The "a.k.a." ("Also Known As") Issue

Over the years there have been numerous ways of referring to Classic Maya historical individuals. Tatiana Proskouriakoff referred to the Piedras Negras rulers she identified as "Series 1" and so on (Proskouriakoff 1960:455-464), and Heinrich Berlin (1968:140) referred to the rulers of Palenque as "Subject A", and so on. Classic Maya individuals have been referred to by English, Spanish, or French nicknames, and in some cases by attempts to read their Maya name-glyphs, proposing readings that are no longer considered correct. Take, for example, published 'names' for K'inich Janab' Pakal I, the great king of Palenque who is entombed below the Temple of the Inscriptions:

Most of these differences reflect the evolution in the ability of epigraphers to interpret and read the hieroglyphic components of the name of this great king. In addition, however, there have been two recent developments that affect the spelling of ancient Maya names. One is an attempt to standardize the orthography used to write modern Mayan languages. This was initiated by Guatemala's Academia de Lenguas Mayas (1988), and their orthography is now standard throughout the 20-odd Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala. Most Maya epigraphers have adopted this orthography. It differs in some important respects from the standard 16th century Yucatec (Yukatek) orthography that was universally used until the 1990s. The changes in orthography (for example k instead of the Yukatek c) necessitated new 'spellings' for Maya names:

This new orthography and its implications for the spellings of Classic Maya names is discussed more fully in Orthography Used in the Who's Who. I shall be using it in this Who's Who.

The second recent development has been in the interpretation of Classic Maya spelling conventions. One is the acceptance by most epigraphers that the distinction between /h/ and /j/ (velar and glottal spirants to those of you who are linguistically-minded) was present in the hieroglyphic languages and reflected in the script. The second is the issue of what have been called "complex vowels", including long vowels and vowels followed by /h/ or the glottal stop /'/. These issues are discussed in more detail in Maya Hieroglyphic Spellings. The 'complex vowel' spelling rules have led to the following spellings of the name of the Palenque king referred to above:

This issue of how to 'spell' vowels in Maya writing is admittedly an extremely important one for professional epigraphers, but there is still no universal agreement among them. It is an important point, but a relatively fine one-and yet one that can cause some distress to those beginning to come to grips with the intricacies of Maya hieroglyphic writing.

I therefore propose to leave to one side for the moment the issue of complex vowels, and in this Who's Who in the Classic Maya World I shall record only simple forms of the vowels (which in any case are still favored by some epigraphers and linguists). Published 'complex vowel' versions of names will of course be listed in the "Also Known As" section of those individuals' entries.

In the 'Also Known As' sections listed under each individual entry, I shall attempt to include all known labels for that individual from the published literature. Undoubtedly I shall not get them all, but I shall attempt to update the lists on an ongoing basis. Those publications which use the same version of the name that is used in the Who's Who will not be included: the aim here is to list variant spellings and other names by which the individuals are known in the literature.

Reference