Rare sculpture of Mayan god found in path of train construction, Mexican officials say
Archaeologists unearthed a rare sculpture of a powerful Mayan god near the path of a large-scale rail project in southeastern Mexico, officials say.
The sculpture of the ancient god K’awiil is part of an urn recently found near Section 7 of the ongoing Maya Train project, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in an April 27 release. Section 7 stretches from the town of Bacalar, in Quintana Roo, to Escárcega, in Campeche.
The controversial Maya Train project — which will span 965 miles when finished — is fiercely championed by Mexican President Lopez Obrador, who aims to connect the Yucatan peninsula by rail, Mexico News Daily reported. However, many oppose the endeavor over concerns of environmental destruction and the loss of cultural and historical heritage.
“This finding is very important because there are few sculptural representations of the god K’awiil,” INAH director Diego Prieto Hernandez said, adding that it is “one of the first to appear in Mexican territory,” while just three others have been found in neighboring Guatemala.
K’awiil has been seen by experts before, in paintings and in reliefs, but rarely is he seen in three dimensions.
K’awiil was the Mayan god of lightning, wealth and fertility, and “is related to the Maya’s idea that lightning fertilized the earth,” Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos, associate professor of anthropology at Yale, said in a 2022 university release.
The K’awiil statue is one finding among many made by teams salvaging artifacts along the path of the train project, according to the INAH release. As of April 27, nearly 49,000 buildings or foundations have been cataloged and reserved, over 896,000 pottery fragments, and 491 bones.
Google Translate was used was used to translate the news release from National Institute of Anthropology and History.
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