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This conch shell, thought to come from the Yucatan, still contains red pigment from its use as the ink pot of a Maya calligrapher. The red letter hieroglyphs engraved into the body of the shell contain a date equivalent to March 17, 761 and the name of the Royal Calligrapher, "He of the Holy Books." This is the earliest dated American manuscript in the Princeton University Library.
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Mesoamerican Manuscripts
Get access to nearly 300 manuscripts, documents, and artifacts spanning twelve centuries of recorded history. Some 15 languages are represented with particular strengths in K’iche’, Yucatec, and Nahuatl.
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