Art and The Ancient Maya Ritual Burial at Cahal Pech WRITTEN BY: G. MICHAEL BOWEN
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or societies all over the world, the artist plays a critical role. Through painting, pottery, hieroglyphic scribing, and many other mediums, artists act as record keepers, storytellers and messengers. The work of the artist provides a link for future generations to better understand the past. At Cahal Pech, in Belize’s Cayo District, a recent discovery serves to illuminate the importance of artists to ancient Maya culture. In 2018, researcher Anna Novotny, with the support of Belize’s own archaeologist, Jaime Awe and others, uncovered a large grave containing the remains of three humans, along with many artifacts of ritual significance. Notably, one of these persons was found with a conch shell resting on his chest, which had been used as a painter’s pallet.
In an interview with Forbes Magazine, Novotny states, “The shell was on the chest of the male individual and we found it laying totally flat. The paint colors were still so brilliant when we lifted it out, I gasped. It’s very rare to find a tool like that with all the colors still present and so well preserved!” 18
The burial chamber, known as Burial 7, was discovered inside Structure B1, at Cahal Pech. This 12-meter pyramid is flanked on either side by two smaller pyramid structures, which together with a fourth structure, form what researchers know as an E-Group. These groups are common to ancient Maya sites in the Belize River Valley, and were used to track the motion of the sun, stars and heavens. For the burial chamber to be positioned inside the central structure of an E-Group deepens its significance. In the case of the individual discovered with the painter’s pallet, his left femur was removed, and was replaced by a carved and painted femur of a jaguar. Novotny and her team suggest that the artist’s bone may have been used for ritual communication with the deceased. The removal of bones from buried family members or royalty was not uncommon for the ancient Maya. Many other similar examples have lead researchers to believe that the ancient Maya revered the bones of their ancestors in much the same way religious relics are treasured today.
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