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The Maya Calendar, Culture and History: an Introduction to a Mesoamerican Civilization
The Maya are a people indigenous to Mexico and Central America who have continuously inhabited the modern regions of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas in Mexico and southward through Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and...
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Maya Vessel with Dog Painting
Maya vessel depicting several mythological scenes. This part of the vessel depicts a god with a spotted tail and ears. The dog is a companion of death, and like his own has a dark nature. Found in Guatemala, attributed to the "Metropolitan...
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Maya Tripod Bowl
3-4th century CE, Guatemala, Mesoamerica. Metropolitan Museum of Art A favored vessel type of the Maya lowlands was one made in the shape of a tropical bird, perhaps a cormorant, in the act of catching a fish in its beak. The bird's forehead...
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Kapilavastu
Kapilavastu (“Place of Kapila”) is the name of the city where Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha, l. c. 563-483 BCE) grew up and lived for the first 29 years of his life before leaving to pursue the spiritual path which led to his enlightenment...
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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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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 location...
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Maya Tikal Glyph
The Maya glyph for Tikal. From a stela in the Archaeological Museum of Tikal.
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Maya Noble Relief from Tabasco
This Maya relief depicting a nobleman is made from chalkstone, and it comes from what is present-day Tabasco, Mexico. It dates from the Late Classic Period around the year 780 CE. (Museum Rietberg, Zürich).
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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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Maya Ossuary Structure at San Gervasio
This structure located at the Maya archaeological site of San Gervasio on the Mexican island of Cozumel was so named as numerous human remains were found inside during archaeological excavation. The temple no longer exists, but it originally...