set contained apparent inconsistencies and duplicates that he was unable to explain. Later researchers reviewing this material also formed the view that the "de Landa alphabet" was inaccurate or fanciful, and many subsequent attempts to use the transcription remained unconvincing. It was not until much later, in the mid-20th century, when it was realized and then confirmed that it was not a transcription of an alphabet, as Landa and others had originally supposed, but was rather a syllabary. That was confirmed only by the work of Soviet linguist Yuri Knorozov in the 1950s and the succeeding generation of Mayanists. References Sources Relación de las cosas de Yucatán External links Skynet.be: A biography of Diego de Landa Mesoweb.com: Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing — Glyph Drawings from Landa's Relación: A Caveat to the Investigator by George Stuart, Center for Maya Research. Franciscan bishops Historians of Mesoamerica Mayanists Mexican Franciscans Novohispanic Mesoamericanists 1524 births 1579 deaths 16th-century Spanish historians 16th-century Mesoamericanists 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico Book burnings 16th century in the Maya civilization