Estela 51

Calakmul is one of the biggest Mayan sites, it was discovered in 1931 and its importance is expressed with the 117 lintels found in the archaeological city. The piece preserved in the Mayan Hall represents Yuhkono’m Tok’ K’awiil, who ruled at the beginning of the VIII AD. The dignitary stands on top of a captive and holds in his right hand a spear giving him a warrior personality. From his attire stands out an elaborate breastplate and an ankle-length cape, the headdress consists of jaws of a fantastic animal, probably a snake. It is worth to mention the depiction of the ruler’s frizzy hair since it is not very common in Mayan art. The lintel was found at the base of the structure 1 in Calakmul that is 45 meters high. Originally, it has 36 cm. width and had inscriptions on three of the sides, but the looters cut it with a chainsaw to reduce its width to 5 cm. and make it lighter, in such alteration the side inscriptions were lost, preserving only the front one. In front of the face there is a hieroglyphic inscription with the name of one of the sculptures: Sak Muwaan. Dra. Federica Sodi MirandaColaboradores: Arqlgo. Hugo Herrera Torres Araceli Ruiz Peláez Mtro. Hugo García Capistran.