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Bonampak is a Classic period site in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, about 30 km south of Yaxchilan. It is a small site, and once a dependency of Yaxchilan. All of the structures seem to have been built in the period from about 580–800 AD. Bonampak contains several medium-sized temples around a plaza, along with a few carved stelae, but is famous for the murals in one of the buildings. The Temple of the Murals, or Structure 1, is a long narrow building with three rooms atop a low-stepped pyramid base. The interior walls preserve the finest examples of Classic Maya painting , otherwise known only from pottery and occasional small faded fragments. Over the years rainwater has seeped into the plaster of the roof in such a way as to cover the interior walls with a layer of slightly transparent calcium carbonate . These murals first came to modern attention in 1946, when Lacandon Maya who lived in the region showed photographer Giles Healey a small temple whose three rooms house paintings that cover all surfaces. Shortly after Healy’s discovery the CIW sent an expedition to Bonampak. The walls were coated with kerosene which made the layer over the paintings temporarily transparent, then the murals were 19.0. Bonampak 419 extensively and completely photographed and duplicate paintings were made by two different artists. The paintings date from 790 A.D. and were made as frescos, with no seams in the plaster indicating that each room was painted in a single session during the short time that the plaster was moist. The three rooms show a series of actual events with great realism. The first shows robing of priests and nobles, a ceremony to mark a child as a noble heir, musicians playing wooden trumpets, drums, and other instruments, and nobles conferringindiscussion.Thesecondroomshowsawarscene, with prisoners taken, and then the prisoners, with ritually bleeding fingers, seated before a richly-attired Chaan Muan, the Lord of Bonampak. It is usually presumed that the prisoners are being prepared for human sacrifice, though this is not actually shown in the murals. The third room shows a ceremony with dancers in fine costumes wearing masks of gods, and the ruler and his family stick needles into their tongues in ritual bloodletting. The accompanying hieroglyphic text dates the scene and gives the names of the principal participants. From at least the 400s AD onward, lords at Bonampak skirmished with those from Yaxchilan, 26 km T H E C A R N E G I E M A Y A 420 BONAMPAK away; but by the 700s the royal families at the two cities had achieved détente. By A.D. 800, when the paintings were completed, the region was suffering from deforestation, exhausted farmland, and overpopulation. Some cities were burned to the ground; others were simply abandoned. By A.D. 900 the forest had begun to reclaim the area. Concerned aboutthecontinueddeteriorationofthemuralsintherainforest environment, Mary Miller, a professor of the History of Art at Yale University, established the Bonampak DocumentationProjectin1995torecordeverydetailofthemurals before they disappeared. One important goal of the project was to use infrared film to document the paintings, which reveals details invisible to the naked eye. Team members directed and assisted photographers at the site, recording every scrap of paint within the three narrow chambers in three formats: color film, photographic infrared, and video infrared. 19.1. KARL RUPPERT Bonampak Expedition YB 46:177–179, 1947 Early in 1946 Mr. Giles G. Healey, employed by the United Fruit Company to make a photographic record of the Maya, past and present, was in the eastern part of the state of Chiapas, Mexico, filming some groups of Lacandon Indians, and was directed by them to the siteofBonampak.Herehenotedsomeremarkablywell preserved paintings on the walls and vaults of the only stranding three chambered building. On his return from the bush Mr. Healey reported the find to the Chairman of the Division, who at once arranged for Sr. Antonio Tejeda, Division artist, to go to Bonampak. In July Mr. Healey and Sr. Tejeda spent five days at the site. The paintings, as shown by the sketches made at that time, were so remarkable and so important that it was considered imperative to send an expedition for their complete recording. In the winter of 1947 such an expedition was undertaken , financed by the United Fruit Company and directed by Carnegie Institution of Washington. Personnel included: Karl Ruppert, in charge; Gustav Strömsvik, engineer; J. Eric S. Thompson, epigrapher; AntonioTejeda,artist(allofCarnegieInstitution);Giles...

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