Photographs and illustrations of Stela A (front and back views), featuring Maya king, 18 Rabbit

Artifact date 731 C.E.; located in Copán, Honduras

One of the main features of the Classic Maya (pronounced MY-uh) era (c. 250–900 C.E.) was the stela cult—the widespread creation of carved stone monuments known as stelae (plural of stela) that adorned the public areas of the great Maya city-states such as Tikal, Palenque, and Copán. The stelae were huge, inscribed slabs or pillars of stone—the Maya called them "tree-stones." They ranged from 3 to 35 feet (0.9 to 10.7 meters) tall. Much of the Maya glyph-writing (carving or drawing figures to represent words, ideas, or sounds) that survived into present times appears on stelae excavated from Maya sites. Maya text written in glyphs has also been found on other monuments, such as temple doorways and altars—large carved stone blocks that sometimes served...