Editing Classic Maya language (section)

== Literature ==
Maya literature is among the oldest in the world, spanning two millennia from pre-Columbian antiquity to the present.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520271371/2000-years-of-mayan-literature|title=2000 Years of Mayan Literature|date=November 2011 |isbn=978-0-520-27137-1 |language=en |last1=Tedlock |first1=Dennis |publisher=Univ of California Press }}</ref> The Maya used to draw and write on some surfaces that were not intended to be a means of graphic expression. The most abundant preserved works of this type are found within rooms of buildings whose ceilings and walls are preserved. The only place where significant effort has been made to document writing on surfaces is [[Tikal]], [[Guatemala]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=TEDLOCK|first=DENNIS|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1pp1qq|title=2000 Years of Mayan Literature|date=2010|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-23221-1|edition=1|jstor=10.1525/j.ctt1pp1qq}}</ref>

From the period of classical Mayan writing, which lasted from the 3rd century BC until the 13th century, the texts that have survived to the present day were painted or carved in stones, bones, resistant wood, ceramics, shells or stucco. It is possible that much more had also been written on paper, but what little has come to this day is illegible. In places dating from the [[Classic period|Classic Period]], remains of books have been found in tombs, which would have been placed in chests or next to the heads of their deceased owners. There are only four still readable books that have survived to the present time.<ref name=":1" />