Explore

The World

Rare Maya Sculpture Discovered in Mexico

Mexico Kawil SculptureMEXICO CITY, MEXICO—According to a Mexico News Daily report, a rare stone sculpture of the Maya god K’awil has been discovered in the path of the Mayan Train Project, which will connect archaeological sites on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Sculptures of K’awil, who has been linked to lightning, strength, and power, have previously only been uncovered in Guatemala at the Maya site of Tikal. Diego Prieto Hernández of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said that this sculpture is part of the lid of an urn and was found on the route from Bacalar, in Quintana Roo, to Escárcega, in Campeche. K’awil is also known from images in paintings, votive axes, and reliefs, he added. To read about women in the high stakes world of Maya politics, go to "Jungle Realm of the Snake Queens."