Image - Cacao Pod Vessel - K6706 © Justin Kerr FAMSI © 2004:
Alfonso Lacadena García-Gallo
 

The Glyphic Corpus from Ek’ Balam, Yucatán, México

Introduction

This report is the result of epigraphic investigations carried out at Ek’ Balam between 1998 and 2002, as collaborator epigrapher for the Ek’ Balam Architectural Restoration Program (Proyecto de Restauración Arquitectónica Ek’ Balam) conducted by Archaeologist Leticia Vargas de la Peña, from the Regional INAH office in Yucatán, in the frame of my association with the Archaeology Department of the School of Anthropological Sciences, Autonomous University of Yucatán 1   and the Institute of Filology from the Higher Council of Scientific Research in Madrid. The final stage of this investigation has been accomplished thanks to a research grant awarded by the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc., (FAMSI) in 2002.

A Note About the Spelling Conventions Used in the Report

In this report I shall use as a convention, for the representation of long vowels, the duplication of the vowel VV instead of V:, used in former transcriptions (i.e. Vargas et al. 1999). The rules for transcription recently developed by Houston, Stuart, and Robertson (1998, in press) and Lacadena and Wichmann (in press) shall be used for the representation of the short vowels (V), long vowels (VV) and glottals (V’). Similarly, and following Grube (in press), the distinction between glottal /h/ and velar /j/ aspirants shall be used.

I shall use a flat transcription of the logograms, whereby V indicates an indeterminate vocalic nucleus, without a specification of V, VV, V’ or Vh, that is, K’AN, TUN, B’ALAM, CH’EN, instead of K’AN, TUUN, B’AHLAM and CH’E’N. The reason for this is mentioned in Lacadena and Wichmann (in press).

Symbols Used:
   
In the transliteration:
   
- block sign separator
…] beginning of lost text
[… ending of lost text
[…] lost glyphic block
[le] reconstruction of lost or partially lost sign, but reconstructable through preserved traces and/or context, as in u-ki-ti IV-[le]-ku.
# indefinite sign
## indefinite number of signs
55 sign mentioned by Thompson (1962)
   
In the transcription:
   
[e] reconstructed phoneme, as in u-B’AK-le, ub’aak[e]l
… presence of a phoneme with an uncertain reading, as in K’UH-#-NAL, K’uh…nal.

Abbreviations used:

  • Monuments:  CV= Cover of Vault; S= Stela; COL= Column; M= Mural; MT= Miscellaneous Text.
  • Languages:  CHN= Chontal; CHNAC Chontal from Acalán; CHL= Chol; CHT= Choltí; CHR= Ch’orti’; COLYU= Colonial Yucatecan; YUC= Modern Yucatecan; ITZ= Itzaj; MOP= Mopán.

Endnote

  1. As a Regular, Teacher/Researcher, Category A, since 1998, and as an invited teacher in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002.

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