There are also examples of mural painting, from Teotihuacan – the streets and buildings of the city in fact were originally covered in stucco and brightly painted. And in what appear to be the elite residences of city, some wall murals do survive, typically depicting the city’s deities and ritual activities.
The image here, for example, is of one such mural, thought to depict a goddess who seems to have been one of the chief deities of Teotihuacan, as she is seen in a number of images throughout the city, and always in a very iconic and recognizable way: she is typically shown wearing a mask, along with what looks to be a large feathered headdress, above, and depicted in a gesture of outstretching hands, thought to be a portrayal of the granting of bounty. From her hands, little streams of objects issue forth, indicating the giving of goods, or of life in general. On her headdress too though, are also motifs that resemble things like stylized human hearts – this is a reminder that, in the cosmology of the region at this time, it was understood that there was a price to pay, for such abundance and ability, and that these cultures viewed sacrifice as necessary for demonstrating dedication to the gods, so that they may grant them this sustaining of life.