Mayan Maize God
McGregor, Neil. “A Splendid Achievement.” A History of the World in 100 Objects.
British Museum. Web (2015)
The author mentions in his book that this sculpture represents The Mayans ideal of beauty and perfection, with its lively features, as a perfect description of its magnificence, and components noticeably in Maya workmanship during the Classic period 200 BC - AD 900. He embodies the horticultural cycle which is associated to the abundance of wealth and thriving. In this figure his hair is the silk of the cob and his hat is an adapted ear of corn. The sculpture was created in Copan, Honduras and it is made of limestone. Its dimensions are 89 cm height, 56.5 cm width and 30 cm depth.
"Historical Dictionary of Mesoamerica";
…show more content…
Therefore, he gives security of the fields against the attacks of the wild nature, himself represent. For the same reason, his name is conjured by conventional ranchers, who present him with the first products of their fields, cut out straight from the woods.
Bassie, Karen. "Corn Deities and the Complementary Male/Female Principle". In Lowell S. Gustafson and Amelia N. Trevelyan. Ancient Maya Gender Identity and Relations. Westport, Conn. and London: Bergin&Garvey. print. (2002)
According to the authors of “Corn Deities and the Complementary Male/Female Principle” the myth of the maize god is only one sample of how the improvement of horticulture prompted real changes in how individuals over the world imagined their divine beings and worshiped them. For a large number of years the Mayans worshiped the maize god and trusted that their predecessors were produced using maize dough. It was the Mayan's most imperative sustenance source. Today maize still structures a vast piece of the Central American diet as