The music of the ancient Mayan courts is known through descriptions in native and Spanish 16th-century texts and the depiction of performances in the art of the Classic Period (200-900 AD). Many instruments have come to light, so that tonal reach and scales can be studied, but no musical notation has survived, and the music itself disappeared after the dissolution of the Maya courts following the Spanish Conquest. Music played a vital role in the public rituals and ceremonies, with instruments being grouped into orchestral sections.
Instruments:
Flutes were made of wood, bone, reed, or clay, with one or several tubes.
Long trumpets were, amongst other things, used to announce visitors and accompany the king on his state visits.
Rattles (maracas) were usually made from gourds, but archaeological evidence from Pacbitun, Belize, shows that sophisticated forms of maracas, along with the small balls inside, were also crafted in fired ceramic materials.
Large vertical drums (which the Aztecs called huehuetl) were made of wood and have not survived. The much lower standing kettle drums that have been found - often shaped like a bulbous jar on a pedestal, single or double - are earthenware.
