Commentary Upon the Maya-Tzental Perez Codex: with a Concluding Note Upon the Linguistic Problem of the Maya Glyphs

In Short

William Gates presents a meticulously restored edition and analytical commentary on the Perez Codex, a fragile Maya-Tzental manuscript preserved in Paris. Through precise typographical recreation, color analysis, and mathematical mapping of numerical series, Gates attempts to resolve structural puzzles within the surviving glyphs. The volume transitions into a sweeping philosophical essay on comparative linguistics, arguing that American incorporative languages belong to a global ideographic tradition. Gates asserts that unlocking Maya script will break through rigid Eurocentric historical frameworks and reveal an ancient, worldwide epoch of human civilization.

The Story

The text opens with a practical explanation of the author's technical process in reconstructing the damaged Perez Codex. Working from earlier photographic reproductions, Gates manually traces the original black figure and glyph lines, cross-referencing and checking every element dozens of times. To print the text accurately, he devises a specialized font of type that captures both the separate and composite nature of Maya glyphs, mirroring methods used for Chinese script rather than Egyptian. He pays exhaustive attention to the original colors—noting definite blues, turquoise-greens, pinks, and reds—while attempting to resolve the mystery of faded brownish and grayish numerals on specific pages. He cautions against assuming these faded tones are merely deteriorated reds or blacks, pointing out specific bar and dot arrangements that would violate numerical logic if read as simple fading.

From physical reconstruction, the work moves into a deep structural analysis of the manuscript's divisions. Gates tracks the arrangement of seated figures resting on base glyphs, upper spaces where glyphs have been erased, and vertical Ahau columns with red numbers decreasing by set intervals. He attempts to reconstruct missing pages and calculate whether the underlying calendar framework operates on a full round of twenty terms or a simple thirteen-term cycle. Investigating complex astronomical and day-sign series, he maps mathematical sequences across pages, calculating day intervals such as 232 and 28 days to determine whether sections represent tonalamatl calendar fractions or horizontal rounds of 65 terms that could be read like a continuous wheel.

In its final movement, the work broadens into a sweeping treatise on the nature of language and human evolution. Gates contrasts the literal, alphabetic mindset of modern Western culture with the ideographic vision of ancient peoples, who used rigid conventional symbols to suggest complex thoughts to the mind rather than merely depicting objects for the eye. He outlines how human speech acts as a creative energy, reflecting the spiritual and mental vitality of a culture. Examining grammatical structures across global languages—from Welsh and Latin to Chinese and Maya—he rejects the idea that inflectional alphabetic systems are inherently superior to agglutinative or incorporative ones. He posits that American languages preserve a ancient ideographic tradition once shared across the Atlantic, leaving traces from Basque traditions to Mediterranean ruins. Gates concludes with the conviction that deciphering Maya glyphs will ultimately shatter modern biases about human history and open a vast window into forgotten past civilizations.

How It Unfolds

The labor of reconstruction The author outlines his multi-year effort to create a composite font of type for Maya glyphs, utilizing photographic enlargements and painstaking manual tracings to restore damaged pages of the Perez Codex without guessing at missing lines.

Deciphering the palette An exhaustive survey of the manuscript's pigments distinguishes stable blues, turquoise-greens, and flesh-toned pinks from disputed brownish hues, using mathematical placement to prove that faded numerals are distinct markers rather than simple color deterioration.

Mapping the calendar rounds Analyzing the layout of seated figures and Ahau columns, Gates calculates numerical intervals and day-sign series to determine whether erased sections represent twenty-term katun cycles or smaller calendar fractions.

The mathematics of the wheel By tracing day sequences across multiple pages and multiplying interval values, the text demonstrates how complex glyph columns can be read horizontally in continuous cycles that function like a self-contained mathematical wheel.

The philosophy of speech The focus shifts from manuscript analysis to global linguistics, framing human language as a dynamic energy that mirrors a culture's mental vitality and shapes its artistic and social expression.

The ideographic world Contrasting alphabetic writing with ideographic traditions, Gates defends American incorporative languages, arguing that ancient symbolic scripts convey unified conceptual impressions superior to literal representations.

A new historical horizon The author brings the work to a close by proposing that American languages hold clues to an ancient, world-spanning civilization, predicting that reading the Maya glyphs will fundamentally alter modern views of human evolution.

The People

• William E. Gates wants to establish a rigorous, systematic methodology for deciphering American hieroglyphics by creating a composite font of type and analyzing glyph syntax. Stymied by damaged manuscripts, faded pigments, and prevailing academic biases, he endlessly verifies details to build a foundational index for future scholars, ending up as a passionate advocate for the intellectual depth of ancient American cultures.
• Wilhelm von Humboldt enters the text as the foundational linguistic theorist whose ideas guide the author's arguments. He seeks to define how language functions as an active mental energy rather than a static product, showing how American incorporative languages elevate imaginative thought over purely analytical reasoning.
• F. W. Putnam represents the institutional support of the Peabody Museum, seeking to advance American archaeology by publishing specialized analytical tools. He facilitates research by providing access to rare archival collections, standing as an encouraging sponsor of technical glyph research.
• Charles P. Bowditch is a dedicated researcher who generously opens his extensive card index of Maya glyphs to fellow scholars. By sharing his meticulously organized material, he enables the classification work that makes the publication of the Codex commentary possible.

In Its Own Voice

"It is a fair estimate to say that this process of checking and verifying was gone through, first to last, down to the final proof-reading of the printed sheets, some fifty times."

This statement introduces the author's meticulous methodology in creating precise tracings and type forms from damaged photographic plates.

"There is one great broad line that divides the nations and civilizations of the earth, past and present, in all their arts of expression."

Here, Gates introduces his central linguistic thesis, establishing the fundamental divide between literal, alphabetic cultures and ideographic traditions.

"With the reading of America I believe the walls themselves will fall, and a new conception of past history will come."

In his concluding remarks, the author expresses his ultimate conviction regarding the revolutionary historical potential hidden within Maya hieroglyphics.

What It's Really About

Behind its technical commentary on calendar cycles and color pigments, the book is an argument for the intellectual equality and profound depth of ancient American civilizations. Gates directly challenges the nineteenth-century evolutionary view of language, which positioned European inflectional systems at the peak of human achievement. By demonstrating that Maya script and incorporative spoken languages rely on sophisticated ideographic principles, he argues that written symbols can convey complex, unified concepts directly to the mind. Ultimately, the work asks whether modern society has mistaken its own literal, technological focus for true cultural progress, urging readers to recognize that ancient, forgotten epochs may have achieved equal or greater mental and artistic sophistication through entirely different modes of thought.

Why Read It Today

This volume appeals to readers fascinated by the history of scholarship, Mesoamerican archaeology, and the philosophy of language. Reading it feels like sitting beside a early twentieth-century scholar in his workshop, watching him meticulously sort through faded paints and hand-carved type fonts before stepping back to contemplate the sweep of global history.

The text presents distinct difficulties for a modern audience: it demands patience with dense mathematical calculations of Maya day counts, precise cataloging of pigment variations, and references to early scholars whose theories have since been updated. Furthermore, Gates occasionally embraces speculative period ideas regarding lost global civilizations and Atlantic land connections. Yet what stays with the reader is his genuine humility before the material and his refusal to look down upon ancient cultures. His warm, precise prose transforms what could have been a dry academic report into an inspiring defense of human communication, making a compelling case that every language holds a unique reflection of the human spirit.