Decorative glyphs adorn the faces of Maya -stelae (carved monoliths) and temples. It has long been recognized that some of these represented numbers (including zero, a sophisticated concept also independently invented in India) and were connected with the complex calendars devised by the Maya.
But it was thought that the remaining glyphs had some complex symbolic meaning: it is only recently that a handful of scholars have demonstrated that, unlike other Mesoamerican civilizations, the Maya had a complete writing system.
Individual glyphs can represent words or concepts, but many represent syllables. The first glyphs to be successfully recognized were the names of individual ceremonial centres. Since this breakthrough many other glyphs have been identified and the sense of many inscriptions is now clear although decipherment is still incomplete.
Most texts record the activities of individual rulers and their families - births, marriages, deaths - and their successful wars. These events were closely linked to significant dates in the complex system of calendar cycles which reflected the pattern of divine influence over the world.
