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
ball courts (Mesoamerican)
Description
Detail view of relief of a warrior holding a weapon and a quiver with arrows with snakes before and behind him at the Ball Court at 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
Copyright Statement
©2013 Lawrence Technological University. These images may be used for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes without the explicit permission of LTU.
ID Number
2017MX-136
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