Chert -- A Commonly Used Stone

Author's note: This post was last updated 11/25/17.

A Belizean eccentric flint that dates to around 500 AD. From Yale University Art Gallery.

Like jade and obsidian, chert was one of the multitude of minerals archaeologists know the ancient Maya made part of their lives. It was a part of their religious views, including the belief as they thought it was made from lightning strikes. (Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya says that they thought Chac (God B) caused the lightning.) But it was more than just their beliefs -- the Maya saw chert as a source for making useful items. A type of quartz called microcrystalline quartz, chert (and flint, a dark type of chert) seems to have been used both for everyday uses and for ritual uses.

Uses

A Belizean blade with a point 
on each end that dates to 
550 AD to 675 AD. 
From Yale University
Art Gallery.

One way the ancient Maya incorporated chert into their lives was to make tools, such as the ax or hatchet that the ancient Maya used for farming, knives (some of which were used for ritual blood-letting,) and points for spears. When a tool lost its usefulness, the ancient Maya reshaped the chert to use for another tool. Chert tools used for heavy work like axes and hoes don't work as well as steel tools.


Then there were eccentric flints. These were pieces of chert (or one of several other kinds of stones) shaped into designs like the god K'awiil (God K.) They may have been used for rituals, and there's an idea out there that they could have been painted.

The ancient Maya, at least at the site of Piedras Negras during the Classic Period,  made something similar to eccentric flints. These were painted, but not shaped into different shapes like eccentric flints. Archaeologists didn't realize at first they were painted. They used to think these flakes were just that, flakes of chert. When organizing artifacts, they disrupted the surface of the flakes so they could write numbers on them.

Sourcing and Working It

An eccentric flint that
comes from 600 AD to
900 AD. It was either
made in Mexico or
Guatemala. From Yale
University Art Gallery.

A place with definite success potential when looking for chert in the Maya area is the lowlands, near bajos or swamps/wetlands that dry up in the dry season. To get chert out of the ground, the ancient Maya used pit mines that weren't that deep. (And when used up, the Maya would turn their chert mines into a place to store water -- these places are called aguadas, though there's also another kind of aguada that forms naturally. Limestone mines also would be turned into aguadas.)

To work chert, the ancient Maya used two types of methods. These methods were pressure flaking and  percussion flaking. Chert that wasn't the best for shaping got heat treated first. (Pressure flaking and percussion flaking were also the methods they used for obsidian.)

A site of note when it comes to chert and chert tools is Colhá, located in the north of Belize. This site had a centuries long history of being a place where chert came from -- a history that started in the Late Preclassic.

Consideration: The Chert-Free Zone
There is a part of the northern Yucatán Peninsula where archaeologists have not found much when it comes to chert tools. Technology of Maya Civilization says a possibly good name for this part of the peninsula is the Chert-Free Zone. The book also includes different ideas out there about how the ancient Maya in the Chert-Free Zone were able to not use tools made of chert.

References:
Google Books: "Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya"; Walter R.T. Witschey (editor); 2016

Google Books: "The Life Within: Classic Maya and the Matter of Permanence"; Stephen Houston; 2014

Google Books: "Technology of Maya Civilization: Political Economy and Beyond in Lithic Studies"; Geoffrey E. Braswell, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos (editors); 2011

Google Books: "Cities of the Maya in Seven Epochs: 1250 B.C. to A.D. 1903"; Steve Glassman, Armando Anaya; 2011

 Mesoweb: Maya Archaeology Reports: "Painted Lithic Artifacts from Piedras Negras, Guatemala"; Zachary X. Hruby, Gene Ware; 2009 

Princeton University Art Museum: Eccentric flint with profiles of K'awiil, the lightning god, A.D. 600–800

Image Credits:
Yale University Art Gallery: Art of the Ancient Americas: Eccentric Flint

Yale University Art Gallery: Art of the Ancient Americas Double pointed flint blade

Yale University Art Gallery: Art of the Americas: Eccentric Flint

Obsidian -- A Sharp and Useful Material

Author's note: this post was last updated on 12/21/2017.

A piece of obsidian. From the USGS.

It begins with volcanoes: obsidian is a substance created when magma not only has a lot of silica in it but cools down so fast that it can't crystallize. (Depending on the definition, obsidian is either a rock or glass.) It is usually black and, though strong, it is also brittle. With the right skill, this igneous substance can be worked so that its edges are incredibly sharp. The ancient Maya thought very highly of obsidian, and -- though it seems that elites controlled it somewhat -- everyone used it.

Where They Got It

The information with this image (again from
the Y.U. Art Gallery) states that this 9 inch long
blade may or may not be from the Maya area.
The information also says that it was made
anywhere from the 300 AD to 900 AD.

When it comes to where they got their obsidian, archaeologists have found the Maya had more than one source. One source was special: the obsidian was green, and came from north of the Maya area, in the Valley of Mexico. (Archaeologists call the source area for this kind obsidian Cerro de las Navajas ("Hill of the Knives,") and they call the obsidian Green Pachuca.)

All of the known sources of ancient Maya obsidian are in Guatemala. One is in the Motagua Valley and today, it is called El Chayal. Another source is in the Southern Highlands and now has two names, Río Pixcaya and San Martín Jílotepeque. A third known source is in southeast Guatemala and is called Ixtepeque.

Shaping It: Pressure Flaking and Percussion Flaking
When obsidian breaks, it breaks conchoidally. (You may also read descriptions that say it has a conchoidal fracture.) This means that when a piece breaks off, that piece will look not entirely unlike a clam shell. Because of this physical feature, the Maya -- and other peoples -- used two methods for creating objects out of obsidian. These methods were pressure flaking and percussion flaking. (The ancient Maya shaped shaped their chert/flint tools this way too.)

With pressure flaking, a person uses a sharpened piece of something like hardwood or antler to sort of press and lift pieces off of the stone. With percussion flaking, a person can use either a "soft hammer" or "hard hammer" -- though a soft hammer is the better choice for obsidian. (The difference between a soft hammer and a hard hammer is what they're made of. Soft hammers are made of things like certain types of hardwood and antler, and so get more of the force they send out sent back into them than hard hammers, which are made of certain substances like granite.)

Trading

According to the information posted
with this image (from the Yale University
Art Gallery,) this 6 inch blade may or may not
be Maya. It was made anywhere from 100 AD
to 1500 AD and may have been from the Classic
Period.

The ancient Maya obsidian trade actually went out into other parts of Mesoamerica. The first step in this trade were workshops (which were commonly near a source of obsidian.) At these workshops, obsidian workers turned pieces of obsidian into "cores." That is, the pieces were shaped but not into anything specific. The communities that got the obsidian had their own workshops to make what they wanted out of the cores.

What They Crafted with It
The ancient Maya created a host of items with obsidian, some of which involved cutting. For example, they made projectile points. For another, they made blades, including a type known as the prismatic blade.

The prismatic blade has two cutting sides and is thin as well as a little bit curved -- its style of make means that they don't need to have resharpening done. Prismatic blades were what the Maya liked to use whenever they cut themselves for religious bloodletting. (But they may also have used this kind of blade for non-religious, everyday things.)

The Maya also wore obsidian about their person. Which is to say, they would make a type of earring called an earflare -- or earspool -- with it. (They also would make earflares with other things, one of which was jade.)

Yet another variety of item that the ancient Maya created using obsidian (and chert/flint) was what's now called the eccentric flint. Eccentric flints are shaped pieces of stone that may have had a number of ritual uses.

References:
Google Books: "Ancient Maya Commerce: Multidisciplinary Research at Chunchucmil"; Scott R. Hutson; 2017

Google Books: "Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya"; Walter R.T. Witschey; 2016

Google Books: "Obsidian Reflections: Symbolic Dimensions of Obsidian in Mesoamerica"; Marc N. Levine, David N. Carballo (editors); 2014

Google Books: "The Technology of Maya Civilization: Political Economy and Beyond in Lithic Studies"; Zachary X. Hruby, Geoffrey E. Braswell, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos (editors); 2011

Wesleyan University: WesScholar: "Toward a “Full Biography of Obsidian”: Studies ofObsidian Use and Exchange in the Maya Area"; Laura Heath; April 2011

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian: Living Maya Time: Glossary

The Free Dictionary: Obsidian

The University of Iowa: The Office of the State Archaeologist: Flintkapping

Yale University Art Gallery: Obsidian knife blade

Yale University Art Gallery: Blade, pointed both ends

Image Credits:
USGS: Obsidian

Yale University Art Gallery: Obsidian knife blade

Yale University Art Gallery: Blade, pointed both ends

El Petén Architecture

The El Petén style of architecture is one of the approximately five styles of ancient Maya architecture that archaeolgists have classified. It is older than the Río Bec style -- which it influenced and the Chenes style. For those looking for El Petén style sites, Xunatunich, Tikal, Uaxactun and El Mirador are several such sites.


Features
Various structural features common to El Petén style architecture include prominent staircases, stepped terraces, gently curving corners and tall, somewhat slender pyramids -- some nearing 250 feet in height. The interior of El Petén style buildings is narrow and has arched ceilings. Stucco masks are a common decorative feature.

"Crests" or roofcombs are also a feature of El Petén. These are tall standalone wall-like features that are set on the back wall of a construction.


References:

Southwest Missouri State University: Maya Architectural Styles

"The Maya World"; Demetrio Sodi M.; 1976

The Free Dictionary: Encyclopedia: Roof Comb

Río Bec Architecture

Río Bec is a term used to describe one of the approximately five different kinds of ancient Maya architecture. A style that combines styles of the northern and the central lowlands, the Río Bec style is named after a site located in Quintana Roo, a Mexican state in the eastern side of the Yucatan Peninsula. For those in search of Río Bec style sites, a few examples include Becan, Chicanná, Hormiguero, Xpuhil and of course the site of Río Bec.

History
Río Bec architecture developed in the Late Classic period (about 600 AD to 900 AD), and was influenced by the El Petén style of architecture. It is related to the Puuc style -- which came after Río Bec -- and Chenes style -- which also predates the Puuc style.

Features
One of the most distinctive features of Río Bec style buildings are its false towers. These false towers -- or very steep sided pyramids, filled with rubble. On top of these towers are "temples" -- also full of rocks -- that have false doors for entrances. Leading up to the false doors are steps too steep to be used. Decoration-wise, the Río Bec false towers' foundations have mosaics, and the tower-top temples have Chenes style facades and monster masks.



References:
"Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World"; Lynn V. Foster; 2005

Southwest Missouri State University: Maya Architectural Styles

"The Ancient Maya"; Robert J. Sharer, Loa P. Traxler; 2005

"Mesoamerica's Ancient Cities: Aerial Views of Pre-Columbian Ruins in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras"; William M. Ferguson, Richard E. W. Adams; 2001

Chenes Architecture

The word Chenes is used to describe one of the approximately five different kinds of ancient Maya architecture that archaeologists have classified. Chenes is a lowland Maya kind of architecture that can be found in sites located in the southern area of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the Chenes and Río Bec regions, north of the central lowlands. Examples of Chenes style architecture include such places as Dzibilnocac, Hochob, Edzná, Chicanná and part of Uxmal's Pyramid of the Magician.

History
Chenes architecture occurred during the Classic period. According to Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Maya, the style came about in the Late Classic period, a sub-section of the Classic period. Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica states the style was used in both Late Classic and Terminal Classic times (the Terminal Classic period being the sub-section of the Classic period that came after the Late Classic). Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia states that the Chenes style started around the beginning of the 600s AD (around the beginning of the Late Classic) and continued into the beginning of the 800s AD (around the beginning of the Terminal Classic). The Chenes architectural style was an influence in certain kinds of Puuc architecture and is also related to Río Bec architecture.

Features: What Chenes Structures Look Like
Chenes makes use of carved mosaic facades on both the upper and lower facades of the structure. The mosaic decorations took the form of spirals as well as distorted beings. Chenes style facades are commonly one story high.

Another major feature of Chenes architecture is the practice of framing of doors with monster masks -- the actual doorway making the "mouth". The mask possibly represented a sky deity or a mountain deity -- sometimes identified as Chac (God B), the rain god. It is understood that the mask doorway indicated an entrance to the spiritual world.

Foundations of Chenes buildings are also of note. Unlike other styles, Chenes style buildings have shorter foundations.

Features: What They Don't Look Like
The Chenes style also is known for what it doesn't incorporate. It doesn't use columns, and glyphic inscriptions (including stelae) are not often used.

References:

Southwest Missouri State University: Theme #17 Maya Art and Architecture

"A Dictionary of Archaeology"; Ian Shaw, Robert Jameson; 2002

"Prehistoric Mesoamerica"; Richard E. W. Adams; 2005

"Exploring the Life, Myth, and Art of the Maya"; Timothy Laughton; 2011

"Pre-Columbian America: Empires of the New World"; Kathleen Kuiper; 2010

"The Ancient Maya"; Robert J. Sharer, Loa. P Traxler; 2005

"Handbook to Life in the Ancient Maya World"; Lynn V. Foster; 2005

Southwest Missouri State University: Maya Architectural Styles

"Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica"; Walter R. T. Witschey, Clifford T. Brown; 2011

"Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia"; Susan Toby Evans, David L. Webster; 2013

Cinnabar -- A Dangerous Mineral

Cinnabar is a common name for mercuric sulfide (meaning it is made of mercury and sulfur) -- a mineral that can release mercury via the heat from hands. It was a trade item not only in Mesoamerica but also in South America. The most likely area the ancient Maya would have mined cinnabar is the highlands. They would use cinnabar in and of itself and for extracting the mercury from it.

What was the significance of this mineral? The ancient Maya may have thought cinnabar was sacred due to its color red. Red to the ancient Maya may have been associated with the east (which may be connected to the rising sun) and with blood, a sacred substance.

Funerary Rites
Cinnabar was also used in funeral rites. Skeletons covered with cinnabar (or sometimes hematite) have been discovered, and the ritual seems to vary. In some burials such as Tikal Burial 10, the head seems to be the most important part for the cinnabar covering ritual.

One famous example of cinnabar coated skeleton is lord Pacal. Another instance is of the "Red Queen" who was buried in tomb near lord Pacal's tomb. The reason they did this isn't entirely clear, but this practice may have been done in connection to the sacred color, possibly even meaning resurrection.

Other Rituals
Both mercury and cinnabar have been found in places where rituals were performed. According to Robert. J Sharer, "In rituals involving fire, the Maya priests would burn cinnabar, transforming it into metallic mercury with mysterious qualities."

Pigment
Ancient Maya painters used different kinds of substances to make paints. Among these substances was cinnabar, cinnabar as a kind of paint. However, cinnabar tends to darken. Funerary goods, such as incense burners (and in one instance, lord Pacal's sarcophagus), were also sometimes painted with cinnabar.

Decorative Coating
Ancient maya craftsmen would sometimes use cinnabar on jade. They would coat the jade with a very thin layer of copal, and then apply cinnabar.

 Consideration: Containers of Mercury
At Belize, archaeologists found various items -- including about 0.67 ounces of cinnabar, a container with about 3.5 ounces of hematite -- and and other things on top of a pool of mercury. Two possible areas the mercury for this are the Matapan Formation (located in west Honduras) and the Todos Los Santos Formation (located in Guatemala).

Containers of mercury have also been uncovered from underneath mud. Archaeologists working at Guatemala's Lake Amatitlan uncovered two containers that possessed mercury. These containers are understood to be from the Early Classic period (around 300 AD to 600 AD).

References:

"Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 1500 Years of Inventions and Innovations"; Emory Dean Keoke, Kay Marie Porterfield; 2009

"The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction"; Geoffrey E. Braswell; 2003

"Death and the Classic Maya Kings"; James L. Fitzsimmons; 2009

"Exploring Maya Ritual Caves: Dark Secrets from the Maya Underworld"; Stanislav Chládek; 2011

"Archaeomineralogy"; George Robert Rapp; 2009

"Mercury In The Environment: Pattern and Process"; Michael S. Bank; 2012

"Pulltrowser Swamp: Ancient Maya Habitat, Agriculture and Settlement in Northern Belize"; B.L. Turner; 2000

Copal Resin -- Sacred Incense

Copal resin (called pom in various Maya languages today) was one of the various substances the ancient Maya held to be sacred but also used in everyday taskes. Commonly, they used it as incense  -- other incense substances being rubber, chicle, and pine resin -- and as an adhesive.

The ancient Maya used different kinds of trees for copal resin, and today various kinds of tree resins are called copal. Via infrared spectometry, it is now understood that the most common kind of copal resin that the ancient Maya (as well as Mesoamerica in general) used comes from Bursera bipinnata, a tree with tiny leaflets. Other names for this tree include copal amargo, copalillo, copal santo and copal cimarrón. (However some sources write as though the most common copal is from the species Protium copal.)

This incense burner was made in the 300s AD, and
was uncovered in Guatemala. There are two parts:
the part with the ruler on it is a chimney for the
incense's smoke to go up as it burns in the base.
From the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sacred Offering
The ancient Maya believed that copal resin was very sacred. The ancient Maya burned the resin in balls or lumps, both lower and upper classes. Incence burners that the ancient Maya used ranged from ceramic and wooden burners to ones made from gourds. When the incense burned, the ancient Maya thought the gods came down to eat the smoke.

On a side note to this, one kind of glyph shows a god diving down with a ball of copal in each hand. This may have something to do with the idea that the gods came down for the smoke.
Unburned copal also seems to have been given as an offering. When the Well of Sacrifice at Chichen Itza was excavated, one of the things they found was balls of copal. These balls had been painted blue-green and sometimes had shaped pieces of jade -- such as disks and balls -- set into them.

Practical Uses
Copal resin also had other uses. In order to get cinnabar to stick to greenstone carvings, the ancient Maya would use copal as a glue. They would place a thin layer of copal where the wanted the cinnabar to stick. Similarly, they used copal as a binder in their paint.

Copal resin was also part of the ancient Maya's medicine. In the Yucatan area, before European contact, copal was used for various things such as curing headaches.

References:
University of Texas at Austin: Mesoamerican Copal Resins

"Gardens on Hills: Ancient Maya Terracing and Agricultural Production at Chan Belize"; Andrew R Wyatt; 2008

"Plants and Animals of the Ancient Maya: A Guide"; Victoria Schlesinger; 2001

"Breath on the Mirror: Mythic Voices and Visions of the Living Maya"; Dennis Tedlock; 1993

"The Maya Tropical Forest: People, Parks, & Ancient Cities"; James D. Nations; 2006

"Chicle: The Chewing Gum of the Americas, From the Ancient Maya to William Wrigley"; Jennifer P. Mathews, Gillian P. Schultz; 2009

"Historical Dictionary of Ancient Mesoamerica"; Joel W. Palka; 2000

"Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture:A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 7th and 8th October 1994"; Stephen D. Houston; 1998

"Words of the True Peoples/Palabras de Los Seres Verdaderos: Anthology of Contemporary Mexican Indigenous-Language Writers: Volume Two/Tomo Dos: Poetry/Poesía"; Carlos Montemayor, Donald H. Frischmann, George O. Jackson, Jr.; 2005

"Trees of Guatemala"; Tracey Parker; 2008

Image Credit:
Metropolitan Museum of Art:  Censer, Seated King

Controversial Artifact -- The Grolier Codex

The Grolier Codex is one of the four currently known codices that survived the climate and the invaders from Spain. More controversial than the other three -- the Madrid, Dresden and Paris codices -- the Grolier Codex's authenticity has been a matter of debate.

History

The Grolier codex's origin is unclear. It may have been found in the southern region of Mexico-- possibly in the state of Chiapas in a cave somewhere near Tortuguero. It is possible that it was uncovered by looters.

In 1965 it ended up in a Mexico City flea market where someone bought it. The person who bought the codex, a collector, gave it to the Grolier Club so the club could use it in an art exhibition in 1971. Later, in 1973 the Maya specialist Michael D. Coe published a catalog of this exhibition. Now the Grolier Codex is part of Mexico's Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia (in Mexico City).

Controversy

Whether or not this codex is real has been a matter of debate among archaeologists, partly because of the its untrustworthy origin. Two notable archaeologists in the debate include J. Eric Thompson and Michael D. Coe. Thompson disbelieved that the codex was real while Michael D. Coe was one of the Maya specialists who believed it was real (Coe was also the one who named the Grolier Codex).

It is now thought that the Grolier Codex is an authentic Maya codex. This is due to the codex dating from around 1230 -- give or take 130 years -- and the fact that the art style of the glyphs seems authentic. However not everyone's suspicions have been put to rest.

Contents

Like the other codices, the Grolier Codex contains information on astronomy. Specifically the Grolier Codex contains calculated intervals concerning Venus, which the ancient Maya regarded as a god. However it doesn't have any written explanation about these intervals. By comparison to the Dresden Codex, the Grolier Codex's information isn't as impressive.

References:

"Handbook To Life In The Ancient Maya World"; Lynn V. Foster, Peter Mathews; 2005

Lea. A. Maxwell Institute For Religious Scholarship: The Sobering Lesson of the Grolier Codex

"Codex Telleriano-Remensis: Ritual, Divination, and History in a Pictorial Aztec Manuscript"; Eloise Quiñones Keber; 1995

"Early Earthquakes of the Americas"; Robert Louis Kovach; 2004

"The Cosmos of the Yucatec Maya: Cycles and Steps from the Madrid Codex"; Merideth Paxton; 2001

The Paris Codex

Once part of Paris's the Bibliothèque Impériale and now a part of the Bibliotheque Nationale, the Paris Codex --  also known as the Codex Pérez and Codez Peresianus -- is one of the four known surviving Maya codices. Drawn and mentioned by various people it wasn't commonly known of for a while.

History

At some point after contact between the Spanish invaders and the Maya was established, the Paris Codex mysteriously ended up in Europe. In 1832 the Bibliothèque Impériale's bought the codex and this is where it remained for some time.

 

It was drawn about three years later by Augistine Aglio, and Aglio's work was put in Vol. 10 of Kingsborough Antiquities of Mexico. This volume wasn't published as Kingsborough died.

 

1849 saw a man named Joseph M.A. Aubin publish a reference to this codex. Six years later or so, a man named José F. Ramírez came into contact with the Kingsborough publication and saw the illustrations of the codex. After that he made the observation that the Paris Codex and the Dresden Codex shared features, but no one knew of his observation for nearly 100 years.

 

About four years later a man named José Pérez published two descriptions of the Paris Codex, and one of them had an illustration. That same year the Paris Codex was officially rediscovered by a man named León de Rosny. He found it in a chimney corner that had a basket of papers. During the 1860s brought public attention to it.

Physical Features

The Paris Codex has twenty-two pages: its eleven physical pages are painted on both sides. It understood to have been part of a larger codex. It is very damaged, as a sizeable amount of its plaster coating (on which the glyphs were drawn) having crumbled away.

Contents

In the first half of the Paris Codex, a series k'atuns is written down along with the rituals and ceremonies that must be done on them. Two pages -- page 19 and page 20 -- talk about year bearers, days that would land on the first day of Pop. The Paris Codex also talks about how k'u (god C) influences things. Other pages talk about the spiritual forces in the ancient Maya religion such as the Pauahtuns and the death gods. Still others talk about the weather. Beyond this, the codex has a zodiac that has 13 animal signs (they represent constellations the ancient Maya saw in the night sky.)

Consideration

In 1933 a man named Theodore A. Willard took pictures of the Paris Codex. These images from these pictures can be found at Northwestern University's digital library here.

 

References:

"Handbook To Life In The Ancient Maya World"; Lynn V. Foster, Peter Mathews; 2005

"The Ancient Maya"; Robert J. Sharer, Loa P. Traxler; 2006

University of Texas Press: The Paris Codex Handbook for a Maya Priest

Maya Gods and Goddesses

Author's note: after I wrote this post I have found conflicting sources on the current Schellhas list of gods.

The ancient Maya gods are not well understood -- in colonial and later writings, 250 names have been written down as names of various gods. Classifying them is difficult due to the fact that the gods seem to have various 'aspects', depending on the situation, and in in the case of some gods are several beings at once. Also, regional differences in religion complicates figuring out which god was which. Because of this only a few gods have been classified by archaeologists.

Schellhas Classification System
Currently, a system is in place to help identify the gods. This system is called the Schellhas system. In 1904 a man named Paul Schellhas looked at the Maya codicies -- Postclassic Yucatan folding books --, and focused on what the gods looked like, what they were wearing and what they were holding. When he thought he had identified a god from the rest, he gave each different god he identified a letter of the alphabet. He also did the same with mythical animals he saw in the codices. While in some Maya writings there are gods referred to by name, archaeologists still use the Schelhaus classification system.

A List of Schellhas Gods
-- God A (called Cizin or Kisin) was a death god whose name is translated as flatulent one.

-- God B was Chac, most commonly known as the god of rain. God C is k'uhul, a god that represents sacredness.

-- God D is the god Itzamná, a creator god.

-- God E is the maize god who has at least two aspects, the "Tonsured Maize God" and the "Foliated Maize God".

-- God G is K'inich Ahau, the sun god.

-- God I is the moon goddess Ix Chel in her young form.

-- God K is K'awil -- who may also be Bolon Tz'akab and the mannikin scepter god -- who is associated with rulership, lightning and fire.

-- God L is a merchant god, who may have been worshipped during the Classic period.

-- God M is a merchant god, Ek Chuwah, possibly worshipped in the Postclassic period.

-- God N is a term used for two ways: the Pauahtun a four-part god who held up the sky, or another god.

-- God O is the moon goddess in her old form.

-- The identity of God P, whose form only appears in the Madrid Codex, has several theories concerning its identity.

-- God S is found in the Dresden Codex and may be a Hero Twin.

-- God U is found in Almanac 8 and Almanac 43 of the Dresden Codex, and is possibly related to God K.

-- God Y -- whose name may be Ek' Zip or Ah Uuk Yol Xip -- is a deer god.

-- God Z, found in the Madrid Codex, is a scorpion god whose name may be Ah Tzul.

Reforming the Schellhas Classifications
Since he created his lists, some of the gods that Schelhaus classified have been reclassified (and the list of mythical animals has been expanded upon). A god called god F is now understood to be three different gods: god A' (possibly a violent death god); god R whose name may be Buluk Kab (a god possibly connected with floods); and god Q, whose name could possibly be Lahun P'el (a god possibly connected to the idea of "termination").

What Schellhas understood to be one god -- god H -- is now known to be two gods: god CH and God H. God H might be a god of wind.

Other Gods
There are also other seeming gods, as the Hero Twins are depicted as gods. In some images there are two paddlers depicted as gods that are  called by archaeologists "The Paddler Gods". One paddler, named by  Mayanists as Old Jaguar Paddler, at the font and Old Stingray Paddler,  another recently given name, at the back. Thought to represent day and  night, respectively, Certain creation stories involve the Paddler Gods as setting up the Cosmic Hearth (Jaguar Throne Stone) in a place referred to as Five-First-Sky.

References:

"Handbook To Life In The Ancient Maya World"; Lynn V. Foster; 2005

"Mesoamerican Mythology"; Graham Faiella; 2006

Missouri State University; MAYA GODS AND GODDESSES