Maya: The Great Jaguar Rises

The Maya exhibit at the Royal BC museum was an exceptional experience which my wife and I attended in late December. It has now completed its run.

The detail and craftsmanship of the pottery was astounding.

The paint colour on these pots is amazing for being made between 550-800 CE.

The tiny detail on this stone vessel, made from a series of fragments found, is from 600-800 CE. It features the deer as lord of all animals with speech recorded in finely carved glyphs. The deer is boasting of his royal possessions.

A turkey vulture mosaic done in ivory, also from 550-800 CE.

A panel showing King Taj Chan Ahk with two lesser lords was made in 795 CE. It is unusual in that the sculptor's name is engraved on the left side.

This is a replica portion of the Madrid Codex. Made up of 112 pages it is the longest of four preserved Mayan books. Many were burned by missionaries which prevented the translation of the glyphs and a portion of the glyphs are still unknown to this day.

Below is a map of the area the Mayans controlled along with the languages of the peoples that inhabit the area. It was touch screen so you could hear and see the people speak in their language. It was marvelous to hear the similarities and differences in their own words.

A very enjoyable exhibit that took about 90 minutes.