Maya rain god

The Mexican government and the Carnegie Institution excavated and restored buildings beginning in the 1920s. In 1926, as part of the Carnegie Institution project, archaeologist George Vaillant excavated in the earliest part of the city, known as Old Chichen, in a group of buildings decorated with architectural sculpture. One of these buildings was a small, south-facing temple (Structure 5C3) nicknamed the Casa de Cabecitas (House of the Small Heads).

Fig. 3. Head of a rain god, 10th–11th century. Mexico, Mesoamerica, Yucatan. Maya. Fossiliferous limestone; H. 13 3/4 x W. 11 7/8 x D. 9 3/8 in. (34.9 x 30.2 x 23.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1963 (1978.412.24)

A limestone head in The Met collection (fig. 3) recovered by Vaillant was the finest of many pieces of sculpture found within the temple chamber; other notable artifacts included two intact Atlantean figures that once supported the lintel of the entryway. This head, now detached, likely belonged to an architectural sculpture in high relief as part of a facade or as a free-standing monument. The fact that excavators did not find the body associated with this head may indicate that former inhabitants of the city had removed the head from its original location and revered it enough to place it in the small temple.

This monumental head, carved from limestone, depicts a supernatural being, as defined by its skeletal features and the presence of large earflares and a beaded headband. The subject's long hair is held back, which is indicated by deep incisions flowing down the reverse side of the head. A circular boss dominates the forehead, probably representing a round jewel hanging down from the headband.

• Mayan Fire god
• Mayan rain god
• Maya period
• Maya sun God