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Mayan Artifacts

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Cinthia Zarate
Dis 1L- Prejean, C.

Question #1: What role did writing play in elite Mayan funerary contexts? In order to answer this question, consider the funerary vessels and other grave goods on display in the Mayan section of the museum (many of these artifacts also have images of Mayan mythology on them). Describe two of the objects and mention the name of the objects as found on the display description.

The display “Whistle in the Form of Female Figure” is one of the many figurines recovered from the tombs of Jaina Island, off the coast of Campeche. It reflected the occupation of the deceased person; additionally, its shaped features reveal the individual character. Writing allowed these funerary contexts to truly resemble …show more content…
dates). Identify and describe the artifact and briefly comment on the role that Mayan numbers play in Mayan art and culture (you may draw upon your reading for this question to help develop your …show more content…
The Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz came across it when investigating the Temple of the Inscriptions; the carving on the sarcophagus shows the ruler falling down the great trunk of the World Tree from the celestial bird into the open jaws of the Otherworld. The image of a half-skeletal monster carrying a bowl of sacrifice marked with the glyph of the sun accompanies the ruler as he falls. This glyph is representative of the sun in transition between life and death. Another artifact leading to the decipherment of Mayan writing was the Maya ceramic vessel. It was Mayanist Michael Coe who first noticed that the sequence of glyphs around the rim of many pots were similar, terming it the Primary Standard Sequence. Decipherment revealed that the glyphs stood for cacao; additionally, chemical tests confirmed that the bottom of the pots contained cacao residues. Further research and phonetic decipherment suggested that Maya nobles preferred to have their mugs

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