Thursday, December 10, 2009

Maya “Painted Pyramid” Murals Reveal Daily Life


Recently discovered pyramid in the Mexican Jungle has helped historians learn more about the daily life of Mayans. These Mayan wall murals with hieroglyphic captions are different from other previous murals found, which depicted ruling elites, defeats in battles, and religious themes. They also differ because the newly discovered murals are located on the exterior of the pyramid instead of hidden inside, “…they were public” says Mayan expert Michael D. Coe. The new murals illustrate ordinary Mayans doing day to day activities, during 620 A.D to 700 A.D. These murals were most likely based off the people in Calakmul, the capital of Snake Kingdom, which at the time were the most influential cities of the Mayan Empire. These murals show common food such as corn, which was essential to the Mayan diet. They also depict clothing and jewelry worn by all different classes. But what is most surprising about these murals, is that they are freely displayed on the exterior of the pyramid. The pyramid’s burial has successfully preserved the unusual artwork of the Mayans.



Marissa Romeri
Period 7

1 comment:

Jenn Cardoza said...

Just another reason for me to love the Mayans; they openly respected day-to-day life as well as the upper class life. It's nice to see something like this that we never read about in text books. I think this is pretty cool, since the murals are pretty detailed and colorful. I certainly couldn't make art like that. Plus, the fact of the murals representing the people that lived in the Snake Kingdom? That's just interesting in itself. If I were a Mayan in these times, I would definitely choose to be painted in these murals and to live in this Snake Kingdom. Good find Marissa!