SITE INDEX Home: nationalgeographic.com Search About National Geographic Shop Online ---------------------------- Interactive Features Maps Photography News Kids Educators Forums Live Events Exhibitions ---------------------------- NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Magazine TRAVELER Magazine ADVENTURE Magazine WORLD Magazine Books ---------------------------- Television EXPLORER on CNBC National Geographic Channel ---------------------------- Subscribe to Our Magazines Get E-mail Updates Contact Us Customer Service Privacy Policy Advertising Opportunities ---------------------------- Expeditions Council Expeditions (Travel) National Geographic Bee Research & Exploration Site Archives The Maya Photograph courtesy of Florida Museum of Natural History   Felipe Dávalos paints a replica of a Maya mural from Bonampak for the Florida State Museum in Gainesville, in 1976. The idea was to replicate the same intensity of color, proportion, and space as the ancient Maya had wanted a visitor to their city to experience. Painting by Christopher A. Klein The elaborate Bonampak murals illustrate a Classic Maya dynasty that flourished 1,200 years ago, in what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas. They were housed in three rooms in the red building on the right on the city’s acropolis (above). New studies of the murals by a team led by Mary Miller have resulted in computer-enhanced reconstructions. See NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, February 1995 © Mary Miller Parading along an eight-foot wall, this raucous celebration for a new heir has become one of Bonampak’s most popular scenes. Struggling to meet a three-month deadline, Dávalos studied the faded originals for five weeks before painting the 85 figures plus a band of intricate glyphs—an average of three figures a day.