·     Variants (4):

o A. Rectangular (based on long vertical bar) – features:

§ A vertical bar on the right.

§ A large dot to the left of the bar, top and bottom, touching the bar.

§ Many short parallel horizontal lines between the two dots, each ending in a dot or very tiny dot.

o B. Boulder, a.k.a. the “flaming ak’bal” – features:

§ Top/left: “flames”.

§ Bottom/right: AK’AB.

This variant is the standard one in the famous murals of the Chik Nahb marketplace in CLK.

o C. “Flames” above stingray spine above water:

§ Top: “flames”.

§ Middle: KOKAN.

§ Bottom: HA’.

o D. “Flames” + K’UH: BMM9 is the only source to give this variant.

·     Four principal uses:

o AJ-<place-name>: a person from that place; Aj K’ina’ = “He of K’ina’”.

o AJ-<noun>: a seller of that noun; e.g. Aj Ixiim = “a seller of maize”.

o AJ-<verb>: a person associated with that verb; e.g. Aj Pitz = “a ballgame player”.

o AJ-<number>-BAAK: a title based on how many famous enemy warriors a person has captured, e.g. Aj Winik Baak = “He of the Twenty Captives” (with Bolon “9” perhaps meaning “many” rather than literally “nine” captives).

·     25EMC.pdfp28.#2 explains that the rectangular variant was also used as a, but the boulder variant wasn’t.

·     Zender-FA emphasizes the previous point, adding that:

o The use of the rectangular variant to write syllabogram a was a very late development anyway (post 750 AD).

o The “flaming ak’bal” was narrower in the scope of its usage than the rectangular variant, as it was used exclusively for the agentive-AJ, whereas the rectangular variant was used for (among other things) the verbal ending in the DNIG utz’akaj.

·     The “flaming ak’bal” variant is discussed (in passing) in Davletshin&Bíró-APSfT.p4.c1.para2.l-2 and (in detail) in Martin-HftPP.p62.pdfp2.col1.para2: The captions differ from those we normally see in Maya art in that they identify people by means of generic titles rather than by personal names. In most cases they follow a consistent formula and begin with AJ in one of two logographic versions. In an inversion of the normal pattern, it is the rare form—the ‘Flaming Ak’bal’ in which the sign ak’ab “darkness” sprouts fiery volutes (Zender 2005a)—which is the more common on the murals. In modern Mayan languages aj is a male agentive that can be translated as “He of ...”, but in the Classic period it was gender-neutral and applicable to both men and women (see Jackson and Stuart 2001:222). “Person” is therefore a suitable translation for us. Following aj in the formula comes the word for a particular object or material. These terms usually have direct counterparts in the painted scenes, making their role as identifying titles explicit. [Sim:

o In the famous murals of the Chik Nahb marketplace, the AJ-prefix is used for the sellers of a whole range of goods.

o Martin-HftPP lists many of them, giving as reference “CLK Structure Sub1-4”.

o EB.p17-19.pdfp22-24 lists three of them, giving as reference “CLK N.Acr., Str.1 Mural”:

§ aj ixim “corn person”.

§ aj may “tobacco person”.

§ aj ul “atole person”.]