Which scholars made major breakthroughs in deciphering Maya hieroglyphic writing?

The decipherment of Maya hieroglyphic writing was revolutionized in the mid-20th century by the work of three primary scholars:

• Yury Knorozov: In the 1950s, the Russian linguist Yury Knorozov challenged the prevailing belief that Maya script was purely logographic. He demonstrated that the system was phonetic as well as hieroglyphic, arguing that glyphs could represent consonant-vowel combinations.12
• Heinrich Berlin: In 1958, Berlin established that certain categories of glyphs functioned as "emblem glyphs," referring specifically to geographic locations or the ruling families associated with those places.2
• Tatiana Proskouriakoff: In 1960, she provided a major breakthrough by establishing that Maya inscriptions were primarily historical rather than purely religious, as they recorded specific events in the lives of rulers and their families.2

The combined contributions of these scholars shifted the understanding of Maya civilization, allowing researchers to read a vast number of inscriptions and gain new insights into Maya language, history, and political organization.2