New Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs, Volume 3 Volume 285

Among their celebrated achievements, the ancient Maya are renowned for developing a highly sophisticated writing system. Their unique hieroglyphic script adorns stone and wood monuments, as well as portable objects. Drawing on a wealth of research, this remarkable book—the third and final volume in The New Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs series—offers a comprehensive and up-to-date visual reference of the Maya script.

As the culmination of The New Catalog, the current volume both summarizes information from the previous volumes and expands on the discussions of decipherment and grapheme functions. Incorporating the most recent research on the script, it reclassifies several signs and adds many more, including those appearing in newly discovered inscriptions. Along with explanatory text, it presents in visual form each individual sign used in the Maya script along with its corresponding three- or four-digit code.

Combining cutting-edge scholarship with accessible presentation, this volume serves as a concise reference tool critical for the ongoing research of scholars and students of Mesoamerican writing systems. For enhanced interactivity, readers can also use the guide in coordination with the online Maya Hieroglyphic Database.

Matthew Looper is Professor of Art and Art History at California State University, Chico, and Director of the Maya Hieroglyphic Database. He is the author of several books, including The New Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs, Volume 1 (with Martha J. Macri). 

Yuriy Polyukhovych holds a PhD from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, where he serves as Associate Professor and teaches courses in Pre-Columbian and Latin American studies. He currently serves as Ambassador of Ukraine to Perú, Colombia, and Ecuador.

Martha J. Macri (Cherokee Nation) is Professor Emerita of Native American Studies and Research Professor of Linguistics at the University of California, Davis. She is a co-principal investigator for the Maya Hieroglyphic Database project funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Gabrielle Vail holds a research position in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and collaborates with the Script Encoding Initiative (University of California, Berkeley). She is the author of several books, including The New Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs, Volume 2 (with Martha J. Macri).