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The Maya Civilisation - KS2 Home & School Unit

Subject: History

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

10 December 2021

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In this unit, children will complete the following lessons:

• Day of the Dead (RE)
• Maya Home Life (History)
• Mapping Temples (Geography)
• Maya Farming (Geography)
• Maya Today (Geography)
• Pok-a-Tok (PE)
• Maya Religion (History)

This unit includes:

• Lesson Plans
• Reading Materials

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The first Mesoamerican civilisation to develop writing, the Maya lived in central America around 4000 years ago (2000 BC) and developed a sophisticated culture of city states with fine monumental buildings and characteristic stepped pyramids.

The Maya were advanced in their use of mathematics and renowned for the accuracy of their calendar .

Top 10 facts

• The Maya civilisation extended from what is now South East Mexico through Central America.
• This area included highland and lowland settlements and a variety of climate zones, including rainforest . Crops grown in the lowlands were traded for mineral ores and rocks from the mountainous areas.
• Although the Maya had metal-working skills , metal ores were scarce. The Maya used stone tools to carve the limestone that they used for their buildings.
• The Maya did not use wheels or pulleys for their building projects.They did not have draught animals capable of heavy labour. Building materials were transported by human porters or canoes.
• Archaeological evidence suggests that Maya settlement in Mesoamerica probably dates from the third millennium BC. The Mayans of the classic period c200-900 AD adopted many aspects of the earlier Olmec culture and were also influenced by surrounding cultures such as that of the great Aztec city of Teotihuacan .
• Maya religion was extremely bloodthirsty , demanding human sacrifices and blood-letting rituals. The Maya believed in an afterlife and that those who were sacrificed, as well as those killed in war and women who died in childbirth, went to ‘the place of misty sky’.
• Maya society was formed of a number of city states each with their own ruler . Each city was surrounded by rural settlements.
• At the top of Maya society were the King and Royal family who were believed to be closely linked to the gods. An educated elite of scribes, priests and nobles formed the ruling class . They occupied the finest buildings in the city.
• The Maya were sophisticated mathematicians who made use of the number zero. They used base 20 in their calculations. They were keen astronomers who were able to predict solar eclipses. Their complex calendar system was one of the most accurate of the ancient world.
• No one knows for sure why the Maya civilisation went into decline . Possible explanations involve the overuse and exhaustion of farming land, prolonged drought, misrule, warfare and disease.
• 750 BC The first Maya cities developed

• 100 BC First city states appear
• 219 AD King Yax Moch Xok is first King of Tikal
• 292 AD First stelae carving at Tikal
• 420 AD Growth of city of Copan under Yax K’uk Mo
• 615-683 AD Rule of King Pakal of Palenque
• 800 AD City of Tikal has up to 100,000 residents

• 822 AD City of Copan deserted
• 869 AD City of Tikal abandoned
• 909 AD Last recorded inscription of classic Maya

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Did you know?

• The Maya made books called codices out of paper bark. Unfortunately the Spanish conquistadors destroyed most of these codices in an attempt to stamp out native religion and only four survive today.
• Maya  pyramids were originally covered in plaster and painted red.
• The first date on the Maya calenda r equates to 11 August 3114 BC.
• The Maya tied boards to their babies' heads to produce a flat forehead . They also tried to make their babies cross-eyed! Big noses were also considered beautiful.
• The complex writing system developed by the Maya was unique among American civilisations.
• The Maya played a complex ball game with a rubber ball which had to be manoeuvred through high stone hoops to score; historians think this was the earliest team sport in the world.
• The Maya maths system included the concept of 0 and the Maya were able to do advanced mathematics and astronomy.
• The Maya  pyramid at Chichen-Itza has 365 steps. It is positioned so that at the spring and autumn equinoxes shadows appear to show the plumed serpent God Kukulkan descending the stairs.

Look through the gallery and see if you can the spot the following:

• Maya ruins in Tulum, Mexico
• The Maya calendar
• Chichen Itza
• Maya hieroglyphics
• Art of the Maya
• Mayan ruins in Yucatan, Mexico
• Traditional Maya cooking
• Artist's impression of the Mesoamerican ball game

Classical Maya civilisation is dated to between the years 200-900 AD.

During this period as many as 40 great city states developed, with most ranging in population from 5,000 to 50,000 people. Some authorities suggest that Tikal may have had a population of up to 100,000 people by 800 AD. These urban centres were supported by rural outlying areas of farmers and smaller settlements. Most city states had their own kings but some may have been subject to the rule of more powerful neighbours.

The decline of the Maya civilisation, for example the abandonment of cities in certain regions, seems to have begun around 800 AD.

In the lowland areas crops such as maize, cacao, beans, avocado, squash and chilli were grown. Dogs were kept for meat and animals such as turkeys, rabbits, deer and agouti were hunted for food. Highland areas provided stones such as obsidian and jade and ores such as hematite. Quetzal feathers were highly prized for headdresses. Clothing was made from woven cotton or sisal.

Maya cities are characterised by a range of monumental architecture including temples , stepped pyramids , ball courts, observatories and palace complexes . Large plazas , roads and reservoirs were also built. These are decorated with sculptures and hieroglyphs detailing aspects of warfare, dynastic succession and religious ritual. A high degree of artistry was achieved and this is evident also in pottery, wall paintings, jade carvings and feathered headdresses.

The Maya calendar had three aspects: a civil calendar of 365 days; a religious calendar of 260 days and a long-count calendar divided into cycles called baktuns . The civil and religious calendar worked together in 52 year cycles. The baktun was a cycle of 400 years.

Maya  mathematics was also highly advanced and the use of zero meant that lengthy and complex calculations could be completed accurately.

Maya  religion influenced most areas of life. The Maya believed that life was a cycle and that people progressed through various stages before reaching ‘ the place of misty sky. ’ Their gods were bloodthirsty and human sacrifice was required to appease them. The King was believed to be a representative of the gods. Months were dedicated to gods and their portraits adorned the faces of buildings.

The famous Maya  ball game was also a religious ritual. 

Related Videos

Just for fun...

• Make your own paper Maya temple, the Temple of the Inscriptions in the Maya city of Palenque
• Play Lotería , a bingo-like game, to get to know Maya cultural symbols such as calendar glyphs
• Learn to multiply, Maya style !
• Maya colouring pages  
• Convert dates in our calendar into a corresponding one in the Maya calendar system
• Take a Maya quiz to show off your knowledge!
• Prepare a cup of Maya-style hot chocolate

Best children's books about the Maya

Find out more

• Look through BBC Bitesize's interactive guide to the ancient Maya  and find out what games the Maya played  (just two of the BBC Maya Civilisations guides for kids )
• 10 amazing facts about the Maya
• Information about how archaeology is helping us understand the Maya world
• British archaeologist Dr Diane Davies has written lots of KS2 history guides to different aspects of Maya life: listen to her kids' introduction to the Maya world , the Maya writing system , Maya numbers , the Maya calendar , the Maya ballgame , Maya music ,  Maya cities and architecture  and Maya chocolate
• Read Maya hieroglyphs carved on a stone monument and hear them spoken aloud
• The Maya were also known as People of the Jaguar
• A children's introduction to the Maya civilisation
• Information about the Mayan languages , with audio files to listen to
• Read about the Maya people and the links between the Maya and the Sun , the Maya creation story , how the Maya calendar worked and why corn was important to the Maya
• Watch National Geographic videos about the Maya to find out about Maya caves , the Maya story of creation , a Maya royal palace and the ancient Maya city of Xocnacah , which had a central platform structure that held thousands of people in an area the size of 4 football fields!
• Chocolate and corn were the most important Maya foods
• A Maya stone carving of a Mesoamerican ball game player
• Find science activities and information about ancient and modern Maya culture on Maya Adventure
• A glossary of Mayan words
• Experts answer children's questions about the Maya
• Find out about  cenotes (natural wells) of Chichén Itzá and try your own dissolving experiment to see how they developed
• See an interactive map of the Maya world
• Read the Maya Legend of the Dwarf and the Governor
• Examine Maya artefacts like the Maya maize god  and the lintel from a Maya building
• Find out how the Maya excelled at architecture, agriculture, written language and mathematics in a downloadable National Geographic resource
• Information about the fall of the Maya civilisation

See for yourself

• Visit the British Museum  to see Maya artefacts
• Look at reconstructions of Maya sites
• Images of the World Heritage site of Chichén Itzá
• It's the closest thing to actually being there: experience the Google virtual reality tours of ancient Maya sites online

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• The Mayan Civilisation Lesson Plan

Maya KS2 – What happened to the Maya?

Many of us will have taught Maya KS2 lessons about the history of the Mayan civilisation . But what is life like for the Maya today?

This geography lesson plan is designed for Key Stage 2. It helps support an enquiry into a region within the Americas.

Although it can stand alone, or within a wider Americas geography topic, it’s been designed to follow on from a Mayans KS2 historical enquiry.

Maya KS2 activities

The activities will help children develop a locational and place knowledge of Central America (including a ‘sense of place’), as they draw on a variety of maps and sources.

They will also contribute to your class’ appreciation of diversity and democratic values, as part of social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding.

Children will learn:

• About the modern-day Maya
• Where the Maya live and what is happening there today
• The kind of future that the modern Maya face

Ben Ballin is a primary geography and global learning consultant, and co-author of Back2Front: The Americas . He leads CPD on South America and the Maya for the Geographical and Historical Associations.

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• Where does our food come from KS2 – Lesson plan and worksheet
• The House with Chicken Legs – Explore folklore with KS2 activities
• School orienteering – PE and geography activity for KS2

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EXTERNAL LINK F Link-2

• TOPIC WORK - MAYAN CIVILISATION
• Class Pages
• Class Page Archives: 2020-2021

What food did the Mayans eat?

• #Lesson Plan Food.pdf
• #Lesson Presentation Food.ppt
• Activity Sheet Cool Cacao.pdf
• Activity Sheet Corn Vs Chocolate.pdf
• Activity Sheet Marvellous Maize.pdf
• Activity Sheet Maya Food Anagrams.pdf
• Maya Corn Tortillas Recipe.pdf
• Maya Hot Chocolate Recipe.pdf

MAYAN NUMBERS SYSTEM

• #Lesson Plan Maya Number System.pdf
• #Lesson Presentation Maya Number System.ppt
• Activity Sheet Larger Maya Numbers.pdf
• Activity Sheet Maya Number System.pdf
• ncetm_primary_magazine_issue_6_mayan_numbers.pdf

MAYAN GODS AND GODDESSES

• #Lesson Plan Gods and Religion.pdf
• #Lesson Presentation Gods and Religion.ppt
• Activity Sheet Maya Gods Fact File.pdf

INTRODUCTION TO THE MAYAN CIVILISATION

• #Lesson Plan Meeting the Maya.pdf
• #Lesson Presentation Meeting the Maya.ppt
• Activity Sheet Maya Map.pdf
• Activity Sheet Share Ideas and Record.pdf
• Activity Sheet Welcome to the Maya Area.pdf
• KWL Grid.pdf

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Upper Key Stage 2 Maya Writing

The amazing Maya civilisation created writing using logograms and hieroglyphs. Find out how the writing was used, and use them to write and draw words including your own name. Discover the Copan stairway and its hieroglyphs and marvel at the four main Maya codices. Finally design, paint and make a class or school Maya codex on ‘tree bark’.

Session 1 Hieroglyphs and logograms

• Develop a chronologically secure knowledge and understanding of world history, establishing clear narratives within and across the periods they study.
• Understand how our knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources.
• Undertake an in-depth study of a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history - The Maya civilisation.
• Gain an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.
• Improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials.

Lesson Planning

Learn about the Maya writing system of logograms and hieroglyphs; write and draw words including your own name using the glyphs.

Teaching Outcomes:

• To learn about the Maya writing system and how it was used.
• To look at syllable glyphs of the Maya people and write/draw words using the glyphs.

Children will:

• Look at examples of Maya writing and at logograms, asking: What can they tell us about Maya culture?
• Understand syllable glyphs of the Maya people and write/draw words using the glyphs.

Provided Resources

• The history and main points of Maya writing
• Maya syllable charts
• Unit Resources
• Teaching Resources 2

You Will Need

• Plain paper
• Black markers

Mystic music of the Maya – YouTube clip Information on the Maya codices from mayacodices.org Information on Maya writing from ancientscripts.com

Session 2 Hieroglyph stairways and emblems

Discover the Copan stairway and its hieroglyphs; make a class hieroglyph stairway and design a class or school emblem glyph.

• To learn about the Copan stairway and discuss the hieroglyphs on it.
• To design a class or school emblem glyph and consider significant hieroglyphs.
• Gain insight into the Copan stairway and look at the hieroglyphs contained on it.
• Discuss the significance of the Copan stairway and the meaning of dynasty.
• Make a class hieroglyph stairway and design a class or school emblem glyph.
• The Copan stairway
• Maya emblem glyphs
• Maya syllable charts from session 1
• Boxes of a similar size to fit together in a stairway
• Brown sugar paper and sticky tape
• Black marker pens

Mystic music of the Maya – YouTube clip Background information on Maya codices from mayacodices.org Detailed information on Maya writing from ancientscripts.com Information about the Copan stairway from atlasobscura.com

Session 3 Fig trees and codices

Marvel at the four main Maya codices; design, paint and make a class Maya codex on ‘tree bark’.

• To look at Maya codices, their importance and what they contained.
• To learn about the important codices (Dresden, Madrid and Paris) and where they were found.
• To design, paint and make class Maya codex on ‘tree bark’ (paper and PVA glue).

Children will :

• Gain an insight into the three Maya codices, their importance and what they contained.
• Design, paint and make class Maya codex on ‘tree bark’ (paper and PVA glue).
• Maya codices
• How to make a Maya codex
• Figs (ready to eat, dried or fresh)
• Small decorating rollers
• PVA glue and brown paint
• Masking tape

Mystic music of the Maya - YouTube clip Background information on Maya codices from mayacodices.org Detailed information on Maya writing from ancientscripts.com Information about the codices from mayadiscovery.com The Dresden codex in a museum – YouTube clip

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Lessons and resources for primary history

Home    >   Maya     >   Writing & Calendar

A guide to...

Maya writing & calendar.

Why were the Maya famous for their writing and calendar systems?

The Maya were famous for developing a system of recording writing, numbers and dates. Their writing systems were very advanced compared to other ancient American civilizations. The Maya were particularly well known for their sophisticated calendars that helped them to track the time and plan important events like religious ceremonies. 

What did Maya letters and numbers look like?

The Maya recorded their writing in a form of symbols called hieroglyphics. Each symbol (or ‘glyph’) was able to represent particular words, ideas or sounds. Sentences and even whole stories could be formed by placing several glyphs together.

The Maya number system was made up of different combinations of shapes, with a shell-shape representing zero, a dot representing one and a bar representing 5. 

Could everybody read and write?

In Maya culture, reading and writing was reserved for rich people who became priests. The priests had access to black ink made from coal and special turkey-feather pens called ‘quills’. The priests would write on long sheets of paper that could be folded together to make a book, called a ‘codex’. Unfortunately, not many of the codices have survived because many were burned by Spanish explorers who thought the books were evil.

What was the Maya calendar like?

The Maya calendar was based on a very complicated mathematical system that brought together ways of counting time from astronomy and religion. The astronomical system, called the Haab’, was counted by tracking the movement of objects in space, especially the Sun and planet Venus. The religious calendar system was called the Tzolk’in and was made up of a 260-day cycle broken up into repeated sections of 20 days and 13 days. The two cycles came together every 52 years and this would be celebrated with a New Fire Festival called El Fuego Nuevo, which was a time of new beginnings.

Find out more about Maya calendars in our KS2 history lesson: How did the Maya keep track of Time?

Useful Resources

Educational Resources on the Maya by Dr Diane Davies

Maya Writing

Achievement The Maya were the only civilisation in the Americas, and only one of five cultures in the whole world to develop a fully-fledged writing system!

 Dr Diane speaking about the Maya codices (books).

Maya Mythbuster Maya hieroglyphs are similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs. FALSE! Maya hieroglyphs are actually quite different as Maya writing is phonetic (shows you how to pronounce the words you are reading), and so a complete writing system. Egyptian hieroglyphs did not include vowels and was not phonetic.

Page Content

• Introduction: Maya Writing

How to Read Maya Hieroglyphs

• Maya Grammar
• Breaking the Maya Code

Maya Paper Books (Codices)

Children’s activities.

• KS2 Resources to Download
• Other Resources

Maya Writing: Introduction

This resource can be use for the History Key Stage 2 (KS2) curriculum .

NB: specialists of the Maya civilisation say “ Maya hieroglyphs ”, “ Maya script ”, “ Maya writing system ” and not “ Mayan hieroglyphs ”, “ Mayan script “, etc. The adjective “ Mayan ” is used only in reference to languages (see: 10 red-flags for spotting unreliable online resources ).

The Maya wrote what we call hieroglyphs (glyphs for short).

Their writing is a logosyllabic system in which some signs called logograms represent words or ideas (like “shield” or “jaguar”), while other signs called syllabograms (or phonograms) represent sounds in the form of single syllables (like “pa”, “ma”).

Listen to how the words hieroglyph and logosyllabic are pronounced:

From about 5000 texts that have survived and been recovered by archaeologists, over a thousand glyphs have been noted by epigraphers (scholars who study Maya inscriptions). Many of these glyphs are variations of the same signs or are signs with the same reading. The total number of hieroglyphs used at any time was never more than 500.

The phonetic (how to pronounce the words) value is known for 80% of these signs while the meaning of only 60% of them has been translated so far and counting!

The earliest known Maya texts were written in the 3rd century BC and were discovered at the Maya site of San Bartolo, Guatemala where Dr Diane carried out her research.

Only the elites could write and so you can imagine that writing concerned elite activities – the calendar and life histories of rulers, such as their birth, death, marriage, warfare and conquests.

Rabbit Scribe on the Princeton Vase (Princeton Art Museum)

The design and writing of Maya hieroglyphs (i.e. calligraphy ) was quite flexible and, unfortunately for us, there are various ways of writing the same word without changing the reading and/or meaning. Maya scribes seem to have enjoyed this artistic freedom a lot!

Words in the ancient Maya script are composed of several signs associated together. The pictorial nature of the Maya writing system though, makes it harder to grasp than our alphabetic system .

A group of signs that form a word is called a “glyph block”. The largest sign within a glyph block is called the “main sign” while the smaller ones attached to it are called “affixes” .

Reading Order

As a general rule, signs in a given glyph block are read from left to right and from top to bottom. Similarly, Maya texts are written and read from left to right and from top to bottom, usually in columns of two glyph blocks.

Maya Logograms

Logograms are signs representing meanings and sounds of complete words. Even in our alphabetical phonetic writing system we are still using a number of logograms such as:

• @ ( at ): most commonly used in email addresses and social media “handles” but also used in accounting
• £ : symbol for the pound sterling
• & (ampersand): represents “and”

Most signs in the ancient Maya hieroglyphic script are logograms:

A purely logographic system would be impractical as too many signs would be needed to express ideas and so on.

To keep the system manageable, the ancient Maya also used syllabograms.

Maya Syllabograms/Phonograms

Syllabograms/phonograms are phonetic signs that were used to express syllables.

Generally, Mayan languages follow a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern, but the last vowel of the last syllable of a given word is usually silent. In the examples below, the last vowel of each word is discarded:

• ba-ka-b(a) bakab “head of” (title)
• wi-tz(i) witz “mountain”

Maya Hieroglyphic Syllabary List

The charts are drawn from Harri Kettunen & Christophe Helmke (2014), Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs , Wayeb: XIX European Maya Conference, pp. 74-77.

Phonetic Complements

Among the most common affixes used in the Maya script are phonetic complements.

A phonetic complement is a syllabogram that helps the reading of logographic signs if it is a bit confusing, that is could have more than one possible reading.

In the example below, the glyph for “stone” (in grey) is also a phonogram for the sound ku that can be used to phonetically write the words such as ahk “turtle” or kutz “turkey” (remember the last vowel is silent). So, to avoid any confusion, the phonetic complement ni is added to the glyph (logogram TUUN ) to confirm that the intended word is indeed tuun (“stone”).

Maya Hieroglyphic Texts: Grammar

Ancient Maya hieroglyphic texts usually begin with a date and the most common sentence structure will be Date-Verb-Subject.

Most texts recovered by archaeologists come from monumental inscriptions and due to their public nature, these texts deal primarily with the deeds of kings and the history of their dynasties. So dates were very important and they take up most of the space (up to 80%) in monumental inscriptions. Verbs usually represents only one or two glyph blocks followed by lengthy names and titles.

The 3rd person singular (“he, she, it”, “his, hers, its”) is by far the most common pronoun attached to verbs and nouns in ancient Maya inscriptions.

Any of these syllabograms can be used to mark the third person singular as in the following examples:

Regarding masculine and feminine, the occupation or office of a person such as “scribe” or “queen” or “king”, is written differently if the person is male or female:

• the prefix Aj- is used for males
• the prefix Ix- for females

Ancient Maya hieroglyphic texts that are known to us mostly come from public monuments that recounted the deeds of kings. This means that almost all the verbs are written in the third person (he/she). In the inscriptions, the verbs will be usually found immediately after dates.

The third person is marked by the prefix u- before verbs starting with a consonant and y- before verbs starting with a vowel.

There is no suffix (letters at the end of a word) for the present tense, while the past tense (still debated) seems to be marked by the suffix -iiy and the future (quite rare in the inscriptions) is marked by the suffix -oom .

In Maya inscriptions, adjectives precede nouns and they are constructed by adding a syllable to a noun ( -al , -ul , -el , -il , -ol ).

So, for example the adjective “fiery” is k’ahk’ (“fire”) + -al = k’ahk’al

Deciphering the Maya Script: How were Maya Glyphs Translated?

The decipherment of the Maya script took several centuries.

One pivotal moment in this story was in 1862 when a French clergyman, Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg , uncovered a 16th-century manuscript at the Royal Academy of History in Madrid: the Relacion de la cosas de Yucatan written around 1566 by Yucatan bishop Diego de Landa .

In this document, Diego de Landa tried to match Maya glyphs to the Spanish alphabet not realising that the Maya script was not alphabetic.

The turning-point happened in the 1950’s when a Russian linguist, Yuri Knorozov , understood that the signs de Landa had copied in his manuscript did not represent letters but sounds (syllables).

Knorozov noticed that one of the signs in the codices was Landa’s cu followed by another sign. These two signs were associated with the image of a turkey. The Maya word for turkey is cutz and Knorozov reasoned that if the first sign was cu , then the second one ought to be tzu .

To test his model, Knorozov looked in the codices for a glyph that started with the sign tzu and found it above the image of a dog ( tzul in Maya):

Details from the Madrid and Dresden Codices (drawings by Carlos A. Villacorta)

Knorozov syllabic approach opened the way for other epigraphers and led to the decipherment of the Maya script.

Once a sign’s phonetic value is known, epigraphers will then search into dictionaries of Mayan languages to help them.

The Maya had thousands of paper books (now called Codices ).

Listen to how the word is pronouced:

These were screen-fold books of bark paper, bound with jaguar skin. Unfortunately, most of the codices were destroyed by conquistadors and Catholic priests in the 16th century.

Only four have survived and are known to us:

• The Dresden Codex , which is 74 pages long and is held in Dresden, Germany.
• The Madrid Codex , being 112 pages long, is held in Madrid, Spain.
• The Paris Codex , 22 pages long, is held in Paris, France.
• The Maya Codex of Mexico (formerly known as the Grolier Codex) is held in Mexico city, Mexico.

Some codices have been recovered from archaeological excavations but they had degraded into un-openable lumps of plaster and paint.

These codices give us an insight into other aspects of Maya life. They include astronomical tables used for predicting solar and lunar eclipses as well as the movement of the planets, Venus and Mars.

There is also mention of planting and tending their crops, caring for the stingless bees they raised for their honey and making offerings of incense or cacao.

Make a Class Codex

What you will need:

• Long sheet of paper for painting or many A4 pieces stuck together
• Paint/brushes or colouring pens

Instructions

• Choose a theme for the class, such as something they have learned about the Maya, or what they like most about the Maya. Alternatively, you could ask them to draw what they did during the holidays
• Ask the pupils draw their images and also designate two people to make a front and back cover, made of cardboard
•  Making space on the floor, divide and fold the paper into the number of children in the class
• The first ones that finish their drawing can start painting
• When finished, hang the painting on the wall and have a class discussion – each pupil can explain what new thing they learned about the Maya or what they like best about the Maya.
• Later when finishing the topic you can take it down and then fold it into a book following the Dresden example above
• Glue the front and back covers on

You have a Maya codex! Other examples are below:

Make Your Own Stela

A stela, or stelae (plural) were carved standing stones depicting rulers and also contained written inscriptions that recorded events in their lives, such as marriage and conquests. Why don’t you make your own showing your achievements?

• Rolling pin
• Piece of cloth – canvas is ideal – for rolling out clay; use this to prevent the clay from sticking to the table
• Clay cutting knife
• An assortment of metal and wooden tools to make textures if you have any
• A piece of rough stone
• Water and a small sponge
• Paint, brushes, varnish
• Stripwood guides, 6mm, optional

Instructions:

• Set up your cloth with the wooden guides if you have them, a ruler would be fine too and place the clay in the middle. Roll out the clay, turning in several times so it makes a round shape.  Cut out a shape for the base; this can be round, square, or any natural shape.

2. To make your stela, take quite a big piece of clay and form it into your stela shape; pat with the wood guides to help get the sides straight and even.

3. When the stela is the size and shape you want, make sure the front is very smooth. Draw a figure into the clay using the pencil. Use any metal or wooden tools to add to the costume and make the glyphs. Leave the base and stela to dry for a bit- until the clay is what is called ‘leather hard’.  If it is too soft then it is hard to tidy up the rough edges.

4. Take the base, and scrape out a shallow area where the stela will stand. Make sure the base of the stela is flat and smooth.

5. Scratch into the base of the stela and where you want to place it on your base, wet these areas with water.

6. Press the stela into the scratched area on the base and make sure it is well fixed and is upright!

7. If using clay, the stela can be fired when completely dry and then painted; if using air drying modelling clay paint the stela when it is dry.

How To Write Your Name in Maya Hieroglyphs

Have a look at the demonstration by expert decipherer and calligrapher Dr Mark Van Stone who explains how Maya hieroglyphs are constructed by writing a modern name in glyphs.

After watching the video students can try their hand at writing their own name in glyphs, or rather what they think their own name would look like in Maya hieroglyphs!

They can use the syllabary charts below to reconstruct their names.

Create Your Own Hieroglyphs

Here are some examples of Maya hieroglyphs, why don’t you try to create you own?

The Mayan word for “sky” is kan:

The Mayan word for “cloud” is muyal :

In Mayan languages, the words for “rain” and “water” are the same: ha’ :

Similarly, the words (and glyphs) for “wind” and “breath” are the same: ik’ :

“Earth” is kab :

Whereas “mountain”, “hill” is witz :

The Maya had all the colours we know, but only five colour glyphs have been deciphered: white ( sak ), black ( ik’ ), yellow ( k’an ), red ( chak ) and blue/green ( yax ).

The colour white was associated with the north.

Black/ Ik’

Black is associated with the west (where the sun sets).

Yellow/ K’an

Yellow is associated with the south.

The word chak means “red”, but also “great”. Red is associated with the east (where the sun rises).

Blue and Green/ Yax

Interestingly, the Maya use the same word for the colours blue and green.

The word Yax also means “first”.

The Mayan words for north, south, east and west are respectively xaman , nohol , lak’in and ochk’in .

Below, two variations of the glyph for north ( xaman) :

And two variations of the glyph for south ( nohol ):

Here is the glyph for west ( ochk’in ):

And the glyph for east ( lak’in ):

Resources to Download

These resources were written by teachers on a CPD trip with Dr Diane to the Maya area.

Please note – you will need to use your personal, rather than your school’s email address to download these files, as most schools disable the ability to receive items from outside their domain.

You can access the complete scheme of work for a small fee, in the form of a donation to the charity Chok Education, which supports the education of Maya children.

If you would like a more in-depth knowledge on the subject of the Maya writing system then have a look at Dr Diane’s  article  in the public resources section.

Other Resources 

Dr mark van stone.

How the Maya made bark paper – Demonstration: Access the video

Maya Codices

by Gabrielle Vail and Christine Hernandez

This site features a searchable translation and analysis of four codices (screenfold books) painted by the Maya scribes before the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century.

The codices contain information about Maya beliefs and rituals, as well as everyday activities, all framed within an astronomical and calendrical context. Includes an excellent presentation on these codices for teachers to download and use in their class: Access “Maya Codices”

Montgomery Drawing Collection

A database of hieroglyph drawings that you can print and use in class: Access the Montgomery Collection

Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs

Harri Kettunen & Christophe Helmke (2014), Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs , Wayeb: XIX European Maya Conference. [ PDF ] Probably the best resource you will find online.

Writing in Maya Glyphs

Mark Pitts & Lynn Matson (2008), Writing in Maya Glyphs Names, Places, & Simple Sentences A Non-Technical Introduction , FAMSI. [ PDF ]

20 responses to “Maya Writing”

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Mil gracias

This introduction is absolutely great. Beautifully and logically presented. Thank you very much.

I’m a KS2 teacher in the UK, looking for resources that are clear and factual, as well as giving the children high expectations.

Wow, a lot of information!

This makes the writing much more accessible.

best articel, good

This introduction is absolutely great.

Thank you, i am glad it is of use to you.

Gгeat delivery. Great argumentѕ. ᛕeep up the good spirit.

Good morning. I am looking for the symbols of some words… do you have any idea where I can find it? Maybe there is anywhere a list? I am searching for these words:

Family Mother of Daughter Strengh Faith Health Selflove (Inner) Wisdom Courage Patience (Sun) Light Life

Would you please please help me?

Have a look at http://research.famsi.org/mdp/mdp_index.php

This was very helpful!!!!

WOW!!!! thank you for this, will be using this with my students!

this helps me with my project

this was very helpful

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