A History Of The World In A 100 Objects: No. 9

A History Of The World In A 100 Objects
Number 9
Maya Maize God Statue
Stone statue, found in Copan, Honduras
AD 715

This item leaps quite away forward in the Human timeline, it was found in Honduras in Central America & unlike most of the rest of the cultures in the first sections of this book grew in isolation. Back in the European/Asian landmass cultures from as far apart as China & Britain were trading with each other. But the the cultures in the Americas grew on their own.
This statue proves that Humans of all kinds, once they've settled down & started growing crops, feeding themselves & becoming culturally aware become spirtually aware of the fragility of life & create Gods to protect their food crops & with that come art works.
This statue is made of limestone & is the head, torso & outstretched arms & hands of the God of Maize. Maize being the crop that the Central American cultures grew while the Chinese were growing rice & the Africans wheat & oats. The statue actually has a headpiece of Maize coming from the back of his head.
Not much is known about the culture of the Mayans at this time because there's no written records and the language & cultural archives have yet to be translated because there's no relevant alphabet to go by.
The statue itself is quite large & quite heavy & considering it''s well over 1,000 years old & was lost for a long time is very well preserved. The figure of the God is what folk might call classically attractive & it's an important record of the way we think the Mayans saw themselves. It shows us that they are spiritually linked to the planting & harvesting of their Maize crop & placed great relevance on the God that they thought would bring them their bountiful crop.
It shows archaelogists & natural historians that where ever you find cultures settling down you also find them valueing the food that they produce that sustains them & the spiritual link between Humans and their source of life.