Maya Art: Did you mean...?

Over the course of several millennia, textiles were the primary form of aesthetic expression and communication for the diverse cultures that developed throughout the desert coasts and mountain highlands...

Tulum, on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula in southern Mexico, was an important Mesoamerican centre which displayed both Maya and Toltec influence. Tulum was a major trading and religious centre between the 11th and 16th centuries...

Calakmul, an important Maya site set deep in the tropical forest of the Tierras Bajas of southern Mexico, played a key role in the history of this region for more than twelve centuries. Its imposing...

Xochicalco in central Mexico was an important hilltop centre from the 8th century CE and was a rival and successor of Teotihuacán. Architecture at the site is closely connected to that of the Classic Maya, Teotihuacan, and Veracruz...

The sport known simply as the Ball Game was played by all the major Mesoamerican civilizations and the impressive stone courts became a feature of many cities. More than just a game, it could have a religious significance...

Learn the basics for how to read ancient Maya, and learn to read the glyph for chocolate: cacao!

Archaeologists and National Geographic grantees George and David Stuart offer keen insights into the art and culture of the Mayans.

A seated Maya warrior. This stone and plaster figure is from the exterior of The Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza. Mexico, 1000-1100 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri)

3-4th century CE, Guatemala, Mesoamerica. Metropolitan Museum of Art A favored vessel type of the Maya lowlands was one made in the shape of a tropical bird, perhaps a cormorant, in the act of catching a fish in its beak...

A Maya tripod marble vessel. Travesia, Cortés, Honduras, 600-909 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri)