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Much of what is known about how the ancient Mayans created and played music comes from the iconography that is preserved in the ceremonial pieces of mural art, or codices. One such example is found in the ancient Maya archeological site of Bonampak, Mexico, where there are walls which show artwork of a group of Mayan warriors playing long trumpets, as portrayed in the Mayan theatrical play Rabinal Achí.

Many kinds of instruments were used, but they essentially broke down into two categories, being wind instruments (aerophones) and percussion instruments (idiophones). The wind instrument family consisted of cane and bone flutes, different types of whistles, ocarinas of various designs, and other sibilant vessels. For percussion instruments, the Mayans crafted wooden drums with membranes made from the hides of deer or jaguar. They also made rattles, güiros, and other idiophones using the shells of snails and tortoises. One of these percussion instruments called the “tunkul” (or sometimes just “tun”) is still seen in Guatemala today. It is made from a hollow tree trunk with an H-shaped incision whose resulting tongues are hit with rudimentary drumsticks.

The music the Mayans played was performed and danced to during festivities and rituals, usually in celebration of (or to communicate with) the gods that they worshiped. It appears that each god had their date or holiday, with its accompanying ceremonies and special music.