RESOURCE: Maya glyphs directory (2) - Maya numbers

8th Jan 2023

Mexicolore contributors Alejandro J. Garay Herrera and Marie Botzet

We continue our 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 (see Part 1 for their biographies). Here we show two ways the ancient Maya employed to depict numbers, using what are called ‘head’ and ‘bar-and-dot’ variants. MANY thanks, Alejandro and Marie!

Maya numbers (I)
Although it is more common to find Maya numerals in the form of dots and bars, sometimes Maya scribes played with the idea of numbers and represented them in animated forms, identifying certain numbers with some supernatural figures. On several occasions, these figures replaced the abstract numbers, taking their place in the so-called “head variants”. In some cases, Maya artists took this concept even further, endowing these figures with a full body, creating very elaborate compositions, such as those known on monuments from Copán, Quiriguá and Yaxchilán, among other sites. Next, we will describe the characteristics that allow for the identification of the numbers from 0 to 9, exploring their respective identities when we have enough information about them.

Mih - 0
The head variant of the number zero is characterized by the severed hand covering its jaw. This hand in many depictions has the index and little finger extended. Sometimes, only the index finger and thumb are open, extending, showing the hand as if it measured a quarter. It is common for this character to wear elements associated with the god of death on his face, such as the percentage sign (%). In some examples he wears a “dead man’s eye” on his forehead, reinforcing the character’s association with death and the underworld.

Juun - 1
The number one has sometimes been identified as a lunar goddess (Thompson 1950: 131), although a recent review of its characteristics has settled the discussion of its identification (Zender 2014), showing that it is a variant of the maize god (“tonsured maize god”). In a non-numerical context, it is read as IXIIM ixiim (“maize in grain, grain corn”). This head variant is characterized by having cropped hair and a large nose, and it also has jewels that fall to the side of its face, resembling a tuft of hair, although sometimes a jewel also hangs directly from its forehead. The presence of this jewel on its forehead is one of its most prominent features. One can also see the IL-shaped face painting on its cheek, which identifies young and beautiful characters in Maya iconography. When observing the IXIIM head’s ear, it is common to see that the character wears an earflare or ear pendant. Although it has been suggested that this is the face of a female character, this identification is mistaken, since it does not have the long tuft of hair to the side and the tuft of hair on its forehead. In addition the female face usually lacks jewellery like those that the maize god frequently wears.

Cha’/Ka’ - 2
The identity of the head variant of the number two is difficult to determine, but its iconography is clearly distinguishable from the other numbers by its most important feature: the fist-shaped severed hand covering the top of its head. It is not clear how to interpret this element, although it is obvious that it is specifically associated with this number. On some occasions a SAK sak “white” logogram can be seen placed in front of the face, although it is not clear why sometimes it appears and sometimes it does not.

Ux/Ox - 3
Number three can be identified with a fair amount of certainty as a kind of Maya wind god, who can be recognized by the headband topped by a floral element that decorates his hair, the presence of the IL-shaped face painting that identifies him as a young and beautiful character, and finally the medallion or earflare he wears next to his cheek with the IK’ motif (“wind”) in the form of a T (capital t), clearly drawn on it. On several occasions this motif is not only registered in an ornament, but marks the character’s face directly. It is important to clarify that there is a deity in the Maya pantheon explicitly described as the god of the wind (ik’ k’uh), who is characterized by having a bird’s beak covering its mouth, similar to Ehecatl, his equivalent in central Mexico. The character representing the number three must be associated with him, but the relationship between them is not yet clear.

Chan/Kan - 4
The number four can be easily associated with the Maya solar deity, called K’inich Ajaw (God G). His characteristic features are his large Roman nose, the sharp “shark’s tooth” below his upper lip (which seen from the front looks like a T), his cross-eyed eyes with square pupil and finally, the flower-shaped quatrefoil signs that decorate his face in different shapes, which are actually representations of the logogram K’IN k’in “sun, day”. This sign seems to suggest that his skin is radiant like the sun.

Ho’ - 5
The head variant of number five shows an old character, with clear features of an advanced age. His identity can be determined precisely by his appearance, which allows us to associate him with the figures known as Pawahtuun (God N) in Maya iconography. These characters perform various functions in Maya art, although they usually seem to support the heavens, separating them from the earth, analogous to the Bacabes of Postclassic Yucatan. Its defining features are the wrinkles typical of his age, the lack of teeth (visible when this character is portrayed with an open mouth) and finally, the HAAB’ haab’ “year” glyph resting on his head (this period is usually known as TUN in the Long Count). It is possible to interpret the presence of the HAAB’ glyph on the head of this deity as an allusion to its association with the yearbearers, which in the Classic period seems to have been one of the other functions of the Pawahtuun. These characters would also be responsible for carrying - not only the sky - but also time itself, represented by the logogram HAAB’. In general, these figures have a terrestrial connection in Maya art.

Wak - 6
The identity of the character serving as the head variant of the number six remains unclear. However, its diagnostic features are clear to readers of inscriptions. His most important feature is the axe in the center of his eye, replacing its pupil. He also has a Roman nose similar to that of the number four, as well as a protruding tooth below his upper lip. Unfortunately not much more can be said about this character.

Huk/Wuk - 7
The head variant of number seven shows one of the well-known characters in Maya art, the Jaguar God of the Underworld (JGU), a character that has been interpreted as a nocturnal aspect of the sun, and a deity of fire and war. His representations are frequent in ceramic censers, where offerings were burned during the rituals officiated by rulers and priests during the Classic period. The iconographic features of this character make his identification easy, highlighting the “snake eye” that does not have a human pupil, the protruding tooth under the upper lip, the Roman nose and finally an ornament that runs below the eye, which when viewed frontally extends to reach over the nose making a knot. This element is known as a cruller and is often alluded to by a simple line under the eye, although when viewed from the front it extends like a W, passing under the eyes and over the nose. On many occasions, the portrait of this god is replaced only by his “snake eye” and the lines of the cruller under it, in an example of pars pro toto, demonstrating the importance of these features in identifying this character in Maya art. The name of this deity is not known yet, although readings such as Ihk’iij or Chuwaaj have been suggested.

Waxak - 8
The head variant of the number eight is another aspect of the maize god, which outside of its use as a numeral is the logogram that read as AJAN ajan “elote, fresh ear of corn”. This is the foliated maize god, a name that describes his most common characteristic, the presence of leaves on his forehead or leaves coming out of his head, resembling hair. In essence, it is a portrait of the maize god as an ear of corn with the leaves partially covering and protecting him. This portrait of the maize god often has an elongated forehead, an aspect that surely seeks to resemble the face of this character to an ear of corn, emphasizing the identification of this divinity with the plant itself. Sometimes he wears face paint with the IL mark, which identifies him as a young and beautiful character.

B’alun?/B’olon? - 9
Number nine is represented by the portrait of a character with jaguar spots and hairs on his face and the logogram YAX yax “green, blue, first” on his forehead. This figure is one of the so-called Hero Twins, specifically the one who apparently was called Yax B’ahlam (“First Jaguar”, God CH). It is possible that the number nine was pronounced in Classic Mayan in a form very similar to the word b’ahlam “jaguar” and this allowed the wordplay between that term and the number, which perhaps was pronounced as b’alun or b’olon, which sounds very similar. In a way, the portrait of a man with jaguar elements would be a kind of “visual pun” for the reader who knew the relationship between these words.

Further reading:-
• Stone, Andrea and Marc Zender (2011) Reading Maya Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Maya Painting and Sculpture. London: Thames and Hudson, pages 116-119
• Thompson, J. Eric S. (1950) Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: Introduction. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution, pages 131-135, Figs. 24-25. Online: https://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Thompson/Thompson1950.html
• Zender, Marc (2014) On the Reading of Three Classic Maya Portrait Glyphs. In The PARI Journal Vol. XV, No.2, pages 1-14. Online: https://www.mesoweb.com/pari/publications/journal/1502/Zender2014.pdf.

Comments (2)

Alexander Crim

4th Nov 2024

Hello! I was curious if you had a source for where the proposed name of Ihk’iij for the Jaguar God of the Underworld. I’m familiar with the theories beyond the Chuwaaj name but not the Ihk’iij one and I’d love to read more about it. Thanks!

Mexicolore

Thanks for writing in. We’ve passed your query on to the authors of the Glyph Directory, and will let you know if they can help. Kind regards.

Benjamin Swagerty

15th Oct 2024

Greetings. I have been able to identify the dots and bars on Guatemalan banknotes where they represent the denomination of the note. I wondered why they do not do this with other nations with Mayan heritage. But just today I discovered they do on some Honduran notes! Only it seems to be the head writing and not dots and bars. I only recognize the head number on the 20 lempira banknote, and I would love to talk with anyone who can help me with other Honduran denominations.

Mexicolore

Many thanks for this interesting observation! As a team we’re not familiar with Honduras, so will hope we can find someone who can advise on this...

Mexicolore contributors Alejandro J. Garay Herrera and Marie Botzet