Bonampak's Murals

The murals at Bonampak (c. 790 CE) are the most complete surviving Maya paintings. Covering three rooms, they depict a battle, the torture of captives, and a victory celebration with extraordinary narrative detail. Warriors in full regalia seize captives by the hair, prisoners plead with bleeding fingers, and musicians and dancers celebrate.

Color carried meaning. The Maya tied four colors to the four directions: red to the east, white to the north, black to the west, and yellow to the south, with blue-green at the center. Painters did not just decorate a surface — they mapped the cosmos onto it, turning a wall into a model of an ordered world.