Teotihuacan-style mask

150 BC - 700 AD. A large number of impressive stone masks were produced at Teotihuacan. Although long believed to be funerary masks, none have actually been found in a scientifically excavated burial. Only a handful of stone masks have been found by archaeologists in excavations. They were not placed in tombs but have been found among the public and religious buildings that border the Street of the Dead, a ritual avenue that traversed the city from north to south. Masks in the Teotihuacan style have been a prized item for European and American collectors since the nineteenth century and many have been faked to supply this lucrative market. The abstract, schematic expression and planar geometry of this large mask are typical of the Teotihuacan style.