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.

Sculpture could decorate parts 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 as 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 he 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.

The tradition of free-standing sculpture is not characteristic of the Puuc 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 their completion. 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 foot 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. The Mayapan style is clearly related to the style of the east coast of 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 are known from Tajumulco 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; in addition, it shows that classical Mayan sculpture of the preclassic period grew out of the traditions of Olmec art.

Stone sculptures on old Cossack mounds - “Polovtsian stone women”.
There are ancient stone sculptures in almost all local history museums in our south: in Rostov and Novocherkassk, Azov and Krasnodar, Stavropol and the cities of Crimea. A lot of them. HUNDREDS OF STONE STATUES... They are no less mysterious and no less monumental than the mysterious idols of Easter Island... Researchers argued and are STILL arguing about who owned these statues of OUR steppes, who erected them, and for what purpose."

It turns out that “these stone idols first stood on BURNS and hills, then they were transported to peasant boundaries and to landowners’ estates, and then placed in museums, or put up for fun... in provincial city gardens.”
<<В XVIII веке их называли "человек камен" или "девка камена">> . Such statues were found not only in the south.

They were discovered, for example, in Moscow: in Kuntsevo and Zenino (Readings in the Imperial Society of Russian History and Antiquities at Moscow University, 1870, book III). Kuntsevo is west of Moscow, and Zenino is 21 versts east of Moscow, as of 1870. One of the stone statues stands today in the Russian State Library, in the recording room. Anyone can watch it. It was brought to Moscow from the Kharkov province in 1839 on behalf of the Imperial Society of Russian History and Antiquities.
A characteristic feature of these sculptures is that they hold in their hands “a vessel, cup or horn pressed to their stomach.” The statue exhibited in the hall of the State Library also has such a vessel.

A large oblique cross is carved on the back of the statue. It is known as the St. Andrew's cross, that is, the cross of St. Andrew the First-Called. Since the time of Peter I, a flag with such an oblique cross has been the flag of the naval forces. By the way, on the side of this male statue there are carved images of a curved saber and a quiver with a bow and arrows. This weapon is truly typical for RUSSIAN warriors even in the 17th century.

Historians consider (as we understand, since the times of the Romanovs) these statues to be traces of the ALIEN conquest of Rus' by the Polovtsian tribes. The historian writes: “For Russian people, these stone monsters were the personification of the Polovtsian domination over the steppes. Therefore, the statues sought to DESTROY AND POINT.” This picture - the systematic damage to ancient inscriptions and sculptures is already known to us: Russian sarcophagi, Egyptian statues and stone inscriptions, etc. were damaged. Who didn't like them? Hardly for local residents.
Today it is believed that the Cuman conquerors who erected the statues came to Rus' from afar, from the steppes of Mongolia, Tuva and Altai. Then, we are told, the “stone women,” together with the advance of the Cumans, spread further to the west and eventually COVERED THE ENTIRE SPACE OF RUSSIA.

There is no “riddle of the stone women”.

It arose only because the occupiers, the Romanovs and their Western European masters, replaced many old Cossack customs with new ones, including funeral customs. And it began to be believed that Slavic customs had ALWAYS been the same as they became only under the Romanovs. What is wrong. In addition, under the Romanovs, chronicles were written and significantly edited. Many documents were destroyed. There remains a relatively small set of chronicles declared to be “very ancient.” And it began to be believed that if some customs are not reflected in these “Romanov antiquities,” “therefore” these customs are not Russian, they supposedly did not exist in Rus'. And if their traces are still found, “therefore” they are traces of some ALIEN conquest, not Russians.
Here is an example of such “reasoning”. It is known that a huge number of stone statues - which are now being discussed - were found mainly in Rus'. However, they “are also found far in the East, in the endless steppes of Kazakhstan, Altai, Mongolia, and Tuva.” “Consequently,” say historians, Rus' was conquered by newcomers from Mongolia, that is, from the most distant country. Along the way, the “Mongols” allegedly captured Kazakhstan, Altai, etc. So they write: “At the beginning of the second millennium, the Polovtsians BREAKED TO THE WEST. They quickly marched through Kazakhstan, and by the middle of the eleventh century they appeared on the Volga.”

The direction of conquest was reversed. From Rus' - in different directions.
In particular, to the East. And this can be understood even from the following simple observation.
It turns out that “Polovtsian” stone sculptures in the steppes of Kazakhstan, Altai, Mongolia and Tuva “as a rule... are EXCLUSIVELY MEN, often with DRAGING MUSTACHS (note - like the Cossacks - Author).”
But on the territory of Rus', “among the earliest Western (that is, Russian, not Eastern - Author) Polovtsian statues, MORE THAN 70 PERCENT ARE FEMALE STATUES. We have before us a mystery to which SCIENCE IS NOT YET ABLE TO ANSWER.”
We admit, we don’t see any mystery here. This fact simply shows us where the homeland of those warriors who erected the statues was.
IN THE HOMELAND, NATURALLY, THEY PUT BOTH FEMALE AND MALE STATUES ON THE GRAVES. For here lived both men and women (families) of this people. That is, in Rus'. And on long-distance military campaigns there were very few women in the army. And the men died. They were buried here, on the march. Bodies were usually not taken to their distant homeland. Therefore, in those lands where the people came as a conqueror, almost exclusively MALE statues should have remained. This is what we see in Kazakhstan, Altai, Tuva, Mongolia, etc. By the way, the very name of these statues “Polovtsian” could well simply mean “field”, that is, standing in the FIELD.
So, in our opinion, the “Polovtsian” stone sculptures are OLD RUSSIAN GRAVE MONUMENTS.
By the way, it is impossible not to pay attention to the strange fact that in the photographs of stone sculptures available to us, as well as on the statue in the Russian State Library, EXACTLY THE FACES OF THE STAGES ARE KNOWN, but otherwise they are well preserved. Why did they destroy EXACTLY FACES?

Is it because they often had a pronounced Slavic type? Or did you knock off your mustache?
Direct medieval evidence has been preserved that these stone sculptures were erected by the peoples of “Mongolia”, that is, as we understand it, by the peoples of Rus'-Horde. G. Fedorov-Davydov writes:<<Любопытное свидетельство оставил в середине XIII века западноевропейский монах Вильгельм Рубрук, который отправился к монгольскому хану в далекий Каракорум, в ЦЕНТРАЛЬНУЮ МОНГОЛИЮ
(that is, according to our reconstruction, to central Rus' - Author)... Among other information, Rubruk tells us: “The Komans build a large hill over the deceased and erect a STATUE to him, facing the east and holding in his hand in front of the navel cup">> .
It is difficult not to agree with the opinion of historians that Rubruk here refers specifically to the “Polovtsian women” (the bowl in front of the navel of the statue).
As for the “Mongolian Komans”, these are most likely HORSE, since the word HORSE in the old Russian language sounded and was written as KOMONY. See, for example, “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign.”
Stone Scythian sculptures stood not only in the East. They are also in Europe. In Fig. a male stone “idol of a Scythian sanctuary... built in the ancient Tsygancha mound above the Novoselskaya crossing of the Lower Danube” is shown.

The figure shows a female stone statue, located today in the Hermitage, in St. Petersburg. The museum plaque reads: “Polovtsian statue, 12th century. Krasnodar region.” The statue's face is badly damaged. The cup is pressed to the stomach. From behind, the hood hangs down onto the back.
The figure shows a stone statue from the State Historical Museum of Moscow. A female figure holding a “bowl” to her stomach. By the way, for some reason there is no museum sign here indicating where the statue was discovered. Was she found in Moscow? Perhaps they don’t hang signs because, from the point of view of Scaligerian-Millerian history, “the Polovtsians never lived in Moscow,” and therefore finding such statues here is considered even indecent.
So the Scythian-Horde statues stand nameless, without signs.

The museum displays ancient stone Horde statues from the Altai region, Xinjiang, China.
Let us note a very characteristic detail of the vast majority of Scythian sculptures - they press their hands to the stomach, to the navel, a certain object, considered a bowl. It is very interesting that PRACTICALLY THE SAME Plot is depicted by some stone statues in distant America, for example, in the territories where the “ancient” Mayans once lived.

Here is a photograph of one of these statues in Yucatan, Merida Museum. It is believed that similar stone sculptures were made by the Mayans and Toltecs, p.9. Here the human figure is half-lying, half-sitting. PRESSES A FLAT BOWL TO YOUR STOMACH WITH BOTH HANDS. Another ancient stone statue, carved by the Toltecs and shown in Fig., also depicts a half-sitting, half-lying man, the god Chac Mool, pressing a cup to his navel, to his stomach.

The statue is located in Chichen Itza, at the entrance to the large "Temple of the Warriors".
Let us note that such statues depicted GODS, that is, such statues in America were treated with great respect.

The poses of the Scythian statues and the surviving American ones are slightly different, but the main motif - the BOWL PRESSED TO THE NAvel BY HANDS - is exactly the same. The explanation for such duplicates is most likely very simple.
We come across traces of a community of cultures that arose as a result of the conquest of the American continent by Russia-Horde and Ottomania-Atamania in the 15th century. Horde Cossack colonialists brought their customs with them.

The largest of the cities of pre-Columbian America, Teotihuacan, was located on the central plateau 40 km from Mexico City. The name of the city translates as “homeland of the gods.” It was believed that the Sun and Moon were born here. Teotihuacan became the standard for other Mayan and Aztec cities. It is still unknown who built this city, most likely the Aztecs. It is also unclear by whom and why Teotihuacan was destroyed and burned in the 7th century AD. Situated on an area of ​​21 sq. km, with a population of about 100,000 inhabitants, the city had a very rigid regular layout, oriented to the cardinal points. The streets in the city were straight, like an arrow, and intersected at right angles, for which it was even necessary to change the course of the river using a bypass canal. The central axis of the city was an absolutely straight street 40 meters wide and more than 2 km long, which was called the “Road of the Dead”. On its sides there were numerous temples and palaces.

The most important temples of Teotihuacan are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The Pyramid of the Sun was once the most important temple of the city. Its height was originally 65 meters. This is a five-stage pyramid with a base of 667 x 685 meters, the total volume of which is about 1 million cubic meters of earth, stones and mud bricks. Unlike other Central American pyramids, it was built very quickly. At the very top of the pyramid there was a small temple, which, like the Greeks, was considered the dwelling of the deity. A steep staircase led to it, along which ritual processions ascended to perform the ritual of bloody human sacrifice. And a huge crowd watched the procession from below. At the northern end of the "Road of the Dead" was the six-step Pyramid of the Moon. It was slightly lower than the Pyramid of the Sun. Its height was 46 meters, the top was also crowned by a temple, to which wide staircases for processions led. The ancient Aztecs attached great ritual meaning to the very process of climbing the pyramid. The steps to the temple were considered steps to heaven. In the center of the city there was a whole complex of temple buildings already known to us in the form of a stepped pyramid with the famous temple - the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl.

Decorated with numerous relief images of the god - the Feathered Serpent with sparkling eyes made of obsidian, the pyramid makes an eerie impression even on a modern person, despite its relatively small height - only about 21 meters. Previously, the temple, like probably other temples, was plastered and painted with bright colors. The great city of the Aztecs perished in the 7th century under the attacks of unknown invaders, was completely plundered and burned. The capital of another Indian tribe - the Toltecs (perhaps it was they who destroyed Teotihuacan) - was the city of Tula. The Toltecs ruled Mexico from the 10th to the 12th centuries, after which their civilization also perished. The main deity in Tula was Quetzalcoatl. The image of this Feathered Serpent - a symbol of the Morning Star, which once left Mexico, is constantly found in the buildings of Tula: it wraps around the columns, looking gloomily and sternly at us from the reliefs. In Tula, the 40-meter Wall of Snakes has been preserved, which depicts terrible snakes swallowing human skeletons. The main temple of the city is dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, on the top step of which there are stone giants - warriors with the sign of the Feathered Serpent on their chests, wearing feather headdresses, once frozen under the weight of the temple ceiling. They are 4.6 meters high and are a symbolic representation of Quetzalcoatl as the Morning Star. A gloomy impression is born from other similarly detached images on the reliefs of various buildings in Tula. At the foot of the temple, also worthy of attention is the “hall of columns” - a covered room for public meetings. And, of course, in Tula there were grounds for playing rubber balls, which was part of the Toltec religious ritual.

Similar buildings can be found in another Toltec center - the city of Chichen Itza, which until the 10th century was one of the most important centers of Mayan culture, and then it was captured by the Toltecs. The most famous building of Chichen Itza is the pyramid dedicated to Kukulcan, also known as the Great Temple or "Castillo". On the edges of this nine-step pyramid, symbolizing the seasons, there are huge steep staircases, numbering 91 steps each. The steps of the stairs symbolize the calendar: seasons, months and days. The stairs are very precisely oriented to the cardinal points, which was of particular importance on astronomical holidays. On the days of the spring and autumn equinox, the rays of the sun illuminate the stone reliefs of the temple so much that it seems as if the Feathered Serpent comes to life, begins to wriggle and crawl out of its hiding place. Chichen Itza also had a ball court, the largest in all of Mexico. Its dimensions are 83 x 27 meters. It was closed on two sides by walls, and on two more sides by temples. It is possible that the object of the game was to hit the stone ring at the top of the wall with the ball. The game of ball was not just a sporting competition. Many archaeological discoveries indicate that it was clearly associated with human sacrifice. On the walls enclosing the site, beheaded people are depicted in relief. There are 3 platforms around the site: the Venus (Quetzalcoatl) platform with the tomb of Chac-Mool, the Eagle and Jaguar platform with the Jaguar Temple, and the Skulls platform. Huge statues of Chak Mool depict him reclining, with a sacrificial dish on his stomach. On the platform of the Skulls there were stakes on which the severed heads of the victims were strung.

Veretennikov A.M. ::: Cities of the Mayans and Aztecs

According to most researchers, the Mayan culture is one of the greatest achievements of mankind in antiquity. This civilization lasted for almost a thousand years. The Mayans were the first developed people of America that the Spaniards encountered during the conquest of the lands of the Western Hemisphere.

By the time Europeans arrived, the Mayans occupied a vast territory. Within its boundaries, scientists usually distinguish three cultural and geographical areas. For example, the northern one covered the entire Yucatan Peninsula, which was a flat limestone plain with shrubby vegetation. In places it was intersected by chains of low rocky hills. The absence of rivers, streams and lakes, poor soils meant difficulties for farming. The southern region, which included mountainous areas and the Pacific coast of Southern Mexico and Guatemala, was also not entirely favorable for living. The central region, which covered the northern part of Guatemala and the adjacent territories to the west, where the Mexican states of Chiapas, Tabasco and Campeche are now located, was more favorable in its natural conditions. The central region is a hilly limestone lowland. Most of it is covered with tropical rainforests, which alternate with grassy savannas, swampy lowlands and lakes.

In such difficult conditions, the Maya Indians built first modest huts made of wood and clay, and later large stone cities. Despite the fact that the tools were extremely primitive and were made only from wood, bone and stone, the Mayans were able to achieve amazing perfection in architecture, sculpture, painting, and in the production of ceramics.

The development of the ancient Mayan civilization lasted almost ten centuries. At the end of the 8th century, the Mayans reached the highest degree of cultural development. By this time, the Indians had built elegant temples, giant dam roads, numerous pyramids and palaces. Over the centuries, old villages and cities grew and expanded, and new ones arose. All this continued almost until the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. In the 9th century, some kind of disaster occurred in the prosperous lands and white-stone cities of the Mayans. As a result, architectural construction in cities stopped completely. Skilled sculptors no longer erected huge stone steles with the faces of rulers and gods, and skilled stone carvers no longer decorated them with elaborate and elegant hieroglyphs.

The largest Mayan centers began to fall into disrepair. Residents abandoned them. In just a few decades, the cities of the ancient Mayans were safely hidden from human eyes, falling into the tenacious embrace of a lush evergreen jungle. Empty areas and abandoned buildings were covered with forest greenery. Lianas and tree roots destroyed the foundations and ceilings of massive buildings, and low-growing bushes filled all the free parts of the space where streets and dam roads had recently been located. This is precisely one of the greatest mysteries of the cultural phenomenon, to which the ancient Mayan civilization is considered. Cities of the classical period, built in the 1st millennium AD. e., back in the pre-Columbian period, the jungle swallowed up. And when Columbus’s people set foot on the lands of America at the end of the 15th century, and the first conquistador expeditions arrived here at the beginning of the 16th century, even the closest descendants of the people who once lived there forgot about the ancient Mayan civilization.

There are indeed many mysteries in the history of the Mayans. And the very first of them is the secret of the origin of this people. Of the many hypotheses, the most significant and substantiated in modern science for the study of ancient civilizations is considered to be the doctrine of the famous Mexican archaeologist, a great expert in the field of Mayan culture, Alberto Ruz Lhuillier. Like some other researchers, he believes that in the period between the 2nd millennium BC. e. and IV century AD e. and the formation of the Mayans as a people took place. The researcher called this period proto-classical and gave it the following characteristics: “Significant advances in agriculture ensured the existence of centers with a permanent population. Sedentary life led to the invention and development of ceramics, as well as to the formation of the art of sculpture, which, despite its simplicity, amazes with its amazing power. Platforms and the first pyramids appeared, on which stood temples made of wood with a palm roof.

Religious beliefs were limited to the worship of individual gods who embodied the forces of nature. During this period, the Mayan culture was significantly different from others that arose in the Mexican Highlands ("archaic" culture), on the Atlantic coast (Olmec culture) and in the south of Mexico (Zapotec and Mixtec)... Separately, it should be noted the construction of platforms and not so numerous in those times of the pyramids. Similar monuments are found throughout almost the entire Mayan territory."

According to scientists who adhere to the point of view of A. Rus, at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The Mayans from the mountainous and foothill regions began widespread colonization of the sparsely populated forest plains of Northern Guatemala and Yucatan, which belong to the northern and central regions of the region. Clay figurines discovered in this area depict people with characteristic hooked noses and an artificially deformed frontal part of the skull. The Mayans achieved a similar shape to the head by attaching flat boards to the forehead and back of the newborn baby’s head. The skull deformed in this way was the main distinguishing feature of people belonging to the tribe. These features were clearly expressed in the appearance of the Mayans until the conquest of their country by the Spaniards in the 16th century.

Indisputable evidence that the mountain Mayans were somewhat ahead in their development of their counterparts from the forest plain zone is the fact that a large center of the ancient Mayans was discovered by archaeologists in the mountains of El Salvador in the early 90s of the 20th century (its construction dates back to the end of the 1st millennium BC . BC) was the predecessor of future populous cities that arose in the Mayan region already in the 1st millennium AD. e. This center (Chalchuapu) had a series of stone temples that stood on top of step pyramids and were surrounded by wide paved plazas and many stone sculptures. In the central part of mountainous Guatemala, on the very outskirts of the capital of this Latin American country, even today you can see individual pyramid-shaped earthen hills. These are the remains of a once large Mayan settlement. Archaeologists called it Kaminaluya (“hill of the dead”). The establishment of the settlement dates back to approximately the 2nd millennium BC. e.

The culture that preceded the classical period of the Mayan civilization (experts call it protoclassical), the 1st millennium AD. BC, according to most researchers, is, of course, much more modest and differs in many qualitative indicators. However, the continuity between them is defined quite clearly. This is especially noticeable when comparing the following characteristic features: monumental stone architecture with a stepped (false) vault, the obligatory presence of carved stone steles with sculptural images and inscriptions, hieroglyphic writing, royal tombs with mortuary temples under them, the layout of the main architectural complexes around rectangular courtyards and squares , which are oriented to the cardinal points. All these features characteristic of preclassical architectural monuments undoubtedly served as the basis for the subsequent development and flourishing of Mayan culture.

Historians began to find the first information about the Mayan civilization in archives and libraries among the few written evidence that has reached us. Among them are the stories of the Indians themselves, written in their native language, but in the letters of the Latin alphabet shortly after the conquistadors arrived in the Western Hemisphere. These, for example, are the Maya-Kiche epic “Popol Vuh”, the books of the Yucatan Indians “Chilam-Balam”.

A fundamental work dedicated to the Indian ethnos was written by the Spanish bishop Diego de Landa, who lived in the 16th century and visited the New World more than once. A detailed report on his stay in the city of Guatemala, addressed to the Spanish King Philip II, was left by the royal official Diego Garcia de Palacio, who visited here on business in 1576. During his journey, he discovered the majestic ruins of some ancient city on the banks of the Copan River. In his report, de Palacio wrote: “I tried with all care to find out from the local Indians whether there was any information in ancient legends about the people who once lived in this city. But they didn’t have books describing their ancient history... True, they told me that in ancient times a great ruler came here from Yucatan, who built all these buildings, but then, abandoning everything, returned to his native land.”

The city of Copan was built during the classical period of the ancient Mayan civilization, around the middle of the 7th century. According to descriptions left in the 16th century by G. Palacio, and later, in the mid-19th century, by J. Stephenson, Copan was discovered in the west of Honduras, not far from the Guatemalan border, the departments of Zacapa and Chiquimula. The so-called urban center of Copan covers an area of ​​30 hectares. Local architecture was distinguished by the absence of large pyramids and highly elevated temples with huge “roof ridges.” Copan gives the impression of a huge acropolis, which included several pyramids, platforms, terraces, temples and courtyards. They were located in groups throughout the city. One of the main attractions is the staircase leading to the acropolis. It consists of 63 sculpted steps and has about 2,500 hieroglyphs. The temples especially stand out. Researchers date the construction of three of them to 756-771. One of the temples was dedicated to Venus.

The central square is of great interest. Nine monoliths were erected on it, which serve as the basis for altars, distinguished by elegant decoration. According to scientists, Copan was home to one of the largest astronomical observatories that the ancient Mayan cities had. American archaeologist S. Morley assumed that the population of Copan during its peak period reached 200 thousand people. However, according to other researchers, the scientist somewhat overestimated the number of inhabitants. Nevertheless, Copan was considered in ancient times to be the most prominent center of the Mayan civilization.

North of Copan, already on Guatemalan territory, is the city of Quirigua. It is not so impressive in size, but is of great interest as a monument to an ancient civilization. On its territory, archaeologists were able to discover amazing steles covered with relief images. One of them reaches ten meters in height and is larger in size than all other monoliths discovered in Mesoamerica.

At the end of the 18th century, deep in the jungles of Chiapas (Mexico), another ancient Mayan city was found - Palenque, abandoned by its inhabitants at the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. (X century). Its quaint white stone ruins, lost in the dense Mexican selva (selva is the name for tropical rainforests in South and Central America), were discovered by the Indians and reported to the local priest. From him officials of the Spanish administration learned about the find. Around the same time (1773), Spanish army captain Antonio del Rio visited Palenque. He was one of the first to thoroughly examine the central part of the giant city and give a description of its architectural monuments. Half a century later (1822), the Spanish officer's report was translated into English and published in Great Britain. Compiled in a very entertaining form, this document, however, did not cause a noticeable reaction in the scientific circles of Europe. Only 17 years later, when the American explorer John Lloyd Stevens caught the eye, the Spaniard’s story inspired him to search for the forgotten Mayan cities.

In 1839, Stevens equipped an expedition and went deep into the tropical forests of Honduras. The expedition included a close friend of the explorer, a constant companion on his many travels, the English artist F. Catherwood.

Overcoming all sorts of difficulties, Stevens and the expedition members visited not only Palenque, but also visited the ruins of Mayan cities such as Copan, Uxmal, and a number of others, discovered by Spanish conquistadors, missionaries, and royal officials in the middle of the 16th century.

Returning from his trip, John Stevens soon published a book in which he presented the results of his observations in a fascinating and vivid form. The publication was given documentary authenticity by the brilliantly executed drawings of the artist Catherwood. The energetic and talented researcher J. Stevens is rightfully considered the discoverer of Mayan antiquities, the man who managed to break a hole in the wall of oblivion of the pre-Columbian history of Mesoamerica. His findings had a huge effect on scientists in Europe and the USA. It was this circumstance that led to the fact that at the end of the 19th century the first archaeological excavations began in Mayan territory. Specialists had at their disposal a wealth of material that dispassionately and objectively reflected the picture of the past. At the beginning of the 20th century, scientific institutions in Mexico, the USA, as well as individual European countries began a systematic study of the most important monuments of Mayan culture.

Many researchers consider the architectural complex of Palenque to be one of the most brilliant cities of the ancient Mayan civilization of the classical period. Its history goes back almost ten centuries. It existed from the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. until the end of the 1st millennium AD. e. The name of this city, like almost all other ancient Mayan cities, is conventional. In their choice, modern researchers were most often guided by purely random characteristics. Palenque translated from Spanish means “hedge”, “enclosure”, “fenced place”.

In the late 40s of the 20th century, Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier led a large archaeological expedition of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, which excavated Palenque. At the very beginning of the excavations, the scientist noticed the unusual floor of one of the temples of this ancient city. It was lined with large stone slabs. When, during the excavation process, one of the slabs was lifted, a tunnel and several steps of a stone staircase were discovered leading down into the depths of the giant pyramid. However, both the tunnel and all subsequent steps of the staircase were littered with huge blocks of stone, clogged with rubble and earth. It took the expedition members four years to overcome the obstacle that stood in their way. But then June 15, 1952 came. The tunnel was finally cleared and at the very end it ended in a kind of chamber, the entrance to which was obscured by a huge triangular stone. Its weight, as it turned out later, was more than a ton. In front of this peculiar door lay the skeletons of five young men and one girl. Subsequent studies revealed that their deaths were violent. Alberto Ruz concluded that the bodies of the dead were sacrificed on some particularly important occasion. When the workers managed to move this huge triangular door from its place, the scientist’s guess was confirmed. The stone covered the entrance to the tomb. It was of very significant size - 9 m long and 4 m wide. In the middle of the crypt stood a massive stone sarcophagus. On top it was covered with a huge slab with cut-out images and hieroglyphic inscriptions. Inside the sarcophagus, archaeologists discovered the skeleton of a tall, middle-aged man. On the front of the skull lay a perfectly preserved elegant mosaic mask inlaid with jade, obsidian and mother-of-pearl.

The pyramid, unique for Mesoamerican culture, served as a mausoleum in which, as scientists found out, rested the remains of one of the powerful representatives of the ancient city. The structure where the sarcophagus was discovered is known in archeology as the “Temple of the Inscriptions.”

Relying on his own intuition, excellent knowledge of the material that had been accumulated by this time in the study of ancient civilization, Alberto Rus came to the conclusion that the brilliant Mayan architects decided to hide from prying eyes the mausoleum where the great hierarch rested, buried along with his numerous retinue, and placed the sarcophagus at the base of the pyramid.

The archaeological scientist left a very vivid account of how this discovery was made, which made it possible to unravel one of the main mysteries of a thousand years ago. The researcher wrote: “In 1949, under the ruins of one of the buildings of the Palenque Palace, we discovered a magnificent stone slab on which 262 hieroglyphs and an image of a scene of offerings were visible. The characters and signs are made in very deep relief. Palensky art is characterized by an amazing sense of composition, subtlety and rigor. The starting date is proposed in a figurative version, that is, in the form of figures of people and animals, when the former mean numbers, and the latter - periods. Thus, the Mayans emphasized the close connection between man and time.”

The research carried out made it possible to establish that the giant crypt discovered inside the pyramid and which is the foundation of the Temple of the Inscriptions is one of the grandiose Mayan achievements in the field of architecture and sculpture. For example, the size of the slab covering the sarcophagus is 8 m2. It itself is a monolithic block, the volume of which is 7 m 3. This block, in turn, is mounted on six stone supports. According to the unanimous opinion of Rus’s colleagues who directly took part in these excavations, all the details of the sarcophagus, decorated with relief images, carry chronological information and certain symbolism and are made with great skill.

The architectural complex of Palenque, in addition to this main find, which essentially became a sensation, included three more pyramids with the temples of the Sun, the Cross and the Foliated Cross.

This urban center, its architecture and sculpture were distinguished by the peculiar features that were characteristic of the Mayan classical period.

The most common building material was stone. The buildings were constructed mainly from limestone. The rock cut out of the rocks was burned, thus obtaining lime.

The Mayans mixed it with sand, added water and prepared a cementing solution from these components.

When combined with stone dust, it produced a type of another excellent building material - stucco (something like modern putty made from a mixture of gypsum and chalk). The pieces covered the walls and ceilings. Using the extraordinary plasticity of this material, the Mayans masterfully made stucco decorations, which were applied to the walls and columns of buildings, their bases, and friezes. Using a sharp cutter, apparently made of obsidian (glass of volcanic origin), contours with images of deities and hieroglyphic inscriptions were applied with easily drawn lines onto the slabs covered with the piece. Limestones were also used to make various decorations and dishes. Limestone was used to make jambs, lintels, steles, altars, and statues.

The main features of the urban center in Palenque were the presence of a portico with three and sometimes five entrances. They were formed by erecting wide columns. Inside the central rear room, which was like a separate architectural unit, there was a sanctuary. It performed the function of protecting the symbol of the cult to which the temple was dedicated. The small rooms that were located on the sides of the sanctuary were the cells of the priests.

In Palenque, as in all other Mayan palaces and temples discovered during excavations, on both sides of the entrances on the wall or column you can find the likes of stone rings. This is either a piece of stone inserted into a small recess, or a small stone cylinder built vertically into the space between two stones.

Similar devices were used to fasten the ropes on which the curtain was hung. It served as a kind of door and sheltered the room from rain and wind, and saved it from the cold. The ancient Mayan architects also used protruding canopies in the construction of buildings, on which special cornices were strengthened. During rainstorms, water flowed down them, bypassing walls or columns decorated with reliefs from the piece, thereby protecting them from erosion and rapid destruction.

Of great interest is the evolution that the Mayans made in urban planning. Their first buildings, erected for ritual purposes or as dwellings for priests and leaders, were nothing more than simple huts of varying sizes. The foundation for them at this time (IV-II centuries BC) were platforms of various heights, lined with stone and stucco. In the later Preclassic period (closer to the 1st millennium AD), the foundations for buildings began to develop into step pyramids, which were created by superimposing one platform on another. However, even during this period, the temple that crowned the pyramid, despite the fact that its base was decorated with rich alabaster masks, was an ordinary hut with a palm roof. And only in the classical period of development, starting from the first centuries of our era, the palm roof was replaced by a stone vault. It was called the false arch or Mayan vault. This architectural innovation is not a Mayan invention. Some peoples of the Old World, for example the Mycenaeans, covered their homes and buildings in a similar way, several thousand years earlier than the first shoots of the culture of the ancient Indian civilization arose.

The Mayan vault had a peculiarity. It was erected by bringing the walls closer together, starting from a certain height. Rows of stones were placed one on top of the other so that each subsequent one protruded above the previous one. When the hole at the top became very small, it was covered with a slab. The new vault was much stronger. After all, it was built of stone and, unlike wood, did not succumb to the destructive and destructive effects of the humid tropical climate. This type of ceiling ensured the sharp angle of the vault, its great height and the enormous massiveness of the walls on which this vault rested. At the same time, the internal, usable volume of the buildings was very small compared to the external one. Due to the false arch, the architectural structures had a small width of the premises but a sufficient length.

The Mayan vault had another significant drawback. Due to the peculiarities of its design, it allowed covering only narrow spaces. However, in some cases, ancient architects still managed to erect such ceilings in the burial crypt of the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque and in the transverse corridors separating the central building of the Governor's Palace and the side extensions in Uxmal. To increase the internal area, Mayan architects partitioned the room in the middle with a longitudinal wall. It had a door in the center. In such an architectural structure, the building was covered with two false vaults, one end resting on the middle wall and the other on the outer wall.

During the Classic period, the Mayans introduced innovations in the construction of foundations for their temples, ritual buildings, and palaces. They moved from using simple platforms to so-called pyramids. However, unlike the ancient Egyptians, the Mayans never sought to achieve a truly pyramidal geometric volume. By superimposing the platforms one on top of the other, they ended up with a truncated shape. On its tetrahedral top a small, usually two- or three-room temple was erected. The number of ledges, or divisions, into which the body of the pyramid was divided could be very diverse. A long, steep and wide staircase usually led from the base of the pyramid to the door of the sanctuary. If the pyramid was very large, then such stairs were located on all four sides. The configuration of such pyramids was usually used for the construction of religious buildings on the tops of large hills. Among the Mayans, any elevation was a deification of the forces of nature. According to Indian beliefs, it was on the hill that rains, winds, and rivers lived. They believed that the higher the hill, the closer to the sky. Therefore, the temple had to rush to heaven, to where the gods live.

Archaeologists and researchers consider the famous Temple of the Sun in Palenque to be a characteristic architectural example of a Mayan temple from the heyday of civilization (the second half of the 7th century). It is erected on a low pyramid, which is divided into five floors. The temple itself is located on the truncated top of the pyramid. This is an oblong, small building that has an internal longitudinal wall. Two narrow sections of the façade wall are adjacent to the right and left ends, and two more rectangular pillars are placed between them. Thus, the facade is something like a portico. Its pillars are decorated with piece reliefs. The front wall is cut through by three doors leading to the room where the small sanctuary is located. On its back wall there is a bas-relief depicting a mask of the sun god. This mask is suspended on two crossed spears. Near them, two human figures are depicted in a pose of worship. It was this sculptural detail of the sanctuary that gave rise to some researchers calling this building in Palenque the Temple of the Sun.

The flat roof of the temple is crowned with a roofing ridge. It, like many other Mayan religious buildings, reaches a considerable height. The ridge consists of two walls converging at the top at an acute angle, which have numerous openings resembling windows. The surface of the walls of the ridge is covered with rich geometric patterns, in the center of which there is an image of a mythical monster. According to experts, the ridge had no structural function and served only to increase the overall height of the building. The Temple of the Sun, from the point of view of architects, is distinguished by the balance of all its parts, nobility and simplicity of outline. This is one of the most expressive and impressive monuments of Mayan architecture.

The main features of Mayan architecture associated with the construction of religious buildings can be traced in the example of other urban centers that existed in the 7th-9th centuries - Tikal, Piedras Negras, Uxmal, Yaxchilan, Copan, Quirigua. The differences can only be found in the details. For example, the temple pyramids of Tikal, the largest city of the classical period, were very tall, but had a relatively small base. In appearance they resembled towers. The tallest of them, the pyramid of Temple IV, has a height of 45 m, and together with the temple and the decorative ridge rises to more than 70 m. (For comparison, this is the approximate height of a modern twenty-story building.)

The Mayan builders had a great sense of the surrounding landscape. They skillfully placed buildings on natural terraces. The architectural compositions fit naturally and freely into the mountainous terrain. Modern architects are amazed by the layout of Mayan settlements. Ancient city planners achieved amazing balance between the individual parts of the erected ensembles and their harmonious combination. An important role was played by the color contrast of the buildings and the surrounding nature. Mayan architects covered the walls of buildings with white or scarlet stuff. Against the backdrop of the blue sky or the bright green tropical vegetation surrounding the structures, this produced a special effect.

The second main type of Mayan architectural structures was a narrow, elongated building. Inside, it was usually divided into several rooms. According to researchers, these premises (in archaeological literature they are conventionally called palaces) served as dwellings for the most noble members of society and priests. Lime and stone were used for their construction. Palaces of one or more floors were almost always built on a terrace or platform. Typically, buildings were grouped around some free space in such a way that inside the complex there was a large courtyard (or square) enclosed on all sides. The foundation of the palace was placed on a stylobate (an artificially created elevation), but its height was significantly lower than that of temple buildings. The clearest example of such a building is the palace complex in Palenque. It represents a whole group of buildings. All of them are located around two large and two small courtyards. The complex is located on a huge (104 x 60 m) platform, rising from the surface of the earth by about 10 m. A staircase leads to the foot of the platform, with the help of which you can get to the territory of large courtyards. Each building has an oblong shape. The middle of it is cut through by a solid longitudinal wall, which divides the room into two parallel narrow rooms, covered with flat vaults. In one of the small courtyards there is a four-story, square-shaped tower. According to researchers, it may have served as an observatory. The ancient Mayans also had a third type of structure. In modern archeology they are called stadiums or ballgame buildings. A detailed description of this cult game is given in his book “The Art of Ancient America” by the famous Russian Mayanist researcher R.V. Kinzhalov: “The cult ball game was widespread among the Indian peoples of Central America. Its essence was that representatives of the competing teams had to drive a massive heavy ball made of raw rubber through a large stone ring mounted vertically in one of the walls of the stadium. The game was complicated by the fact that it was forbidden to touch the ball with the palms and soles of the feet - the ball could be sent with a blow to the elbow, knee or torso.” Further, the scientist gives a description of the structure: “These stadiums usually consisted of two massive walls running parallel to each other, with a playing area between them. The spectators were located on the tops of the walls (their width provided for this possibility). .. A staircase located on the outside of the walls allowed access to the stadium.”

Modern scientists consider the second half of the 1st millennium AD to be the time of the greatest flowering of the classical Mayan civilization. e., that is, VII-VIII centuries. In addition to such major centers, and very often they are called mini-states in the archaeological literature, such as Copan, Palenque, the cities of Quirigua, Tikal, Bonampak, Piedras Negras and many others are receiving powerful development.

In the 10th century, a number of significant changes occurred in the settlement of the peoples of Central America. They also affected the Mayan tribes. Due to a mysterious catastrophe, the exact explanation of which does not exist to this day, the ancient cities located on the territory of Guatemala and British Honduras - Palenque, Piederas Negras, Yaxchilan, Copan, Quirigua, Tikal - were abandoned by people, the new place of Mayan settlement became in this period of time (late 9th - early 10th century) Yucatan Peninsula. The Toltecs who arrived on this peninsula stood at the head of a number of new Mayan state associations. The most significant of them were states with centers in Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Mayapan. It was in the art of these centers, especially on the monuments of Chichen Itza, that the Toltec influence was felt. This city was located on absolutely flat terrain and was an almost regular rectangle 3 km long and 1 km wide. The heart of Chichen Itza was a sacred stepped reservoir (karst well - cenote). It was he who gave the name to the city. Translated, it means “mouth of the well of Itza.”

The heyday of Chichen Itza is associated with the arrival of Mexican-Toltec settlers to Yucatan under the leadership of their leader Quetzalcoatl (Kukulkan). According to A. Rus, the time of Toltec dominance in Yucatan was an era of general slavery of the Mayan people. A distinctive feature of the architecture of this period among Mayan architects is the extensive use of columns, which were very often designed in the form of the bodies of feathered snakes. This was no accident. The feathered snake symbolized among the Toltecs their supreme god, Quetzalcoatl. He entered the pantheon of Mayan gods under the name Kukulkan. The main temple of Chichen Itza, known as El Castillo (translated from Spanish as “Kremlin”), was dedicated to him.

This architectural structure is a massive high pyramid consisting of nine ledges. On each side there is a wide staircase consisting of 91 steps and bordered by balustrades. The top of the pyramid is crowned by a temple. It almost completely repeats the plans of the most ancient Mayan temples (for example, the Temple of the Sun in Palenque, which we have already described). However, there is also a difference. At the Kukulkan pyramid, in the middle of the doorway of the temple itself, there are two massive columns depicting the bodies of feathered snakes. By introducing these architectural elements, very characteristic of the Toltecs, the opening is significantly expanded and divided into three equal parts. Inside the temple, in the Castillo sanctuary, there is another pair of the same columns. The roof of the temple does not have a roof ridge. The pyramid temple amazes the viewer with its monumental grandeur and simplicity of form. Being the center of the city's architectural ensemble, it is visible from everywhere. No matter where the traveler is on Chichen Itza, this grandiose building invariably comes into his field of vision.

Another, no less significant structure in Chichen Itza is the Temple of the Warriors. It received this name because there are numerous images of warriors on the external reliefs and internal paintings. The base of the temple is also a pyramid, but it is much lower than that of El Castillo, and only one staircase was built here. Inside the temple there are four rows of columns supporting the vaults. In addition to the reliefs, the outside walls of the structure are decorated with geometric patterns and high relief Kukulkan masks. A distinctive feature of the Temple of the Warriors is the extensive colonnade located at the foot of the pyramid on the side of the stairs. The tetrahedral massive pillars forming the colonnade are also covered with reliefs.

Of great interest is the round tower of Karakol (from the Spanish carakol - “snail”). This building got its name because of the twisted staircase, like a snail shell. This architectural structure is located on two terraces located one above the other. Its height reaches 13 m. Small, rectangular windows, cut into the thickness of the walls, are directed to important astronomical points in accordance with the cardinal points and, obviously, helped to conduct careful observation of the sky. According to researchers, this building served as an astronomical observatory.

In another city of Yucatan - Uxmal - Mayan architects erected such masterpieces of architectural art as the Pyramid of the Wizard, or, as it is also called, the Pyramid of the Soothsayer, the Palace of the Ruler, and the women's “monastery”. These buildings are richly decorated. In contrast to earlier buildings, the decor, represented mainly by geometric patterns and figures of feathered snakes borrowed from Toltec art, fills the entire surface of the wall. Mayan architects and sculptors began to use new techniques. Very often they covered the façade walls with a kind of stone mosaic. It consisted of carefully processed stone plates, on which the finest carvings were applied. Archaeologists have calculated that more than 20 thousand stone plates, which were carefully adjusted to each other, were used for the cladding of the Ruler's Palace.

Archaeologists and researchers were able to establish that the homes of ordinary people were a sharp contrast to the buildings that were erected for the nobility (priests, city rulers, civil leaders), ritual and cult purposes, the houses of ordinary people, as indicated in his description, compiled back in 16th century, Spanish Bishop of Landa, were “wooden, covered with grass.” Usually such houses were located at a distance from other buildings. They occupied topographically unfavorable places. Dwellings were built directly at ground level or on a platform of very low height. The foundation for the house was made of stone masonry or simply a series of rough, untreated cobblestones. The floor in such a dwelling was made of compacted earth or covered with lime. The house, as a rule, had a rectangular shape, sometimes its ends were rounded. Farmers and fishermen built walls from wooden stakes, pressing them tightly together and tying them with vines. The roof frame rested on four deeply dug pillars. The Indians covered horizontal beams and crossbars with palm leaves or dry grass. The roof was of two types: gable and hipped. In both cases it ended with a skate. This is how Bishop Landa describes the internal arrangement of the home of a common man: “... they make a wall in the middle and lengthwise, which divides the whole house, and in this wall they leave several doors on that half, which is called the back of the house, where they have beds, and the other part they whitewash it very skillfully with lime... and this half is a reception room and a place for guests, and it does not have a door, but the whole of it is open to the length of the house..."

Archaeologists have found that most of the houses were oriented with their facades facing east. However, during the excavations it was discovered that the windows of the houses could look both north and south, and in very rare cases - to the west. In some settlements, the dwellings of ordinary people, together with the adjacent lands (possibly vegetable gardens), formed a kind of estate. It was surrounded by a fence of rough stones, laid without mortar. Between the houses there were cobbled streets and uneven paths. From the household items discovered during the excavations, it is clear that a small wooden extension, adjacent directly to the house or standing a few meters from the main dwelling, served as the kitchen for ordinary people.

According to the earliest sources, the Maya peoples buried their dead "inside or behind their houses" and "usually abandoned the house and abandoned it after the funeral."

Architecture is one of the most eloquent evidence of the maturity of any culture, people or tribe. Therefore, if we talk about the inhabitants of Mesoamerica and, in particular, about the ancient Mayan civilization, then its basic urban planning principles are distinguished by strict adherence to proportions. The Mayan architects were able to emphasize the monumentality of their buildings by the abundance of free space around them, the location of access roads and squares. In Mayan cities they built not only pyramids and palaces, but also astronomical observatories, grounds for ritual ball games, colonnades, monumental staircases, and grand triumphal arches. The variety of architectural and urban planning forms of the Mayan architects significantly surpasses in its level the architecture of other peoples of pre-Columbian America - the Incas, Aztecs, Toltecs. The Mayans created an architecture that was unparalleled in all of Indian America.

There has been much debate about the nature of Mayan cities. Some of the American archaeologists assumed that the Mayan cities were only cult centers, and from this it follows that large numbers of people could not live in them. However, recent findings refute this point of view. The famous French Mayan scholar Paul Rivet claims that these were real cities in which large groups of people lived. The researcher made a reservation: numerous “inferior” ladies lived not in the city center, but in the outskirts. The city itself contains palaces, “monasteries,” observatories, ball courts, a kind of halls for ritual dances, wide staircases, magnificent roads and, of course, temples built on high pyramids. On the outskirts of cities, according to the scientist, ordinary people huddled in small houses, or rather, even in shacks, surrounded by gardens or fences. The number of inhabitants of Mayan cities was unusually high. According to archaeologist Sylvanus Morley, Mayan cities of the second category (American researchers divide Mayan cities into four categories based on the number of surviving architectural monuments) had approximately 50 thousand inhabitants. Americanists include 19 Mayan centers as such cities, including Vashaktun, Coba, Calakmul, Nakum, Palenque, Yaxchilan, Etzna, Quirigua.

The population of Mayan cities of the first category - such as Copan, Tikal, Uxmal and especially the largest of them, Chichen Itza - according to modern scientists, was approximately 200 thousand people. In the first half of the last millennium, Mayan cities significantly exceeded the largest European centers such as Paris, Venice, Lisbon, and Prague in terms of population and population density.

The sculptural art of the Mayan people reached a high level. It had its own characteristic features, and can be easily distinguished from the art of other peoples of Mesoamerica. However, in the pre-Mayan era, researchers do not exclude the influence on Mayan art in the field of sculpture from other Indian cultures of Ancient Mexico, in particular the famous creators of giant heads - the Olmecs.

This tribe lived on the east coast of Mexico. Objects discovered during excavations allowed scientists to hypothesize that in ancient times, perhaps even earlier than the Mayans, some very remarkable culture existed here.

Sculptural monuments of the Olmecs, found in the mid-50s of the 20th century during excavations in the Mexican cities of Tres Zapotes, La Venta, Cerro de las Mesas and San Lorenzo (the original Olmec names of these large centers of the former Olmecon, unfortunately, not preserved) represent giant heads. According to experts, they are distinguished by realistic and at the same time individual features.

The majesty of the proportions chosen by the master only confirms the high class and confident technique of execution. Scientists were struck by the fact that none of these Olmec cities, or rather, the places where cult rituals were held, had its own stone. Therefore, the remains of temples and palaces were not found in them. Most archaeologists have come to believe that the Olmecs brought basalt (a hard rock of volcanic origin) to make giant heads, large sarcophagi and altars, and stone steles from extremely remote locations. Only after some time did researchers find out that the building material was cut by the Olmecs into vice slabs weighing from 20 to 60 tons from the mass of a frozen volcano, which is known today as San Martin Pahapan. Its distance from the centers of the Olmec cult, that is, from the place of rituals where the objects were discovered, is 125 km. One can imagine how much effort it took for the representatives of ancient civilization to deliver these blocks to the places of worship of their deities. After all, none of the pre-Columbian Indian tribes had the slightest idea about carts, and certainly did not know draft animals. According to scientists, multi-ton blocks were transported on rafts: first by sea, and then along the Tonala River. Most researchers have come to the conclusion that these sculptures had a cult purpose. Evidence is provided by small cup-shaped indentations on the heads of the statues, which apparently served as containers for sacrificial blood.

The largest of the sculptures was discovered in the city of La Venta. The dream has a height of 2.5 m and weighs more than 30 tons. The monument depicts the head of a young man with a wide nose that seems to be flattened in the middle, large thick lips and almond-shaped eyes that are covered with heavy eyelids. The young man is wearing a tight-fitting helmet with headphones on his head. Its upper part is decorated with a relief pattern. Archaeologists immediately noted an interesting fact: around this statue and others like it, no other sculptural fragments of the body were discovered during excavations. In this regard, there is a firm belief among researchers that the Olmec sculptors originally intended to create a sculpture completely without a torso. It was established that the material for the monument was a huge basalt block. The monument was made from it.

Altars are among the interesting monuments of Olmec culture. They are monoliths decorated with reliefs, which apparently served as a platform for sacrifices. Of particular interest to archaeologists is the monumental altar, also discovered in La Venta. The sculpture is made of gray-green basalt. On the front side there is a high relief image of a male figure (about 1 m in height) emerging from a deep niche. A more detailed study of the monument reveals that this niche is nothing more than the open mouth of a jaguar. The attributes of the clothing items, headdress, and jewelry allow us to conclude that this is either a high priest or a ruler. The dead body of a child rests on the character’s slightly outstretched arms. Researchers and archaeologists believe that some kind of solemn religious ceremony was depicted on this altar. Most likely, it is associated with the cult of the underground gods. Serving this cult required that children be sacrificed.

Another of the remarkable examples of Olmec round sculpture is currently kept in one of the private collections of art monuments in Mexico City. This small basalt statue depicts a man sitting with his legs drawn up and his body slightly bent forward. Among experts it is generally accepted that the sculpture depicts a ball player. In this work, the Olmec sculptor managed to truthfully and vitally convey the proportions of the body, its dynamics, concentration and attention to the face. Researchers rightly classify this monument as one of the highest achievements of all ancient American sculpture.

Olmec sculptors are also known as original masters of small sculpture. During the excavations, several small-sized figurines were discovered made from various mineral stones: jade, serpentine, jadeite. A characteristic feature of these products is a disproportionately large head with a large mouth and thick lower and upper lips, reminiscent of the mouth of a predatory animal. According to researchers, these are figurines of some Olmec deity associated with the cult of the jaguar. One of these figurines, depicting a jaguar-like creature, is kept in the State Hermitage. Researchers believe that the jaguar was the main theme of Olmec sculptures and, of course, was the main character of a very developed cult. Most likely, representatives of this ancient civilization identified themselves with this insidious and powerful beast.

The described monuments of Olmec sculpture give an idea that in this form of art the predecessors of the Mayans were more primitive in their interpretation of themes. In general, Olmec sculptors were not inferior in level to Mayan sculptors, and in some cases (for example, in images of faces executed with great realism) even surpassed them.

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 rough-hewn 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 were built. The architecture of the ancient Mayan cities had a square layout and cramped interior space. Some, even large cities, served as sanctuaries. Mayan urban architecture in Central America before the 9th century AD 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.