The Ancient Maya Script of Hand Forms Embedded in Figural Art

In this presentation, Dr. Sandoval will discuss his recent work on deciphering the Ancient Maya hand-sign script. The symbols of this special writing consist of arm and hand configurations held by figures in Maya texts. Texts otherwise consist of hieroglyphic writing and an array of iconography. In a recent article, he examined the hand signs of Altar Q, an 8th century sculptural text from the Classic Maya site of Copán (modern Honduras). Relying on a mix of analytical methods, he claimed that each of Altar Q’s hand signs are numerals with calendrical function. The publication stands as the first time a decipherment proposal for Ancient Maya textual hand signs has been supported and verified by multiple lines of evidence and peer review. The presentation will provide an overview of this initial decipherment, with the goal of demystifying the process, methodology, and verification.

NB: This event is not sponsored by Denver Public Library. For more information, please contact aiadenversociety@gmail.com

Dr. Rich A. Sandoval is Associate Professor of Anthropology for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Metropolitan State University of Denver (PhD in Linguistics, CU Boulder). He is broadly interested in the diverse ways that language and other modes of meaning making are mutually enacted. His research has specifically involved Hand Talk and other traditional signed-language practices of Indigenous America, with a focus on how hand signs and speech are combined within linguistically coherent expressions. His earlier work describes this phenomenon in modern Arapaho (indigenous to the Denver area). His current work examines it within Ancient Maya texts, where (speech-based) hieroglyphs are accompanied by the hand signs of depicted figures.