A Story of Awe and Clay: Mold-Made Hieroglyphs From Alta Verapaz, Guatemala

Abstract

The recent discovery of an ancient Late Classic ceramic production facility in a valley floor, east of the current capital of Cobán in Guatemala, reveals a new ceramic form and provides data concerning regional chronology. Among the remains are thin, mold-made fragments identified as ceramic plaques that have epigraphic information providing a Long Count date for the first time in the Alta Verapaz region. These data correlate with the preliminary ceramic sequences and assist with understanding political-economic interactions that occurred at a time of societal collapse within the southern lowland region.

Terminal Classic Conch-Shell Gorgets from the Maya Region and Central Mexico

“…The Maya script underwent significant changes in the Terminal Classic period as scribes introduced new signs, jettisoned old ones, and experimented with new formats and reading orders, making some ninth-century texts difficult for epigraphers to interpret (Houston 2008:240–248). But true pseudoglyphs are also not uncommon on high-status Terminal Classic works of art, including portable objects (e.g., Matsumoto 2017; Sears et al 2021; Źrałka et al 2020:471–472) and even, potentially, some monuments (Martin and Grube 2008:115). What is certain is that neither of the shell gorgets considered here with writing (or “writing”) bears a legible inscription in Classic Maya hieroglyphs.…”

Use of strontium isotope ratios in geolocation of Guatemalan population: Potential role in identification of remains

“…Of these areas, two exist outside of Guatemala with the Northern Lowlands and Maya Mountains found in Mexico and Belize, respectively. The Southern Maya Lowlands are found in the north of Guatemala and incorporate the departments of Petén and Alta Verapaz [37, 38]. This region founded upon marine carbonates such as limestone exhibits an 87 Sr/ 86 Sr range of 0.7070–0.7085, with values decreasing as a function of proximity to the coast, due to increasing 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of seawater [31, 35].…”