Monuments of Mayan culture. Ten most famous monuments of the ancient Mayan civilization. Ancient Mayan cities - photos

Rightfully recognized as one of the brightest. A diverse group of Indian peoples numbering about 2.7 million lived in Mexico. There is a hypothesis that people settled America thirty thousand years ago, coming there from Asia.

Despite the fact that the Maya until the 10th century AD. e. they did not know how to cultivate the land with a plow and did not use artiodactyl animals in their activities, did not have wheeled carts and no idea about metals, they were constantly improving.

In particular, they mastered hieroglyphic writing. Using hieroglyphs, the Mayans wrote codices - books on a kind of paper. It is they who currently help scientists in the study of this civilization. The codes were first translated by the German scientist E. Forstemann into late XIX century.

The Mayans understood the movements of the moon and the sun and predicted eclipses. Their calculations regarding the movements of Venus were also close to correct, the difference being only 14 seconds per year. They are also earlier than representatives Arab countries and Hindus began to use the concept of zero.

The skillful combination of astronomical knowledge and writing helped tribes record time. Their counting systems, called Tzolkin and Tonalamatl, were based on the numbers 20 and 13. The roots of the first of them go back much earlier than the Mayans, however, it was they who perfected the system.

Art flourished in this civilization: they created beautiful sculptures, ceramics, erected majestic buildings and painted.

The art of the Mexican Indians reached its highest degree of development in antiquity in the time period from 250 to 900 AD. e., the so-called classical period. The most beautiful frescoes were found by researchers in the cities of Palenque, Copane and Bonampaque. Now they are equated to cultural monuments antiquity, because the ancient Mayan images are really not inferior to the latter in beauty. Unfortunately, many of the valuables have not survived to this day, destroyed either by time or by the Inquisition.

Architecture

The main motifs in Mayan architecture are deities, snakes and masks. Religious and mythological themes are reflected both in small ceramics and in sculptures and bas-reliefs. The Mayans created their works of art from stone, mainly using limestone.

The architecture of this people is majestic; it is characterized by massive, soaring facades of palaces and temples, and ridges on the roofs.

Mayan Studies

The Indians created cities using only muscular strength, built temples and palaces under the leadership of kings and priests, and carried out military campaigns. Unfortunately, now most Mayan cities have turned into ruins. They also had their own gods, whom they worshiped, and ritual sacrifices and ceremonies took place.

For a long time, scientists believed that no one lived permanently in the ceremonial centers, and the buildings were used only for performing rituals. But later it was proven that for the most part the palaces of the nobility and priests were built quite close to them.

Thanks to research into ceremonial centers, quite a lot of information was obtained regarding the life activity of the upper strata of Mayan society. In contrast, little was known about the lower classes. For example, the question of the life of farmers has not been sufficiently studied, but it was they who supported the ruling strata with the help of their labor. It is this side of Mayan life that is currently being studied by archaeologists.

New research has allowed scientists to create a completely different chronology of this civilization. They found that the Maya are at least 1000 years older than previously thought. This was done thanks to radiocarbon dating of wooden products found by archaeologists. It has been proven that they were made in the period 2750 - 2450. BC e. Accordingly, the Mayan culture turned out to be older than the Olmec, which until that moment was considered the ancestor of the Maya and a number of other civilizations. Thus, the factor of influence of the Olmec culture was excluded and a hypothesis was put forward about a possible reverse influence. Thus, further research into the history of the continent will be required. After all, just one season of excavations could add a thousand years to the existence of the Mayans and more than one and a half to the prehistory of all of Mesoamerica.

The discoveries of archaeologists have made it possible to create a more accurate periodization due to a number of reasons, the main two of which are:

On the territory in large quantities Ceramics have been found that, using the most modern methods, make it possible to more accurately date the ancient culture.
Thanks to the hieroglyphic writing of the ancient Indians, it was possible to translate most their records, comparing them with the chronology, and then with the modern calendar. This helped determine, down to the month, the dates of special events for the Mayan civilization, the reigns of rulers and simply important personalities for history, their names, years of life.

Territory and climate

On the impressive territory (an area of 325 thousand square kilometers), which is now occupied by various states of Mexico and where the Mayans previously lived, several natural zones are actually distinguished. Each of them has its own climate, its own natural conditions, vegetation, relief, etc. That is, each natural zone represents a certain ecological system. The first of the systems - advanced in a kind of semicircle to the south, capturing the southwest and southeast, plateaus and mountain ranges Central American Cordillera. The second ecological system conventionally includes the valleys and hills around the Peten Basin in Guatemala, as well as the inland basin itself and the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula. The last zone of Maya dislocation is the plain in the north of Yucatan. Spacious, covered with grass and bushes, it was also inhabited by ancient Indians.

Linguistic features of the Maya

To this day, 24 Mayan languages have survived, the most important of which are united into language families, and these, in turn, into a common linguistic branch.

The Huastec language can still be heard to this day in one of the northern regions of the state of Veracruz, and it remains a mystery why native speakers ended up there. They emigrated to this place around 1200 BC. e. - even before the Mayan civilization arose. In addition to the Huastecs, who were located far beyond the Mayan area, there were other emigrants, but they basically remained in the same territory, as evidenced by the research of modern linguists. In their opinion, 2500 BC. e. in those places there was a community whose members spoke the proto-Mayan language. It was gradually divided into dialects, and their speakers were forced to emigrate. This is how the area of life of the Mayan peoples was determined. And it became possible to divide their history directly into specific periods thanks to data from archaeological excavations.

Maya today

Today, the number of descendants of the ancient civilization on the Yucatan Peninsula is approximately 6.1 million, with approximately 40% of the Mayans living in Guatemala, and around 10% in Belize. The religious preferences of the Mayans have changed over time and now represent a combination of ancient traditions and Christian ones. Each modern Mayan community has its own patron. The form of donations has also changed, now it is candles, spices or poultry. A number of Mayan groups that want to stand out from others have special motifs in their traditional clothing.

The Lecandon Mayans are known as the most preserved traditions of the group. Christianity has had little influence on this community, their clothing is characterized by a cotton composition and decorated with traditional motifs. But nevertheless, more and more Mayans are exposed to progress: they watch TV, drive cars, and dress in modern things. Moreover, the Mayans make money from tourism by talking about the traditions of their civilization.

Of particular note is the Mexican state of Chiapas. There, a number of villages controlled by the Zapatistas achieved autonomy to govern in the recent past.

The civilizations of pre-Columbian America reached their peak among the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs. A number of common features allow scientists to conclude that the Mayan civilization became the heir to the Olmec cultural tradition.

The cultural history of this people is usually divided into three periods. First period(from antiquity to 317) - the time of the emergence of city-states, primitive shifting agriculture, the production of cotton fabrics, etc. Second period (317-987) — ancient kingdom, or the classical period, is the time of the growth of cities (Palenque, Chichen Itza, Tulum) and at the same time the mysterious exodus of the population from them at the beginning of the 10th century. Third period(987-16th century) - a new kingdom, or postclassical period - the time of the arrival of European conquistadors, the adoption of new laws, styles in life and art, mixing of cultures, fratricidal wars, etc.

Around 300 BC In the geographical area covering parts of modern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, the Mayan civilization began to take shape. In this territory, the Maya people built several majestic ritual centers, the ruins of which have survived to this day. These centers consisted of a few large buildings, and their population was small - mainly priests, their servants and artisans. Large religious holidays were held in the centers, to which large crowds of people flocked.

It formed the spiritual basis of Mayan culture, as in many ancient civilizations. In Mayan ideas, the world was a complex formation, filled with various sacred forces. Therefore, the pantheon of gods was very large. Dozens of gods are known, which, depending on their functions, are divided into groups: gods of fertility, water, hunting, fire, stars, death, war, etc. The main ones were the god of fruitful rain and deadly lightning with a head like a tapir, the god of the Sun and the night sky, the god of corn - the patron of life and death. All of them had a human appearance, thanks to which they can be easily recognized in hieroglyphic inscriptions.

The religious views of the Mayans were based on the connection between life and death, the eternal cycle of dying and rebirth. Therefore, all Mayan deities are dual and combine two opposite principles - life and death, love and hate, earth and sky. The Mayans depicted their main gods as a feathered snake: feathers are a symbol of the sky, the snake is a symbol of the earth. They believed that, depending on a person’s actions after death, the person’s soul remains either in a state of serene bliss or in eternal torment. Eternal bliss awaits those who deserve it, and sinners go to Metnal - the underworld, an eternally cold region inhabited by demons.

The religious rituals of the ancient Mayans were very complex, especially sacrifices of various types, among which the most common were human ones, since the gods were believed to feed only on human blood. Like the Volmec civilization, the Mayans sacrificed the most beautiful girls, receiving for this an eternal happy life, and the best young men are winners in the ball game.

It was believed that each of the gods took turns ruling the world at certain intervals, such as a year or several years. By the time the reign of a certain god began, the Mayans displayed his statues in temples and squares, and they stood until his reign ended. The reign of the evil deity brought troubles and suffering to people, and the good one brought prosperity and prosperity. The Universe, according to Mayan beliefs, is complex: it was divided into 13 spaces, each of them was in charge of some god. The sky was supported by four deities, and each had its own color: red belonged to the god of the east, white to the god of the north, black to the god of the west, yellow to the god of the south; At the center of the universe was the color green. Thus, the Mayan number four had special magical knowledge. This probably explains the existence of four capital cities among the Mayans: Copan, Calakmul, Tikal, Palenque.

Mayan architecture

Architecture received its greatest development in the material culture of the Maya. There were two types architectural structures- residential buildings and monumental ceremonial buildings. Ordinary residential buildings were often built on platforms, had rectangular outlines, stone walls, peaked, thatched, gable roofs; A fireplace made of stones was built in the center of the house. The type of ceremonial buildings included pyramids, which served as the foundation of the temple, raising it as high as possible to the sky; Most often, temples were located on the tops of the pyramids. They were square in plan, had a cramped interior space (due to thick walls), were decorated with inscriptions, ornaments, and served as sanctuaries. An example of this type of architecture is the “Temple of the Inscriptions” in Palenque. Mayan buildings were built at certain intervals - 5, 20 and 50 years. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Mayans re-lined their pyramids every 52 years and erected steles (altars) every five years. The records on the altars reported on any events. Such a subordination of artistic culture to the calendar and time did not exist anywhere in the world.

Mayan sculpture and painting

Sculpture and painting harmoniously complemented Mayan architecture. Their images represent a panorama of the life of society. The main themes of the images are deities, rulers, and everyday life. Altars and steles were decorated with multi-figure compositions combining various sculptural genres. The Mayans used all sculptural genres - carving, bas-relief, high relief, round and modeled volume. The materials used were obsidian, flint, jade, shells, bone and wood. The Mayans also knew how to make religious objects from clay, covering them with painting. Many sculptures were painted. The sculptors paid great attention to facial expressions and clothing details.

The Mayan sculptural tradition is distinguished by realism, brilliance and energy. On steles and in temple reliefs, sculptural images of people are made both realistically and artificially motionless. A mandatory requirement for sculptural figures was an S-shaped spread: the feet and head of the figure were depicted in profile, and the torso and shoulders were depicted from the front. In ritual centers, sculptural monuments-steles were erected with hieroglyphic inscriptions relating to the ruler-priest, whose image was present on the monument, containing a description of a historical event or the genealogy of the person to whom the monument was dedicated. The date of death of this person or his rise to power was often indicated. The face itself was depicted wearing full ritual regalia, including ear and nose ornaments, bracelets, necklaces, a feathered headdress, and a ceremonial staff.

Mayan customs and traditions

Customs and traditions played a special role in the life of the Mayans, primarily associated with the birth of a child, the achievement of puberty, and marriage. The birth of a person was considered a manifestation of the favor of the gods, especially the moon goddess Ish-Chel. The priests gave the baby a child's name and drew up a horoscope for him, predicting which deity would patronize or harm the child throughout his life.

Strabismus was considered one of the main signs of beauty among the Mayans. To develop it, a rubber ball or small bead was attached to the child's hair and hung between the eyes. A wooden plank was tightly bandaged to the front of the baby's head so that the skull became flatter and the forehead line lengthened, which was considered a sign of beauty and high social status.

In the life of every representative of the Mayan people, the rite of puberty was important. The day for it was chosen especially carefully. On the appointed day, all participants in the celebration gathered in the courtyard of the patron's house. The priest performed a ritual of cleansing the home and expelled the evil spirit, the yard was swept and mats were spread on the ground. The ceremony ended with a feast and general drunkenness. After this, marriage was allowed. Fathers chose future wives for their sons, observing the ban on marriage between persons related by blood.

A special activity in Mayan culture was playing ball, which was of a religious and ceremonial nature. Preparation for the game was accompanied by a complex ritual, since it was believed that certain deities entered into the fight in the game.

The death of the Mayan civilization dates back to the 11th century. This historical fact is still a mystery, since a huge empire suddenly died for no apparent reason. At the same time, the cities remained untouched - without traces of destruction, as if their inhabitants had left for a short time and were soon going to return.

The Aztec and Mayan civilizations flourished in the lands formerly owned by the mysteriously vanished "rubber people" (i.e., "rubber-black people"), yet this area of America would remain sparsely populated until the 19th century.

The Olmecs, who disappeared from history around 1300 BC created a calendar, which is known to us, like the Mayan and Mayan calendar. The warlike Mayan tribes borrowed most of the culture of the advanced Olmec civilization...

The Mayan tribes learned to make bronze weapons, silver jewelry with stones, artistic stone carvings, figurines and drawings, and also borrowed mathematical methods of calculation.
The Mayan tribes worshiped the Sun - on an altar with a solar symbol - and the Mayans made human sacrifices.

Depicted are found very often on architectural monuments of the Mayan civilization.

From volcanic stone dating back to 500 AD, the ancient Mayans created a statue of a deity trampling underfoot the symbol of the underworld - the crocodile. God is depicted, his head is crowned with a crown, with symbols directed to the 4 cardinal directions, the heavens rest on the crown of the deity.

Great Mural Rock Art, Baja Mexico-7500 y.o. Tourists who went on excursions in Mexico, Cancun, in the big stone cave, will be able to see the ancient drawings made on the walls of the cave with red ocher. Scientists and archaeologists believe that images of people with raised hands are about 7,500 years old.

While exploring the Mayan civilization, archaeologists discovered many interesting stone and terracotta figurines.

One of them represents a deity with a hole in the chest, where you can see 6 more small Mayan deities - seven in total.

The Mayan tribes were familiar not only with the sacrifice of the human heart to their gods, but also with the embalming of the human body.

Just like in Egypt, where the burial ritual of the pharaoh included embalming the body and constructing 7 covers and coffins around it from different materials.

Thus the body of the pharaoh was prepared for the secret eternal life and his resurrection in another world.

In Russian culture, the secret of life is hidden in a matryoshka doll, which also has 7 shells.

One of the most famous monuments in Copan is Altar Q in front of Temple 16. History is recorded on the stone Altar dynasty of the first kings from the pre-Columbian Mayan civilization, who built a state centered in Copan. Under Altar Q, which is a massive square stone set on 4 cylindrical stones, 13 sacrificial jaguars are buried.

On the western side of Altar Q, the first Mayan king Yaah-Kuk-Mo (left, numbered 1) is depicted transmitting the symbol of power - the Rod, very reminiscent of his successor Mayan king Yaah-Pac (right, 16 Mayan king). The first Mayan king, Yax-K'uk' Mo', lost his right arm in battle and holds a staff in his left hand. Modern isotope analyzes of the human remains of King Yax-K'uk' Mo' have shown that he came from Copan, in Tikal, and not from Teotihuacan, a city of the 2nd century. BC e. - VII century n. e. in the Valley of Mexico (Mexico).

Each side of Altar Q depicts 4 Mayan kings, thus representing the first 16 Mayan kings of the Copan dynasty. The names of the kings are read in the Mayan language. It is interesting that some of our contemporaries see in the jewelry of the Mayan kings details similar to modern headsets, headphones, and the image of the royal staff reminds them of a rocket taking off into space, which gives them reason to assume that the Mayans are aliens of their space.

The courtyard of the Mayan sanctuary at Copan is decorated with carved stone steles installed in honor of significant events glorifying the name of the ruling Mayan kings. Stone sculptures of idols are similar to Scythian women or stone menhirs, often found in many European and Asian civilizations.

Stone stele “C” bears the date of its creation: December 5, 711 AD. The stone stele faces sunrise and sunset, just as it meets the first rays of the sun in the east and sees it off beyond the horizon in the west. On the western side of Stele "C" there is a turtle in the shape of an altar, it is called the "Cosmic Turtle" because the celestial constellations are depicted on its shell,

In the Mayan civilization there are other symbols and ritual images that are found in the cultures of other European peoples. For example, the Sacred Tree of Life.

The Mayan sacred round stones, altars, also have their “doubles” in other civilizations of the world. All peoples of the world served as conductors of the will of the gods. For example, in ancient Greece In the temple of Apollo at Delphi, under a tree in the sacred grove, there lay a large round stone, which was called “omval”, or “navel of the earth”. Standing at the sacred Omwala stone, the Delphic oracles predicted the fate of kings and generals. In Italy, there are gigantic structures from the pre-Roman era called Nuras, and huge rounded stones called “omvals”, considered an energetic place of power. When it comes to sacred megaliths and boulders, for some reason the first thing that comes to mind is the stone mentioned in many Russian fairy tales, which stands at the crossroads of three roads. Approaching the stone, the rider decided which path of life he should choose, which direction of the world he should go to. In Russia, the famous Sin-stone, which fulfills wishes and moves along the shore of Lake Pleshcheevo.

If architecture gives us enough information about the structure of the society in which it originated and developed, then the plastic arts, especially sculpture, allow us to understand more clearly and penetrate more deeply into the various spheres of Mayan society. The plastic arts give us a series of reliable images through which a panorama of the life of that society is revealed.

Technique

The Mayans knew and used, to a greater or lesser extent, all sculptural techniques: carving, bas-relief and high relief, round and modeled volume. Obsidian, flint, jade and other hard or fine-grained stones, as well as shell and bone, were used to make small objects. Large sculptures used mainly limestone and sometimes wood. Their tools were made of hard rocks; with their help they cut, sculpted, drilled; polishing was achieved using stone dust, sand and water. Many, if not all, of the sculptures were painted in various colors; Traces of such painting are sometimes still found.

The sculpture could decorate the details of buildings (panels, slabs, lintels, jambs, columns, stairs), could be an element functionally associated with the building (altars, sanctuaries, thrones), or be part of such architectural complexes, like squares, platforms and temples.

Themes

Sculpture, like art in general, was supposed to embody themes that helped to strengthen the existing system: the life of the deities who created the system and ensured its proper functioning, and the power of those who were considered to be representatives of these deities on earth.

Gods - abstract beings - were depicted symbolically: in the form of a person, animal, plant, as well as geometrically, hieroglyphically, or by combining elements of different forms. One of the most common forms of image was a mask, in which the features of a person and an animal merged. The masks were made of stone or, more often, of stuka. They were part of the ornamentation of temples and were placed in those places where they were most noticeable: on the ridges, friezes, corners of facades, above the entrances. But they are also found on altars, on the bases of steles, on inscriptions, and also decorate the clothes and attributes of the depicted persons.

If only one character was depicted on the monument, then usually his facial features were idealized and he was always lavishly dressed. If several characters participated in the scene, then the ruler was located above the others; often he stood or sat on one of his subjects or captives, and his posture demonstrated his superiority.

While glorifying the ruling class as a whole, ancient sculptors usually did not strive to individualize the persons depicted. However, we believe that many of the characters bear a portrait resemblance to actually existing rulers and priests. As for ordinary people, slaves and captives, the poverty and simplicity of their clothing, as well as the pose given to them by the sculptor, without any doubt indicate their low position.

Classic styles

The dual nature of Maya art, reflecting the socio-political structure of a society ruled by a theocracy that combined civil and religious powers, as well as the specificity of geographical, historical and political factors, especially the territorial division into autonomous states, explain the variety of styles that developed in the Maya area. In these styles, depending on regional traditions, static or dynamic, symbolic or realistic, divine or human principles prevailed.

In the study of sculpture we will adhere to a division similar to that used for architecture: for the classical era in the central and northern zones, the styles are Petén, Motagua, Usumacinta, Palenque, Rio Bec, Chenes and Puuc; then we will consider the postclassical styles of the northern zone and separately, due to its specific conditions, the southern zone.

Peten

From the end of the Preclassic period we know of the Petén building E-VII in Vashaktun, the staircase blocks of which were decorated with stuka masks, symbolizing, in the form of heads of snakes and jaguars, some deities. Throughout the classical period, the themes of the ornaments of friezes and crests from the piece were always of a religious nature.

From the beginning of this latter period, the rulers of Petén were depicted in a ceremonial pose, lavishly dressed and with carefully detailed elements of their clothing and attributes of high rank. On the most ancient steles, the whole body was depicted in profile, later only the legs and face, and finally only the face. The themes of the carved wooden lintels of the main temples reflect the same theme of glorifying rulers. The figures are accompanied by hieroglyphic inscriptions, which probably indicate the name, title, date of birth and the most important events that occurred during the reign of these individuals. Some Teotihuacan motifs, such as the face of the god Tlaloc and the "sign of the year", appear in the 5th or 6th centuries . as decorations. We mentioned the names of the main centers of Peten when talking about architecture.

Motagua

Among the various styles of the Classic Period Maya, the Motagua Valley style is particularly distinct from the rest. The most numerous sculptural monuments, almost entirely dating from the late classical period, have been preserved in Copan.

Analyzing the monuments of Copán, many of which are dated by calendar inscriptions, Tatyana Proskuryakova traced the evolution of art styles at various stages. But despite this evolution, Copán sculpture shows a strong influence from traditions maintained over the centuries. The evolution affected only the technique of execution, but did not change the theme and did not violate the basic characteristics of the style.

The characters depicted on the steles probably represented the highest-ranking group in society. An expression of solemnity and calm indifference was frozen on their monotonously repeating faces. Nevertheless, many of them apparently bear a portrait resemblance to real people. Their static poses probably correspond to existing canons, as well as the image of the body presented in front, in lush clothes, leaving only the legs and face open.

The most significant change is the transition from bas-relief to high relief. On the steles of later times, the characters appear to be leaning against a stone block, so they can be seen both in profile and from the front. Even attempts were made to depict the legs in an inclined position. The arms are folded on the chest, while in more ancient sculptures the forearms are shown in an almost vertical position, and later in a horizontal position. In his hands the character always holds a hierarchical attribute in the form of a “ritual stripe” (symbol of the sky), ending at both ends with a snake head. On the most ancient steles this attribute was located vertically; later it began to occupy a horizontal position.

The clothing is extremely rich, and the sculptor accurately reproduces its smallest details. Huge headdresses decorated with a mask of some animal from the cat family or several masks superimposed on one another are striking. All kinds of additional elements of this dress are made with incredible care, with some kind of fear of empty space. Often the steles are covered with images on all four sides - characters on large surfaces and hieroglyphic texts on the side faces of the stones.

Numerous zoomorphic altars (snakes, felines, turtles, heads of mythical animals) and motifs that are part of the architecture complement the rich Copan sculpture. The Teotihuacan element of the mask of the god Tlaloc may in some cases decorate the headdress or hang from the loincloth.

In Quirigua, a city probably dependent on Copán, a style developed that resembled that of Copán, at least in subject matter and composition, but not in technique, since it was limited to bas-relief (except for the faces of important characters). At Quirigua there were no attempts to obtain a circular volume, with the exception of zoomorphic altars. The "ritual band" has been completely replaced by the scepter of the rain god and the solar shield. Notable are the zoomorphic images and some altars associated with them, the rich decoration of which is distinguished by noticeable dynamism.

Usumacinta

In the Usumacinta Valley, a new element of battle character appears in the sculpture.

Apparently, this area, located on the western border of the Maya region, was most often subject to invasions by foreigners. But wars could also be the result of civil strife or internal unrest. These different alternatives seem equally plausible. In any case, sculpture often contains scenes of war, executed in a realistic and dynamic manner.

The depicted characters, despite their rich clothing, have a visible silhouette of their bodies. They talk animatedly with peers or give orders to subordinates, threaten, fight, capture prisoners on the battlefield, try them or kill them, show the attributes of their high rank to vassals who demonstrate their humility to them, preside over councils, receive some objects from the hands their wives, perform ritual bloodletting, that is, they appear before us as living people endowed with high powers.

The technique used is always bas-relief. The drawing is done confidently and energetically, the bodies are well drawn, their proportions are more or less natural, the compositions of the groups are very successful, the movement is sometimes only outlined, but often expressed with all the realism available to them.

Piedras Negras, Yaxchilan, Bonampac, Jonuta, Balancan, Morales, El Caribe, La Amelia, La Florida, La Mar, Altar de Sacrificios, Ceibal are the main monuments belonging to this area. In some of them, Teotihuacan elements (Tlaloc masks and the “sign of the year”), which we indicated for Peten and Motagua, are also presented as decorations on headdresses, shields, and loincloths. At Ceibal, an alien presence appears on some later steles, in which the physical type of the characters is no longer Mayan, although their clothing retains the same character; The Mexican calendar hieroglyph Zipactli associated with one of the characters suggests the name of the Zipaque family, who, according to historical sources, ruled in the Chontal region, from which came the mixed Maya-Mexican cultural groups that infested much of the Maya region at the end of the Classic period.

Palenque

As we said in the section on the architecture of Palenque, this center, despite being located in the Usumacinta basin, produced a very distinctive art, different in many respects from what developed in the rest of the area - both in sculpture and in architecture. That's why we consider it separately. The artists of Palenque worked limestone into flat, shallow relief and, in addition, had a special interest in shaping stucco, a very plastic material especially suited to their refined taste. They did not perceive a round volume at all, which we know about only from rare fragments of objects both in stone and in a piece.

They also did not care about the construction of steles and other monuments such as altars, except for a small number of rectangular or round tables. Their stone bas-reliefs form panels, strips, slabs, built into structures, mainly in the internal walls of buildings. Piece products are also part of buildings, decorating the outside of their bases, columns, friezes, ridges, and the inside of walls. Small slabs, beautifully engraved with a sharp chisel, probably made of obsidian, bear images of deities and hieroglyphic inscriptions, finely drawn with light lines. The body of the piece was modeled naked, clothes that barely covered it, and decorations were applied later; finally, they were painted in different colors, traces of which are still preserved in some places: red for the body and face, black for hair and blue for jewelry and attributes.

The main themes developed were compositional groups, although there are also individual characters on columns and heads inside medallions. Scenes depict the ascension of a ruler to the throne, the veneration of important characters or religious symbols, a whole hierarchy of vassals, ritual dances, human sacrifices, symbolic compositions implying death and rebirth, religious and astronomical motifs, hieroglyphic texts of calendar and historical content. The Stuka heads decorating the friezes, crests and walls undoubtedly reflected with striking realism the features of those people who dominated the political and religious life of Palenque.

Palenque sculptors were distinguished by high technical skill, subtlety of perception, rigor and elegance of style. Their art differs significantly from that of Copán, Petén, and even the rest of the Usumacinta region. The human body was depicted almost naked, in various positions (standing up, sitting, kneeling, squatting); the whole body or just the face was shown in profile. The characters' attire usually consisted of a simple loincloth, an elegant headdress (in the form of a plume or a crown of flowers), loosely worked necklaces, ear ornaments and bracelets. Some rulers wore cloaks made of feathers or jade plates, and skirts decorated with barely outlined diamond-shaped motifs, but almost the entire body was always visible, which gave a naturalness to the characters and scenes in which they participated.

When depicting facial features, there is a noticeable desire to convey a portrait resemblance, but at the same time one can also see adherence to certain canons, which manifests itself, say, in the deformation of the head and in the transformation of the fold from frowning eyebrows into an artificial line of the nasal arch, continuing on part of the forehead. People's figures are graceful, proportional, and even in the most static scenes, the position of the hands, some flexibility, and a slight tilt of the head create a feeling of naturalness.

In general, we can say that the art of Palenque is distinguished by balance, naturalness, realism, restrained dynamism, rigor and sophistication.

Rio Bec - Chenes

In the chapter on architecture we looked at these areas separately. However, as far as sculpture is concerned, we can say that they belong to the same stylistic region.

Both areas are characterized by an almost complete absence of free-standing sculptures. We find only references to five or six steles from Rio Bec, Pasion del Cristo and Sorrow, much destroyed and in style apparently influenced by the Petén traditions.

On the other hand, sculpture was functionally related to architecture. In the overly overloaded decoration of the temple facades, a combination of stone and stucco was used. At the same time, a thick layer of stuff not only covered the stone frame of the building, but also added details that gave it its final shape.

The main motif is the mask of the rain god, the presence of which on the facades is closely related to the lack of surface water and the scarcity of rainfall. The mask can occupy most of the vertical part of the façade, with its wide-open mouth corresponding to the entrance. Large eyes, a nose hanging over the lintel, fangs descending vertically, parallel to the jambs of the doorway, create a terrifying impression.

The decor consists of masks made full-face or in profile and located on columns in the corners, as well as stylized snakes, volutes, bars, columns, images of peasant huts and sometimes figurines of people.

The element of a mask covering the entire facade, the mouth of which serves as the entrance to the temple, is known to us especially in the Puuc style (Uxmal and Chichen Itza) and in Copan.

Puuk

The area bearing this name occupies the western half of the state of Yucatan and the northern half of the state of Campeche. It includes numerous centers, the most important of which are Etsna, Uxmal, Kabakh, Sayil, Labna, Shlabpak, Shkalumkin, Shkulok, Oshkintok, Chakmultun.

At Puuc the tradition of erecting steles continued to exist, while at Rio Beque and Chenes it was, as we have already said, abandoned. These monuments, mainly from the middle and end of the late classical period, depicted some noble, magnificently dressed characters. T. Proskuryakova suggested the possible existence of a regional, poorly researched style. Many items were found in poor preservation, destroyed by natural elements or the use of slash-and-burn agriculture.

In addition to the steles, columns, supporting pillars, jambs and lintels were covered with sculptural carvings, mainly with bas-reliefs, the subjects of which glorified the rulers. The latest monuments reveal a style already in decline - the figures on them are roughly drawn, disproportionate and anatomically distorted; the composition is rigid or crudely executed in cases where the sculptors intended to show movement. The drawing is uncertain, and many of the fine details of the clothing are indicated by cut lines rather than relief, with a predominance of straight lines over curves. In Uxmal and Cabaj, Toltec features are evidence of the first foreign invasions in the 9th century.

Tradition separately standing sculpture not typical for the Puuk style; Architectural sculpture and, specifically, the ornamentation of the façade frieze give a special imprint to the style of this area. If in other areas (Petén, Usumacinta, Palenque) there were usually only a few masks made of pieces on the frieze, then in Puuk it turns into a rich stone ornament, contrasting with the smooth walls. Such work could only be done with the help of numerous masons. It was a collective creative work performed for the entire community, since its purpose was not to glorify individuals from the ruling class, but to glorify the rain god Chaak, especially revered in these waterless places.

The image of Chaak as a mask, repeated many times with minimal variations, reaches its apogee in one Kabakh building, the façade of which is entirely covered with hundreds of his images from base to cornice.

Only geometric motifs complement the ornamentation: a lattice, a simple or stepped meander, drums, smooth or banded columns, broken and jagged stripes, sometimes forming rhombuses, serpentine wavy stripes. These elements, harmoniously combined, serve as a background against which the image of the rain god stands out effectively. Depictions of people are rare, except those that appeared at a later period under foreign influence.

The Puuc style is also found outside this area, in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula (Zibilchaltun and Chichen Itza). During the same era, during the late classical period, this style continued to exist in Mayapan.

To summarize, we can say that the sculptural art of Puuc, which is an integral part of architecture, has an abstract content and a geometric form of expression. This art is undoubtedly religious, in which the human personality gives way to the deity.

Postclassical styles

We have already talked about the invasion of foreigners into the Mayan region at the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century. This invasion was preceded by another wave, traces of which were found in Uxmal and Cabaj. The culture that the conquerors brought was undoubtedly Toltec. Its fusion with the Mayan culture led to the creation of the Maya-Toltec style, which survived until the arrival of the Spaniards, although it dissolved over time in the local culture.

Maya-Toltec style. "Temple of the Warriors", Chichen Itza

Let us briefly look at the sculpture of three monuments in the postclassic period located in the northern part of Yucatan. These are Chichen Itza, Mayapan and Tulum.

Chichen Itza

In sculpture, even more than in architecture, the capture of Chichen Itza in the mid-13th century can be traced. carriers of the Toltec culture. It cannot be argued that everything Mayan disappeared in sculptural art - it was not the replacement of some styles by others, but their fusion. Some specific details were revealed by T. Proskuryakova; they resemble details of monuments of the classical period, especially what she attributes to the “Oshkintok school” (for example, some types of plumes). The presence of Chaac masks on Toltec buildings, identical to those of the Puuc style, speaks of a political situation in which an incoming minority who seized power was forced to respect the creed of the vast majority of the enslaved people.

Regardless of the fact that the themes presented in Chichen were of Toltec origin, the hand of the Mayan artist who executed them is visible in them, reflecting in his work an undeniable superiority over the sculptor from Tula. The same image (jaguar, eagle, chac-mool or warrior) acquires in Chichen Itza, thanks to more advanced technique and more refined taste, a perfection that the Toltecs did not have. This is especially evident in some of the sculptures of warriors sculpted on the doorposts of the “Temple of the Jaguars” in the ball-game complex. Their faces are carved with such skill as was never achieved in Toltec Tula.

One of the characteristic features of the Maya-Toltec style, which distinguishes it from the styles of the central zone, is the replacement of individual images of characters with group ones.

The main motifs of Toltec culture introduced into Chichen Itza are as follows:

feathered snakes decorating the bases and platforms of buildings;
columns in the shape of a rattlesnake with its head on the ground, body raised and a “rattle” tail bent to support the lintel;
figures of individual warriors on supports and jambs or entire processions on “banquets” and altars;
processions of jaguars;
atlases supporting the altar slabs;
standard bearers;
eagles and jaguars devouring hearts;
motif "man - bird - snake";
statues of reclining people, unfortunately called "chacmools";
figures of the gods Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, Tlaloc, Tlalchiton-tiuh;
scenes of sacrifice by tearing out the heart;
the use of engraving in the form of bas-relief or high relief, depending on the purpose of the monument.

The Maya-Toltec art of Chichen Itza reproduces many of the new concepts imposed by the conquerors. It is of a religious nature and reflects an alien culture, forcibly grafted onto the trunk of Mayan culture. Yet this art bears the indelible mark of Mayan artistic genius.

Mayapan

Although all the buildings whose remains remain in Mayapan belong to the late postclassical period (XIII-XIV centuries), earlier art can be traced there, contemporary with the Puuc style (VIII-IX centuries) - through the presence of several Chaak masks. They originally adorned buildings of the same style, but after these buildings were demolished, the masks were clumsily restored to Postclassical buildings; Numerous fragments of masks and other motifs from friezes of the Puuk style were used as simple building material for backfilling walls.

Some steles, in their inscriptions or style, correspond to the end of the Late Classical period and demonstrate a relationship with the Puuk steles or with those that T. Proskuryakova associates with the “Oshkintok school”. They are crude in execution, and the elements of clothing and hats are made not in relief, but in cutting. There are steles in which the square-shaped space prepared for the hieroglyphic text was not worked out; some monuments (more than 25) remained smooth. It can be assumed that they were entirely or partially painted in layers or that some important events prevented them from being completed. Some figures resemble drawings from the Paris Codex.

Most of the sculptural material from Mayapan comes from architectural ornamentation: serpentine columns in which the smooth trunk was apparently covered and painted; rattlesnake tails, bent at right angles to support the lintels, carved in stone, like the heads of the snakes, were found at the base of the platforms or on the upper platforms. All these architectural details imitated the snakes of Chichen Itza.

Also typical are life-size human figures made in high relief from stuka and leaning against the columns. Some figures and human heads were equipped with spikes for fastening. There are elements made in the Mayan style of the classical period. Images of animals such as monkeys, jaguars, dogs, lizards decorated the doorposts and columns. Small altars were shaped like a turtle with a human head.

Turtle motifs painted on a layer of paint complemented the decoration of the buildings. The sculptural art of Mayapan, like all of Yucatan, was religious and symbolic. It, like the architecture, bore traces of the era of decline, when they tried to copy Toltec art, while the Mayan classical foundation was still preserved. In the Mayapan style, a kinship with the style is clearly visible east coast Yucatan.

Tulum

There are numerous monuments on the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Let's name some of them, listing from north to south: El Meco, Nisucte, Playa del Carmen, Palmul, Akumal, Xelha, Tancah, Tulum, Xcaret, Punta Soliman, Chac-mool, Ichpaatun, in addition to those located on the Islas Mujeres, Cancun and Cozumel. They have common characteristic features, and we will limit ourselves to only the most famous and explored - Tulum.

There are few known free-standing sculptural monuments in the area. Some of them are in Tulum. Stela 1 has a date of the 6th century. n. e., while ceramics definitely date this monument to the late postclassical period (XIII-XV centuries); we believe that the stele was originally placed in another center, perhaps in Tancaja, which was inhabited from an earlier time and is located barely 5 km north of Tulum.

In its composition it is related to classical Mayan sculpture:

a richly dressed character, whose body is depicted in front, face in profile;
a long skirt, similar to the skirts of some Palencan priests;
a "ritual band" of flexible material, hanging on the chest, as on the most ancient steles of Copan.

The remaining examples of stone sculpture are probably all contemporary with Mayapan.

Characteristic of the sculpture of Tulum and of the entire coast in general is the widespread use of stucco and its inclusion in architecture. The main forms of sculpture, all quite roughly realized in the piece, are as follows:

serpentine columns, whose veneer was painted, the head was on the floor, and the “rattles” of the tail were raised and held the lintel;
human figures standing or sitting in niches above the entrances;
a “diving” deity with his head pointing down, his legs spread at the top, his palms joined above his face, his arms and shoulders equipped with wings (probably a depiction of the Mexican setting sun motif);
masks in bas-relief, located on the corners of the friezes between two horizontal baguettes and sometimes cut by them;
human heads in bas-relief or high relief on the interior walls;
a falling man caught by a twisted strip;
a statue of the "chakmool" type, found at one monument with this name;
snake heads for decorating balustrades, found at Nisukta.

East Coast sculpture is religious and symbolic in nature. It has features that make it possible to speak of a regional style, quite close to Mayapan in terms of Toltec imitations, but in terms of execution technique it ranks lower than classical Mayan sculpture.

South zone

The southern zone played a very important role in the formation of the Mayan civilization, since it was the link between it and the Olmec culture, from which it, like the rest of the cultures of Mesoamerica, partially descends.

During the Preclassic period, the sites of the Pacific Coast, Guatemalan Highlands and Chiapas - Bilbao, Izapa, Caminalguy and Chiapa de Corzo - were inhabited. Scenes engraved on stones up to 6 m high, as well as typically Olmec jade figurines, were found on the coast of the modern state of Chiapas (Pihihiapan, Ocosocoautla).

At the end of the same period (Late Preclassic and Protoclassic), colossal heads were carved from large blocks, cruder than those at La Venta and other Olmec sites. The so-called style of Izapa, also a coastal monument (on the border of Chiapas with Guatemala), began to develop. Numerous steles are known, coming mostly from Izapa itself, but also from Santa Margarita, San Isidro Piedra Parada, Bilbao, El Baul, El Hobo, Monte Alto, Abah Takalik, Chocola and from the highlands of Chiapa -de Corso and Caminalguy. This style is very similar to La Venta and Monte Alban 1, which is why its Olmec origin has been established. At the same time, it contains features that would later become classic Mayan sculpture.

The themes presented on the steles are mythological in nature and include human figures, real and mythological animals, plants, geometric and symbolic motifs, and a large number of volutes. The most widely used technique is bas-relief, but there are also altars and other monuments made in a circular volume. The connection between the stele and the altar is common. The topic is rich in variety of compositions:

a person who apparently fishes or carries water (the motif of water is constantly depicted);
"diving" figures;
"tree of life" in the mythological complex;
an anthropomorphic god accompanied by a snake;
a jaguar suspended over a fire;
characters around the brazier;
a man falling headfirst into the water;
a crocodile standing in front of a man holding a bird;
a lying skeleton with an umbilical cord emerging from its abdomen supporting a winged figure;
beheading scenes.

In some cases, two people sitting opposite each other are separated by a column with hieroglyphs. Stela No. 1 from El Baul depicts a figure associated with an ancient date (36 AD), making this stele older than the first, probably Mayan, stele by more than 260 years. Another stela in the same center depicts a ball player, suitably dressed and wearing an animal mask. Stela No. 11 from Kaminalguyu represents some high-ranking personage, magnificently dressed and armed, from which we can think that already from the late Preclassical period the ruling class glorified itself with the help of sculptural monuments. Some kind of hook-nosed deity associated with water was probably a precursor to the Mayan rain god.

The Early Classic period is evident in the southern zone in that centers such as Izapa, Chiapa de Corzo and Caminalguyu continue to exist; this latter experienced strong Teotihuacan influences mainly in architecture and ceramics. As for the Late Classic period, it is characterized by the distinctive style of the Santa Lucia-Cozumalhuapa region, which flourished in Santa Lucia itself and in numerous places in the present department of Escuintla in Guatemala: Bilbao, El Baul, Palo Gordo, etc. In this style Classic Mayan, Teotihuacan, Totonac and Toltec elements are visible. Sculptural monuments include steles, huge worked stones using bas-relief and high relief, as well as a circular volume. The latest techniques are used to make the heads of people, mythical creatures and animals (snakes, parrots, jaguars, monkeys); all of them are equipped with protrusions-spikes for embedding into buildings.

a ball game, players dressed appropriately and wearing stone “yokes” as belts;
human sacrifice by beheading or heart removal associated with this game;
frequent depiction of the motif of death in the form of skeletons, skulls, people with exposed ribs;
human figures sitting on a throne, probably portraits of dignitaries;
overweight and thick-cheeked people;
human heads in a snake's mouth;
the solar disk and the “diving” god, engulfed in flames, probably representing the sun;
animals and mythological creatures - snakes, sopilot birds of prey, cat deer, cancer man, eagle man, etc.

In combination with these themes, there are often peculiar hieroglyphs, different from the system used by the Mayans of the classical period, on these hieroglyphs the signs of the twenty days of the Mexican religious calendar are recognized. Let us add that in this region numerous objects related to the Totonac culture were found, the so-called ritual axes and “yokes,” smooth or carved.

The Postclassic period in the southern zone is represented very poorly, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Of the few examples of sculpture that we can name, several were found during excavations of rooms intended for ball games:

“marks” in the shape of human heads in the mouth of a snake (Mixco Viejo),
round heads of jaguars with spikes, like the mentioned "markers" (Chalchitan),
a slab with a rough bas-relief in the central part of one of the side walls of the ball game complex (Chichen),
anthropomorphic figure from Stuka, found in another complex (Uil).

In addition, several altars and one stele from Tajumulco are known with images of jaguars, eagles, solar disks and crude human figures, indicating a clear degeneration of the style of Cotzumalhuapa. The "Mexican" influence in these areas of the Guatemalan Highlands is quite pronounced.

The sculpture of the southern zone clearly reflects the influences that influenced the field of Mayan art at various periods: Olmec, Teotihuacan, Totonac, Toltec, Aztec; moreover, it shows that classical Mayan sculpture of the preclassic period grew out of the traditions of Olmec art.

The classical period of Mayan civilization in the lowland forests of Central America was marked by the emergence of such innovations in Mayan culture as: hieroglyphic writing, which included inscriptions on reliefs, steles, ceramics and frescoes, lintels; Mayan calendar, the so-called Long Count calendar, starting from 3113 BC; monumental architecture with a stepped vault; specific style in ceramics and terracotta products; original wall painting; steles and altars.

Special Mayan culture, its maturity, is manifested in architecture and fine arts. The Mayans built their majestic structures using roughly cut stone, cemented with limestone mortar, or a special mixture of concrete lined with stone. The facades of buildings have always been framed by rich relief. A distinctive feature of Mayan architecture is a developed sense of proportion and strict simplicity. The architecture of the Indians skillfully emphasized the monumentality of buildings with the free space around them, roads, the location of squares, streets and right angles.

Art of the Mayans, Central American Indians.

Based on these principles, many great cities, temples and palace complexes. The architecture of the ancient Mayan cities had a square layout and cramped interior space. Some even big cities served as sanctuaries. Mayan urban architecture Central America Until the 9th century AD, it was represented by pyramidal buildings and platforms of various sizes and heights. Some of them are amazing even today. They are usually built from a mixture of earth and crushed stone and lined with processed stone slabs. On the stone tops of temples there were often buildings: small structures consisting of several rooms for ceremonial purposes.

An example of such architecture is the pyramid tower in Tikal, reaching a height of 60 meters. The residences of the nobility, palaces, are represented by multi-room ensembles on low platforms framing open courtyards. Mayan palace architecture is based on floors in the form of a stepped vault, so their walls are always massive, and the interior spaces are narrow and insufficient. The only source of light in the palace premises is the narrow doorways. Inside the surviving temples, twilight and coolness usually reign.