Maya Codices

hide to preserve them. They are written on both sides in their curious writing that consists of hooks, squiggles, dots, symbols, and hieroglyphs.

Contents of the codices must have varied, but mainly they held scientific information similar to that in astronomical almanacs. The codices were most likely used by priests or nobility to track and explain dates of importance or seasonal interest. For instance, they would have named days lucky for hunting and for farming. The codices may also have recorded dynastic information, such as great events in the lives of their rulers and the rulers’ families.

Only a few Maya codices remain: many were destroyed due to the tropical climate of the region, as well as during the book burning of the Spanish friars. These few original books are currently stored and preserved in museums throughout world, and are consequently named by their location: Dresden, Paris, Grolier, and Madrid.

Today we can never know for certain whether the Maya also developed poetry or drama that was captured in writing on paper. One can only speculate.

Resources:

Pennington, Piers. The Great Explorers. Bloomsbury Books: London, 1979.

http://pages.prodigy.net/gbonline/fancwr... :
Maya Writing and Iconography.

http://grr.xoc.net/maya/works/ring/defau... :
Ring and Serpent Dates in the Dresden Codex.

http://www.anthro.mnsu.edu/prehistory/la... :
Maya
Detailed information about Maya history.

http://www.jqjacobs.net/mesoamerica/meso... :
Mesoamerican Archaeoastronomy: A Review of Contemporary Understandings of Prehispanic Astronomic Knowledge.
Detailed description of the hieroglyphic writing.

http://www.isourcecom.com/maya/books/dre... :
Cities of the Ancient Maya – Dresden Codex
Large codex drawing detail (takes several minutes to load).

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