Funerary Masks of Six Maya Rulers on View at the National Museum of Anthropology

[Judi Lynn]

Funerary Masks of Six Maya Rulers on View at the National Museum of Anthropology

MEXICO CITY.- The goods found in graves of six leaders of the classic period of Maya culture (AD 200-900), which had been distributed to various museums after the exploration of their graves, now recover their original meaning in an exhibition that opened Thursday in the Mexican capital.

A total of 147 parts originating in southern Mexico make up the exhibition "Faces of divinity. The Mayan jade mosaic," the first exhibition that offers a complete reading of "the historic and symbolic values that characterize these offerings," said curator Sofia Martinez del Campo.

The capital's National Museum of Anthropology and History commemorates the ceremonies "with deep ritual symbolism" honored Maya rulers as if they were divine beings, "said the expert.

These goods were for King Pakal, whose tomb has always been considered one of the most important archaeological finds in Mexico, and six other dignitaries whose names are not known.

The goods come mostly from archaeological sites in Palenque (Chiapas), Calakmul (Campeche), Dzibanché (Quintana Roo) and Oxkintok (Yucatan).

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