Named by indigenous people in Tzeltal, Toniná means the House of Stone. Metaphorically, the name refers to the home of celestial lights and deities of time: Toniná was a site of calendars and rituals. Palaces inhabited by Toniná's dynastic families (including military heads, architects, priests and astronomers) were constructed in the eastern portion of the acropolis. This area was lavishly decorated, in contrast with the acropolis' western section, where construction workers and warriors lived in austere dwellings. From the four temples of the seventh platform, priests and nobles managed the four regions of the sky, fought battles against darkness and maintained order regarding celestial phenomena.

This phenomenal near life size stucco head is a magnificent example reminiscent of the Tonina genre. Carved and formed by a master craftsman,this head is distinctive in its attention to the qualities of a noble’s face which are represented by the intensity in the facial gesture, the piercing eyes and distinguished patrician nose, sensitive lips and mouth. A stucco head such as this would have had a body usually formed in lower relief and assembled in stucco on top of a stone armature. There are clear signs that this figurehead was wearing distinctive headgear that together with the black markings on his face make him a notable and highly significant personality.
Archeologist Juan Yadeun has uncovered dozens of remarkable stucco heads from the rubble of collapsed buildings at the ruins of Tonina. Some depict gods, especially Chaak, and others represent idealized human faces. At Tonina artists created huge friezes against the natural setbacks of the site, some with dozens of individual figures.

For comparable examples see exhibits in the Museo de Sitio de Tonina, Chiapas-INAH, Mexico e.g. 10-569198 “Head of old man”.