Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, is historically the native writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered.

How was Maya deciphered?

Maya glyphs are read in 'paired columns', from left to right, and then top to bottom. In Mayan phonology, words typically end with a consonant. However, with their writing system's syllabary, they had to come up with a way to ensure that the final vowel would not be pronounced. The Mayas did so by using “echo” vowels.

When was Mayan deciphered?

This began in 1981 when 15-year-old budding Mayanist David Stuart (left, with Linda Schele) discovered that individual Maya words could be written in multiple ways, using different symbols for the same sounds, as in "faze" and "phase." Eric Thompson's theory had been that the Maya wrote in rebus, in which symbols are ...