The ruins of Quirigua contain some outstanding 8th-century monuments and an impressive series of carved stelae and sculpted calendars that constitute an essential source for the study of Mayan civilization.
Maya
The ruined citadel and imposing public squares reveal the three main stages of development before the city was abandoned in the early 10th century.
Copán
The ceremonial center of Tikal contains superb temples and palaces, and public squares accessed by means of ramps.
Tikal
This plaque is one of relatively few imported Maya objects ever found at Teotihuacan and indicates that interaction between the two cultures went both ways.
Plaque of a Maya king from Teotihuacan
Calendars also tell us a great deal about how Mesoamerican cultures understood and structured their world.
The Mesoamerican Calendar
Maya hieroglyphs were first identified as a writing system during the nineteenth century, when the bar-and-dot numerical system was deciphered.
Maya glyphs, a basic introduction
Carved lintels were commissioned by elites and attest to ritual activities, like bloodletting.
Maya: The Yaxchilán Lintels
Vessels like this are an important source of information about Maya society since few of their books survive.
Maya: The Fenton Vase
Look up! This elaborate carving could be seen as one walked into the temple, but only VIPs had access.
Chakalte’, Relief with Enthroned Ruler
This fabulously-dressed mirror-bearer imitates the humans who performed this function in the royal courts.
Mirror-Bearer
During ceremonies, the user of this cup might be invited to share the story depicted here in Maya glyphs.
Vessel with a mythological scene
One of many Maya city-states, Palenque rose to prominence in the seventh century thanks to an ambitious local lord.
Palenque (Classic Period)
As independent city-states, the ancient Maya lacked a centralized power but shared a common belief system.
The Maya, an introduction
Over a hundred lintel relief sculptures depicting scenes from royal life survive from Yaxchilán.
Yaxchilán—Lintels 24 and 25 from Structure 23 ...
Over a thousand years before Instagram, Maya painted vases communicated about the lives of the rich and famous.
Politics and History on a Maya Vase
Large stone sculptures was the principal medium for presenting Maya political and religious messages to the public.
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