Detail, southern end of the House of the Governor. Though to modern eyes the abstract scrollwork and geometric play of stone mosaics would seem only a decorative motif, to Maya societies, both ancient and modern, ornamentation is seldom without symbolic value. The shapes on the House of the Governor's frieze, masterfully rendered so as to maximize the play of light and shadow, were probably part of a complex iconography that communicated information as to the use or associations of this grand building.