THE MAYAJade Funeral Mask - Tikal

The Maya civilization extended throughout the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco, and the Yucatán Peninsula states of Quintana Roo, Campeche and Yucatán. The Maya area also extended throughout the northern Central American region, including the present-day nations of Guatemala, Belize, Northern El Salvador and western Honduras.

Painter self portrait in a Vase, Petén Late Classic, Note the paintbrush in the headress

The art of the Maya, is a reflection of their lifestyle and culture. It was an important trade merchandise. The art was composed of delineation and painting upon paper and plaster, carvings in wood, Obsidian, bone, shells, Jade and stone, clay and stucco models, and terracotta figurines from molds.

Naj Tunich Cave, Petén

The Maya excel in the painting mainly in Ceramics, but the murals both in buildings and in caves, were also important to them, they use several vegetable as well as mineral colors to perform their

Río Azul tomb

The most typical colours found in the Cave Art are black and red. Visual inspection suggests that black was usually derived from charcoal, although other black pigments, like manganese may have been used.

Bone painting Tikal

Conch Players figurines, Yaxhá, Petén Lowlands

The Maya excel in all aspects of ceramics, including flasks for drinking, Incense burners, burial Urns and articulated ceramics. Different names were used for different artifacts: uk’ib’, “drinking vase”, jaay, “bowl”, lak, “plate”, and jawa[n]te’, “tripod plate”. Often the work produced by a particular artist, was heavily sought after by the elite classes of Maya society.

Mayan Throne

More ceramics…

Tikal,. painted clay. Figure of God

Highland Guatemala mold

Petén, Containers in form of toads.

Monkey from the Pacific Lowlands, Tiquisate Area. The arms and legs move.

Incensario, Pacific Lowlands, 3 Faces of K'inich Ahau, Sun God

Cougar Pot, Chocolá, Pacific Lowlands

Jade Carvings

The Maya used a great deal of Jade and Obsidian in their art. Many stone carvings had jade inlays, and there were also ritual objects created from jade. It is remarkable that the Maya, who had no metal tools, created such intricate and beautiful objects from jade, a very hard and dense material.

Monumental Sculpture

Sculpture: A common form of Maya sculpture was the stela. The Maya somehow transported enormous stones through the jungle from distant quarries, apparently without the aid of either wheeled carts or beasts of burden. Artists then used only rudimentary stone tools to execute the intricate carvings, before raising the ponderous sculptures to their present vertical positions.

Petén God L and God K. These flasks may have held pigments or tobacco snuff.

LIKE THE EGYPTIANS, THE MAYANS ARE WELL KNOWN FOR PYRAMIDS, WHICH VARY IN SHAPE DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY WERE BUILT. THE MAYA OCCUPIED THE YUCATÁN PENINSULA OF MEXICO.

The Mayan religion centered around the worship of many nature gods. Their amazing architecture remain as great ruins at centers they used for religious ceremonies, including Palenque, Uxmal, Copán, Tikal and Chichén Itzá. They developed astronomy, calendar systems and writing. They built observatories to watch stars. They were highly skilled as potters and weavers. About AD 300 to 900 the major centers including Palenque, Tikal, and Copán were mysteriously abandoned. The reasons are still unknown. A few centers continued until the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.

About the Maya

Palenque…

The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD. After its decline it was absorbed into the jungle, but has been excavated and restored and is now a famous archaeological site attracting thousands of visitors.