Bonampak is an ancient archeological site in the state of Chiapas. While there are many Mayan structures at Bonampak worth exploring, the most famous is the Temple of Murals. This temple is where the Bonampak Murals can be found, a collection of ancient art that helps explain the history and culture of the Mayans. Hundreds of figures were painted in three different rooms, each of which tells a part of a narrative in bold turquoise, red and yellow hues.
Bonampak – Temple of Murals
Bonampak is the temple of murals. It is an ancient Maya archaeological site in Chiapas, Mexico. The Bonampak was dependent on the Yaxchilan which is only 30 kilometers away. The site is not a unique site regarding architecture, but it has claimed its place through the murals in the three rooms of the Bonampak.
The site’s construction occurred in the late classic period (500 AD – 800 AD). It is home to the Maya murals that have high-quality preservation. The Bonampak murals set the record straight on the assumption that the Maya were a peaceful culture. The paintings depict war and human sacrifice among the Maya.
The first non-Mayans to see the site saw it in 1946. No accurate information on who was the first there. Speculations dominate on who was. First, some of the most know speculations are that it was two American travelers or photographers. The Americans got to the site through the guidance of a Mayan who paid visits to the ancient temples to pray. The photographer was the first to see the paintings that cover the walls on one of the rooms. The murals show war and victory.
Introduction
The murals of Bonampak are the most extensive and complete wall paintings of the ancient Maya, remarkable discoveries since 1990 at San Bartolo, Calakmul, and Xultun notwithstanding. With dates of 790 and 791 embedded in the paintings themselves, the murals are among the last major programs executed by the lowland Maya. Painted at roughly half to two-thirds life size, they wrap around the interiors of three rooms, with dozens of individual painted figures, some of which are repeated from room to room; King Yahaw Chan Muwan appears only in Room 2, on both the north and south walls. Carved and painted lintels frame each room, featuring Yahaw Chan Muwan over the doorway of Room 1, and King Shield Jaguar of neighboring Yaxchilan over Room 2. Good general overviews of the Maya include information about the site, its carved stone monuments, and its architecture, in addition to commentary about the paintings of Structure 1. The small site, which lay within the sphere of Yaxchilan, is also the home to three important stelae and a number of wall panels. A significant tomb was discovered in 2010 within Structure 1, in the bench of Room 2.
General Overviews
The late 8th-century Maya wall paintings of Bonampak have been treated in both specialized and general works since their discovery in 1946. One should always start with the first substantive publications: Villagra Caleti 1949 and Ruppert, et al. 1955. Long the standard publication of the murals, Ruppert, et al. 1955 included the reconstructions of Antonio Tejeda, well known and widely reproduced because of their presence at Harvard’s Peabody Museum. Thompson’s strong opinions about Maya civilization led him to make many misjudgments about the paintings. The most recent and comprehensive considerations can be found in Miller and Brittenham 2013 and de la Fuente and Staines Cicero 1998: they both fully supersede all previous publication. Espinosa, et al. 1988 were the first to report on the paintings following the 1985–1986 cleaning by INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia). General works to be consulted include Coe and Houston 2015 and Miller and O’Neil 2014. Miller 2002 in RES is a good short overview of the paintings and their meaning.
Reference:
1. touropia
2. muralform
3. oxfordbibliographies
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