Mexico: They find the Mayan relief of a woman subjugating a man

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A high-relief wall sculpture depicting a female ruler subduing a captive warrior has been discovered in Mayan ruins in Yucatan, Mexican authorities said Monday.

The object was found attached to a facade of the archaeological site of Ek’Balam, located between Cancún and Chichén Itzá, in the southeast of the country. Ek’Balam is a Maya cultural and religious center that is estimated to have flourished between the years 600 and 850 AD.

In the relief, “we see a sovereign, who wears a skirt adorned with crossed bones, taking a male figure by the hair”, explained Diego Prieto, director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico.

Only the lower half of the dominant figure remains, raising questions about its gender, among some independent experts. The man appears smaller and has his arms tied behind his back.

“It’s an interesting find. We already know of several queens who were powerful military figures, originating from places further south,” said David Stuart, professor of Mesoamerican art and writing at the University of Texas at Austin.

Stuart said the sculpture “probably shows a goddess, based on the bony skirt she wears”, but did not rule out that it could be “an underworld figure, related to themes of the rebirth and sacrifice”.

However, Susan Gillespie, professor of anthropology at the University of Florida, although she said there were women leaders, added that “it is difficult to say that the person on the left who wears a skirt patterned crossbones is herself a leader”. because Sometimes the male rulers are depicted in female attire.

Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History announced the find on Monday, but President Andrés Manuel López Obrador posted a photo of it on Sunday along with a nighttime snapshot of what he said was an “aluxe”, a mythical mayan spirit of the forest. similar to a goblin.