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Clay Maya Nobleman Figure
Maya Nobleman, Jaina, Maya culture, Late Classic Period, c. 600-900 CE. Campeche, Mexico. Fired clay with remnants of paint.
Exhibited at Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Switzerland.
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Palenque
Located in the foothills of the Chiapas altiplano of modern Mexico, Palenque was an important Maya city which flourished between c. 600 and 750 CE. The name Palenque derives from the Spanish, meaning 'fortified place', but the original Maya...
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Copan
Copán (in modern Honduras) is located on the floodplain of the river of the same name. It was the most southerly of the Classic Maya centres and, at an altitude of 600 metres, the highest. Copán reached the height of its power...
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Ghosts in the Ancient World
A belief in an afterlife was central to every major civilization of the ancient world and this encouraged the recognition of the reality of ghosts as the spirits of the departed who, for one reason or another, either returned from the realm...
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Maya Ruins of San Gervasio on Cozumel, Mexico
The ruins of San Gervasio — located on the island of Cozumel in Mexico — were once an important site of pilgrimage to Maya people who lived from c. 1000-1650 CE. A sanctuary of the Maya goddess Ix Chel used to be located at this...
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Remnants of Maya Ruins at San Gervasio, Mexico
The ruins of San Gervasio — located on the island of Cozumel in Mexico — were once an important site of pilgrimage to Maya people who lived from c. 1000-1650 CE. A sanctuary of the Maya goddess Ix Chel used to be located at this...
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Maya Diving Figure
A Maya diving figure from a lid of a ceramic vessel. Mexico, c. 1000-1100 CE. (St. Louis Art Museum, Missouri)
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Presentation of Captives to a Maya Ruler
This carved limestone relief, dated 23 August 783 CE, depicts three scribes being presented as prisoners to a Maya ruler. The captives are identified as scribes by the stick-bundle the first one holds (the traditional implements of scribes...
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Sacred Maya Cenote at San Gervasio
This sacred Maya cenote or ceremonial sinkhole is located at the ruins of San Gervasio, which is located on the island of Cozumel in Mexico.
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Tulum
Tulum, on the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula in southern Mexico, was an important Mesoamerican centre which displayed both Maya and Toltec influence. Tulum was a major trading and religious centre between the 11th and 16th centuries...