27 Maya Objects

This group of artifacts is from Maya civilization on the Yucatan Peninsula in modern-day Mexico. Although Maya civilization developed a writing system, relatively few of its written materials have survived into our time. At the Maya city of Palenque, a funerary mask made from jade was found in the tomb of the Maya king, K’inich Janaab’ Pakal. At the Maya city of Chichen Itza, there is a well-preserved ballcourt (for playing a ceremonial game in which competitors tried to move a rubber ball through a circular ring) and an astronomical observatory. These objects should be analyzed in much the same way one would approach a written document. Consider function and purpose. Who were they for and what do they reveal about Maya society?