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Ancient Maya art is the
visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...
of the
Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, archit ...
, an eastern and south-eastern
Mesoamerican Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Withi ...
culture made up of a great number of small kingdoms in present-day Mexico,
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
and
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. Many regional artistic traditions existed side by side, usually coinciding with the changing boundaries of Maya polities. This civilization took shape in the course of the later Preclassic Period (from c. 750 BC to 100 BC), when the first cities and monumental architecture started to develop and the hieroglyphic script came into being. Its greatest artistic flowering occurred during the seven centuries of the Classic Period (c. 250 to 950 CE). Maya art forms tend to be more stiffly organized during the Early Classic (250-550 CE) and to become more expressive during the Late Classic phase (550-950 CE). In the course of history, influences of various other Mesoamerican cultures were absorbed. In the late Preclassic, the influence of the
Olmec The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
style is still discernible (as in the San Bartolo murals), whereas in the Early Classic, the style of central Mexican
Teotihuacan Teotihuacan (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is ...
made itself felt, just as that of the
Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...
in the Postclassic. After the demise of the Classic kingdoms of the central lowlands, ancient Maya art went through an extended Postclassic phase (950-1550 CE) centered on the Yucatan peninsula, before the upheavals of the sixteenth century destroyed courtly culture and put an end to the Maya artistic tradition. Traditional art forms mainly survived in weaving, pottery, and the design of peasant houses.


Maya art history

The nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century publications on Maya art and archaeology by Stephens, Catherwood,
Maudslay Henry Maudslay ( pronunciation and spelling) (22 August 1771 – 14 February 1831) was an English machine tool innovator, tool and die maker, and inventor. He is considered a founding father of machine tool technology. His inventions were an ...
,
Maler Maler is a surname of German origin meaning 'painter'. People with the surname Maler: *Eva Maler (born 1988), German playwright *Hans Maler zu Schwaz (1480/1488–1526/1529), German painter *Jim Maler (born 1958), American baseball player *Teobert ...
and Charnay for the first time made available reliable drawings and photographs of major Classic Maya monuments. Following this initial phase, the 1913 publication of Herbert Spinden 'A Study of Maya Art' (now over a century ago ) laid the foundation for all later developments of Maya art history (including iconography). The book gives an analytical treatment of themes and motifs, particularly the ubiquitous serpent and dragon motifs, and a review of the 'material arts', such as the composition of temple facades, roof combs and mask panels. Spinden's chronological treatment of Maya art was later (1950) refined by the motif analysis of the architect and specialist in archaeological drawing,
Tatiana Proskouriakoff Tat'yana Avenirovna Proskuriakova (russian: Татья́на Авени́ровна Проскуряко́ва) ( – August 30, 1985) was a Russian-American Mayanist scholar and archaeologist who contributed significantly to the deciphering of ...
, in her book 'A Study of Classic Maya Sculpture. Kubler's 1969 inventory of Maya iconography, containing a site-by-site treatment of 'commemorative' images and a topical treatment of ritual and mythical images (such as the 'triadic sign'), concluded a period of gradual increase of knowledge that was soon to be overshadowed by new developments. Starting in the early 1970s, the historiography of the Maya kingdoms – first of all, Palenque – came to occupy the forefront. Art-historical interpretation joined the historical approach pioneered by Proskouriakoff as well as the mythological approach initiated by M.D. Coe, with a professor of art,
Linda Schele Linda Schele (October 30, 1942 – April 18, 1998) was an American Mesoamerican archaeologist who was an expert in the field of Maya epigraphy and iconography. She played an invaluable role in the decipherment of much of the Maya hieroglyphs. She ...
, serving as a driving force. Schiele's seminal interpretations of Maya art are found throughout her work, especially in ''The Blood of Kings'', written together with art historian M. Miller. Maya art history was also spurred by the enormous increase in sculptural and ceramic imagery, due to extensive archaeological excavations, as well as to organized looting on an unprecedented scale. From 1973 onwards, M.D. Coe published a series of books offering pictures and interpretations of unknown Maya vases, with the Popol Vuh Twin myth for an explanatory model. In 1981, Robicsek and Hales added an inventory and classification of Maya vases painted in codex style, thereby revealing even more of a hitherto barely known spiritual world. As to subsequent developments, important issues in Schele's iconographic work have been elaborated by Karl Taube. New approaches to Maya art include studies of ancient Maya ceramic workshops, the representation of bodily experience and the senses in Maya art, and of hieroglyphs considered as iconographic units.Stone and Zender 2011 Meanwhile, the number of monographs devoted to the monumental art of specific courts is growing. A good impression of recent Mexican and North American art historical scholarship can be gathered from the exhibition catalog 'Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya' (2004).


Architecture

The layout of the Maya towns and
cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, and more particularly of the ceremonial centers where the royal families and courtiers resided, is characterized by the rhythm of immense horizontal stucco floors of plazas often located at various levels, connected by broad and often steep stairs, and surmounted by temple pyramids. Under successive reigns, the main buildings were enlarged by adding new layers of fill and stucco coating. Irrigation channels, reservoirs, and drains made up the hydraulic infrastructure. Outside the ceremonial center (especially in the southern area sometimes resembling an
acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
) were the structures of lesser nobles, smaller temples, and individual shrines, surrounded by the wards of the commoners. Dam-like causeways (
sacbe Sacbe at Dzibilchaltun in the Yucatán Arch at the end of the sacbé, Kabah, Yucatán A sacbe, plural sacbeob (Yucatec Maya: singular ''sakbej'', plural ''sakbejo'ob''), or "white way", is a raised paved road built by the Maya civilization of pr ...
ob) spread from the 'ceremonial centers' to other nuclei of habitation. Fitting in with the concept of a ' theatre state', more attention appears to have been given to aesthetics than to solidity of construction. Careful attention, however, was placed on directional orientation. Among the various types of stone structures should be mentioned: *Ceremonial platforms (usually less than 4 meters in height) *Courtyards and palaces *Other residential buildings, such as a writers' house and a possible council house in Copan *Temples and temple pyramids, the latter often containing burials and burial chambers in their base or fill, with sanctuaries on top; outstanding example are the many clustered dynastic burial temples of Tikal North Acropolis * Ball courts *Sweat baths, particularly those of
Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...
and
Xultun Xultún is a large Maya archaeological site located 40 km northeast of Tikal and 8 km south of the smaller Preclassic site of San Bartolo in northern Guatemala. Site The site, which once supported a considerable population, has a 35 m t ...
, the latter one with remains of stucco decoration. Among the structural ensembles are: *'
Triadic pyramid Triadic pyramids were an innovation of the Preclassic Maya civilization consisting of a dominant structure flanked by two smaller inward-facing buildings, all mounted upon a single basal platform. The largest known triadic pyramid was built at El ...
s' consisting of a dominant structure flanked by two smaller inward-facing buildings, all mounted upon a single basal platform; *' E-groups' consisting of a square platform with a low four-stepped pyramid on the west side and an elongated structure, or, alternatively, three small structures, on the eastern side; *'
Twin pyramid complex A twin-pyramid complex or twin-pyramid group was an architectural innovation of the Maya civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. Twin-pyramid complexes were regularly built at the great city of Tikal in the central Petén Basin of Guatemala to cel ...
es', with identical four-stepped pyramids on the east and west sides of a small plaza; a building with nine doorways on the south side; and a small enclosure on the north side housing a sculpted stela with its altar and commemorating the king's performance of a k'atun-ending ceremony. In the palaces and temple rooms, the ' corbelled vault' was often applied. Though not an effective means to increase interior space, as it required thick stone walls to support the high ceiling, some temples utilized repeated arches, or a corbelled vault, to construct an inner sanctuary (e.g., that of the Temple of the Cross at Palenque). The northern Maya area (Campeche and Yucatan) shows characteristics of its own. Its Classic
Puuc Puuc is the name of either a region in the Mexican state of Yucatán or a Maya architectural style prevalent in that region. The word ''puuc'' is derived from the Maya term for "hill". Since the Yucatán is relatively flat, this term was ext ...
, Chenes, and
Rio Bec Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
architecture is characterized by ornamentation in stone; geometrical reduction of realistic decoration; stacking of rain god snouts to build facades; use of portals shaped like serpent mouths; and, in the Rio Bec area, the use of solid pseudo temple-pyramids. The most important Puuc site is
Uxmal Uxmal (Yucatec Maya: ''Óoxmáal'' ) is an ancient Maya city of the classical period located in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture, along with Palenque, Chichen Itza and Calakmul i ...
.
Chichen Itza Chichen Itza , es, Chichén Itzá , often with the emphasis reversed in English to ; from yua, Chiʼchʼèen Ìitshaʼ () "at the mouth of the well of the Itza people" was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal ...
, dominating Yucatán from the Late Classic to well into the Post-Classic, features Classic buildings in Chenes and Puuc style as well as Post-Classic building types of Mexican derivation, such as the radial four-staircase pyramid, the colonnaded hall, and the circular temple. The latter features were inherited by the succeeding kingdom of
Mayapan Mayapan (Màayapáan in Modern Maya; in Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately 40 km south-east of Mérida and 100 km west of ...
. Far to the South, the Guatemalan Highlands had their own longstanding building traditions. However, by the Classic period, settlements did by and large not participate in the great artistic traditions of the Lowland area. In the Postclassic period, the architecture of relatively young hilltop sites, such as the Quiché capital Q'umarkaj, shows strong Toltec influences, not unlike the architecture of Chichén Itzá and Mayapán to the north. No significant murals or sculptures have been preserved from the Postclassic Highlands. MayaHouse.JPG, Chichen Itza, traditional Maya house 0150 Palenque.JPG, Palenque, Temple of the Inscriptions, Late Classic File:Tikal Temple II.jpg, Tikal Temple II, Late Classic Sayil Palacio.jpg, Multistoried palace, Sayil, Yucatan, Late Classic File:Uxmal - Nunnery - panoramio.jpg, Uxmal, ''Nunnery'' building, frieze with stacked rain god snouts at corner, Late Classic File:Copán Ballcourt.jpg, Ball court, Copan, Late Classic Chichen Itza 3.jpg, Chichen Itza, radial pyramid '' El Castillo'', Postclassic


Stone sculpture

The main Preclassic sculptural style from the Maya area is that of
Izapa Izapa is a very large pre-Columbian archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Chiapas; it is best known for its occupation during the Late Formative period. The site is situated on the Izapa River, a tributary of the Suchiate River, n ...
, a large site on the Pacific coast where many stelas and (frog-shaped) altars were found showing motifs also present in
Olmec The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
art. The stelas, mostly without inscriptions, often show mythological and narrative subjects, some of which appear to relate to the Twin myth of the
Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popol Wuj'' or ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people, one of the Maya peoples, who inhabit Guatemala and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Q ...
. However, next to nothing is known about the settlement's former ethnic composition. Artistically, Izapa is closely related to
Kaminaljuyú Kaminaljuyu (pronounced ) is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization that was primarily occupied from 1500 BC to AD 1200. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World by Michael Coe, ...
, a huge and almost completely destroyed site once dominating the Guatemalan Highlands. Among its scattered remains are highlights of Late Preclassic sculpture, such as an altar with an intricate figural relief accompanied by a long inscription (Monument 10). For the Classic Period of the Mayas, the following major classes of stone sculpture (usually executed in limestone) may be distinguished. *Stelas. These are large, elongated stone slabs usually covered with carvings and inscriptions, and often accompanied by round altars. Typical of the Classical period, most of them depict the rulers of the cities they were located in, often disguised as gods. Although the rulers' faces, particularly during the later Classic Period, are naturalistic in style, they usually do not show individual traits; but there are notable exceptions to this rule (e.g.,
Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...
, stela 35). The most famous stelas are from Copan and nearby Quirigua. These are outstanding for their intricateness of detail, those of Quirigua also for sheer height (stela E measuring over 7 metres above ground level and 3 below). Both the Copan and Tonina stelas approach sculptures in the round. From
Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya language, Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ ("Big Water or Big Waters"), was a Maya city City-state, state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins dat ...
, otherwise a true Maya capital of the arts, no significant stelae have been preserved. *
Lintels A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of ...
, spanning doorways or jambs. Particularly
Yaxchilan Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedra ...
is renowned for its long series of lintels in deep relief, some of the most famous of which show meetings with
ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...
or, perhaps, local deities. *Panels and tablets, set in the walls and piers of buildings and the sides of platforms. This category is particularly well represented at
Palenque Palenque (; Yucatec Maya language, Yucatec Maya: ), also anciently known in the Itza Language as Lakamhaʼ ("Big Water or Big Waters"), was a Maya city City-state, state in southern Mexico that perished in the 8th century. The Palenque ruins dat ...
, with the large tablets adorning the inner sanctuaries of the Cross Group temples, and with refined masterworks such as the 'Palace Tablet', the 'Tablet of the Slaves', and the multi-figure panels of the temple XIX and XXI platforms. King Pakal's carved sarcophagus lid - without equal in other Maya kingdoms - might also be included here. *Relief columns flanking doorways in public buildings from the
Puuc Puuc is the name of either a region in the Mexican state of Yucatán or a Maya architectural style prevalent in that region. The word ''puuc'' is derived from the Maya term for "hill". Since the Yucatán is relatively flat, this term was ext ...
region (northwestern Yucatan) and similar in decoration to stelas. *Altars, rounded or rectangular, sometimes resting on three or four boulder-like legs. They may be wholly or partly figurative (e.g., Copan turtle altar) or have a relief image on top, sometimes consisting of a single '' Ahau'' day sign (Caracol, Tonina). *Zoomorphs, or large boulders sculpted to resemble supernatural creatures and covered with highly complicated relief ornamentation. These seem to be restricted to the kingdom of Quirigua during the Late Classic period. *Ball court markers, or relief roundels placed in the central axis of the floors of ball courts (such as those of Copan,
Chinkultic Chinkultic, sometimes ''Chincultic'', is a moderate-size archeological ruin in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. It is part of the Lagunas de Montebello National Park. This pre-Columbian city belongs to the ancient Maya civilization. The city flou ...
, Tonina), and usually showing royal ball game scenes. *Monumental stairs, most famously the giant hieroglyphic stairway of Copan. The hewn stone blocks of hieroglyphic stairways together constitute an extensive text. Stairways can also be decorated with a great variety of scenes (
La Corona La Corona is the name given by archaeologists to an ancient Maya court residence in Guatemala's Petén department that was discovered in 1996, and later identified as the long-sought "Site Q", the source of a long series of unprovenanced limest ...
), particularly the ball game. Sometimes, the ball game becomes the stairs' chief theme (
Yaxchilan Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedra ...
), with a captive depicted inside the ball, or, elsewhere ( Tonina), a full-figure captive stretched out along the step. *Thrones and benches, the thrones with a broad, square seat, and a back sometimes iconically shaped like the wall of a cave and worked open to show human figures. Benches, covered with relief on the front, tend to be incorporated into the surrounding architecture; they are more elongated, and lack a back support. Examples from Palenque and Copan have supports showing cosmological carriers (
Bacab Bacab () is the generic Yucatec Maya name for the four prehispanic aged deities of the interior of the earth and its water deposits. The Bacabs have more recent counterparts in the lecherous, drunken old thunder deities of the Gulf Coast regions. ...
s,
Chaak Chaac (also spelled Chac or, in Classic Mayan, Chaahk ) is the name of the Maya god of rain, thunder, and lighting. With his lightning axe, Chaac strikes the clouds, causing them to produce thunder and rain. Chaac corresponds to Tlaloc among ...
s). *Stone sculpture in the round is especially known from Copan and Toniná. It is represented by statuary, such as a seated Copan scribe as well as captive figures and small stelas from Toniná; by certain figurative architectural elements, such as the twenty maize deities from the façade of Copan Temple 22; and by giant sculptures such as the symmetrically-positioned jaguars and simian musicians of Copán, that were integral parts of architectural design. Yaxchilan Lintel 24.jpg,
Yaxchilan Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedra ...
lintel 24, king holding torch and queen letting blood, 723–726 CE (
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
) Maya Presentation of Captives Kimbell.jpg, Yaxchilan lintel, war chief presenting captives to the king, 783 CE (
Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, wh ...
) Column, Costumed Figure MET DP250922-Gallery358.jpg, Relief column, Late Classic (
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
) Piedrasnegrastrono.jpg, Piedras Negras throne 1, with heads restored, Late Classic (Museo Nacional de Antropología e Historia de Guatemala) Itzamna e Ixchel.JPG, Back of throne, Late Classic (
Museo Amparo The Museo Amparo, located in the historic center of Puebla City, is one of the most important historical museums in Mexico. It was inaugurated in 1991 and sponsored by the Amparo Foundation, which was founded in 1979 by Manuel Espinoza Yglesias in ...
) Monument 151 de Tonina, prisonnier, exposition "Mayas", Musée du Quai Branly, Paris.jpg, Tonina monument 151, bound prisoner, Classic


Wood carving

It is believed that carvings in wood were once extremely common, but only a few examples have survived. Most 16th-century wood carvings, considered objects of idolatry, were destroyed by the Spanish colonial authorities. The most important Classic examples consist of intricately worked lintels, mostly from the main
Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Co ...
pyramid sanctuaries, with one specimen from nearby
El Zotz El Zotz () is a Mesoamerican archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region around west of the major center of Tikal and approximately west of Uaxactun. It is so called because of the large num ...
. The Tikal wood reliefs, each consisting of several beams, and dating to the 8th century, show a king on his seat with a protector figure looming large behind, in the form of a Teotihuacan-style 'war serpent' (Temple I lintel 2), a jaguar (Temple I lintel 3), or a human impersonator of the jaguar god of terrestrial fire (Temple IV lintel 2). Other Tikal lintels depict an obese king wearing a jaguar dress and standing in front of his seat (Temple III lintel 2); and most famously, a victorious king, dressed as an astral death god, and standing on a palanquin underneath an arching feathered serpent ( Temple IV lintel 3). A rare utility object is a tiny lidded box from Tortuguero with hieroglyphic text all around it. Free sculpture in wood, dating back to the 6th century, is represented by a dignified seated man possibly functioning as a mirror bearer.


Stucco modeling

At least since Late Preclassic times, modeled and painted stucco plaster covered the floors and buildings of the town centers and provided the setting for their stone sculptures. Often, large mask panels with the plastered heads of deities in high relief (particularly those of sun, rain, and earth) are found attached to the sloping retaining walls of temple platforms flanking stairs (e.g.,
Kohunlich Kohunlich (X-làabch'e'en in Modern Mayan) is a large archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located on the Yucatán Peninsula in the state of Quintana Roo about 25 km east of the Rio Bec region, and about 65 km ...
). Stucco modeling and relief work can also cover the entire building, as shown by Temple 16 of Copan, in its 6th-century form (known as 'Rosalila'). Dedicated to the first king, Yax K'uk' Mo', this early temple has preserved plastered and painted facades. The stuccoed friezes, walls, piers, and roof combs of the Late Preclassic and Classic periods show varying and sometimes symbolically complicated decorative programs. Several solutions for dividing up and ordering the stuccoed surfaces of buildings were applied, serialization being one of them. The Early Classic walls of the 'Temple of the
Night Sun Night Sun were a German hard rock/Heavy metal music, heavy metal band consisting of Bruno Schaab (vocals, bass), Walter Kirchgessner (guitar), Knut Rossler (organ, saxophon) and Ulrich Staudt (drums). Their one and only album, ''Mournin' (alb ...
' in
El Zotz El Zotz () is a Mesoamerican archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region around west of the major center of Tikal and approximately west of Uaxactun. It is so called because of the large num ...
consist of a series of subtly varied deity mask panels, whereas the frieze of a
Balamku Balamku is a small Maya archaeological site located in the Mexican state of Campeche.Rodríguez Campero 2008, p. 437. It features elaborate plaster facades dating to the Early Classic period. It has one of the largest surviving stucco friezes in ...
palace, also from the Early Classic, originally had a series of four rulers enthroned above the open ophidian mouths of four different animals (a toad among them) associated with symbolic mountains. Conversely, friezes may be centered on a single ruler again sitting on a symbolic (maize) mountain, such as a frieze from
Holmul Holmul is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the northeastern Petén Basin region in Guatemala near the modern-day border with Belize. Location In spite of its relatively modest size, Holmul was important t ...
, with two feathered serpents emanating from below the ruler's seat, and another one from
Xultun Xultún is a large Maya archaeological site located 40 km northeast of Tikal and 8 km south of the smaller Preclassic site of San Bartolo in northern Guatemala. Site The site, which once supported a considerable population, has a 35 m t ...
, on which the ruler carries a large ceremonial bar with emerging jaguar-like figures. An Early-Classic temple frieze from Placeres, Quintana Roo, has the large mask panel of a young lord or deity in the middle, with two lateral 'Grandfather' deities extending their arms. Often, a frieze is divided into compartments. Late Preclassic friezes of
El Mirador El Mirador (which translates as "the lookout", "the viewpoint", or "the belvedere") is a large pre-Columbian Middle and Late Preclassic (1000 BC - 250 AD) Mayan settlement, located in the north of the modern department of El Petén, Guatema ...
, for example, show the intervening spaces of an undulating serpent's body filled out with aquatic birds, and the sections of an aquatic band with swimming figures. Similarly, a Classic palace frieze in
Acanceh Acanceh () is a town and ancient Maya archaeological site located in Mexico's Yucatán State, 21 kilometers from Mérida, the capital of Yucatán. It is the seat of Acanceh Municipality. The modern town of Acanceh, is partially atop the pre-Col ...
is divided into panels holding different animal figures reminiscent of
wayob Wayob is the plural form of (or ), a Maya word with a basic meaning of 'sleep(ing)', but which in Yucatec Maya is a term specifically denoting the Mesoamerican nagual, that is, a person who can transform into an animal while asleep in order to do ...
, while a wall in Tonina has lozenge-shaped fields suggesting a scaffold and presenting continuous narrative scenes that relate to human sacrifice. Plastered roof combs are similar to some of the friezes above in that they usually show large representations of rulers, who may again be seated on a symbolic mountain, and also, as on Palenque's Temple of the Sun, set within a cosmological framework. Further examples of Classic stucco modeling include the piers of the Palenque Palace, embellished with a series of lords and ladies in ritual dress, and the 'baroque', Late-Classic
Chenes Chenes ( fa, چنس) is a village in Kelarestaq-e Sharqi Rural District, in the Central District of Chalus County, Mazandaran Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country lo ...
-style stucco entrance, beset with naturalistic human figures, on the Acropolis (Str. 1) of Ek' Balam. Unique in Mesoamerica, Classic Period stucco modeling includes realistic portraiture of a quality equalling that of Roman ancestral portraits, with the lofty stucco heads of Palenque rulers and portraits of dignitaries from Tonina as outstanding examples. The modeling recalls that of certain Jaina ceramic statuettes. Some, but not all, of these portrait heads were once part of life-size stucco figures adorning temple crests. In the same way, one finds stucco glyphs that were once a part of stuccoed texts. Fries von Balamk.JPG, Balamku, part of a frieze, toad seated on mountain icon and belging forth king, Classic DetailPalacioPalenque.JPG, Palenque Palace, House D, detail of stucco relief showing water lilies, long-nosed deity head and legs of seated figure, Classic Glyphes calendaires, temple oublié, Palenque, Mexique.jpg, Palenque ''Templo Olvidado'', calendrical glyphs detached from stucco text on pillar, Classic Stuc Figure with Headdress ... Hormiguero, Late Classic (600-800 AD).jpg, Hormiguero, stucco head ("Maya
Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...
"), Late Classic (Museo arqueológico Fuerte de S. Miguel, Campeche)


Mural painting

Although, due to the humid climate of
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, relatively few Maya paintings have survived to the present day integrally, important remnants have been found in nearly all major court residences. This is especially the case in substructures, hidden under later architectural additions. Mural paintings may show more or less repetitive motifs, such as the subtly varied flower symbols on walls of House E of the Palenque Palace; scenes of daily life, as in one of the buildings surrounding the central square of
Calakmul Calakmul (; also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul was one of the large ...
and in a palace of Chilonche; or ritual scenes involving deities, as in the Post-Classic temple murals of Yucatán's and Belize's east coast ( Tancah,
Tulum Tulum (, yua, Tulu'um) is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The ruins are situated on cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribb ...
, Santa Rita). The latter murals betray a strong influence of the so-called 'Mixteca-Puebla style' once widely spread across Mesoamerica. Murals may also evince a more narrative character, usually with hieroglyphic captions present. The colourful
Bonampak Bonampak (known anciently as ''Ak'e'' or, in its immediate area as ''Usiij Witz'', 'Vulture Hill') is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of the people Yaxchilan, ...
murals, for example, dating from 790 AD, and extending over the walls and vaults of three adjacent rooms, show spectacular scenes of nobility, battle and sacrifice, as well as a group of ritual impersonators in the midst of a file of
musicians A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
. At San Bartolo, murals dating from 100 BCE relate to the myths of the
Maya maize god Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the traditional Maya recognize in their staple crop, maize, a vital force with which they strongly identify. This is clearly shown by their mythological traditions. According to the 16th-century Popol Vuh, the Hero ...
and the hero twin
Hunahpu The Maya Hero Twins are the central figures of a narrative included within the colonial Kʼicheʼ document called Popol Vuh, and constituting the oldest Maya myth to have been preserved in its entirety. Called Hunahpu and Xbalanque in the Kʼic ...
, and depict a double inthronization; antedating the Classic Period by several centuries, the style is already fully developed, with colours being subtle and muted as compared to those of Bonampak or Calakmul. Outside the Maya area, in a ward of East-Central Mexican
Cacaxtla Cacaxtla () is an archaeological site located near the southern border of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. It was a sprawling palace containing vibrantly colored murals painted in unmistakable Maya style. The nearby site of Xochitecatl was a more ...
, murals painted in a predominantly Classic Maya style, with often stark colors, have been found, such as a savage battle scene extending over 20 meters; two figures of Maya lords standing on serpents; and an irrigated maize and cacao field visited by the Maya merchant deity. Wall painting also occurs on vault capstones, in tombs (e.g.,
Río Azul Río Azul is an archaeological site of the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is the most important site in the Río Azul National Park in the Petén Department of northern Guatemala, close to the borders of Mexico and Belize. Río Azul is s ...
), and in caves (e.g.,
Naj Tunich Naj Tunich (Mopan Maya: // "stone house, cave") is a series of pre-Columbian era natural caves outside the village of La Compuerta, roughly 35 km east of Poptún in Guatemala. The site was a Maya ritual pilgrimage site during the Classic peri ...
), usually executed in black on a whitened surface, at times with the additional use of red paint. Yucatec vault capstones often show a depiction of the enthroned lightning deity (e.g., Ek' Balam). A bright turquoise blue colour - '
Maya Blue Maya blue ( es, azul maya) is a unique bright azure blue pigment manufactured by cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, such as the Mayans and Aztecs. Manufacture The Maya blue pigment is a composite of organic and inorganic constituents, prim ...
' - has survived through the centuries due to its unique chemical characteristics; this color is present in
Bonampak Bonampak (known anciently as ''Ak'e'' or, in its immediate area as ''Usiij Witz'', 'Vulture Hill') is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of the people Yaxchilan, ...
,
Cacaxtla Cacaxtla () is an archaeological site located near the southern border of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. It was a sprawling palace containing vibrantly colored murals painted in unmistakable Maya style. The nearby site of Xochitecatl was a more ...
, Jaina,
El Tajín El Tajín is a pre-Columbian archeological site in southern Mexico and is one of the largest and most important cities of the Mesoamerican chronology, Classic era of Mesoamerica. A part of the Classic Veracruz culture, El Tajín flourished from ...
, and even in some Colonial convents. The use of Maya Blue survived until the 16th century, when the technique was finally lost.


Writing and bookmaking

The Maya writing system consists of about 1000 distinct characters or hieroglyphs ('glyphs'), and like many ancient writing systems is a mixture of syllabic signs and
logogram In a written language, a logogram, logograph, or lexigraph is a written character that represents a word or morpheme. Chinese characters (pronounced ''hanzi'' in Mandarin, ''kanji'' in Japanese, ''hanja'' in Korean) are generally logograms, as ...
s. This script was in use from the 3rd century BCE until shortly after the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. As of now (2021), a considerable proportion of the characters has a reading, but their meaning and configuration as a text is not always understood. The books were folded and consisted of bark paper or leather leaves with an adhesive stucco layer on which to write; they were protected by jaguar skin covers and, perhaps, wooden boards. Since every diviner probably needed a book, there must have existed large numbers of them. Today, three Maya hieroglyphic books, all from the Post-Classic period, are still in existence: the
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
,
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
codices. A fourth book, the
Grolier Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including ''The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acade ...
, is Maya-
Toltec The Toltec culture () was a Pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula (Mesoamerican site), Tula, Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoam ...
rather than Maya and lacks hieroglyphic texts; fragmentary and of very poor workmanship, it shows many anomalies, reason for which its authenticity has long remained in doubt. These books are largely of a divinatory and priestly nature, containing almanacs, astrological tables, and ritual programs; the Paris Codex also includes
katun Katun may refer to: Places * Katun (river), a tributary of the Ob in Siberia, Russia * Katun Mountains or Katun Alps, a mountain range in Russia, part of the Altai Mountains * Katun (Vranje), a village in Vranje Municipality, Serbia * Katun (A ...
-prophecies. Great attention was paid to a harmonious balance of texts and (partly coloured) illustrations. Besides the codical glyphs, there existed a cursive script of an often dynamic character, found in wall-paintings and on ceramics, and imitated in stone on panels from Palenque (such as the 'Tablet of the 96 glyphs'). Often, written captions are enclosed in square 'boxes' of various shapes within the representation. Wall paintings may also entirely consist of texts ( Ek' Balam,
Naj Tunich Naj Tunich (Mopan Maya: // "stone house, cave") is a series of pre-Columbian era natural caves outside the village of La Compuerta, roughly 35 km east of Poptún in Guatemala. The site was a Maya ritual pilgrimage site during the Classic peri ...
), or, more rarely, contain astrological computations (
Xultun Xultún is a large Maya archaeological site located 40 km northeast of Tikal and 8 km south of the smaller Preclassic site of San Bartolo in northern Guatemala. Site The site, which once supported a considerable population, has a 35 m t ...
); sometimes, written on a white stuccoed surface, and executed with particular care and elegance, these texts are like enlargements of book pages. Hieroglyphs are ubiquitous and were written on every available surface, including the human body. The glyphs themselves are highly detailed, and particularly the
logogram In a written language, a logogram, logograph, or lexigraph is a written character that represents a word or morpheme. Chinese characters (pronounced ''hanzi'' in Mandarin, ''kanji'' in Japanese, ''hanja'' in Korean) are generally logograms, as ...
s are deceivingly realistic. As a matter of fact, from an art-historical point of view, they should also be viewed as art motifs, and ''vice versa''. Sculptors at Copan and Quirigua have consequently felt free to convert hieroglyphic elements and calendrical signs into animated, dramatic miniature scenes ('full figure glyphs').


Ceramics and 'ceramic codex'

Unlike utility ceramics found in such large numbers among the debris of archaeological sites, most of the decorated pottery (cylinder vessels, lidded dishes, tripod plates, vases, bowls) once was '
social currency Social currency refers to the actual and potential resources from presence in social networks and communities, including both digital and offline. It is, in essence, an action made by a company or stance of being, to which consumers feel a sense ...
' among the Maya nobility, and, preserved as heirlooms, also accompanied the nobles into their graves. The aristocratic tradition of gift-giving feasts and ceremonial visits, and the emulation that inevitably went with these exchanges, goes a long way towards explaining the high level of artistry reached in Classical times. Made without a potter's wheel, decorated pottery was delicately painted, carved into relief, incised, or - chiefly during the Early Classic period - made with the Teotihuacan
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
technique of applying paint to a wet clay surface. The precious objects were manufactured in numerous workshops distributed over the Maya kingdoms, some of the most famous being associated with the 'Chama-style', the 'Holmul-style', the so-called 'Ik-style' and, for carved pottery, the 'Chochola-style.' Vase decoration shows great variation, including palace scenes, courtly ritual, mythology, divinatory glyphs, and even dynastical texts taken from chronicles, and plays a major role in reconstructing Classical Maya life and beliefs. Ceramic scenes and texts painted in black and red on a white underground, the equivalents of pages from the lost folding books, are referred to as being in ' Codex Style' (e.g., the so-called Princeton Vase). The hieroglyphical and pictural overlap with the three extant books is (at least up to now) relatively small. Sculptural ceramic art includes the lids of Early Classic bowls mounted by human or animal figures; some of these bowls, burnished black, are among the most distinguished Maya works of art ever created. Ceramic sculpture also includes incense burners and burial urns. Best known are the profusely decorated Classic burners from the kingdom of Palenque, which have the modeled face of a deity or of a king attached to an elongated hollow tube. The deity most frequently depicted, the jaguar deity of terrestrial fire, also adorns large Classic burial urns from the Guatemalan department of El Quiché. The elaborate Post-Classic, mold-made effigy incense burners especially associated with
Mayapan Mayapan (Màayapáan in Modern Maya; in Spanish Mayapán) is a Pre-Columbian Maya site a couple of kilometers south of the town of Telchaquillo in Municipality of Tecoh, approximately 40 km south-east of Mérida and 100 km west of ...
represent standing deities (or priestly deity impersonators) often carrying offerings. Finally, figurines, often mold-made, and of an amazing liveliness and realism, constitute a minor but highly informative genre. Apart from deities, animal persons, rulers and dwarfs, they show many other characters as well as scenes taken from daily life. Some of these figurines are ocarinas and may have been used in rituals. The most impressive examples stem from
Jaina Island Jaina Island is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the present-day Mexican state of Campeche. A small limestone island on the Yucatán Peninsula's Gulf coast with only a tidal inlet separating it from the mainland, Jaina served as an elite ...
. Codex-Style Vase with Mythological Scene MET DP-579-002.jpg, Codex-style vase with mythological scene, 7th–8th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Vessel, Throne Scene MET DT4514.jpg, Vessel with throne scene, Chamá style, late 7th–8th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Vase - Classic Maya - Ethnological Museum, Berlin - DSC00742.JPG, Relief vase with head of aquatic serpent, Chocholá style, Yucatan, Late Classic (Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin) Recipient amb tapa amb el déu Itzamnaaj com a au, museu Nacional d'Arqueologia i Etnologia de Guatemala.jpg, Lidded basal flange bowl, El Peru, Guatemala, Early Classic (Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología de Guatemala) Tripod Bird Bowl MET DT4867.jpg, Tripod bowl with heron lid, Early Classic (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Mayan - Incensario (Incense Burner) - Walters 482770.jpg, Lower part of incense burner, Palenque style, Late Classic (Walters Art Museum) Mayan - Maya Polychrome Lidded Urn with Seated Figure - Walters 482793.jpg, Urn with jaguar deity lid, Late Classic (Walters Art Museum) Costumed Figure MET 1979.206.953 a.jpeg, Costumed figure, 7th–8th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Young Corn God MET DT9946.jpg, Young nobleman as a flower, Jaina style, 8th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art)


Precious stone and other sculpted materials

It is remarkable that the Maya, who had no metal tools, created many objects from a very thick and dense material, jade (
jadeite Jadeite is a pyroxene mineral with composition sodium, Naaluminium, Alsilicon, Si2oxygen, O6. It is hard (Mohs hardness of about 6.5 to 7.0), very tough, and dense, with a specific gravity of about 3.4. It is found in a wide range of colors, bu ...
), particularly all sorts of (royal) dress elements, such as belt plaques - or celts - ear spools, pendants, and also masks. Celts (i.e., flat, celt-shaped ornaments) were sometimes engraved with a stela-like representation of the king (e.g., the Early-Classic 'Leyden Plate'). The best-known example of a mask is probably the death mask of the Palenque king Pakal, covered with irregularly-shaped marble plaques and having eyes made from
mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...
and obsidian; another death mask, belonging to a Palenque queen, consists of malachite plaques. Similarly, certain cylindrical vases from Tikal have an outer layer of square jade discs. Many stone carvings had jade inlays. Among other sculpted and engraved materials are
flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...
,
chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...
, shell, and bone, often found in caches and burials. The so-called ' eccentric flints' are ceremonial objects of uncertain use, in their most elaborate forms of elongated shape with usually various heads extending on one or both sides, sometimes those of the lightning deity, but more often of an anthropomorphic lightning probably representing the
Tonsured Maize God Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the traditional Maya recognize in their staple crop, maize, a vital force with which they strongly identify. This is clearly shown by their mythological traditions. According to the 16th-century Popol Vuh, the Hero ...
. Shell was worked into disks and other decorative elements showing human, possibly ancestral heads and deities;
conch Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Am ...
trumpets were similarly decorated. Human and animal bones were decorated with incised symbols and scenes. A collection of small and modified, tubular bones from an 8th-century royal burial under
Tikal Temple I Tikal Temple I is the designation given to one of the major structures at Tikal, one of the largest cities and archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization in Mesoamerica. It is located in the Petén Basin region of northern Guatem ...
contains some of the most subtle engravings known from the Maya, including several scenes with the
Tonsured maize god Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the traditional Maya recognize in their staple crop, maize, a vital force with which they strongly identify. This is clearly shown by their mythological traditions. According to the 16th-century Popol Vuh, the Hero ...
in a canoe. Flower-Shaped Earflares LACMA M.2007.85.1-.2.jpg, Flower-shaped jadeite earflares, Late Classic (
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...
) Deity Face Pendant MET DP148420.jpg, Jadeite deity face pendant, 7th–8th century (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Deity Figure MET h2 1979.206.1069.jpg, Jadeite rain deity with arms in royal posture, Early Classic (Metropolitan Museum of Art) File:Possibly Guatemala, Maya Culture, Early Classic period (A.D. 250–600) - Royal Belt Ornament - Google Art Project.jpg, Jade belt plaque with ruler, Early Classic (Kimbell Art Museum) File:Palenque - Rote Königin 1.jpg, Funerary mask of a Palenque queen covered with pieces of
malachite Malachite is a copper carbonate hydroxide mineral, with the formula Cu2CO3(OH)2. This opaque, green-banded mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses, in fractures ...
, 7th century (site museum)


Applied arts and body decoration

Textiles from the Classic period, made of cotton, have not survived, but Maya art provides detailed information about their appearance and, to a lesser extent, their social function. They include delicate fabrics used as wrappings, curtains and canopies furnishing palaces, and garments. Among the dyeing techniques may have been
ikat ''Ikat'' (in Indonesian languages means "bind") is a dyeing technique originating from Indonesia used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. In ''ikat'', the resist is formed by bi ...
. Daily costume depended on social standing. Noblewomen usually wore long dresses, noblemen girdles and breechcloths, leaving legs and upper body more or less bare, unless jackets or mantles were worn. Both men and women could wear turbans. Costumes worn on ceremonial occasions and during the many festivities were highly expressive and exuberant; animal headdresses were common. The most elaborate costume was the formal apparel of the king, as depicted on the royal stelae, with numerous elements of symbolic meaning. Wickerwork, only known from incidental depictions in sculptural and ceramic art, must once have been ubiquitous; the well-known ''pop'' ('mat') motif testifies to its importance. Body decorations often consisted of painted patterns on face and body, but could also be of a permanent character marking status and age differences. The latter type included artificial deformation of the skull, filing and incrustation of the teeth, and tattooing of the face.


Museum collections

There are a great many museums across the world with Maya artifacts in their collections. The
Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies The Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc., or FAMSI, is a website used for research in pre-Columbian studies and ancient Mesoamerican cultures. FAMSI was formerly an American not-for-profit grant-making research foundati ...
lists over 250 museums in its Maya Museum database, and the European Association of Mayanists lists just under 50 museums in Europe alone. In
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
, the
Museo Nacional de Antropología The National Museum of Anthropology ( es, Museo Nacional de Antropología, MNA) is a national museum of Mexico. It is the largest and most visited museum in Mexico. Located in the area between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street with ...
contains an especially large selection of Maya artifacts.Wagner 2011, p. 451. A number of regional museums in Mexico hold important collections, including
Museo Amparo The Museo Amparo, located in the historic center of Puebla City, is one of the most important historical museums in Mexico. It was inaugurated in 1991 and sponsored by the Amparo Foundation, which was founded in 1979 by Manuel Espinoza Yglesias in ...
in Puebla, with its famous throne back from Chiapas; the Museo de las Estelas "Román Piña Chan" in
Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...
; the Museo Regional de Yucatán "Palacio Cantón" in Mérida; and the Museo Regional de Antropología "Carlos Pellicer Camera" in
Villahermosa Villahermosa ( , ; "Beautiful Village") is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of Tabasco, and serves as the Municipalities of Mexico, municipal seat (governing county) of the state. Located in Southeast Mexico, Villahermosa is an ...
, Tabasco.Wagner 2011, p. 452. In Guatemala, the most important museum collections are those of the
Museo Popol Vuh The Museo Popol Vuh (''Popol Vuh Museum'') is home to one of the major collections of Maya art in the world. It is located on the campus of the Universidad Francisco Marroquín in Zone 10, Guatemala City and is known for its extensive collection o ...
and the
Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología The Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología (MUNAE; ''National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology'') is a national museum of Guatemala, dedicated to the conservation of archaeological and ethnological artifacts and research into Guatemala's h ...
, both in
Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
, with many smaller pieces on display in the "El Príncipe Maya" museum,
Cobán Cobán ( kek, Kob'an), fully Santo Domingo de Cobán, is the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala. It also serves as the administrative center for the surrounding Cobán municipality. It is located 219 km from Guat ...
. In Belize, Maya artefacts can be found in the
Museum of Belize The Museum of Belize is an art and history museum in Belize City, Belize. History Built between 1854 and 1857 as a Her Majesty’s Prison while the area was still a British colony, it was a replacement for a wooden prison nearby. It was the Be ...
and the
Bliss Institute The Bliss Institute is a theatre, museum, and National Arts Council in the cultural centre of Belize City. It is named after Baron Bliss. The original construction started in 1953 and finished one year later. The architectural design was done in ...
; in Honduras, in the Copan Sculpture Museum and in the Galería Nacional de Arte,
Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...
. In the United States, almost every major art museum has a collection of Maya artifacts, often including stone monuments. Among the more important east coast collections are those of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
; the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
; the
Princeton University Art Museum The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works o ...
; the
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology is a museum affiliated with Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1866, the Peabody Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums focusing on anthropological material, with ...
in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
; the
Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, M ...
collection;Pillsbury et al. 2012 and the
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighb ...
, with its famous inaugural stela 14 of
Piedras Negras Piedras Negras may refer to: * Piedras Negras, Coahuila, a city in the state of Coahuila, Mexico ** Piedras Negras Municipality, a municipality in Mexico, with the center in the eponymous city * Piedras Negras (Maya site) Piedras Negras is the ...
. On the west coast, the
De Young Museum The de Young Museum, formally the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, is a fine arts museum located in San Francisco, California. Located in Golden Gate Park, it is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with the Legion of Honor ...
of San Francisco and the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...
, with its large collection of painted Maya ceramics, are important. Other notable collections include the
Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...
in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
and the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
. In Europe, the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
exhibits a series of famous Yaxchilan lintels, and the Museum der Kulturen in
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, a number of wooden lintels from Tikal. The Ethnologisches Museum in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
holds a broad selection of Maya artifacts, including an incised Early-Classic vase showing a king lying in state and awaiting post-mortem transformation. The
Museo de América The (English: Museum of America) is a Spanish national museum of arts, archaeology and ethnography in Madrid. Its collections cover the whole of the Americas and range from the Paleolithic period to the present day. It is owned by the Spanish S ...
in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
hosts the Madrid Codex as well as a large selection of artifacts from Palenque. Other notable European museums are the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde in
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, home to La Pasadita lintel 2 and the Leyden Plate; the Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
;Wagner 2011, p. 450. and the
Rietberg Museum The Rietberg Museum is a museum in Zürich, Switzerland, displaying Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the only art museum focusing on non-European art and design in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the largest t ...
in
Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
, Switzerland.


Maya performative arts

*
Maya dance In pre-Columbian Maya civilization, ceremonial dance had great importance. However, since dance is a transient art, it is inherently difficult for archeologists to find and evaluate evidence of its role. There is little material information left ...
* Maya dance drama *
Maya music The music of the ancient Mayan courts is described throughout native and Spanish 16th-century texts and is depicted in the art of the Classic Period (200–900 AD). The Maya played instruments such as trumpets, flutes, whistles, and drums, and use ...


See also

*
Ancient Maya graffiti Ancient Maya graffiti are a little-studied area of folk art of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. Graffiti were incised into the stucco of interior walls, floors, and benches, in a wide variety of buildings, including pyramid-temples, residence ...
*
Pre-Columbian art Pre-Columbian art refers to the visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, North, Central, and South Americas from at least 13,000 BCE to the European conquests starting in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era c ...
*
Painting in the Americas before Colonization Painting in the Americas before European colonization is the Precolumbian painting traditions of the Americas. Painting was a relatively widespread, popular and diverse means of communication and expression for both religious and utilitarian purpos ...
*
Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the visual artistic practices of the indigenous peoples of the Americas from ancient times to the present. These include works from South America and North America, which includes ...


Footnotes


References

* * Coe, Michael D., ''The Maya Scribe and His World''. New York: The Grolier Club 1973. * Coe, Michael D., ''Classic Maya Pottery from Dumbarton Oaks''. Washington: Trustees of Harvard University 1975. * Coe, Michael D., ''Lords of the Underworld; Masterpieces of Classic Maya Ceramics''. New Jersey: Princeton University Press 1978. * Coe, Michael D., ''Old Gods and Young Heroes; The Pearlman Collection of Maya Ceramics''. Jerusalem: The Israel Museum 1982. * Coe, Michael D., and Justin Kerr, ''The Art of the Maya Scribe''. Thames & Hudson 1997. * Coe, Michael D., and Stephen Houston, ''The Maya''. Thames & Hudson 2015. * Coe, William R., Edwin M. Shook, and Linton Satterthwaite, 'The Carved Wooden Lintels of Tikal'. Tikal Report No. 6, ''Tikal Reports Numbers 5-10'', Museum Monographs, The University Museum, U. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 1961. * Dillon, Brian D., and Wes Christensen, 'The Maya Jade Skull Bead: 700 Years as Military Insignia?'. In Brian D. Dillon and Matthew A. Boxt, ''Archaeology without Limits. Papers in Honor of Clement W. Meighan,'' pp. 369–388. Lancaster: Labyrinthos 2005. * Doyle, James, and Stephen Houston, 'A Watery Tableau at El Mirador, Guatemala'. In ''Maya Decipherment'', April 9, 2012 (decipherment.wordpress.com.). * Finamore, Daniel, and Stephen D. Houston, ''The Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea''. Peabody Essex Museum 2010. * Gann, Thomas, ''Mounds in Northern Honduras''. 19th Annual Report, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 1900. * Gendrop, Paul, Los estilos Río Bec, Chenes y Puuc en la arquitectura maya. Mexico: UNAM (División de Estudios de Posgrado, Facultad de Arquitectura) 1983. * Guernsey, Julia, ''Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art''. Austin: University of Texas Press 2006. * Halperin, Christina T., ''Maya Figurines. Intersections between State and Household.'' University of Texas Press 2014. * Houston, Stephen, ''The Life Within. Classic Maya and the Matter of Permanence''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press 2014. * Houston, Stephen, et al., ''The Memory of Bones. Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya''. Austin: U. of Texas Press 2006. * Houston, Stephen, et al., ''Veiled Brightness. A History of Ancient Maya Color''. Austin: U.of Texas Press 2009. * Just, Bryan R., ''Dancing into Dreams. Maya Vase Painting of the Ik' Kingdom''. Yale University Press 2012. * Kubler, George, ''Studies in Classic Maya Iconography''. Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 28. New Haven: Connecticut 1969. * Looper, Matthew, ''Gifts of the Moon: Huipil Designs of the Ancient Maya''. San Diego Museum Papers 38. San Diego: San Diego Museum of Man, 2000. * Looper, Mathhew, ''Lightning Warrior. Maya Art and Kingship at Quirigua''. Austin: U. of Texas Press 2003. * Love, Bruce, 'Authenticity of the Grolier Codex remains in doubt'. ''Mexicon'' Vol. XXXIX Nr. 4 (2017): 88-95. * Lozoff Brittenham, Claudia, and María Teresa Uriarte, ''The Murals of Cacaxtla: The Power of Painting in Ancient Central Mexico.'' Austin: U. of Texas Press 2015. * Martin, Simon, and Nicolas Grube, ''Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens''. Thames&Hudson 2000. * Maudslay, A.P., ''Biologia Centrali-Americana''. Text and 4 Vols. of Illustrations. London 1889-1902.* * Mayer, Karl Herbert, ''Classic Maya Relief Columns''. Acoma Books, Ramona, California 1981. * McCampbell, Kathleen G., ''Highland Maya Effigy Funerary Urns. A Study of Genre, Iconography, and Function.'' MA Thesis, Florida State University 2010 (online). * Milbrath, Susan, ''Mayapán’s Effigy Censers: Iconography, Context, and External Connections''. www.famsi.org/reports (2007) * Miller, Arthur G., ''On the Edge of the Sea. Mural Painting at Tancah-Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico''. Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks 1982. * Miller, M.E., 'The History of the Study of Maya Vase Painting'. In ''Maya Vase Book'' Vol. 1, ed. J. Kerr, New York: 128-145. * Miller, M.E., and Megan O'Neil, ''Maya Art and Architecture''. New York and London: Thames and Hudson 2014. * Miller, M.E., ''The Murals of Bonampak''. Princeton U.P. 1986. * Miller, M.E., and Claudia Brittenham, ''The Spectacle of the Late Maya Court. Reflections on the Murals of Bonampak''. Austin: Texas U.P. 2013 * Miller, Mary, and Simon Martin, ''Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya''. Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Thames and Hudson 2004. * Miller, Mary, and Karl Taube, ''The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya. An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion.'' London: Thames and Hudson. * Miller, Virginia E., ''The Frieze of the Palace of the Stuccoes, Acanceh, Yucatan, Mexico''. Studies in Pre-Columbian Art & Archaeology, 39. Washington DC: Dumbarton Oaks 1991. * O'Neil, Megan, ''Engaging Ancient Maya Sculpture at Piedras Negras, Guatemala''. Norman: U. of Oklahoma Press 2012. * Pillsbury, Joanne, et al., ''Ancient Maya Art at Dumbarton Oaks''. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2012. * Proskouriakoff, Tatiana, ''A Study of Classic Maya Sculpture''. Carnegie Institute of Washington Publication No. 593, 1950 * Reents-Budet, Doreen, ''Painting the Maya Universe: Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period''. Duke U.P. 1994. * Reyes-Valerio, Constantino, ''De Bonampak al Templo Mayor, Historia del Azul Maya en Mesoamerica''. Siglo XXI Editores, 1993. * Robicsek, Francis, ''A study in Maya art and history : the mat symbol''. New York: Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1975. * Robicsek, Francis, and Donald Hales, ''The Maya Book of the Dead: The Corpus of Codex Style Ceramics of the Late Classic period''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1981. *
Full list from FAMSI
archived fro
the original
on 2015-06-08. * Saturno, William; David Stuart and Karl Taube (2005). The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala, Part I: The North Wall. ''Ancient America'' 7. * Schele, Linda, and Mary Ellen Miller, ''The Blood of Kings. Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art''. New York: George Braziller, Inc., in association with the Kimbell Art Museum. * Schwerin, Jennifer von, 'The sacred mountain in social context. Symbolism and history in Maya Architecture: Temple 22 at Copan, Honduras.' ''Ancient Mesoamerica'' 22(2), September 2011: 271-300. * Simmons Clancy, Flora, ''The Monuments of Piedras Negras, an Ancient Maya City''. Albuquerque: U. of New Mexico Press 2009. * Spinden, Herbert, ''A Study of Maya Art: Its Subject Matter & Historical Development''. New York: Dover Publ., 1975. * Stierlin, Henri, ''Living Architecture: Mayan''. Architecture of the World, 10. Benedikt Taschen Verlag, 1994. * Stone, Andrea J., ''Images from the Underworld. Naj Tunich and the Tradition of Maya Cave Painting''. 1995. * Stone, Andrea, and Marc Zender, ''Reading Maya Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Maya Painting and Sculpture''. Thames and Hudson 2011. * Stuart, David, and George Stuart, ''Palenque, Eternal City of the Maya''. Thames and Hudson 2008. * Tate, Carolyn E., The Carved Ceramics Called Chochola. In ''5th Palenque Round Table'', PARI, San Francisco 1985: 122-133. * Tate, Carolyn E., ''Yaxchilan: The Design of a Maya Ceremonial City''. Austin: U. of Texas Press 1992. * Taube, Karl; David Stuart, William Saturno and Heather Hurst (2010). The Murals of San Bartolo, El Petén, Guatemala, Part 2: The West Wall. ''Ancient America'' 10. * Thompson, J.E.S., Deities portrayed on censers at Mayapan. ''Carnegie Institution of Washington, Current Reports'', No. 40 (July 1957). * Tozzer, Alfred M., ''Landa's Relación de las cosas de Yucatán. A Translation''. Peabody Museum, Cambridge MA 1941. * Trik, Aubrey S., 'The Splendid Tomb of Temple I At Tikal, Guatemala'. ''Expedition'' (Fall 1963): 3-18. * * * Wren, Linnea, et al., eds. ''Landscapes of the Itza: Archeology and Art History at Chichen Itza and Neighboring Sites''. Gainesville: University of Florida Press 2018. * Yadeun, Juan, ''Toniná''. Mexico: El Equilibrista / Madrid: Turner Libros 1993.


External links


Maya art, National Museum of the American Indian

Azulmaya:Maya Blue Pigment



Kerr Maya Vase Data Base & Precolumbian Portfolio

UNAM: Ancient Prehispanic Murals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maya Art Maya Preclassic Period Maya Classic Period Mesoamerican art Pre-Columbian art Mesoamerican art museums in the United States