Maya writing: Did you mean...?

This photograph shows some Maya ruins from the San Gervasio archaeological site, which is located on the island of Cozumel in Mexico. In the center, one sees the "Niches" structure, which was once composed of miniature shrines that were built...

Mesopotamian science and technology developed during the Uruk period (circa 4000-3100 BCE) and the Early Dynastic period (circa 2900-2350/2334 BCE) of the Sumerian culture of southern Mesopotamia. The foundation of future Mesopotamian advances...

Civilization (from the Latin civis=citizen and civitas=city) is a term applied to any society which has developed a writing system, government, production of surplus food, division of labor, and urbanization. The term is difficult to define...

Trace the rise and fall of the Maya city Chichen Itza, and how Yucatán’s unpredictable environment contributed to its demise. – During the 8th century CE, warfare and failing agriculture forced Maya people to move north, to hotter...

Scribes in ancient Mesopotamia were highly educated individuals trained in writing and reading on diverse subjects. Initially, their purpose was to record financial transactions through trade, but in time, they were integral to every aspect...

The Hymn to Nisaba (c. 3rd millennium BCE) is a poem praising Nisaba, the Sumerian goddess of writing and accounts who also served as scribe of the gods. The poem is officially dedicated to Enki, the god of wisdom (sometimes given as her...

Mark Van Stone explains how Maya hieroglyphs are constructed, by writing a modern name in phonetic glyphs. Dr. Van Stone is an expert decipherer and calligrapher; author of "2012 - Science and Prophecy of the Ancient Maya" and co-author of...

A polychrome urn with a jaguar figure and skulls. Classic Maya, 600-900 CE, Guatemala. (Walters Art Museum, Baltimore)

A Maya jade plaque from Nebaj, Guatemala. Created around 600. (National Museum of Guatemala)

A seated Maya warrior. This stone and plaster figure is from the exterior of The Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza. Mexico, 1000-1100 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri)