The human figure often appears in artistic representations in a wide range of objects created for diverse functions. Basically, the protagonists are monarchs or priests invested with all their characteristic elements, portrayed either in steles, vessels, and ceramic or jade pieces, or in painted murals. The size, colour and space these shapes occupy within the work indicate the significance of each character. Mythological scenes, where divine men and animals are represented together, deserve a chapter of their own.

The natural environment, and specifically animals, form part of the representations of both the real and mythological universes. The jaguar as a living being associated with royalty, or birds, the iguana, the monkey and the parrot, are all common motifs found in both worldly and funerary domains

Stucco human head Late Classical Period (600-800 AD). Inv. no. 2371.	Clay human head. Shows cranial deformation and remains of red pigment. Late Pre-classical Period (300 BC- 300 AD). Inv. no. 351.	Stucco head from the Late Classical period, found at Palenque (Chiapas) and preserved in the National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City.
Whistle in the shape of a bird. Shows remains of blue pigment. Classical Period (300-900 AD). Inv. no. 2009	Recipient decorated with false glyphs and anthropomorphic depictions. Late Classical Period (600-800 AD). Inv. no. 3207	Ritual scene of a member of the royal family, depicted on a polychromatic recipient from Tikal, preserved in the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Guatemala.