Aesthetics in the Mayan Culture

Aesthetics was a very important part of the Mayan Culture. Although beauty through the Mayans eyes was very different from today's definition of the word. To make their heads longer, Mayan babies were squeezed between two pieces of wood. Another practice performed by the Mayans was to break their nose and reshape it, to allow it to look more hooked shape (Suart 34). Most Mayans were tanned and had black hair and eyes. Both men and women had long hair which was braided into two or four braids. They wore very little clothing. The clothing they did wear though was very decorative, with the fanciest piece of clothing being headdresses worn by nobles. Their bodies were pained differently according to tradition and occasion. Priests wore blue, warriors wore red and black, and children wore white (Morley 223).

Morley, Sylvanus G. The Ancient Maya. Stanford University, CA:
Stanford University Press, 1946.

Stuart, George The Mysterious Maya. Washington, D.C:
The National Geographic Society, 1977.