Among the many inscribed objects found at Copan are a number of so-called stone “incensarios” – small lidded vessels bearing elaborate iconography that served as containers for ritual incense burners of ceramic. The ancient Maya of Copan called these small monuments sak lak tuunoob’, “white dish stones.” Many remain poorly published, unfortunately, although in the [...]
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
CPN 217: A Stone Vessel from Copan
Posted in Copan, Uncategorized on December 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
An Inscribed Block from Pajaral, Guatemala
Posted in Uncategorized on June 15, 2009 | 3 Comments »
In the bodega of the Museo Sylvanus Morley in Tikal, Guatemala, are a number of odds-and-ends of Maya sculpture recovered from looters over the last few decades. One piece is the block illustrated here, known to many epigraphers since its publication some years ago by Karl Herbert Meyer. Its place of origin has long been [...]
New Book: To Be Like Gods: Dance in Ancient Maya Civilization
Posted in Uncategorized on April 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
TO BE LIKE GODS: DANCE IN ANCIENT MAYA CIVILIZATION
by Matthew G. Looper
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS PRESS, 2009
$40.20 with website order discount
Description from the UT Press catalog:
The Maya of Mexico and Central America have performed ritual dances for more than two millennia. Dance is still an essential component of religious experience today, serving as a medium for [...]
A Sun God Image from Dos Pilas, Guatemala
Posted in Dos Pilas, Uncategorized on April 10, 2009 | 6 Comments »
In 1990, my friend Dr. Oswaldo Chichilla Mazariegos oversaw exploratory excavations at a small elite architectural compound at Dos Pilas known as Group N5-6 (Chinchilla Mazariegos 1990). In the course of his excavations he discovered several beautifully carved blocks in the interior chamber of Structure N5-21, the largest of the buildings in the group. These [...]
Choco Canyon
Posted in Uncategorized on February 26, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Here’s an interesting news tidbit, from a recent Times article on new chemical evidence of cacao usage in the American Southwest, at the famous site of Chaco Canyon. The tall cylinder vessels found there bear a striking resemblance to the common form of Late Classic Maya cacao pots, and in fact I’ve long wondered if [...]
