The Principal Bird Deity

This is a censer stand from Guatemala 250 AD to 450 AD.
The face on it is the Principle Bird Deity's. From LACMA.

You can find it on the sarcophagus lid of Pakal, in the San Bartolo murals (on the West Wall) and other places. The Principal (or Principle) Bird Deity (or just the PBD) was a major god for a time in the ancient Maya civilization. Its heyday was the Preclassic Period and the Early Classic part of the Classic Period. The Maya connected this being with valuable things -- like jade -- as well as other things.

Features

Artists in the Classic Period tended to draw the Principal Bird Deity's face like this: its eyes (and its pupils) were square-shaped. Its face also has a "beak-snout." (Another description I came across says that the being has an upper lip that's long.) It was also popular to draw it with a beard that had jewels in it. (The Classic Period way of drawing this being's face is the same as the way that Classic Period Maya drew the face of a being called Ux Yop Huun -- also known as the Jester God. The ancient Maya saw a connection between these two beings, but archaeologists don't quite know what it was yet.)

Part of an image in the Met's

collection. The artifact dates 

to the 400s AD or to between 

350 AD and 550 AD. It has a two-

headed snake in its mouth. The 
two sources I found don't agree: only
one says it is the Principal Bird Deity.

As for its wings, sometimes the Maya drew things into them. One of these things was either snakes heads (from the side) or snake figures -- these are two separate descriptions, each from a different source. It may sound unusual to put snakes on wings, but the word for snake and sky are the same in Mayan writing, so it's possible that the snakes could actually represent the sky, in a way. Speaking of snakes, artists also liked to draw it having a snake in its mouth.

There are a number of important features that are related to its forehead and the top of its head. Its forehead has a mirror, and it may also have what's called an "ak'bal medallion." On top of its head, it may also have a shell ornament that's been carved -- it may have this and the medallion or just have either one. There are times where it wears a "ak'bal flower headdress," a headdress that Itzamná is commonly drawn wearing. 

There's a theory that this bird's appearance may have been based off of a real species of bird called the laughing falcon or guaco (Herpetotheres cachinnans.)

What It Was God Of

This jade figure (dated to the 200s AD to
500s AD) comes from Honduras is either of: 
a person impersonating the PBD, or a 
humanized version of the god. From the 
Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The ancient Maya thought of the Principal Bird Deity as connected with the valuable things that the earth had to offer -- two examples are quetzal feathers and either maize or maize fields (I've seen both mentioned.) 

However, the strongest connection the ancient Maya made with the Principal Bird Deity was jade: they thought it was a living version of the mineral. (Another valuable thing the ancient Maya connected with this being was water, including rain -- this was because the ancient Maya's connections with jade included water.)

Rulers

Another association this god had was with rulers. By connecting themselves with the god, rulers were connecting themselves with control of valuable items -- as well as control of the economy.

Detail from a rectangular, ceramic
box that comes from Guatemala
and dates to between 450 AD and
550 AD. From LACMA.

The Principal Bird Deity was one of the gods that rulers would impersonate with the intention of being possessed. The point was to talk with the Principal Bird Deity, to get it to do things for the people. (Speaking of rulers and the Principal Bird Deity, artifacts depicting this deity were popular as grave goods for rulers.) 

Rulers are also shown wearing a headdress made of the Principal Bird Deity. This headdress was worn as part of them taking the throne -- and was a tradition that lasted from the Preclassic Period to the Early Classic.

And, on a related note, from what's been seen of ancient Maya art, rulers liked to include quetzal feathers in their headdresses. Used this way, it's possible the feathers were meant to be a symbol of the Principal Bird Deity.

The Sun
The ancient Maya in the Preclassic Period tended to connect the Principal Bird Deity with the sun more so than the ancient Maya in the periods that came after. (There's also a view that says this only may been what happened.) 


Itzamná 
The ancient Maya thought the Principal Bird Deity was a form of Itzamná. (No one knows for sure if the connection between the Principal Bird Deity and Itzamná started in the Classic Period. There's an idea that wonders if the belief that it was a form of Itzamná replaced the belief that it was connected with the sun. ) 

Archaeologists have found evidence that there were times where the Principal Bird Deity delivered messages for Itzamná. The name for the Principal Bird Deity as a messenger could be Muut Itzamnaaj. This phrase means "Itzamnaaj Bird."

There are some artifacts that say the Principal Bird Deity's name is Itzam Yej. This name is seen as evidence that connects the Principal Bird Deity with Itzamná. 

There's a possibility that Itzamná (god D) is actually a mix of yet another god, Pauahtun (god N,) and the Principal Bird Deity.

Creation Story
Another myth about the Principal Bird Deity has him being punished, and that his punishment was part of what happened before the creation of people. The Tablet of the Cross (at the site of Palenque) has a version of this creation myth. The tablet says that Hun Ajaw, one of the Hero Twins, was the one who punished the Principal Bird Deity -- who was self-centered enough to think it was bright enough to be a sun. After it was punished it used the World Tree to get to the sky. After all this, the real sun was able to rise.

If you've read about the Popol Vuh, then you probably are reminded of Seven Macaw (Wuqub Kaqix or Vucub Caquix.) Sometimes you may come across descriptions of the Principal Bird Deity that say this god is Seven Macaw. However, there is also a view that these beings were not the same, on account of how much of time that had passed.

Consideration
The name Principal Bird Deity is also a term used for other bird beings. Not a lot is known about these beings.


References:
Google Books: "Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya"; Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos"; 2017

Google Books: "The Origins of Maya States"; Loa P. Traxler, Robert J. Sharer (editors); 2016

Hampshire College: “Birds and Environmental Change in the Maya Area”; Peter Stuart; May 2015
(Automatically downloads  to your computer)

Google Books: "Maya Imagery, Architecture, and Activity: Space and Spatial Analysis in Art History"; Maline D. Werness-Rude, Kaylee R. Spencer (editors); 2015

LaGrange College: "Donning the Mask: Mayan Belief, Christianity and the Power of Syncretism"; Blakeley Coull; 2014

Leiden University: Leiden Repository "The Maya Ceramic Book of Creation: The Trials of the Popol Vuh Hero Twins Displayed on Classic Maya Polychrome Painted Pottery"; Laura Beukers; June 17, 2013

Mesoweb: Maya Archaeology Articles: "The Name of Paper: The Mythology of Crowning and Royal Nomenclature on Palenque’s Palace Tablet"; David Stuart; 2012

Google Books: "Spirit Possession and Exorcism: History, Psychology, and Neurobiology" volume 1 "Mental States and the Phenomenon of Possession"; Patrick McNamara; 2011

UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations: "A Study of Classic Maya Rulership"; Mark Alan Wright; January 1, 2011

MAYA VASE: "At the Court of Itzam Nah Yax Kokaj Mut: Preliminary Iconographic and Epigraphic Analysis of a Late Classic Vessel"; Erik Boot; October 30, 2008 

Google Books: "Ritual & Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style Art"; Julia Guernsey; 2006

Google Books: "The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives"; Heather McKillop; 2004

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Deity Figure

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Deity Face Pendant

Mesoweb: Lords of Creation: Supernatural Patrons

Image Credits:
LACMA: Censer Stand Depicting Principal Bird Deity

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Double Chambered Vessel

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Deity Figure

LACMA: Carved Box with Deities

The Maize God (God E)

Author's note: this post was last updated on 11/19/17.

Composite image by the author, made from photos of figurine made in the 700s AD,
in Mexico.It shows the Maize God wearing jewelry and a headdress,
in a corn plant. Source photos from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fertility, jade, beauty, and the idea of being young were all things the ancient Maya thought when they thought of the Maize God; they also would draw his head when they wanted a symbol of corn -- or a symbol of cacao. Other than all of these things, this god was connected to rulers and may have had several aspects. The ancient Maya believed in a lot of gods, and the Maize God -- which you may see called God E -- was definitely a major one in their religion.

Appearance 
The Maize God was drawn as young and with a head that looks somewhat like an ear of corn. That is, his head was elongated and he only had hair right on top of his head. He is also drawn with a whole bunch of jewelry made from jade, and on his belt there's an ornament that you may see called the "xook monster." (The "xook monster" looks like the head of a shark that was drawn with a lot of artistic license.)

This stucco artifact was made between
100 BC and 100 AD. It comes either from
Mexico or Guatemala. From LACMA, which
calls it an "architectural medallion."

The ancient Maya also liked to draw images of the Maize God wearing a netted "skirt" of jade that goes down to the middle of his thighs. This "skirt" might be a symbol of something else. Another is that it represents a turtle shell, which is a symbol representing the earth. (The turtle shell symbol is also part of a myth about the Maize God that the ancient Maya seemed to like a lot. See below for more in The Myth of the Maize God section.)

 How the ancient Maya drew the Maize God didn't always stay exactly the same. For a while, in the Early Classic (the first part of the Classic Period,) the ancient Maya liked to draw the Maize God so that his mouth was open and his two front teeth stuck out. They moved away from this, and eventually began to like drawing him with a closed mouth.

The Two Aspects
This description of the Maize God -- being young, with a long head and having only some hair -- might only apply to an aspect of the Maize God. You may know this aspect as the Tonsured Maize God. His ancient Mayan name might be Juun Ixiim, which has several translations including "One Grain Corn."

The reason why the description might be only for the Tonsured Maize God is because of what the ancient Maya who lived in the Classic Period never seemed to want to put on their pottery: images of another possible aspect, the Foliated Maize God. (Though they did use his name glyph as a "head variant" for the number eight.)

The Foliated Maize God, whose name might be Ajan, was connected to corn plants that were fully grown. The ancient Maya drew this possible aspect with an ear of corn coming out of his head. The ancient Maya who created the four known codices -- which come from the Postclassic Period -- seem to have drawn only him.

These two aspects might not even be aspects at all. There is also the belief that they were both gods on their own, though they were both gods of corn.

The Myth of the Maize God
There is a myth of the Maize God, seen from the Preclassic Period on into the Popol Vuh. (It doesn't mean it's always the exact same myth, though.) In it, the Maize God dies, goes into the underworld, and comes back to life.

The front pieces of a pair of earflares
showing the head of the Maize God
as a symbol of picked corn -- his
close eyes mean he's dead. They
were made in the 400s AD to 600s AD
and might be from Guatemala. From
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

When they drew the Maize God going to the Underworld, which is drawn as being watery, Ancient Maya artists liked to show him going there in a canoe. The Maize God is then reborn, but as strange as it may sound, he isn't resurrected yet -- he only does that after he forces his way back above the ground. (He doesn't do it alone either -- he either has Chaak or the Hero Twins help him back out.) Before he can force his way back above ground through, women in the Underworld put pieces of jade jewelry on him -- this has to be done before he resurrects.

Connections to Ancient Maya Rulers
It seems rulers in the ancient Maya world wanted people to look at their family's rule as like the cycle of plants: when a ruler died, another one took that ruler's place. (It was supposed to be like the cycle had started over with the new ruler.)

This piece of pottery is from Guatemala and was
made between 300 AD and 600 AD. The ruler drawn
on it is impersonating the Maize God. From LACMA.

It also looks like rulers thought that they would actually have the same thing happen to them that happened to the Maize God in the myth -- so they had jade jewelry put on their bodies when they died. While alive, rulers would impersonate the Maize God for rituals, which was something they did with other gods too.

An example of where you can see a ruler dressed like the Maize God (and another god, K'awiil) is the sarcophagus lid of K'inich Janaab Pakal I, a ruler of Palenque. He may either be rising up from the Underworld, rising up to the Upperworld, or perhaps falling into the Underworld.

Another example of an impersonation of the Maize God is on Stela H at the site of Copan. The king impersonating the god on this stela is Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil. His netted "skirt" though goes to his ankles, which is not the normal length at all for it.

Consideration: Other Aspects?
According to Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos, the Maize God had a lunar aspect. This is because there are a lot of images where he is drawn with a rabbit as well as a symbol representing the moon. This symbol, can start from one of two places: either his armpit or his back.

The figure on the left of this vase is a drawing of the Maize God
with that moon symbol. The vase comes from either Guatemala or Mexico
and was made between 300 AD and 900 AD. From LACMA.

There is a theory that the Maize God was somehow female too. This is because of the netted "skirt" that the ancient Maya liked to draw him wearing. However, this garment doesn't have any specific connection to women.

References:
Florida Museum: Latin American Exhibit: "Mesoamerican Artifacts"; Jeffrey R. Vadala; March 23rd, 2017

Google: Books: "Beauty around the World: A Cultural Encyclopedia"; Erin Kenny, Elizabeth Gackstetter Nichols; 2017

Google Books: "Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya"; Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos; 2017

Google Books: "Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya"; Walter R.T. Witschey; 2016

Google Books: "Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul"; Andrew K. Scherer; 2015

Mesoweb: "The PARI Journal" Volume XV, No. 2: "On the Reading of Three Classic Maya Portrait Glyphs"; Marc Zender; 2014

Google Books: "The Life Within: Classic Maya and the Matter of Permanence"; Stephen Houston; 2014

Mesoweb: "Antiquity" Volume 85; "In the path of the Maize God: a royal tomb at Nakum, Peten, Guatemala"; Jarosław Zrałka, Wiesław Koszkul, Simon Martin, Bernard Hermes; 2011

Google Books: "Death and the Classic Maya Kings"; James L. Fitzsimmons; 2009

Google Books: "Maya Sacred Geography and the Creator Deities"; Karen Bassie-Sweet; 2008

Google Books: "The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives"; Heather McKillop; 2004

Google Books: "Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An Encyclopedia"; Susan Toby Evans, David L. Webster (editors); 2001

Google Books: "Trees of Paradise and Pillars of the World: The Serial Stela Cycle of "18-Rabbit-God K," King of Copan"; Elizabeth A. Newsome; 2001

Los Angeles Mission College: "Jade - The Green Gold of the Maya"; Elisabeth Wagner


Image Credits:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Young Corn God

LACMA: Architectural Medallion Depicting the Maize God

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pair of Earflare Frontals

LACMA: Seated Ruler in the Guise of the Maize God

LACMA: Cylinder Vase with Moon Goddess and Other Celestial Beings

Cinnabar -- A Dangerous Mineral

Cinnabar is a common name for mercuric sulfide (meaning it is made of mercury and sulfur) -- a mineral that can release mercury via the heat from hands. It was a trade item not only in Mesoamerica but also in South America. The most likely area the ancient Maya would have mined cinnabar is the highlands. They would use cinnabar in and of itself and for extracting the mercury from it.

What was the significance of this mineral? The ancient Maya may have thought cinnabar was sacred due to its color red. Red to the ancient Maya may have been associated with the east (which may be connected to the rising sun) and with blood, a sacred substance.

Funerary Rites
Cinnabar was also used in funeral rites. Skeletons covered with cinnabar (or sometimes hematite) have been discovered, and the ritual seems to vary. In some burials such as Tikal Burial 10, the head seems to be the most important part for the cinnabar covering ritual.

One famous example of cinnabar coated skeleton is lord Pacal. Another instance is of the "Red Queen" who was buried in tomb near lord Pacal's tomb. The reason they did this isn't entirely clear, but this practice may have been done in connection to the sacred color, possibly even meaning resurrection.

Other Rituals
Both mercury and cinnabar have been found in places where rituals were performed. According to Robert. J Sharer, "In rituals involving fire, the Maya priests would burn cinnabar, transforming it into metallic mercury with mysterious qualities."

Pigment
Ancient Maya painters used different kinds of substances to make paints. Among these substances was cinnabar, cinnabar as a kind of paint. However, cinnabar tends to darken. Funerary goods, such as incense burners (and in one instance, lord Pacal's sarcophagus), were also sometimes painted with cinnabar.

Decorative Coating
Ancient maya craftsmen would sometimes use cinnabar on jade. They would coat the jade with a very thin layer of copal, and then apply cinnabar.

 Consideration: Containers of Mercury
At Belize, archaeologists found various items -- including about 0.67 ounces of cinnabar, a container with about 3.5 ounces of hematite -- and and other things on top of a pool of mercury. Two possible areas the mercury for this are the Matapan Formation (located in west Honduras) and the Todos Los Santos Formation (located in Guatemala).

Containers of mercury have also been uncovered from underneath mud. Archaeologists working at Guatemala's Lake Amatitlan uncovered two containers that possessed mercury. These containers are understood to be from the Early Classic period (around 300 AD to 600 AD).

References:

"Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World: 1500 Years of Inventions and Innovations"; Emory Dean Keoke, Kay Marie Porterfield; 2009

"The Maya and Teotihuacan: Reinterpreting Early Classic Interaction"; Geoffrey E. Braswell; 2003

"Death and the Classic Maya Kings"; James L. Fitzsimmons; 2009

"Exploring Maya Ritual Caves: Dark Secrets from the Maya Underworld"; Stanislav Chládek; 2011

"Archaeomineralogy"; George Robert Rapp; 2009

"Mercury In The Environment: Pattern and Process"; Michael S. Bank; 2012

"Pulltrowser Swamp: Ancient Maya Habitat, Agriculture and Settlement in Northern Belize"; B.L. Turner; 2000

Jade -- A Precious Stone of the Maya

A jade ornament dating from the 600s to 700s AD. The design is 
meant to look like a ruler's head with a headdress. From The Metropolitan 
Museum of Art.

Jade is something of an umbrella term: its used as a name for two stones, nephrite and jadeite. Rarer than nephrite -- which has yet to be found in Mesoamerica -- jadeite is the type of jade that the Maya culture group made part of its life. While they also made use of a host of green-colored stones (like zoisite, serpentine, jasper, and amazonite), jade was the one the ancient Maya liked the most. 

Name Origin

The word jade comes from a phrase used by the Conquistadors. When talking to the Aztecs about green-colored stones, the Aztecs said these stones were supposed to heal liver, kidney, and spleen problems. So the Conquistadors started to call green-colored stones "piedra de ijada," which you might see spelled other ways such as "piedra de yjada." Translations for this phrase include "side/flank stone" or "loin stone."

Scientific Facts

This carving is of a god called Ux Yop H'un.
It's from the 600s AD to 700s AD.
From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The formula for jade's chemical makeup is NaAlSi2O6. This means that it is made up of certain molecules of these elements: oxygen, silicon, aluminum, and sodium. Changes to this formula create different colors, such as black, light purple, white, blue and, of course, green. (Green is the most common color. It comes about when chromium is added into the mix.) 

This pendant comes from the 500s AD to

 800s AD. From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 Jade can be shaped so that it has a sharp edge, which can stay sharp pretty well. An important thing to note though, is that it is not common to find jade that's just jade. It's more common to find it combined with other minerals. This changes jade's features somewhat, such as how hard it is. (There is a scale called the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. This scale tests how hard minerals are when compared to each other. Diamond gets a 10. Jade's range of hardness goes from around 6.5 to 7.)

How They Worked It

From what archaeologists can tell, a multitude of ways to shape and/or set designs into stones were known to the ancient Maya. Examples of these ways include -- but are not limited to -- percussion (breaking jade to get the size you want,) polishing, reaming (making drilled holes' insides less rough,) sawing, and pecking (another style of breaking jade that left scars.) Another example of the many stone working methods the Maya had was drilling, done with both tubular drills, which drilled out a piece of stone, and solid drills, which drilled out a cone-shaped hole.

This jade object dates from the
200s AD to the 500s AD. It is a form of
the Principal Bird Deity. There is some
cinnabar still attached to it.
From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Some of the ways the ancient Maya shaped jade involved an abrasive substance/grit, the fineness of the grains depending on what was being done to the jade. (A few kinds of grit they may have used include powdered jade and powdered quartzite.) An example where grit may have been used was sawing -- one type of sawing may have involved a string or cord that actually had grit stuck to it. (A variant on this says they also used water along with the string/cord and grit.)

As for tools, of which archaeologists haven't found a that many, the ancient Maya used stone and may have also used materials that can rot away over time, like the string used in the possible sawing method. One tool they may have had that was made of stone was the polishing rock -- archaeologists have found rocks that have dips in them from where the Maya may have rubbed jade to make it shiny. (It's possible the Maya also had other kinds of things they used to make jade shiny, like bamboo.) They may not have used rocks alone, but used grit and polishing rocks together.

Titled "Duck Pendant," this piece of jade was made
anywhere from 250 AD to 950 AD. The country it comes
from is either Mexico or Guatemala. From LACMA.

A popular way to add to the details of a jade object was to glue on red powder, made by crushing either hematite or cinnabar.  If a piece of jade had more than one color, there was a practice of trying to use the colors as part of the design of the object being made.

Where It Came From

The jade that the Maya civilization used came from the only source of jade in all of Mesoamerica -- so far as anyone's found. The source is in the Maya area -- specifically, in eastern Guatemala, in the Motagua River Valley. 

Things They Made

This is a par of earflares (without anything to go
through the holes) from the 200s AD to 500s AD.
From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The ancient Maya made different items with jade. Examples items that the Maya made include pendants, beads  -- made with less high quality jade --, inlays for teeth, and funeral masks made of pieces of jade fitted together. They also made a type of earring called an earflare, which looks like a spool but with a hole in the middle. (An earflare was set into a piercing in an earlobe, and something would be set into the earflare's hole to keep it in place.)

Another jade pendant, this time from the
600s AD to 700s AD. The carved image is a ruler sitting.
From The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The biggest jade object that archaeologists know of weighs about 9.7 pounds and was found in 1968. It came from a royal grave in Belize's site of Altun Ha, from a building archaeologists call the Temple of the Masonry Altars. This piece of jade had been carved so that it looked like the head of the ancient Maya sun god, K'inich Ajaw/Kinich Ahau.

Cultural Meaning

For most of their history, the ancient Maya liked jade that was bright green above all. What did it mean to have jade? For one thing, it's possible the ancient Maya saw jade as the most impressive thing you could be seen wearing. (And it wasn't just an elite item, as archaeologists have found jade in both commoner and elite graves.)

Jade also meant religion in the ancient Maya civilization. There was a practice of putting a jade bead in a dead person's mouth. They also thought it was an object worthy of being used as a religious offering.

When the Maya thought of jade, they couldn't help but think of water, wind, the smell of flowers, and mist. It also looks like they were reminded of the soul somehow in connection to breath. (You may see this breath and soul connection called "breath soul.") They thought of all these things because they saw jade as the stone version of these them. The Maya also thought of other things: that jade was a symbol of divine rulership as well as corn.

References:

University of Arkansas College of Education and Health Professions Center for Mathematics and Science Education: Mohs Scale of Mineral Hardness

Google Books: "The Technology of Maya Civilization: Political Economy and Beyond in Lithic Studies"; Zachary X. Hruby, Geoffrey E. Braswell, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos; 2011

Google Books "Archaeomineralogy" second edition; George Rapp; 2009

University of Central Florida College of Sciences: "Ancient Maya Stone Polishers and Issues with the Terminology for the Artifacts Polished with these Tools"; Rachel R. Landry, B.A. University of Southern Alabama, 2008; 2013 

Google Books: "Maya Sacred Geography and the Creator Deities"; Karen Bassie-Sweet; 2008

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pair of Earflare Frontals

Google Books: "The Oxford Handbook of Mesoamerican Archaeology"; Deborah L. Nichols, Christopher A. Pool (editors); 2012

Stanford University: Expressions of Central America: Guatemala: Ancient History: The Maya

Google Books: The Ancient Maya" sixth edition; Robert J. Sharer; 2006

Google Books: "The Memory of Bones: Body, Being, and Experience among the Classic Maya"; 2006

"Google Books: The A to Z of Ancient Mesoamerica" The A to Z Guide Series, No. 140; Joel W. Palka; 2000

PBS NOVA: Map of the Maya World

Academia: "Ancient Mesoamerica" Volume 16: "The Symbolism of Jade In Classic Maya Religion"; Karl Taube;  2005

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Deity Figure

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Deity Face Pendant

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pendant with Seated Lord

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pendant

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Head Pendant

LACMA: Duck Pendant

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pair of Earflare Frontals

The Pennsylvania State University: "Ancient Mesoamerica" volume 17: Dental Modification in the Postclassic Population from Lamanai, Belize"; Jocelyn S. Williams, Christine D. White; 2006