Editor’s Note: This article was originally published by The Art Newspaper, an editorial partner of CNN Style.
(CNN) — Archaeologists working in the ruins of Palenque, an ancient city in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, have found a centuries-old, intricately carved Mayan nose ornament made of human bone.
The central figure is a Mayan man, shown in profile wearing a headdress and a beaded necklace, and with the Mayan glyph for “darkness” on his arm.
The bone was buried in what archaeologists believe was a ritual deposit, interred between 600CE and 850CE to commemorate the completion of a building.
When worn, the ornament would have sat on the bridge of the nose, creating a continuous line from the forehead to the tip of the nose.
Persons:
K, Arnoldo González Cruz, González Cruz, Janaab Pakal, Read
Organizations:
The Art, CNN, —, National Institute of Anthropology, of, Unesco
Locations:
Palenque, Mexican, Chiapas, of Palenque, 600CE