The writing system developed in ancient Mesoamerica is a relatively recent discovery that is rela... more The writing system developed in ancient Mesoamerica is a relatively recent discovery that is related to specific geographic areas and time periods. This article explains an approach to the interpretation of Teotihuacan hieroglyphs as a graphic communication technique used by the elites of the city and frequently combined with figurative imagery. Without attempting to propose any hieroglyphic readings, it will be argued that precedents of Mesoamerican pictographic codices can be found in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. This argumentation will be based on the semiotics of the Peircean tradition, the theory of writing and grammatology by Ignace Gelb and Alfonso Lacadena, and on comparisons and analogy.
Most logosyllabic scripts opt for special word-signs denoting colour terms even though colours ar... more Most logosyllabic scripts opt for special word-signs denoting colour terms even though colours are abstract properties which are impossible to depict. Two strategies are attested in the invention of property signs for colour terms: prototypical objects can serve as an iconic source for the signs of corresponding colours, and “Colouring” can be applied in writing systems that make use of colour inks. In black-and-white systems, “Inking” of adjacent signs can be used as the sign for BLACK; in carved and incised texts “Hatching” is found instead of “Inking”. The observed behaviour of the word-signs for colour terms may be due to cognitive factors—we do not think about colours as objects on their own but rather perceive them as properties of objects. In the Kohau Rongorongo script of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), “Hatching” behaves as a word-sign for colours: first, hatched signs have plain equivalents; second, hatched and non-hatched signs show different distribution in texts; third, hatched signs are less frequent than their plain equivalents; fourth, only a part of a sign can be hatched; and fifth, hatching can spread on adjacent signs in parallel texts. “Hatching” and “Cross-Hatching” seem to be different signs because they follow different patterns of distribution. Both “Hatching” and “Cross-Hatching” appear as indicators of colours in the art of Easter Island. Comparison of iconographic and epigraphic data allows us to tentatively identify the signs for RED, “Hatching”, and BLACK, “Cross-Hatching”, in the Kohau Rongorongo script.
El artículo está dedicado al desciframiento del signo “cabeza de conejo” en la escritura jeroglíf... more El artículo está dedicado al desciframiento del signo “cabeza de conejo” en la escritura jeroglífica maya del período clásico. Se puede identificar su valor de lectura como la sílaba pe gracias a dos observaciones – el signo se combina con el silabograma ‘e en el nombre de La Mar y parece a la letra “p” del alfabeto de Diego de Landa. Este valor silábico pe resulta en la lectura del nombre de La Mar como pe[pe]’tuun y en la identificación de dos raíces verbales: kop- “rollar, enroscarse” y pek- “llamar, invocar”. El última se utiliza cuando los vasallos se convocan enfrente de su rey y cuando se invocan los dioses. La palabra ‘u-kope‘m “su cosa enrollada” se aplica como el término para “la cuerda del sacrificio de sangre”, además, ésta forma parte de una expresión metafórica de parentesco “el hijo del padre”.
The only known ruler of La Amelia is mentioned in the inscriptions with two appellatives, which h... more The only known ruler of La Amelia is mentioned in the inscriptions with two appellatives, which have been tentatively read as Lachan K'awiil and ˀAjaw Bot in previous publications. The present note revises these readings. A re-examination of the inscription on Hieroglyphic Stairway 1 showed that his first appellative is to be read as K'ahk' Hoplaj Chan K'awil, "As for the fire, it is (the rain god) K'awiil who is burning in the sky". This reading is consistent a wide-spread onomastic formula, which was popular in the Eastern Maya Lowlands in the Classic Period. It is also suggested that the initial ˀa phonetic complement of his second appellative should be interpreted as an indication of a non-standard reading order. Thus, this widely accepted and tentative reading order ˀAjaw Bot receives a well-grounded interpretation.
Cite the source of the dataset as: Davletshin, Albert (2012): Proto-Uto-Aztecans on their way to ... more Cite the source of the dataset as: Davletshin, Albert (2012): Proto-Uto-Aztecans on their way to the Proto-Aztecan homeland: linguistic evidence. Journal of Language Relationship. 8. 1. 75-92.
The decipherment of the Maya script is still far from completion and awaits the interpretation of... more The decipherment of the Maya script is still far from completion and awaits the interpretation of a considerable number of logograms and syllabic signs. This paper is dedicated to the composite sign that has been previously considered a ligature of two syllabic signs, tzo and ko. The present analysis shows that these two graphic elements are never written separately and that the ko-like element differs from the other ko syllables attested in the corresponding inscriptions. The sign is found in the context of other syllables involving the mid-front e vowel, implying a previously unrecognized Ce syllable, with “C” standing for an unknown consonant. In Palenque, the sign follows the le syllable; the combination of these two signs is attested in the position of a predicate, which might be interpreted as the verb letz-e, “he/she climbed, went up”. The data collected allow us to propose the phonetic reading tze and fill one more gap in the Maya syllabic grid.
Por primera vez los signos numéricos y el sistema de numeración náhuatl se examinan desde el punt... more Por primera vez los signos numéricos y el sistema de numeración náhuatl se examinan desde el punto de vista gramatológico, como una parte integral del sistema logosilábico de escritura. Entre otras cosas se identifican valores de lectura para los numerogramas y se proponen reglas de su transliteración. La diversidad de las formas de escribir numerales en este sistema de escritura es sobresaliente: hay tres diferentes sistemas de unidades básicas de 1 a 19, dos signos para 20, tres principios utilizados para representar cantidades encima de 20, tres formas diferentes de registros de cuenta, etc. Se ha podido comprobar que los numerogramas funcionan como signos palabra en algunos contextos y como signos de notación en otros.
The writing system developed in ancient Mesoamerica is a relatively recent discovery that is rela... more The writing system developed in ancient Mesoamerica is a relatively recent discovery that is related to specific geographic areas and time periods. This article explains an approach to the interpretation of Teotihuacan hieroglyphs as a graphic communication technique used by the elites of the city and frequently combined with figurative imagery. Without attempting to propose any hieroglyphic readings, it will be argued that precedents of Mesoamerican pictographic codices can be found in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. This argumentation will be based on the semiotics of the Peircean tradition, the theory of writing and grammatology by Ignace Gelb and Alfonso Lacadena, and on comparisons and analogy.
Most logosyllabic scripts opt for special word-signs denoting colour terms even though colours ar... more Most logosyllabic scripts opt for special word-signs denoting colour terms even though colours are abstract properties which are impossible to depict. Two strategies are attested in the invention of property signs for colour terms: prototypical objects can serve as an iconic source for the signs of corresponding colours, and “Colouring” can be applied in writing systems that make use of colour inks. In black-and-white systems, “Inking” of adjacent signs can be used as the sign for BLACK; in carved and incised texts “Hatching” is found instead of “Inking”. The observed behaviour of the word-signs for colour terms may be due to cognitive factors—we do not think about colours as objects on their own but rather perceive them as properties of objects. In the Kohau Rongorongo script of Easter Island (Rapa Nui), “Hatching” behaves as a word-sign for colours: first, hatched signs have plain equivalents; second, hatched and non-hatched signs show different distribution in texts; third, hatched signs are less frequent than their plain equivalents; fourth, only a part of a sign can be hatched; and fifth, hatching can spread on adjacent signs in parallel texts. “Hatching” and “Cross-Hatching” seem to be different signs because they follow different patterns of distribution. Both “Hatching” and “Cross-Hatching” appear as indicators of colours in the art of Easter Island. Comparison of iconographic and epigraphic data allows us to tentatively identify the signs for RED, “Hatching”, and BLACK, “Cross-Hatching”, in the Kohau Rongorongo script.
El artículo está dedicado al desciframiento del signo “cabeza de conejo” en la escritura jeroglíf... more El artículo está dedicado al desciframiento del signo “cabeza de conejo” en la escritura jeroglífica maya del período clásico. Se puede identificar su valor de lectura como la sílaba pe gracias a dos observaciones – el signo se combina con el silabograma ‘e en el nombre de La Mar y parece a la letra “p” del alfabeto de Diego de Landa. Este valor silábico pe resulta en la lectura del nombre de La Mar como pe[pe]’tuun y en la identificación de dos raíces verbales: kop- “rollar, enroscarse” y pek- “llamar, invocar”. El última se utiliza cuando los vasallos se convocan enfrente de su rey y cuando se invocan los dioses. La palabra ‘u-kope‘m “su cosa enrollada” se aplica como el término para “la cuerda del sacrificio de sangre”, además, ésta forma parte de una expresión metafórica de parentesco “el hijo del padre”.
The only known ruler of La Amelia is mentioned in the inscriptions with two appellatives, which h... more The only known ruler of La Amelia is mentioned in the inscriptions with two appellatives, which have been tentatively read as Lachan K'awiil and ˀAjaw Bot in previous publications. The present note revises these readings. A re-examination of the inscription on Hieroglyphic Stairway 1 showed that his first appellative is to be read as K'ahk' Hoplaj Chan K'awil, "As for the fire, it is (the rain god) K'awiil who is burning in the sky". This reading is consistent a wide-spread onomastic formula, which was popular in the Eastern Maya Lowlands in the Classic Period. It is also suggested that the initial ˀa phonetic complement of his second appellative should be interpreted as an indication of a non-standard reading order. Thus, this widely accepted and tentative reading order ˀAjaw Bot receives a well-grounded interpretation.
Cite the source of the dataset as: Davletshin, Albert (2012): Proto-Uto-Aztecans on their way to ... more Cite the source of the dataset as: Davletshin, Albert (2012): Proto-Uto-Aztecans on their way to the Proto-Aztecan homeland: linguistic evidence. Journal of Language Relationship. 8. 1. 75-92.
The decipherment of the Maya script is still far from completion and awaits the interpretation of... more The decipherment of the Maya script is still far from completion and awaits the interpretation of a considerable number of logograms and syllabic signs. This paper is dedicated to the composite sign that has been previously considered a ligature of two syllabic signs, tzo and ko. The present analysis shows that these two graphic elements are never written separately and that the ko-like element differs from the other ko syllables attested in the corresponding inscriptions. The sign is found in the context of other syllables involving the mid-front e vowel, implying a previously unrecognized Ce syllable, with “C” standing for an unknown consonant. In Palenque, the sign follows the le syllable; the combination of these two signs is attested in the position of a predicate, which might be interpreted as the verb letz-e, “he/she climbed, went up”. The data collected allow us to propose the phonetic reading tze and fill one more gap in the Maya syllabic grid.
Por primera vez los signos numéricos y el sistema de numeración náhuatl se examinan desde el punt... more Por primera vez los signos numéricos y el sistema de numeración náhuatl se examinan desde el punto de vista gramatológico, como una parte integral del sistema logosilábico de escritura. Entre otras cosas se identifican valores de lectura para los numerogramas y se proponen reglas de su transliteración. La diversidad de las formas de escribir numerales en este sistema de escritura es sobresaliente: hay tres diferentes sistemas de unidades básicas de 1 a 19, dos signos para 20, tres principios utilizados para representar cantidades encima de 20, tres formas diferentes de registros de cuenta, etc. Se ha podido comprobar que los numerogramas funcionan como signos palabra en algunos contextos y como signos de notación en otros.
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