Maya art
Maya art
by admin on Aug.11, 2010, under Maya art
Maya art, here taken to mean the visual arts, is the artistic style typical of the Maya civilization, that took shape in the course the Preclassic period (1500 B.C. to 250 A.D.), and grew greater during the Classic period (c. 200 to 900 AD), and went through a Postclassic phase until the upheavals of the sixteenth century destroyed courtly culture and put an end to a great artistic tradition. The Olmecs, Teotihuacan and the Toltecs have all influenced Maya art. Traditional art forms have mainly survived in weaving and the design of peasant houses.
Architecture
A Maya temple at Tikal
Maya architecture is first of all the lay-out of the impressive houses, courtyards, and temples where the kings resided, characterised by the immense horizontal floors of the plazas located at various levels, and the broad and often steep stairs connecting these. Dam-like causeways spread from these ‘ceremonial centers’ to other nuclei of habitation.
Bibliography
- Dale M. Brown ed. Lost Civilizations: The Magnificent Maya. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life books, 1993.
- Carol Kaufmann. 2003. “Maya Masterwork”. National Geographic December 2003: 70-77.
- Constantino Reyes-Valerio, “De Bonampak al Templo Mayor, Historia del Azul Maya en Mesoamerica”, Siglo XXI Editores, 1993.
Links
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