http://collections.mfa.org/collections/315154/objects/rdfAOA.Ancient Americashttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/787284/resize%3Aformat%3Dfullhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/886038/resize%3Aformat%3DfullBallgame Yoke450–700Carved stonehttp://collections.mfa.org/objects/437046/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1492124/resize%3Aformat%3DfullCap with human-hair braidsAD 500-900Camelid fiber, human hair, plant material; looping, oblique interlacing, wrappingCap with human-hair braids. A wig-like headgear consisting of a cap of natural brown camelid yarn worked in looping, from which falls a series of long human-hair braids (oblique interlacing), the lower 10 inches of which are wrapped with dyed camelid yarns to form a pattern of stepped triangles. Uncut loops of red camelid-fiber yarn secured in the end of each braid form a fringe along the lower edge of the "wig." At the point where the first and last braid join the cap edge are the remains of chin ties. Yellow yarn twining the braids in sequence, the 1 1/4 inch band of red along the top of the patterned area, and small sections of the wrapping appear to be recent repairs/additions. Camelid fiber, human hair, plant material; looping, oblique interlacing, wrapping.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/127835/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/787284/resize%3Aformat%3DfullCylinder vaseA.D. 755–780Earthenware: red, orange, ochre, brown, gray (originally green), and black on cream slip paintRitual drinking vessel painted with a scene that combines elements from two seminal Maya myths--the sacrifice of the Baby Jaguar-Maize god and the birth of the Maize god at Naah-Jo'-Chan Tz'am, Xaman (First-Five-Sky Altar/House [of the] North), a mythical mountain locale depicted around the base of the scene and named in the hieroglyphic text. The god's name (Jooj?/Ixim?) and the date of the event also are included in the text. A pair of supernaturals greets the newborn god who is depicted in his adult form. The scene is unified by a white cord representing the god's umbilical cord, and the black background indicates the mythical event occurred in the darkness of pre-Creation times. This vase was painted by one of the most accomplished artists of the Classic period.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/36324/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/808322/resize%3Aformat%3DfullFeatherwork tunic frontA.D. 400–800Cotton plain weave ( 2 pieces stitched together vertically), embroidered with feathersFront of a sleeveless tunic. Rows of natural colored feathers - blue, orange, yellow, white, black - knotted on cotton cords which are couched down on a plain weave cotton foundation fabric. Pattern shows two anthropomorphic figures, a row of heads and a band of stepped squares. The base of the tunic is made of two piece of plain weave stitched together vertically.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/36613/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/995926/resize%3Aformat%3DfullFunerary maskA.D. 700–1520Gold alloyHammered sheet gold pectoral or burial mask embossed with a frontal rendering of a human face with open mouth with bared teeth. Two sets of perforations allow for attachment.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/5844/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/765896/resize%3Aformat%3DfullIncense burner topA.D. 400–600Earthenware: traces of white, yellow, and red paint, with a micaceous inlayTiquisate Teotihuacan-style incense burner top rendering a human head wearing wide, circular earflares and a large headdress that forms a building which surrounds the figure. The building is decorated with typical Teotihuacán-style circular feathered mirrors or flowers, one with its original inlay of a micaceous stone. Flanking these elements on each side is a star motif, and above is a large butterfly effigy surrounded by long feathers. The figure holds two rectangular shields decorated with tassel elements, a feathered floral motif or mirror, and a wide paper or cloth strip at the top of each shield. The figure wears a wide collar composed of multiple rows of elements including two of round beads, a band of triangular elements with a large earflare at each side, and one with five bivalve shells. Below the collar on the front of the incense burner is another floral/mirror element flanked by butterfly wings.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/36222/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1046889/resize%3Aformat%3DfullJaguar effigy metateA.D. 300–700BasaltMetate (grinding stone) with three open-work supports and an open-work jaguar head whose ears are carved in the form of crocodiles. The sculptural style is associated with the Greater Nicoya region of northwestern Costa Rica and sourthern Nicaragua, characterized by delicate, open-work carving and finely incised details. These distinctive metates were used as ceremonial seats, funerary biers, and as grinding surfaces for tobacco and other hallucinogenic plants used during religious rites. The jaguar (or puma) may have been a lineage or clan symbol as also was the crocodile according to .16th-century Spanish sources.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/516135/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1115962/resize%3Aformat%3DfullMantleAD 1-100Camelid fiber plain weave embroidered with camelid fiber in stem-stitchDesign: rows of shaman figures with heads thrown back, worked solidly with wool. The colors are yellowish green, dark and light blue, yellow, orange and pink. A border edging the sides, but not quite meeting at ends bears similar figures, the ground worked solidly in green.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/36603/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1492125/resize%3Aformat%3DfullPedestal dishAD 800-1000Earthenware with red, purple-maroon and black on cream slip paintTall pedestal dish painted on its interior with the image of a shaman’s transformation from human to spirit realm, likening this unobservable transition to the agile motion of an earth-living crocodile as it slips below the water’s surface. Serrated lines fill the background to create visual agitation that shatters the flat surface into an oscillating three-dimensional space. The jagged edges replicate the shaman’s pulsating trance-vision and allude to his/her penetrating powers and the ephemeral spirit world through which the human-crocodile glides. The solid red color of the humanoid body contrasts with the willowy lines of the head and claws, fixing the body in space while the head and appendages dematerialize in the visionary world. The spiked rays between the figure’s legs point perpendicular to those of the background, breaking the composition’s hypnotic horizontal energy and invoking the multi-directionality of the shamanic journey.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/609293/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/765795/resize%3Aformat%3DfullPortrait mask900–600 BCJadeite with black inclusionsThis life-sized jadeite mask is the portrait of an important Olmec figure, perhaps that of a ruler. It may have been a symbol of state authority, and perhaps served as a funerary mask tied to a burial bundle. Originally, the mask was green, but it turned gray when put into a fire as part of a ritual. It is one of twenty-seven life-sized masks found in a freshwater spring in the Río Pesquero where it meets the Gulf of Mexico in southern Veracruz. The spring contained hundreds of greenstone artifacts, many of which had been ritually burned prior to depositing in the water.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/36451/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1491912/resize%3Aformat%3DfullQuadruple duct fluteAD 550–950Earthenware with traces of white stucco and blue pigmentThis four-pipe duct flute is modeled with a long-snouted, iguana-like mythical being with an erect tail composed of five long feathers and a human figure emerging from below the animal's head and between its clawed feet. The two large flanges feature a molded-carved image of a feline, perhaps a jaguar, and the four pipes terminate in renderings of vultures.The ducts merge into a single mouthpiece, which allows them to be sounded at once. The discordant tones produced are very high and shrill, while loose clay cylinders inside each tube create a slight warbling quality, all of which could generate psycho-acoustical effects in the brain. Multiple-pipe flutes are played today by Veracruz's famous "Voladores" pole dancers/flyers who imitate birds in their "flight" down the pole, their instruments imitating bird calls. This unique ritual has ancient origins in rites of rain-bringing and the spring planting season, and the similarity in sound between the modern flutes and this ancient instrument suggests it may have been played during similar ritual events.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/624629/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1491903/resize%3Aformat%3DfullSeated Female Figurine250 B.C.–250 A.D.Earthenware with slip paint and negative-resist paintingA seated female figure, of the Lagunillas Type B style (formerly called "Chinesco", Spanish for "Chinese-like") wears a finely woven and decorated hip wrap and jewelry featuring ear spools, a necklace, arm bands adorned with small pendants or bells, and a wide nose ring, all rendered in slip paint and a negative resist technique.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/621576/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/761448/resize%3Aformat%3DfullShaman effigy pendantA.D. 900–1600Gold alloyLarge pendant in the form of a standing human male with leaf-nosed bat face mask. His elaborate headdress includes two birds facing front and profile zoomorphic flanges at each side of his head. His hands clutch serpent heads at his thighs. This type of elaborate pendant is popularly referred to as a "cacique pendant", and many represent a high ranking male person in transformation to his spiritual animal companion.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/5301/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/1499784/resize%3Aformat%3DfullShell paint paletteAD 550–850Conch shellPalette for holding water-based paints carved from a large conch shell and illustrating the formal hand pose of Classic Maya court painters as portrayed on the pictorial ceramics. The position features a hand held palm-upward, with fingers curled towards the palm and the thumb or forefinger pointing forward.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/650551/rdfhttp://collections.mfa.org/internal/media/dispatcher/979942/resize%3Aformat%3DfullTripod plateA.D. 672–830Earthenware: red, orange, and black on cream slipLarge plate with three tall, cylindrical supports ("legs"), each containing a rattle sphere of clay. Painted in the Holmul-style of eastern Guatemala, the image features the Maize god dancing at creation when he set the Three Stones of the cosmic hearth. These stones also are represented by the three attached cup-like forms on the interior of the plate as well as by the legs, painted in a striped black-and-white pattern that symbolizes stone among such Mesoamerican cultures as the Mixtec of Oaxaca. The Maize god dances on an area painted in a cross-hatched motif with fire curls which may portray the fire of creation in the darkness of the pre-creation era. The exterior walls of the plate echo this theme, being decorated with the black-painted waters of the antedeluvian sea and waterlilies.The bottom of the plate is painted with a red circle at its center, which depicts the fire of the cosmic hearth of creation. The long hieroglyphic text eludes full decipherment, but it includes the local version of the Primary Standard sequence, a dedicatory phrase, and may name a male member of the Holmul nobility.http://collections.mfa.org/objects/479592/rdf