The Decipherment of Maya Script

Why did Maya writing remain undecipherable for so long and how was it finally cracked? Find out how this long enigmatic script was finally deciphered and how centuries of recorded Maya history were unlocked.

Michael Coe on the Decipherment of Maya Writing:

Sources and Bibliography:

[shalis]

A great video and I applaud your effort! The story of the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs is often overshadowed by that of Egyptian hieroglyphs; though I find the former to be a much more thrilling story.

If I may, I would like to offer a point of elaboration and clarification about the emblem glyphs at 17:19 in your video. You correctly showed that the upper glyph block is the Emblem Glyph of Palenque and the lower one of Copan, however, the names you mentioned – Lakamha and Oxwitik (should be Uxwitik in Classic Maya by the way) – are not translations of the Emblem Glyphs, but toponyms of the cities and their surrounding areas. Emblem Glyphs specifically refer to the ruling polity of a city.

Emblem Glyphs (EG’s) consist of two parts: a basic part and a variable part. Let’s focus on the EG of Palenque. The two elements on the left side of the glyph block – which actually is a single glyph – is the glyph //K’UH//, the general term for “god”, but in EG’s is actually an underspelling of the word //K’UH-lu// for k’uhul, the adjective “god-like, divine, sacred”.
The two circular elements in the upper right section of the glyph block are part of the glyph for //AJAW//, generally meaning “lord, king, noble”. Together these to glyphs form the basic part of k’uhul ajaw, “divine lord”.
The remainder of the glyph block is the variable part. In case of Palenque it consists of a squarish main sign //BAAK// for “bone, captive” and the syllable //la// formed by the upside-down howling faces. Together they spell the word //baakal//. Here the -al suffix functions as a locative suffix with the meaning of “place of …”.
Taken as a whole, the EG of Palenque spells out k’uhul baakal ajaw, or “divine Baakal lord”.

Of course there are some exceptions, such as the emblem glyph of the site of Caracol in Belize, which spells out K’uhul K’antumaak, with k’antumaak a term of as of yet unknown meaning. But in most cases an EG conists of k'uhul [ variable part] ajaw.

[altarazul]

Many years later Knorozov was awarded the "Orden del Águila Azteca" by the Mexican government, which is the maximum honor that a foreigner can receive from mexican authorities

[Stoicismformillenials]

Fun fact: in the Philippines, where 300+ years of Spanish rule was delegated to Mexico, we call our Markets, “Palenque/Palenke” instead of Mercado. One of the many Mayan/Aztec words embedded into Philippine modern vocabulary.

[magtovi]

What I want to know is the face of Thompson when he realized he was the sole reason the studies of the topic he loved were set back for decades.

[chrisamon]

I think Knorozov is making that face because he’s thinking about Thompson as that photo was being taken.

[mitica-mar]

As a Yukatekan myself...thanks for this. Really helped me understand the journey and history of the language of my ancestors <3

[spencerbarton]

This is an amazing and inspirational story from an academic standpoint, but it’s completely heartbreaking from a human one. Unlike Ancient Egyptian, the Mayan script (and civilization as a whole) was lost because of a deliberate effort by a single group of people to wipe it out over the course of just a few decades. Even though DeLanda provided the key do deciphering it, he also was one of the men who caused it to be lost.
What kind of monster destroys a cultures books?

Great video, so glad I discovered this channel.

[HarryGuit]

Funny to see the portraits of Thompson and Knorosov on one screen. If you didn‘t know the story you would have guessed wrong about who is the villain! Note : Anyone who uses the force of authority instead of scientific argument is toxic and a millstone on your neck.

[sigalius]

John Eric Sidney Thompson almost single-handedly stagnated and held back research about Mayan civilization until his death in 1975. He based much of his work on Spanish mistranslations.

Thompson argued that the Mayans had a "priest-peasant" class structure, that their writing was purely esoteric with no historical value, that the glyphs had no phonetic component (which was proven false even before he died), that they practiced "slash and burn" agriculture, he dated their Preclassic period too late, he argued that they used sails for water transportation (even though they used canoes), he erroneously conflated many deities as one moon goddess (and Mayan descendents today now believe that the Moon goddess is the wife of the Sun god), and he argued that the Mayans lived in small agricultural communities and left the religious centers uninhabited.

Contemporary research is fighting to correct false claims in conjunction with other disciplines.
Many Mesoamerican experts argue that Thompson's views were a product of his English heritage and socio-political orientation which he later projected on to his research.

[romulusnuma]

It's kinda insane that a lot of our knowledge of this script is only known because of a red army soldiers discoveries in the ruins of Berlin during WW2

[danielcuevas]

I really hope we can fully crack this script one day. Most Mayan Codices were burned by the Spanish. So this is the best we got to know there history.

[InternetDarkLord]

I still remember in 1980s as a boy reading old books saying that the Mayan cities were only ceremonial centers, without permanent residents. Even more amazing, I found an old school book with an article on Martian canals.

[malicant]

Knorozov gives us a wonderful demonstration of a Russian smile.

[madderhat]

Thank you. The Aztec may get the popular press coverage but I'm fascinated by the Maya. One of my favourite times of my life was 3 months backpacking to see the remains of their culture.

[YbYBwRbY]

Brilliant! MANY thanks! Small point: the name of the decipherer of Egyptian is correctly spelled ChAmpollion. Knorozov also worked on the Indus Valley Harappan script and Rapanui Rongorongo. Both still await decipherment.

[jonasarnesen]

Never underestimate a linguist at knowledge about languages.

[AVR]

Ok so I just watched the new Black Panther movie, and I was surprised to see they use Maya script on place names and the like. I was like “wait is Maya writing something we know how to recreate accurately?”
Then I got recommended this video and I learned that we actually know more about the writing system of the Maya than I previously assumed!
Thanks for making me learn something new today :)

[spookyaliens]

Saw video title, saw channel title, heard the voice isn’t one of those slow drawn out historian voices that puts me to sleep, instantly subscribed! Thanks man love this content

[And-ljgb]

15:48 - oh, what a very scientific approach!

[laurenmary]

This was an absolutely amazing video! Now knowing how complex the process has been in understanding the Mayan language and writing, my mind is swirling with wonders about their vast, beautiful history! Thank you for all your hard work, as well as all the scholars involved.