Object Notes

The Yup'ik Eskimo of western Alaska believe that everything has a spirit (or soul)—people, animals, and things—and all participate in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The boundaries between the spirit world and the real world, and between the human world and the world of animals, are not always clear.

The ancient Maya perfected the art of chipping flint to create flat blades for sacrificial and ceremonial use. The complex shapes of many of these objects have earned them the designation “eccentric flints.” Archaeologists have found them in offertory caches associated with dedication and termination rituals for architecture and stone monuments.

This Late Classic vessel comes from the Maya site of Quirigua, located in the southeastern lowlands of Guatemala. The vase was excavated archaeologically in 1912 from Structure 2 (B) in the principal Temple Plaza. The structure was empty save for this vessel, which was found broken in the final room of the main corridor, along with a fragmented hematite mirror.

This carved bone implement is incised with a woven mat design and crowned by foliage at the top. Scholars have associated these types of interwoven designs with royalty and thus may have identified the owner as a member of the elite, perhaps a ruler. Though the function of this implement is unknown, sharpened bones were often used as bloodletting implements to pierce the body

The carved images kings wore on their foreheads and chests projected supernatural power. This gold fragment with a male figure was likely originally suspended from a necklace, worn hanging over the chest. Though only partially visible, the figure is shown in profile, surrounded by vegetation. This image may represent an ancestor, an elite individual, or the ruler himself.&

This carved bone fragment is incised with an image of a serpent. Though the figure is only partially visible, it likely represents the vision serpent, with its scaly skin indicated by cross-hatched circles. A figure of central importance in Maya mythology and ritual, the vision serpent is commonly depicted with the spirit of an ancestor or deity emerging from its jaws.