The Dresden Codex

Page 2 of the Dresden codex

The Dresden Codex
Also known as the Codex Dresdensis, it is a pre-Columbian Maya book of the eleventh or twelfth century of the Yucatecan Maya in Chichen Itze. According to belief, The Maya codex is a copy of an original text of some three or four hundred years earlier. Noteworthy, it is the oldest book written in the Americas known to historians. The Dresden codex – generally considered the most important of the few that survive. The Book is in the museum of the Saxon State and University Library in Dresden. The manuscript was acquired in Vienna from an unknown person in 1739 by chief librarian of the Dresden library Kurfürstliches IK Getse.

Unique Dresden Codex, page 9

The manuscript dating from 1200-1250, consists of 39 pages, which are the inscriptions on both sides. Sheets of paper made from the bark of Ficus have a size of about 20.5 to 10 cm, and were glued together as Leporello. Length when unfolded was approximately 3.5 m Currently manuscript exhibited in the museum in the form of two parts – the sheets of 20 and 19 pages. Dresden Codex – the only Mayan manuscripts available to visitors for free viewing.