JADE HEAD OF ALTUN HA
One of the most famous artifacts from the Maya site of Altun Ha is a carved jade sculpture that may be of Kinich Ahau, the sun god. This large jade head, weighing nearly 10 pounds, was recovered from a royal tomb at the site in 1968. The tomb was located at Structure B4 and contained more than 40 funerary items, including the jade head.
Height: 14.9 cm / 5.86 inches Circumference: 45.9 cm / 18 inches Weight: 4.42 kg / 9.74 pounds Color: green (hex code approx. 669966) Material: jadeite |
Jade head found in tomb with other artifacts in the tomb of a man.
Other jade artifacts found in the tomb.
Compared to other depictions of the Sun God, the Altun Ha representation of Kinich Ahau deviates somewhat from the list of characteristics provided by Thompson (1960: 142).
It has been suggested that it instead resembles a Jester God as seen in this photograph of a carving on structure B4 where the tomb was located.
Photo by Dylanpack – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7132504