Cubfan64 said that knowing
who the maps were meant to
not be able to read them might be useful, which is a good point.
I think this has been brought up before, but I have been wondering, "Who was
supposed to be able to read them?" And this could be a
valid point of thought,
whether they are "real" or "fake"! That is, if they are fakes,
who would the maker(s) suppose would be evaluating them?
If they are an extremely complex code, then
who could possibly read them?
1. If it were the Peraltas, and the stones were meant to be read only by family members, then they could have their very
own code,
not based on
anything in particular, to the extent that
nobody would be able to read it without some kind of key or verbal knowledge of how it works, what stands for what, etc. That is, in order to be able to break a code, there must be
enough of it to allow the breaker to establish some kind of a pattern in order to gain an entrance point, and work from there to get the rest, or most, of the code; usually by verifying certain parts of the message as they go, in order to base further possible meanings on those verified parts (otherwise, the whole thing would merely be a big guess, which, unless someone actually found the treasure, would be essentially worthless).
I think it is doubtful that there is enough information on the stones to enable breaking this kind of code. And
this type of code, by definition, would appear
only on these stones.
This kind of code would have the liability that if only a very few family members were verbally given the code, the entire family would suffer a huge loss if they suddenly were "no longer around," and none of them had time to pass-on the code.
And if they verbally gave the code to
most or all of the family, it seems a bit dangerous, because of the likelyhood that a large family (families where multiple generations live with or near each other), would have
some undesirables, who might sell the information or search it out themselves.
2. The above theory would logically also pertain to
any group.
3. One alternate system to the above would be if the maker(s) also left some kind of
documented key(s) to the meanings, which can also be dangerous, for the same reasons mentioned above.
That leaves the remaining possibilities of: It was designed, and meant to be readable, by others who had a
common knowledge of the coding system. Or, it was not so much a coding system, but symbology which other trusted members of the group
would recognize. Or some combination thereof.
The reason for talking about
groups of people as the "readers", to begin with, is that maps are only made for three purposes: To remind oneself of where a location is, to show one other person where it is, or to show a group of people where it is. And these stones don't appear to be for the purpose of merely reminding oneself, as they could be much abbreviated if only for that purpose.
I would also think that if it were only an actual "family" affair, that they would also be more abbreviated than they appear to be.
So, I think that suggests only the "knowledgeable group" as likely. And that leads to the question, "What group (if any) would be knowledgeable in the type of symbolism which is on these maps, or would make and distribute amongst themselves a special code of this type?" Which also leads to the question, "Has any other similar code been found documented and/or used?"
In addition to all that, there is the possibility that they are just a map, and no code breaking is necessary. There are, however, several symbols, including the mysterious holes, that aren't readily understandable to most people these days.
So actually two searches are suggested. One the search for the location, using the stones as merely a map. And the second is the search for a group using symbols or code similar to those found on the stones, and thus finding a key to the code.
It appears that at least one person, cactusjumper, has followed the map to an end, and documented the map reading, waypoints, and end point, including photographs. While interpretation of the mapping symbols requires considerable intelligence and insight, and thus could be considered "code breaking," it doesn't really seem to fit the meaning which has been intensively discussed on this forum. So his accomplishment is basically one vote for "They're just a map."
I don't think anybody has successfully broken an actual "complex code" on the maps, if there indeed is one. I, myself, have no way of knowing, so far, if the suspected groups mentioned by those attempting to break the code, actually jibe with the symbols on the stones.
I'm just going by what I've read so far, and don't mean to leave anyone's accomplishments out, or make any misrepresentations. So please correct any errors.
Not sure what i would vote CactusJumper For? 
