The monuments, polychrome murals and the bas-reliefs in stone are symbolic of Mayan art. Nevertheless, the artisans produced many equally extraordinary ceramic, stone and wood objects.

For about two thousand years, the art of this Mesoamerican region was used in religious temples and ceremonies and by political figures. The Maya gave material from to their beliefs through art, providing the proper background for exercising power. Many of these works were created to be used by dignitaries such as the bowls from which cocoa was drunk or in which incense was burned.

There were also offerings that celebrated the construction of their buildings or commemorative stelae, and many of them were part of the objects that accompanied their dead.