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Veracruz Black Basalt Hacha - PF.0537,Origin: Veracruz, Mexico,Circa: 500 AD to 800 AD,Dimensions: 6.25" (15.9cm) high,Catalogue: V2,Collection: Pre-Columbian,Style: Mayan,Medium: Basalt. Forcefully carved, with a prominent crest on the forehead, deep wrinkles, and lips drawn back in a sneer, this hacha was used as a weight handicap in the ritual ballgame. The hacha, worn on a yoke around the waist, may have originated with human trophy heads--those of sacrificial victims or prisoners of war. We can believe, looking at this powerful emaciated visage, that it has been witness to ritual violence and that it is in some way associated with death.
Antiquities
Ancient Central America & Mexico
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