The 2 basic types of artifacts associated with the Maya hieroglyphic writing are carved and painted vessels and stone artifacts, e.g. steles, slabs, lintels, which were decorated with a shallow bas-relief and made mostly of limestone.
Ceramic artifacts include vases, plates or other painted objects from the so-called Classic Period (250-900 year n. e.). Others, for example, are vases, cylindrical vessels containing on all-sides long hieroglyphic inscriptions.
Many of them are materials obtained during archaeological research and in various state of preservation. For this reason, it is often difficult to read the inscription. Modern technologies, e.g. RTI/PTM or 3d modeling techniques, come to the aid of archaeologists in producing high quality documentation, which helps in reading damaged monuments.