Maya codices (singular
codex) are folding
books stemming from the
pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in
Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican
bark cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, the main being the wild fig tree or
amate (
Ficus glabrata). Paper of this sort, generally known by the
Nahuatl word
amatl , was named by the Mayas
huun. The folding books are the products of professional scribes working under the patronage of deities such as the
Tonsured Maize God and the
Howler Monkey Gods. The Maya developed their
huun-paper around the 5th century, which is roughly the same time that the codex became predominant over the scroll in the Roman world. However, Maya paper was more durable and a better writing surface than
papyrus. The codices have been named for the cities where they eventually settled. The
Dresden codex is generally considered the most important of the few that survive.