CMGG entry for "PLAZA"      (This article is part of the Learner's Maya Glyph Guide and Concordance.)

Translation: plaza
Part of speech: Noun

Logogram spellings of "PLAZA"

                                                         

TOK.p21.r4.c2                 BMM9.p17.r2.c2                   Coll-1                                            MHD

                                                                                            DPL HS4 Step 1 K2                      NAR Stela 46 pH1

?                                          ?                                              ?:NAL                                            ti.<?:NAL>

 

                                                                

Graham                                Graham                               Graham                            

YAX Lintel 32 C1                  YAX Lintel 53 C1                YAX Lintel 53 E2              

ti.<?:NAL>                            ti.<?:NAL:la>                       ti.<?:NAL:la>                    

 

·     No glyphs given in K&H, K&L, 25EMC.

·     The logogram is well understood, but the reading is unknown.

·     The ‘K2’ glyph-block reference for “plaza” on DPL HS4 Step 1 is tentative as the available drawings haven’t been provided with commonly accepted glyph-block labels.

·     There is a strong indication that YAX Lintel 32 C1 and YAX Lintel 53 C1 & E2 are also instances of “plaza” (but where the legs are without visible “knees”). From a purely visual point of view, YAX Lintel 53 C1 & E2 might even be an “Inverted Olla”. However, it can be safely inferred that they are “plaza” from context:

o There is no IX-K’UH following (required for “Inverted Olla”).

o The context of the inscription requires a place rather than a person.

·     AT-YT2021-lecture17.t0:12:07:

o Explains that DPL HS4 Step 1 is “PLAZA”[la]:NAL (Sim: the “plaza” logogram doesn’t have to end in -l: the la can be an end phonetic complement for NAL).

o Rejects AK’ as a possible reading.

o Suggests that XIB would be an acceptable reading because:

§ SUF Stela 1 has an inscription with CHAK:“PLAZA”:CHAAK, which is a substitution for the name of the god CHAK:XIB:CHAAK.

§ XIB means “fear”, “awe”, and plazas were places which were meant to instil fear and awe (of rulers or gods) in the public.

o A small number of references also give a reading of XIB (which ones?). It is unclear if this is meant to be a different word from XIB = “young man” (and hence just, coincidentally, a homonym), or same word (and hence a variant glyph from the human head used to write XIB).