Spearthrower Owl - Name

Name

"Spearthrower Owl" is a name invented by archaeologists basically just describing the visual appearance of the Teotihuacán-originated spear-holding owl symbol stylised as one or two Maya glyphs usually used to represent his name. The symbols themselves are not readable Maya writing, even though inserted among otherwise normal glyphs.

However, in Tikal, the name appears written once as an ordinary Maya glyph compound that can be spelled out. The suggested spelling for the name is Jatz'om K'uh, meaning "owl that will strike". This naturally also looks like a verbal description of the spear-holding owl symbol.

Various logographs or glyphs depicting an owl and a spearthrower are documented in Teotihuacán and in the Maya cities of Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxchilan, and Tonina. They may or may not refer to the same individual, or have some other symbolic meaning.