Maya 4.5 Fundamentals

For deleting objects, you simply select them and press the Delete or Backspace key. You can also choose Edit Delete on the menu. All selected objects, lights, or other scene elements are removed permanently from the scene.

Deleting by Type

Just below the Edit Delete menu item is Delete All By Type, which allows you to quickly get rid of all lights, objects, or other scene element types. If you look down this list, you'll see many other types of scene elements: Joints, Lattices, Clusters, Wires, and many others.