The precis of Maya ceramic art which follows goes beyond the traditional ceramic sequence and includes connoisseurship, aesthetics, iconography, and epigraphy. Connoisseurship and aesthetics are those aspects of art history which have been neglected by anthropology. Iconography is the study of meaning in art, specifically to learn to recognize how to identify the different Maya deities and mythical monsters. For example, whereas Chac had a long nose, not all long-nosed deities are Chac. A complete definition of iconography, in the sense of iconography within Maya studies, is provided on a separate page dedicated to iconography.
Epigraphy is the study of the meaning of hieroglyphic writing.
Many glyphs are on Late Classic vases, bowls, and plates, and we can easily learn the key hieroglyphs, such as the word for cacao. But from the perspective of an art historian and archaeologist, there are a variety of aspects of the hieroglyphic inscriptions that can be addresses before an epigrapher takes over with a technical lecture on phoneticism. There is, therefore, no need to exclude a discussion of the hieroglyphs from an analysis of the type-variety and ceramic sequence. The calligraphy is just as much a part of the ceramic artifact as the rim profile, paste, and surface slip. This style spread throughout the Peten and magnificent examples are known for Tikal.