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A work made of limestone.

Hieroglyphic Altar

650–700

Late Classic Maya Possibly Bonampak/Lacanha area, Mexico or Guatemala

Bonampak

This altar depicts the head and torso of an individual wearing an ornate headdress and a large, woven mat pectoral emblem of rulership. He appears within a four-lobed cartouche, suggesting that he is a deceased ancestor who lives in the Underworld. The hieroglyphs that surround the figure describe the commemoration of a monument or structure; the text carved around the sides of the monument celebrate a successor’s completion of six years of kingship.

Limestone

Arts of the Americas

Latin American