ARTIFACT COLLECTION

PLASTER CASTS

These two plaster casts are of unique objects now housed in the National Museum in Mexico City. The stucco heads were left as an offering, along with several clay vessels and plates, under the sepulchre in the Temple of Inscriptions at the archeological site of Palenque in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The limestone sepulchre contained a monolithic sarcophagus almost 10' long and 7' broad, weighing over 15 tons and decorated with exceptional carvings. The body within was of a tall man between 40 and 50 years of age, covered with jade beads, a disintegrated jade mosaic mask, and other offerings. Inscriptions on the sides of the sarcophagus identify this individual as Pacal, a ruler of Palenque from 615 to 683 A.D. The discovery of the funerary crypt was of the greatest importance because it demonstrated that many of the great Classic Maya pyramids contained the burials of ancestor rulers and were maintained as shrines to these rulers. Archaeologists now believe that the ancient Maya were extremely reverential toward their ancestors and the places where those ancestors were interred. These monumental funerary shrines are indicative of a large and well-organized population, an economy sufficiently developed and stable to support a population of peasants, rulers, priests, and craftsmen. Archaeologist Patricia McAnany suggests that these funerary shrines also indicate the extent to which "ancestors were perceived as serving to protect their descendants and, by extension, guard their resource entitlements from encroachment." The ancient Maya honored their ancestors with offerings of food and drink, incense, the blood of sacrificial animals, and blood drawn from their own bodies.

CEREMONIAL DRUM

Modern. Made by a Lacandon potter as a gift for Marvin Vann. Symbol of the Lacandon god Kayum and beaten to summon men to the god house.

GOD POTS AND INCENSE

The Lak-il K'uh is a clay incense burner, fabricated by the Lacandons for use in their rituals. Each of the pots has the upturned face of a major god modeled on it and is painted white with red dots and black stripes, made with soot and k'uxu, a red dye made from the fruit of the annatto tree.

Pom, or copal incense, is crystallized tree sap made from the resin of the pitch pine harvested by young boys.  The Lacandons burn the incense in the god pots during their rituals. When burned, it is believed that the incense transforms into tortillas for the gods to consume.

The Lacandons do not believe the god pots to be actual gods, nor are they considered accurate representations of the gods.  The pots are, instead, an abstract model of a human being and the medium through which all offerings are transmitted to the gods for consumption.  Originally, new god pots were made every 8 years in a month-long incense-burner renewal ceremony.  This ritual has not occurred since 1970, unfortunately.  The pots are now used only so long as the gods are found to be propitious or until an old pot has filled with the residue of burned incense, then a new one is manufactured by an adult male of the family.  Five cacao beans are placed in the bowl of a new god pot to represent the heart, lungs, liver, stomach and diaphragm.  Specific features that must be molded onto the heads of the god pots are ears, earrings, hair, jaws, eyebrows, eyes, cheeks, and mouths.  The most important object in making or replacing a god pot, however, is a small stone that is place in the bottom of the bowl.  These stones are taken from sacred sites believed to be the residence or temple of the god to whom the pot is dedicated.

CALENDAR

Cast of a Mayan calendar found in the jungle.

Special Collections Stockwell-Mudd Libraries Albion College 611 E. Porter Street Albion, MI 49224

Updated February 27, 2003 JAT