Lately, more and more religious artifacts and sculptures are being unearthed. Another great finding to add to the top list is a sculpture depicting the head of the Maya Maize God. The sculpture was found at Palenque, a popular archeological site in Chiapas, Mexico where other important artifacts have been previously found.
According to a statement released by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, the sculpture is said to be 1,300 years old. The sculpture aligns with previous evidence discovered that pointed towards the origin of the Maize God’s birth.
A cache of artifacts was found at the size of Paso del Macho in the northern part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The artifacts are offerings by the settlers to the Maize God from when the settlement was founded about 3,000 years ago.
The sculpture is 1 meter wide and 3 meters long with some damage along the way which could have been caused by the conditions underground or at the time when the sculpture was buried. This specific find had been coordinated by Archaeologist Arnoldo Gonzalez Cruz and restorer Haydee Orea Magana.
“The discovery of the deposit allows us to begin to know how the ancient Maya of Palenque constantly relived the mythical passage about the birth, death and resurrection of the maize deity,” (Quote by INAH Chiapas Center researcher Arnoldo González Cruz)
Previous artifacts that have been discovered, point out that the Maize God rose from the underworld. This legend was a central part of Maya fertility and rainmaking rituals.
The team also gives some great details about the sculpture which are hard to catch when looking at the image of the sculpture. Even for its age, it is still an amazing work of art.
“The sculpture, which must have been modeled around a limestone support, has graceful features: the chin is sharp, pronounced and split; the lips are thin and projecting outwards — the lower one slightly downwards — and show the upper incisors. The cheekbones are fine and rounded; and the eyes, elongated and thin. From the wide, long, flattened and rectangular forehead, a wide and pronounced nose is born” (Quote by INAH Chiapas Center researcher Arnoldo González Cruz)
Based on the ceramic the tripod plate that accompanied the sculpture was made of, the archeological team was able to date the origin of the sculpture to the Late Classic period (700–850 AD).
Comments / 386