This picture shows a Mayan incense burner that has a face carved on it. It was made by the Maya people over 1200 years ago and was found in Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.
Click on image for full size (51K JPG)
Image Courtesy of Museo de Sitio de Palenque “Dr. Alberto Ruz L’Huillier” – INAH, Mexico and the National Gallery of Art
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Mayans were sophisticated observers of the sky. Mayans used their astronomical knowledge
to predict future human events. They were aware of the movements of Mars.
In one of the
ancient Mayan books, the Dresden Codex, Mars is represented by a series of pictures of a
long-nosed beast shown descending to varying depths from a sky band. This sky band is the segmented body of a sky serpent that hangs over the scene.
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