CIMG8266 Priest holds a severed head

Posted on Caribbean cruise, November 17-22, 2007: part 3: Mayan pyramids in Chichen Itza 600 × 800
A priest holds a severed head - a Mayan carving in Chichen Itza.

CIMG8266 Priest holds a severed head

CIMG8266 Priest holds a severed head

In this stone carving on the wall of the Great Ball Court in Chichen Itza, the person (a priest?) holds a severed head, which formerly belonged to a ceremonial ball game player. After the game, a player (or several?) would be sacrificed to the gods, but I wasn’t sure if the victims were from the winning or the losing team.

This is one of the series of my photos from a Gulf of Mexico / Caribbean cruise I went on in November of 2007. Our ship was named Ecstasy. It sailed from Galveston TX, to Cozumel and Progresso (Mexico) and back. From Progresso we took a tour bus to an ancient archeological site, Chichen Itza, to see Mayan pyramids.

November 2007