Mayan elderly lord marker found in Yucatan

"A salvage excavation along the route of the Maya Train project have uncovered a limestone carving of an anthropomorphic face with features characteristic of an elderly lord dating to the Maya Preclassic period (2500 B.C.-200 A.D.) in the small community of Sierra Papacal, 25 miles from Yucatan's capital city of Merida. It is approximately 45 cm (17.7 inches) high and depicts a human-like face with deep eye sockets, a flat nose, and lips marked by a cleft that emphasizes the pronounced chin. These features typically represent an elder figure."

"The sculpture was found outside an ovoid structure about 5.8 by 4.3 meters (19 x 14 feet) in dimension with double walls made of limestone blocks. The entrance is 80 cm (31.5 inches) wide and faces the western sun. It is flanked by large rocks acting as door jambs and the thick wall indicates there may have been an interior bench."

"The sculpture was found behind the north jamb between the thick wall next to the bench area. This placement was very deliberate, a means to designate the structure as a place to be treated with respect upon entrance. The means the structure is not a domestic building. INAH archaeologists believe it was used for ritual or communal purposes community meetings or ceremonies and there were several phases of construction and occupation."

A salvage excavation along the Maya Train route uncovered a 45 cm limestone carving of an anthropomorphic face with elderly-lord features in Sierra Papacal, 25 miles from Merida. The carving shows deep eye sockets, a flat nose, and a cleft-marked lip emphasizing a pronounced chin, traits associated with elder figures. The statue was placed behind the north doorjamb of an ovoid limestone structure (5.8 x 4.3 m) with double walls, a west-facing 80 cm entrance, and indicators of an interior bench. Deliberate placement and architectural form indicate ritual or communal use with multiple occupation phases, informing Preclassic socio-political and religious analyses.

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