Bonampak

Bonampak, ancient Mayan city, situated on a tributary of the Usumacinta River, now in eastern Chiapas, Mexico. The site’s engraved and sculpted stelae (upright stones) and its detailed murals document the ritual life, war practices, and political dynamics of the Late Classic Period (c. 600–900 ce) of Mesoamerican civilization.

The small city of Bonampak flourished during the mid-8th century as a satellite of the larger Yaxchilán, some 20 miles (30 km) to the north, with which it had maintained political relations since at least the 5th century. The principal structure of Bonampak is a large terraced acropolis that sits atop a natural hill. Stairs from the acropolis lead down to a plaza that is surrounded by platforms (to support other structures) and smaller buildings. Punctuating the plaza are four stelae, three of which are carved with images of rulers—particularly Chan Muán (reigned 776–c. 795)—and inscribed with Mayan hieroglyphic writing.

Bonampak is best known for the colourful floor-to-ceiling murals that cover the interior walls of a small three-room building on the first level of the acropolis. Room by room, these paintings document a number of events that occurred in 790–792, during the reign of Chan Muán. The images in the first room depict Chan Muán’s designation of his son as heir to the throne amid a contingent of white-robed nobility wearing elaborate headdresses. In the second room the murals portray a raid on a neighbouring community, with both the warriors and their weapons decked in jaguar pelts. The paintings in the third room illustrate—in graphic detail—the ritual bloodletting, torture, and sacrifice of war captives. Disrobed prisoners are shown, for instance, with blood running from their nailless fingers. The murals in the second and third rooms were especially important in dismantling the long-held (until the mid-20th century) and romanticized notion of the ancient Maya as a serene and peace-loving people.

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In addition to chronicling events of Chan Muán’s reign, the Bonampak murals also reveal much about the role of music in ancient Mayan civilization. Percussion instruments—including log drums, scrapers, gourd rattles, and drumlike idiophones made from turtle shells—regularly appear as an accompaniment to processions and other ritual events. Also notable are wind instruments, such as ocarinas, flutes, and conch-shell trumpets. Along with music, dance is depicted as integral to the ceremonial life of the Maya, marking different rituals or segments of ritual activity.