The first problem in attempting to establish that hand gestures did exist in the Classic period as vehicles for communicating information consists of being able to separate those arm and hand positions that could be randomly occurring from those that would have to be deliberate. For this purpose, one has to look for repetitions across large samples (illustrations b, c and a). If these can be established, it is reasonable to conclude that a specific gesture has been identified.

Illustration courtesy of Justin Kerr's Mayavase Database.