CIMG8260 Priest holds a severed head

According to our tour guide, this carving on the wall of the Great Ball Court in Chichen Itza represents a priest holding a severed head of a ceremonial ball player. Try as I may, I can’t really see a head in it. Mayan artists really seemed to take liberties with human anatomy, or maybe it was a different sculpture.

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