ABOUT THE CORPUS:
THE CORPUS OF MAYA HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTIONS PROGRAM
PEABODY MUSEUM OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Mission Statement
Founded in 1968, the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Program (CMHI) is an Active Research Archive and on-going Recording Program of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, devoted to the recording and dissemination of information about all known ancient Maya inscriptions and their associated figurative art . The CMHI publishes its detailed original line drawings and photographic documentation in a unique series of folio volumes and makes its material available to researchers through its archive and via the world wide web.
All texts and images on this site are copyrighted by the President and Fellows of Harvard University. For permissions to reproduce images please contact peapub@fas.harvard.edu.
Background
Ancient Maya hieroglyphic writing is perhaps the most artistic and creative graphic writing system in the world. The ability to read this complex and innovative writing that began over 2000 years ago, was lost with time and has only been recovered in part during the last century. The Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Program at the Peabody Museum represents a unique collection, the largest archival collection and publication series of Maya hieroglyphic texts in the world.
For more than 35 years the Peabody Museum has been publishing The Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions under the editorial and artistic direction of Mayanist Ian Graham. Ian Graham, one of the pioneers who helped to put the undeciphered Maya hieroglyphic writing system in proper perspective, was appointed the founding director of the Corpus program in 1968. Toward this goal he was aided by numerous distinguished scholars of an Advisory Committee that consisted of Dr. Ignacio Bernal, Mr. Edgar H. Brenner, Mr. Staton L. Catlin, Dr. Michael D. Coe, Dr. Gordon F. Ekholm, Dr. Luis Lujan Mun oz, Dr. Floyd Lounsbury, Ms. Tatiana Proskouriakoff, Dr. Gordon R. Willey, and then Peabody Museum director, Dr. Stephen Williams. Initially, the work was envisioned and funded by Edgar H. Brenner of the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation, with matching funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities (Brenner n.d.; Graham 1975). Brenner notes, "My goal was to aid in the decipherment of the hieroglyphs, and to preserve the texts from looters and weathering." Since its inception the project has been the leading program in this field, setting the standards for hieroglyphic recording. The meticulously illustrated Corpus volumes published by the Peabody Museum and the vast archive continue to be an invaluable resource for epigraphers and researchers everywhere.
The purpose and scope of the Corpus volumes is to record and publish all preserved Maya texts on carved stone, painted walls, stucco, wood, jade, shell and bone (excluding codices and pottery vessels). No precise geographic boundaries were set meaning any object, so defined above, that carries writing of predominantly Maya character comes within the scope of the Corpus work. Graham set forth a three-letter abbreviation for each site, where for example, Yaxchilan becomes YAX, or Seibal, SBL, followed by the monument type and number. These shorthand designations are now standardized and used by scholars when referencing the work. Site maps accompany the inscriptions, giving precise locations of the monuments. Monuments with iconographic components are included in full.
Graham chose to focus on the Corpus volumes as reference works without decipherment commentary. He spent the first quarter of every year in the field collecting data, exploring new terrain, and discovering new monuments. Guided by his three principles, accuracy, clarity, and comprehensiveness, the Corpus produced precision line drawings and sharp photographs of every monument encountered. Once back at the Peabody Museum, these were translated into inked drawings situated side by side with the photographs for publication.
As Stephen Williams predicted, the Corpus has had an enormous impact on Maya decipherment, allowing other scholars "to carry forward major research in Maya hieroglyphics as a result of this work" (Williams 1975). Without a standardized and reliable reference for the abundant texts, epigraphers could not have achieved their breakthroughs, which often require constant referencing of multiple inscriptions from various sites at once. The time-consuming task of collecting the material for publication is a full time job, which epigraphers contribute to but realistically cannot produce in quantity, alone.
The fieldwork and publications were complemented by the photographic catalogue file of monuments by site and geographical area, which Graham compiled for researchers. Corpus field notes, maps and bibliographic references now join this catalogue to make this collection the world's largest archive of ancient Maya inscriptions.
The Corpus has also contributed to the preservation of ancient Maya art and writing. Looters and vandals have been an ever-present threat to the attractive carvings, so that often Graham and associates were just footsteps ahead of looting parties. On occasion, monuments they recorded minutes earlier became lost to private hands or sawed into pieces. In other cases fragments otherwise dispersed around the globe, have become reunited on paper thanks to the Corpus efforts.
These efforts are helping to save this historical legacy for over six million descendents of indigenous Maya people now residing in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras while continuing to add to our understanding of their ancient cultures.
1975 Graham, Ian
Introduction to the Corpus, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Vol 1.1 .
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, Mass.
1975 Williams, Stephen
Foreword, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Vol 1.1 .
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, Mass.
n. d. Edgar H. Brenner
"The Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Project: Initiated in 1967 by the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation,"www.mesoweb.com/pari/publications/RT10/Corpus.pdf.
Contact Us:
Research and Permission Requests:
- Permission to republish drawings or photos published in CMHI volumes, peapub@fas.harvard.edu (download the Request to Reproduce form).
- Research requests, bfash@fas.harvard.edu.
- Unpublished drawing and photograph requests, bfash@fas.harvard.edu. (Note: Graham has put some restrictions on access to unpublished materials).
Barbara W. Fash
Director, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
tel 617/496-6291/fax 617/495-7535
bfash@fas.harvard.edu
Any non-Corpus, Peabody Museum research requests should be directed to pmresrch@fas.harvard.edu .
Contact Information
Barbara W. Fash
Director, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
tel 617/496-6291/fax 617/495-7535
bfash@fas.harvard.edu
Ian Graham
Director Emeritus, Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
tel 617/495-2483/fax 617/495-7535
If you are interested in supporting the Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, please contact:
Catherine Cezeaux
Director for Administrative and Financial Affairs
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138
tel 617/495-0582/fax 617/495-7535
cezeaux@fas.harvard.edu |
