Bonampak

A row of Maya figures in towering feathered headdresses inside one of the three painted rooms at Bonampak, in the rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico. The murals were painted in the 8th century, during the reign of Chan Muwan II, and between them the rooms cover a royal heir's presentation, a battle with its captives, and a festival of dancers, musicians and sacrifice. Room 2's battle is one of the best-known scenes of warfare in all Maya art. Few murals anywhere let you see so plainly how a court dressed, fought and celebrated. Outsiders were first brought to the rooms only in 1946, by Lacandon people who already knew them.