Mayan Figurines Uncovered in King's Tomb

King and Queen figurines [Source]

In “Representing the Maize King,” published in Archaeology Magazine’s September/October 2010 issue, the discovery of an unnamed seventh century A.D. kind and the unearthing of 23 ceramic figurines depicting the costumes of Maya royalty are described with a sort of reverence. The find of these figurines is said to be particularly spectacular due to the fact that most of the examples archaeologists have of these figurines were looted, and we’ve lost the original context in which they were found. This is the first opportunity archaeologists have really had to understand the context in which these figurines were originally deposited, and postulate as to their original function. Due to their association with the dead king and his tomb, David Freidel, Michelle Rich and F. Kent Reilly III believe that this scene depicts the king’s funeral, and a deer shaman presides over the King, who is posed as a penitent person or a shaman’s patient in Modern Maya cultures. There are two royal figures presiding over the ceremony, a king and a queen, who archaeologists believe to be the successors to the dead king’s throne.

Finding artefacts like this in relation to burials is fortunate, and maybe the assumption that they depict a ceremony related to death is a bit of a stretch. Perhaps they had multiple purposes, and their final resting place was with the king in his death. It’s hard to say for sure, but their association with a lavish burial chamber certainly influences the interpretation of these figurines.