Day Symbols of the Maya Year Sixteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1894-1895, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1897, pages 199-266.

Delve into a scholarly exploration of the Maya calendar’s day symbols, where the author unpacks the origins, meanings, and linguistic quirks of each glyph. Drawing on the latest paleographic research, the work explains how the Maya blended pictorial roots with phonetic cues, using consonant sounds to link symbols to words—a process that sits between pure ideography and early alphabetic writing. Readers will hear clear examples, such as a turtlehead glyph standing for the sound ak and its role in forming complex day names, illustrating the transitional nature of the script.

The narrative is anchored by detailed plates that reproduce ancient codex glyphs, giving listeners a vivid sense of the visual record. Alongside the discussion of day names, a concise appendix lists the deities associated with each day in the broader Mesoamerican calendar. This concise, well‑structured study offers a solid foundation for anyone curious about how the Maya measured time and encoded language in stone and bark.