The medieval world
Classic Maya
c. 250–900
City-states whose carvings, murals and painted ceramics recorded kings, gods and history in image and script.
Overview
Maya cities such as Tikal, Palenque and Copán were built around stepped temple-pyramids, palaces and plazas lined with carved stone monuments called stelae. Art and writing worked together: hieroglyphic texts name rulers and give exact dates for the events shown.
Sculptors favored intricate low relief, and painters covered walls and ceramic vessels with court scenes and mythology. The murals at Bonampak are among the best-preserved paintings from the ancient Americas.
What defines it
- Stepped temple-pyramids arranged around open plazas
- Relief carving that combines portraits with hieroglyphic text
- Finely painted ceramics and murals in many colors
Works to know
- Sarcophagus lid of K’inich Janaab’ Pakal
- Yaxchilán Lintel 24
- Temple I (Temple of the Great Jaguar)
- Bonampak murals