Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Isthmian script
open-in-new
<p>The Isthmian script is an early set of symbols found in inscriptions around the <a href="/facts/Isthmus_of_Tehuantepec/wf2fmFxU">Isthmus of Tehuantepec</a>, dating to c. 500 BCE – 500 CE, though with dates subject to disagreement. It is also called the La Mojarra script and the Epi-Olmec script ('post-Olmec script'). </p><p>It has not been conclusively determined whether Isthmian script is a true <a href="/facts/Writing_system/ABG251A0">writing system</a> that represents a spoken language, or is a system of <a href="/facts/Proto-writing/LW2yoFHG">proto-writing</a>. According to a disputed partial decipherment, it is structurally similar to the <a href="/facts/Maya_script/MYVpESKV">Maya script</a>, and like Maya uses one set of characters to represent <a href="/facts/Morphemes/4JNcPMHs">morphemes</a>, and a second set to represent <a href="/facts/Syllabary/GCbFXaJ4">syllables</a>. </p>