Fill in the Blanks Mayan cultureOnline version A basic introduction by CAAFI 2 servicio social 1 glyphs deciphered text found marriages calendar syllables carved block astronomical obsidian twentieth British civilization hieroglyphs historical writing horizontal nineteenth Pacific Maya , a basic introduction . by The Museum Across the Ocean , the Maya was at its height between 300 and 900 . Inscriptions have been on monumental sculpture , public buildings , murals , pottery , shell , , bone , wood , jade , and screenfold books called codices . They were only identified as a writing system by scholars during the century . The majority of surviving examples of Maya are from the Classic period ( 250 ? 900 ) although some date to the Late Preclassic ( B . C . E . ? 250 C . E . ) . Inscriptions record and information , and events such as alliances , wars , lineages , and . Maya glyphs were inscribed in blocks placed in and vertical rows . One or more glyphs were set in each . It is generally read from left to right and top to bottom . The sometimes appears in single columns , but can appear in L - shaped or other arrangements , such as on the lintels from the city of Yaxchilán . Maya were first identified as a writing system during the nineteenth century , when the bar - and - dot numerical system was . In the 1950s it was discovered that the script combined signs representing whole words with signs representing . Certain glyphs were recognized as naming specific people and cities ( known as Name Glyphs and Emblem Glyphs respectively ) . There were major breakthroughs in decipherment in the second half of the century and approximately 85% of the glyphs can now be read .
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