from c. 300 BCEReputable sourceWell documented
Maya Hieroglyphic Writing
On the timeline · around from c. 300 BCE ·
What happened
The Maya developed the most advanced writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas — a script of hundreds of glyphs combining picture-signs and syllabic sounds, carved on stone monuments and painted in bark-paper books called codices.
Why it matters
Maya writing lets their kings and cosmos speak in their own words. Its 20th-century decipherment transformed a mute ruin into a readable history.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Maya Writing · Reputable source