Maya screenfold book

Timeline

1. c. 300–900Maya city-states of the Petén Lowlands · PeténClassic-period Maya priestly elites recorded astronomical observations, Venus cycles, the ritual calendar, and dynastic annals on bark-paper screenfolds; the screenfold format allowed folding for transport and continuous reading, becoming a core object for transmitting elite knowledge.
2. 1051Chichén Itzá and surrounding Yucatán city-states · Yucatán PeninsulaAfter the Classic-period collapse, codex production centers shifted north to the Yucatán; around the 1050s, priests in northern city-states still produced and interpreted screenfolds, maintaining the calendar, sacrificial rites, and political legitimacy, linking to the dated layers of surviving Postclassic codices.
3. 1562Maní · Yucatán PeninsulaBishop Diego de Landa ordered large numbers of Maya codices burned at Maní; only a few screenfolds were hidden or ended up overseas, after which the tradition nearly died out, leaving the three surviving classic codices as precious artifacts for studying Postclassic astronomy and ritual.