Stone Artifact with Incised Hieroglyphs

Exploring the Early Americas The Jay I. Kislak Collection

Pre-Contact America | Explorations and Encounters | Aftermath of the Encounter

Urban Landscapes | Ritual, Ceremonies, and Celebrations | Language and Context | Recording History | The Heavens and Time

Stone Artifact with Incised Hieroglyphs (34)

Stone torus with incised hieroglyphs.
Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 489.
Limestone.
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (34)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates

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This remarkable incised stone object from the Guatemalan Lowlands dates to AD 489. Recent scholarship indicates that the artifact may have been attached atop a staff and used in the Maya ballgame. Nine hieroglyphs encircle the object dedicating the object to a prince on August 5, 489.