# Rodríguez Martínez 2006: Oldest Writing in the New World

> Ma. del Carmen Rodríguez Martínez, Ponciano Ortíz Ceballos, Michael D. Coe et al., 2006. 13 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The claim at the…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CYBBJ5T0KBD/oldest-writing-in-the-new-world  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Cascajal block and Isthmian writing](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block)Rodríguez Martínez 2006

**0**

# Oldest Writing in the New World

Ma. del Carmen Rodríguez Martínez, Ponciano Ortíz Ceballos, Michael D. Coe et al., 2006. _Science 313(5793), pp. 1610 to 1614_.

Publishes the Cascajal block: a serpentine slab with 62 incised signs, about 28 of them distinct, found in a quarry at El Cascajal near San Lorenzo, Veracruz; dates it by associated sherds to the San Lorenzo phase, about 900 BC; argues from repetition, sequencing and the sign set that it is writing, read in horizontal rows.

**Cascajal block and Isthmian writing** Articledoi: **[10.1126/science.1131492](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1131492)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The claim at the centre of the mystery, and the source of the sign drawing and numbering.

## Cited by on this site 13 records

[The block belongs with the San Lorenzo phase material, about 1000 to 900 BC.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/answers/ANS0CYBC2S25DN5/the-block-belongs-with-the-san-lorenzo-phase-material-about)

Answer

ANS

[The block carries a text in an Olmec script, recording language, probably logosyllabic.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/answers/ANS0CYBBYW22P76/the-block-carries-a-text-in-an-olmec-script-recording)

Answer

ANS

[The text runs in horizontal rows as published in 2006.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/answers/ANS0CYBC4FR4KSR/the-text-runs-in-horizontal-rows-as-published-in-2006)

Answer

ANS

[The Cascajal block](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/artifacts/ART0CYBC9C07Q02/the-cascajal-block)

ART

[Cascajal block sign drawing, numbering and signary (Science 2006 and supplement)](https://mysteriesdept.com/datasets/DAT0CYBC84Y3RP3/cascajal-block-sign-drawing-numbering-and-signary-science)

Dataset

DAT

[62 signs from about 28 forms include repeated signs and repeated sequences.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/evidence/EVD0CYBBZ3W695H/62-signs-from-about-28-forms-include-repeated-signs-and)

Evidence

EVD

[The block is published in Science](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/events/EVT0CYBBWNR51S2/the-block-is-published-in-science)

EVT

[María del Carmen Rodríguez Martínez](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/people/FIG0CYBBRRR52BG/maria-del-carmen-rodriguez-martinez)

FIG

[Ponciano Ortíz Ceballos](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/people/FIG0CYBBS0J3YAR/ponciano-ortiz-ceballos)

FIG

[Stephen D. Houston](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/people/FIG0CYBBSG605RP/stephen-d-houston)

FIG

[The Cascajal block and Isthmian writing](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block)

The mystery article

MYS

[How is the Cascajal text laid out and read?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/questions/QST0CYBBY4M58X1/how-is-the-cascajal-text-laid-out-and-read)

Question

QST

[Is the Cascajal inscription writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/questions/QST0CYBBXD674WZ/is-the-cascajal-inscription-writing)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Rodríguez Martínez, M. d. C., Ortíz Ceballos, P., Coe, M. D., Diehl, R. A., Houston, S. D., Taube, K. A., & Delgado Calderón, A. (2006). Oldest Writing in the New World. Science 313(5793), pp. 1610 to 1614. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1131492
```

[Find it at doi.org](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1131492)

Key

**SRC** 0CYBBJ5T0KBD

Kind

Journal article

Rights

The publisher's

Checked

Against the published article

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

Bibliographic records are CC0. Take this one as CSL-JSON, BibTeX or RIS.

[CSL-JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CYBBJ5T0KBD/oldest-writing-in-the-new-world/csl.json)