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The occurrence of tortoiseshell on a pre-Hispanic Maya mosaic mask

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Jack Frazier  and
Reiko Ishihara-Brito
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Extract

The Dumbarton Oaks Maya mosaic mask is shown to have included tortoiseshell on an earlobe—remarkable since this is the only demonstrated use of this material in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. The authors present diagnostic evidence for the presence of tortoiseshell, account for its absence in pre-Hispanic artefacts because of decay, and propose its use (in the mask) as being symbolic of the ocean.

Keywords

MesoamericaMayaK&inich AjawPostclassicthirteenth–fourteenth century ADmarine turtletortoiseshellmasksea symbolismtaphonomykeratin
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 86 , Issue 333 , September 2012 , pp. 825 - 837
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2012 

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Footnotes

Both authors contributed equally to this work.

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