Cracking The Maya Code

`If a script has 20 to 35 signs, it is probably alphabetic, representing simple sounds. If there are 80 to 100 signs, it is probably based on syllables. But if a script has several hundred signs, it is surely logographic, or based on signs for whole words.`

But how do you decipher is an ancient language, which, after surviving 1,500 years, was systematically obliterated by over-zealous conquerors?

Here is the amazing story of some amazing individuals (German, American, Russian) and their effort to decipher the Maya logographic-script.

Transcript of the PBS program telecast in 2008 - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3506_mayacode.html