Chichén Itzá

Title

Chichén Itzá

Publisher

Lawrence Technological University

Date Created

February 7, 2018

Alternative Title or Name

Ball Court

Creator2

Aluzzo, Adrienne (photographer)

Work Type

visual works

Date

c. 1000

Work Location

Mexico (nation)

Chichén Itzá (deserted settlement)

Style/Period

Late Classic

Subject

reliefs (sculptures)
warriors
Snakes

Description

Detail view of reliefs of a warrior (player) and snakes at the Ball Court in Chichen Itza, Mexico. “The most famous instance of decapitation as an element of ball-game iconography appears at Chichen Itza, where the central relief panels from the Great Ball Court represent the sacrifice of defeated players. Serpents are shown issuing from the necks of the decapitated victims, symbolizing streams of spurting blood. Like many other examples of ball-game imagery in Maya art the Chichen reliefs imply that the head of the slain adversary was regarded as a surrogate for the ball, which is shown enclosing the image of a human skull,”-- Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World: The Serial Stelae Cycle of "18-Rabbit-God K,” King of Copan, by Elizabeth A. Newsome, 2001.

Material/Medium

limestone

Reproduction Type

jpeg

ID Number

2017MX-133

Files

2017MX-133.JPG
Date Added
January 17, 2018
Collection
LTU Digital Images
Item Type
VRA Core
Tags
, , , ,
Citation
“Chichén Itzá,” LTU Digital Images, accessed March 28, 2024, https://ltuimagecollection.omeka.net/items/show/17520.