Mexican Maya expert deciphers glyph on ancient ruler's tomb

Mexican epigrapher Guillermo Bernal Romero has successfully deciphered a glyph carved on the funerary chamber of an ancient Mayan ruler, Lord Pakal, six decades after the excavation of the tomb.

The glyph, which appears on the sarcophagus and in many other Mayan inscriptions, reads "The House of the Nine Sharpened Spears," according to Romero, a researcher at the Center for Mayan Studies (CEM) operated by Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM).

A report published in this week's UNAM Gazette celebrated the breakthrough that allows researchers to comprehend the full inscription, which reads, "The House of the Nine Sharpened Spears is the name of the tomb of K'inich Janaahb' Pakal, Sacred Ruler of Palenque."

"The mystery has been solved," the university announced.

The key to unlocking the mystery was the glyph identified as T514 by the late English archaeologist, Eric Thompson, as no one had been able to decipher it.

Romero was able to link the pictograph with the molar tooth of a jaguar, an animal considered sacred by Mayan warriors, and interpreted its meaning as "yej te," or sharpened spear.

Other inscriptions at the archaeological site of Palenque, where the tomb is located, support Romero's interpretation with the images of nine warriors carved into the chamber.

The discovery should allow researchers to decipher another 50 texts that contain this glyph.

"Sometimes people are amazed that Mayan hieroglyphics can be deciphered," Romero said in the gazette. "It's not that complicated if you follow the correct clues and apply the approved decoding method."

Researchers have identified 1,500 glyphs so far, while the meanings of some 300 are still unknown. Endit