Bonampak
Precisely who was first of the non-Mayans to see it is a matter of speculation, but it was either two American travelers, Herman Charles (Carlos) Frey and John Bourne, or photographer/explorer Giles Healey.
C. 790 CE, Yaxchilan's king Shield Jaguar III oversaw the installation of Chan Muwaan II, and hired Yaxchilano artisans to commemorate it in "Structure I"'s murals.
Structurally symmetrical, balanced and stable, it is composed of three separate rooms, which contain murals that narrate the events surrounding the accession to the throne by Chooj, son of Bonampak ruler Yajaw Chaan Muwan, and grandson of Aj Sak Teles.
This team would have included plasterers, pigment preparers, and possibly calligraphers, in addition to the painters and planners whose artistic conception is most visible on the walls.
[8] The exterior of Structure 1, although poorly preserved, was once richly painted in bright hues of Maya blue, blue-green, red, and yellow.
On the east and west sides of the building, the upper course featured additional seated figures within niches set atop long-snouted god heads—these still have some remnants of red paint visible.
[9] In 1996, a team from Yale University led by professor Mary Miller began The Bonampak Documentation Project, which included making an even more detailed study, photographic record, and reproductions of the murals.
These reproductions, completed by artists Heather Hurst and Leonard Ashby, bring to life many details, thanks to infrared photographs, that can no longer be seen with the naked eye.
Most saliently, the images captured many glyphs that were previously unknown, lost either to natural erosion, or due to the many failed attempts at preservation, some of which did far more damage than conservation.
*Note: The numbered human figures (HF) mentioned below can be found in the aforementioned publication on page 73, in addition to excellent large foldouts in the back of the book.
Room 1: This is the scene of a regal event: the acknowledgement, in front of the court and visiting dignitaries, by the Bonampak ruler, Yajaw Chaan Muwan, of his son's right to rule.
The large, feathered back racks, in addition to the various jaguar, quetzal and serpent elements in their costumes, underscore the importance of these figures.
Of particular note is HF 71, standing in a familiar pose to smokers of today, as he, too, embraces a long, thin cigarette, expressing some combination of calm, lack of interest and boredom.
Of all the images of visiting messengers, nobles and dancers held within the upper register, a few individuals, and one recently discovered detail in particular, stand out.
Firstly, the young figure is actually wearing face paint and garments that are suggestive of a girl, perhaps a wife for the future ruler.
In fact, he is glancing over his left shoulder into the upper register of the west wall at the figure (HF 19) sitting upon an elevated throne.
Other theories include him being a wounded warrior, or a possible relative of Yajaw Chan Muwaan, as his jewelry matched that of the nobles depicted in Room 1.
What captures one's attention immediately are the three elaborately dressed individuals in the upper register (HF's 16, 21, and 24) wearing tall, green, quetzal-feathered headdress and dancers wings.
Covering almost the entire bottom register of the south and west walls are seven more elaborately costumed characters (HF's 13, 15, 17, 26, 26, 27 and 28) with similar headdresses to those of the brothers above them.
Above the entire south wall scene, set among a background of yellow —the first appearance of a color not representing reality[9]— is a supernatural entity with square eyes, and a single frontal, pointed tooth.
[9] The upper register of the west wall contains a musical procession with masked performers, carrying a dwarf (HF 42) who is lifted into the yellow background of the vault, demonstrating his connection to the supernatural world.
The upper register of the east wall shows the noble women of Bonampak (HF's 2, 5 and 6) holding stingray spines to their tongues in a bloodletting ritual.
Below, 10 ebeets (lords) dressed in white mantles engage in conversation, while nine more seated individuals below also gesticulate as they talk to one another, perhaps commenting on the performance taking place on the south wall in front of them.
Professor Mary Miller wrote, "Perhaps no single artifact from the ancient New World offers as complex a view of Prehispanic society as do the Bonampak paintings.
No other work features so many Maya engaged in the life of the court and rendered in such great detail, making the Bonampak murals an unparalleled resource for understanding ancient society."
Chan Muwan II is standing and carrying a ceremonial cane, the styling of the pupil gives him a greater strength to his look; in the lower part of the stele is observed the monster of the earth from which the faces of the young god of corn emerge.
The scene revolves around the ritual of self-sacrifice, performed by the ruler who carries in his right hand a bag with copal from which the face of the bat god is seen and assisted by his mother, who carries the stingray spines to perform the piercing while his wife holds the basket with the strips of paper ready to receive the blood drops of the ruler, which will later be incinerated in honor of their deities.
It represents a scene in which Chan Muwan II is standing in front of a second person squatting and in a position of submission wearing paper ear-rings, symbol of the captives.
