The Mayans comprised of a group of indigenous people from Central America and Mexico. More importantly, the word, ‘Maya’ comes from an ancient city known as Mayapan in Yucatan. This was the last capital city of the Mayan Kingdom.

Without a doubt, this was a kingdom that no one could mess with. However, as much as they had a strong culture and knew how to stay together, the Mayan kingdom came to an end. But their fall is largely contributed to the Spanish invasion which is not entirely true.

The truth of the matter is that the Mayans built great cities filled with amazing pyramids and some of them still stand to this very day, but with their great Mayan architecture and art, came overpopulation and disputes between their people. After a while, during the Postclassic period (From 950 to 1524 CE), the Mayans abandoned the great cities which included, Chichen Itza and Uxmal.

So, by the time the Spanish invaded the Mayan kingdom, no one was left in the Major cities. The Kingdom was finally defeated in the Battle of Utatlan which happened in 1524CE.

What remains of the Mayan Culture?

Even though this great kingdom fell, there are still ways that people conserve the culture. In modern times, the Mayan people still engage in farming activities like their ancestors did and they still travel using the same rivers their ancestors used.

The idea that the Mayan community vanished after the fall of the great cities is not only inaccurate, but it’s also insulting to the millions of Mayans who still exist today. Yes, that’s right! The Mayans still carry on their traditions but they had to let go of some of their original cultures.

PRESERVING MAYAN ART

WHILE GIVING CHARITABLE DONATIONS
TO OUR SOCIETY

Ensuring that the Mayan history and culture doesn’t die down is one of the primary motivations of the NazcaHead team. We love our history and would like to make you a part of this community. How? Well, it’s not that complicated. We are not trying to ask you to start walking around wearing traditional Mayan garments. (Though that sounds like a cool way to dress up.)

Our company works to incorporate some of the stylish Mayan art into our current fashion trends. So, with our creative designs, you not only get to play a part in conserving the heritage of the Mayan culture but you also get to enjoy stylish outfits. Check out our Mayan art inspired products and find a design that matches your unique sense of style.

As unique as the Roman and Greek architecture and art may be, Mayan art is still the most easily recognizable and dramatic art even after thousands of years. That is because Mayans have proven to be the best when it comes to producing the best fine art from the Mesoamerican region. This is a region of Central America and Mexico that was once occupied by the Aztec, Maya and other related cultures.

The Mayan people used a wide variety of materials to produce their art. Some of the common ones being; stone, wood, bone, jade, and ceramics. Bones were mainly used to decorate their buildings and also to make sacred items or things that were used to serve certain specific functions, for instance, water storage pots.

Mayan art is majorly spiritual in nature meaning that it is designed for the purpose of either appeasing the gods or currying favor from them. Actually, a bigger percentage of the Mayan art you will see will be from either ritual objects or in the form of funerary. Generally, Mayan art is a representation and a reflection of the Mayan culture and lifestyle.

Portraits

The most striking thing about Mayan art is the portraits of themselves and the Mayan gods. These portraits play a very key role in understanding their culture, their way of life, costumes as well as their welfare and beliefs.

The prevailing subject of Mayan art doesn’t depict some unnamed gods and anonymous priest but rather it features women and men who are in positions of power that play a key role in the recreation of the history of their people. Indeed, Mayan art is the most beautiful and sophisticated art of the ancient New World.

Pottery

The Mayan pottery also still survives to date. Besides the clay vessels, the Mayan people also created earthenware figurines that represent both humans and animals. The technique of the Mayan people applying paint to wet clay was adopted from the Teotihuacan fresco, which is a great example of how civilization affected Mayan art.

Most of the work of pottery had decorations of humans, animals, or even other mythological creatures. The highly detailed clay figurines were a representation of humans and gods. These figurines were buried with the rulers and that is how they survived.

Sculptures

The Mayans also created a wide range of sculptures that are preserved at museums and Maya Sites today. The Stele is a great example of Mayan sculpture. It was a large stone that was covered with carvings.

This sculpture is used to depict the rulers of the cities they were found in while others showed the Mayan gods. Other stone carvings included stone figurines and stone lintels that were an indicator of blood sacrifices.

Paintings

Maya paintings are still intact in the present day, all thanks to the humid climate of Central America. The paintings were covered with a layer of calcium carbonate to prevent moisture from destroying them. These murals show scenes of battle, sacrifice, and nobility.