<P> Maya stone sculpture emerged into the archaeological record as a fully developed tradition, suggesting that it may have evolved from a tradition of sculpting wood . Because of the biodegradability of wood, the corpus of Maya woodwork has almost entirely disappeared . The few wooden artefacts that have survived include three - dimensional sculptures, and hieroglyphic panels . Stone Maya stelae are widespread in city sites, often paired with low, circular stones referred to as altars in the literature . Stone sculpture also took other forms, such as the limestone relief panels at Palenque and Piedras Negras . At Yaxchilan, Dos Pilas, Copán, and other sites, stone stairways were decorated with sculpture . The hieroglyphic stairway at Copán comprises the longest surviving Maya hieroglyphic text, and consists of 2,200 individual glyphs . </P> <P> The largest Maya sculptures consisted of architectural façades crafted from stucco . The rough form was laid out on a plain plaster base coating on the wall, and the three - dimensional form was built up using small stones . Finally, this was coated with stucco and moulded into the finished form; human body forms were first modelled in stucco, with their costumes added afterwards . The final stucco sculpture was then brightly painted . Giant stucco masks were used to adorn temple façades by the Late Preclassic, and such decoration continued into the Classic period . </P> <P> The Maya had a long tradition of mural painting; rich polychrome murals have been excavated at San Bartolo, dating to between 300 and 200 BC . Walls were coated with plaster, and polychrome designs were painted onto the smooth finish . The majority of such murals have not survived, but Early Classic tombs painted in cream, red, and black have been excavated at Caracol, Río Azul, and Tikal . Among the best preserved murals are a full - size series of Late Classic paintings at Bonampak . </P> <P> Flint, chert, and obsidian all served utilitarian purposes in Maya culture, but many pieces were finely crafted into forms that were never intended to be used as tools . Eccentric flints are among the finest lithic artefacts produced by the ancient Maya . They were technically very challenging to produce, requiring considerable skill on the part of the artisan . Large obsidian eccentrics can measure over 30 centimetres (12 in) in length . Their actual form varies considerably but they generally depict human, animal and geometric forms associated with Maya religion . Eccentric flints show a great variety of forms, such as crescents, crosses, snakes, and scorpions . The largest and most elaborate examples display multiple human heads, with minor heads sometimes branching off from larger one . </P>

Where was mayan civilization centered (ch 01)