Maya codices
|
|
Maya codices (singular codex) are books written by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, using the Maya hieroglyphic script. There were many such books in existence at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Maya area in the 16th century, but they were destroyed in bulk by the Conquistadors and priests soon after. In particular, all those in Yucatan were ordered destroyed by Bishop Diego de Landa in July of 1562.
Such codices were the primary written records of Maya civilization, although now more text from stone monuments survives.
Only three codices and a fragment of a fourth survived to modern times. These are:
- The Madrid Codex, also known as the Tro-Cortesianus Codex
- The Dresden Codex
- The Paris Codex, also known as the Peresianus Codex
- The Grolier Codex, also known as the Grolier Fragment