This non-sacrificial activity is first attested in Zapotec culture on Monument 3 at San JosÃ© Mogote on a "Danzante" stela.
The Cascajal Block may show the first evidence of this activity in the Americas. Julia Guernsey claims that artifacts from the Izapan culture show little evidence for this activity because it lay at the junction of two cultural regions. This non-sacrificial activity is first attested in Zapotec culture on Monument 3 at San JosÃ© Mogote on a "Danzante" stela. Mayans who engaged in this activity were called aj tz'ib ("akh tseeb") and usually did so for the benefit of rulers. Yuri Knorozov and (*) Tatiana Proskouriakoff made important contributions to our understanding of the Mayan version of this activity, which combined logographic and phonetic elements. For 10 points, name this activity, most famously performed in the Americas by the Maya, in which language is represented with a system of abstract symbols.
The Cascajal Block may show the first evidence of this activity in the Americas.
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