Hieroglyphs Out of Place

Abstract

Maya glyphic writing, a lush and storied hieroglyphic system of Mexico and northern Central America, offers much evidence of tensions and play between text and image. An anomaly worth exploring is when a glyph appears to intrude into the domain of pictures. Closer study reveals that such signs are usually of a limited sort, being concerned with time and seasons, or with ways of naming the complex, expansive surfaces of geographical locales. They respond to gravity and rest on depicted surfaces. Yet many, perhaps most, are signs that exist in mythic settings, where humans of rare aptitudes fused with gods.