Maya Funerary Urns Uncovered in Mexico

News January 11, 2024

Mexico Maya Urn
(INAH)
SHARE:
Mexico Maya Urn

CAMPECHE, MEXICO—Riviera Maya News reports that two funeral urns were discovered in the foundations of a Maya building in southeastern Mexico during an investigation on the route of the Maya Train. The first urn features a figurine of a deity in the form of a growing maize cob; the Maya symbol ik, which refers to the wind and the divine breath; and on the lid, an image of an owl, known to have been a symbol of war among the ancient Maya of the region. The second vessel also has an image of an owl on its lid, while its sides were adorned with appliques depicting the thorns of the sacred ceiba tree. Diego Prieto Hernández of Mexico’s National Institute of History and Anthropology (INAH) said that the unfired pots contain human remains and may have been placed in the foundation as an offering. To read about a Maya pectoral whose shape and decoration refer to the ik symbol, go to “Artifact.”

  • Features November/December 2023

    Assyrian Women of Letters

    4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets illuminate the personal lives of Mesopotamian businesswomen

    Read Article
    (Attraction Art/Adobe Stock)
  • Letter from El Salvador November/December 2023

    Uneasy Allies

    Archaeologists discover a long-forgotten capital where Indigenous peoples and Spanish colonists arrived at a fraught coexistence

    Read Article
  • Artifacts November/December 2023

    Sculpture of a Fist

    Read Article
    (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Bridgeman Art Library)
  • Digs & Discoveries November/December 2023

    The Benin Bronzes’ Secret Ingredient

    Read Article