TLAXCALA.- A basalt stone sculpture discovered on private property in San Damián Texoloc, Tlaxcala, is being studied by specialists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History after initial analysis identified it as a probable representation of the maize god.

The piece, recovered a few months ago when a trench was being opened, dates to the Epiclassic period, between 600 and 900 AD, and is associated with the Olmeca-Xicalanca culture. It is currently under study and protection in the Research Section of the Ocotelulco Site Museum.

Measuring 29 centimeters and weighing about 30 kilograms, the sculpture consists of the head of a youthful figure with an elongated skull, almond-shaped eyes, broad nose and thick lips. Archaeologist José Eduardo Contreras Martínez, of the INAH Tlaxcala Center, led the recovery of the piece and is overseeing its study.

The head is carved in basalt and decorated with a tiara. At the center of the tiara is a triangular projection, while the sides join large circular ear ornaments with feather pendants. The figure’s hair is long, thick and swept back. Its flat lower section allowed the sculpture to stand upright.

Contreras Martínez said the head probably did not belong to a larger sculptural body. Instead, he believes it may have functioned as an independent representation of the maize god, a deity whose cult was especially important at Cacaxtla, the capital of the Olmeca-Xicalanca group.

Evidence for that cult can be seen in the murals at Cacaxtla. In the so-called Red Temple complex, elongated skulls appear symbolically in the place of ears of corn, within a visual world populated by fantastic beings associated with the underworld. In the famous Battle Mural, warriors dressed as birds and associated with the maize god are attacked by warriors bearing symbols of the god of rain and storms.

The archaeologist said these themes echo scenes in the Dresden Codex, a Maya manuscript in which the maize god appears wounded and threatened by the rain god Chaak. Another page of the same codex shows the head of the maize god at the top of a pyramidal structure, lying on the hieroglyph for Kab, or earth, while figures around it perform a ritual asking for rain and food.





According to Contreras Martínez, the cult of the maize god in southwestern Tlaxcala likely came from Terminal Classic Maya traditions, where the life and death of the deity had been represented for centuries in murals, vessels, plates and codices.

The tiara’s triangular projection may also point to a much older tradition: the spike worn on the head of the humanized maize figure in Olmec imagery from the Middle Preclassic period, between 1000 and 400 BC.

Mexico’s Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, said the study of the sculpture provides information about a specific period and culture, while deepening understanding of the historical processes that shaped the country.

For specialists, the sculpture also speaks to the role of maize as more than a crop. In ancient Mesoamerica, the maize god embodied royal power, agricultural abundance and the shared survival of farming communities.

“The image of the maize god was a representation of royal power and a synthesis of the virtues of an agricultural people engaged in a collective effort for survival,” Contreras Martínez said. He noted that sculptures bearing symbols of power have been found at other secondary Olmeca-Xicalanca sites in Tlaxcala, including Santa Isabel Tetlatlahuca, and now San Damián Texoloc.

The sculpture remains in the custody of INAH as part of ongoing efforts to protect, study and share Mexico’s cultural heritage.