ABSTRACT
Maya hieroglyphs may occur singly, in groups, arranged in a row or in multi-rows forming long texts. Some convey information about the calendar, cycles of time, the role of the sun, moon, and planets along with presiding deities. Codices were made by gluing together pieces of bark paper to form a long strip and then folded like a screen. The codices in existence today are located in museums and libraries of Mexico and Europe and date from late Postclassic days into Colonial times. Although not codices, other valuable sources of information on ancient Maya life are preserved in the books of the Chilam Balam, which were compiled in the Colonial Period after the Indians had learned to write with the Spanish alphabet. The word Chilam is derived from the name of a famous Maya prophet living around the end of the fourteenth century. The Calendar Round was known and observed by all Mesoamericans as their basic time-keeping system.
