Glyphs
The Maya Civilization's writing system is considered to be the most sophisticated system of Mesoamerica. The Maya wrote using 800 individual signs or glyphs, paired in columns that read together from left to right and top to bottom. Maya glyphs includes words that were combined to form words or concepts including numbers, time periods, royal names, titles, dynastic events, and the names of gods, scribes, sculptors, objects, buildings, places, and food.
Mayan Writing Facts
The unit of the Maya writing system is the glyphic cartouche, which is equivalent to the words and sentences of a modern language. Maya cartouches included at least three or four glyphs and as many as fifty. There is no Maya alphabet. Maya writing is difficult to interpret for a number of reasons. First, glyphs do not represent just sounds or ideas, they can represent both, making it difficult to know how each glyph or cartouche should be read.
The base unit of the Mayan writing system is the glyphic cartouche, which is equivalent to the words and sentences of a modern language. Mayan cartouches included at least three or four glyphs and as many as fifty. Each cartouche contained various glyphs, as well as prefixes and suffixes.
In addition, many glyphs can have more than one meaning, and many Mayan concepts can be written in more than one way.
Counting and Math
Mayan counting, math and notation differs from ours, but the end result is the same, provided we keep to whole rational numbers, avoiding fractions, irrational and transcendental numbers.
Each level of the base twenty system has its own representative cartouche and name, particularly when applied to the day count for their various calendar systems for which they are world renowned.
Mayan Cartouche Facts
There are 20 cartouches for the days of a month and 19 more for each of the 18 months and 5 unlucky days in a solar year. These would be used in combination with the day count number of each month and located either to the left of the number notation or above.
Longer cycles also have various cartouches,The subject matter of the texts changed over time and appear to be concerned with divination, astronomy, horoscopes, almanacs, a katun sequence, patron deities, ceremonies, the zodiac, and a little history.
More info on- Ancient Mayan hieroglyphics
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