Binding

As mentioned on the previous page, Mayan codices were not assembled like books we have today. Instead, they were folded into an accordion or fan-like shape. Watch the video below to see how a codex would unfold:

The pages were laid flat and read from right to left, across the front part, and then flipped over and read on the other side. (Most often, the pages were inked on both sides.) As seen in the video above, the codices were several meters long.

Unfortunately, no bindings or covers have survived with the existing codices, so scholars are not precisely sure how they were bound. Some images show them bound with covers of jaguar fur, although it is not known if this is accurate or imagery. It is possible that covers were simply hide, bark, or cloth coverings to protect the codex and to slip it inside when not in use. It is also possible that there were covers made of similar materials or carved pieces of wood glued to the front and end pages, with the inner pages, e.g., the obverse side of the glued cover, still being inscribed. (Aztec covers are often made of wood with inlaid stones, such as jade, in intricate patterns. There is no way to know if the Maya used similar techniques with the bindings of their codices, but it is an important possibility to keep in mind.)