Mayan Carved Human Mandible, 550 CE - 900 CE
Bone
4.75 x 4
PF.0264
Further images
How this jaw bone--once that of a living adult male--came to be elaborately carved with glyphs and symbols we cannot know for certain. The rituals of the Mayan religion were...
How this jaw bone--once that of a living adult male--came to be elaborately carved with glyphs and symbols we cannot know for certain. The rituals of the Mayan religion were filled with blood, death, and even human sacrifice; skulls play an important part in Mayan cosmology. It would seem that such intricate carving is a mark of honor, and that the skull may have been that of a prominent person, even a king. This mandible is much more than a relic of an ancient life: it is a vivid symbol of an entire civilization and their beliefs.