Classical Maya

Also known as: Classical Maya, Mayan

Classical Maya (Chʼoltiʼ, "the language of the Chʼol-speaking lowlands") was the prestige language of ancient Maya civilization in the Classic period (c. 250–900 CE), recorded in the only fully developed pre-Columbian Mesoamerican writing system. The Maya hieroglyphic script — a logo-syllabic system with ~800 distinct signs — recorded history, dynastic chronology, astronomy, ritual, and mythology on stelae, lintels, codices, and ceramic vessels. Major decipherment progress since the 1950s (Knorozov, Proskouriakoff) has read most texts. The classical literary language was based on Cholan (ancestor of modern Chʼortiʼ and Chol).