll that resembles an S lying down, surrounded by dots encircling it. The scroll seems to connect with other Mesoamerican representations of winds, clouds, vapour or humidity, known from different eras and locations. The dots appear to be representations of droplets of water that come out of the “cloud”. This sign is also used to write placenames or in the names of rulers, as in that of Muyal Chaahk (“Chaahk [is] the cloud” or “Cloudy Chaahk”) a lord of Altun Ha (Belice), whose name is associated with the Maya rain god: Chaahk, who probably dwelled amongst the clouds that bring the rain.
Notably, this sign is also used as an iconographic rendering of clouds, as can be seen on images in the Dresden Codex, where rain is falling down from this sign on page 68a, or something similar to mist (which can be seen as analogous to clouds) where the gods are floating in Late Classic/Terminal Classic monuments (circa 800-900 CE), like in Stela 1 of Jimbal, Stela 4 of Ucanal or Stela 2 of Ixlu (all sites in Guatemala), where different deities are floating and embracing the “S” element of the sign, while located over the portrayed ruler.

Further reading (see below):-
(19: pp. 113-135), (20: pp. 413–424), (3: pp. 142-143).

B’ALAM
The B’ALAM glyph corresponds to the head of a jaguar (Panthera onca), read as b’alam or b’ahlam (some authors consider there was a slight aspiration -h- on the Classic Maya word that was not explicitly written, suggested by historical reconstruction from evidence in other surviving Ch’olan languages). It is a very iconic sign, clearly highlighting the characteristics of this mammal. It is a feline head, with spots on its skin, large incisors and distinguishable lobed ears, and occasionally marked with the AK’AB “darkness” logogram on its lower left corner, highlighting it is a nocturnal creature, associated with darkness. This sign is an example par excellence of the so-called pars pro toto principle, where the head of the animal, stands for the whole animal.
This glyph appears very frequently on the names of rulers throughout the Maya lowlands (i.e. K’inich B’ahlam Chapaht of Toniná, Kan B’ahlam in Palenque, Yaxuun B’ahlam in Yaxchilán, etc…), an importance clearly associated with the might and strength of this animal, which could also highlight the bravery and power of rulers themselves, who in many instances identified with the skills of the jaguar as hunter or warrior.

Further reading (see below):-
(2), (3: pp. 194-195).