There’s no way you’re getting out of here with out one last art project! For these two challenges, use the resources in the Maya Glyphs Book and Mayan Date Calculator.
The first task, is to write your name in Mayan glyphs. When the Spaniards arrived, they were disgusted by what they saw. This is understandable, but tragic. They destroyed invaluable artifacts in the quest to purge the Americas of civilizations they were convinced emerged from the pit of hell!
Unfortunately, they did a great job of wrecking things. We are just now learning to crack the code of the Mayans. You’re going to utilize the Glyph Book to become like a palaeographer (someone who deciphers ancient writing).
Understand…Mayan writing is fluid. Don’t get too bogged down in doing it perfect. There are many variations of drawing and spelling available. Also, the explanations are complicated. Just have fun with it!
In the book:
- skim pages 12-31 for an overview
- skim pages 32-45 to learn how
- you’ll find the primary key on pages 17-22
- another important key is on page 36
I first broke my name into syllables:
My name busted into syllables
Then, I spelled it like I say it:
My name pronounced phonetically
Finally, I Mayanized that bad boy:
My name Mayanized!
When you’re done, take a picture of your creation and insert in on your post. Put what name you translated as a caption on your image. Blog about the process.
The Mayans were obsessed with time. I love this cartoon!
For your final activity, you’ll create a Mayan stela. Stelas were placed on stone columns. Here’s an example:
Please read the brief description of the Mayan stela on Google Classroom.
Now…think of an important date. It could be your birthday. It could be an important date in history. It could be a first date with a smoking hot significant other! Whatever you choose, plug that date into the Mayan Date Calculator. Recreate the image that appears on the paper column I gave you. Take a picture of your masterpiece and insert it on your blog with the date as a caption. Make certain to blog about why you chose the date and how you feel about your creation.
I made the one below for my wife on her birthday:
My wife’s birthday 9/26/62