Deity Figure 3rd–6th century Maya This jade figurine depicts a cross-legged figure with his arms bent in toward his chest and hands curled into what Maya scholars call a “crab-claw” position. This pose is found so commonly in Early Classic (ca. 250-500AD) Maya art that it is considered a diagnostic feature of that time period. Although the figure’s body is human, the face is that of a great supernatural avian known as the Principal Bird Deity. The figurine either represents an anthropomorphic ( humanized) version of the Principal Bird Deity or depicts a human individual wearing a Principal

Deity Figure 3rd–6th century Maya This jade figurine depicts a cross-legged figure with his arms bent in toward his chest and hands curled into what Maya scholars call a “crab-claw” position. This pose is found so commonly in Early Classic (ca. 250-500AD) Maya art that it is considered a diagnostic feature of that time period. Although the figure’s body is human, the face is that of a great supernatural avian known as the Principal Bird Deity. The figurine either represents an anthropomorphic ( humanized) version of the Principal Bird Deity or depicts a human individual wearing a Principal Bird Deity mask. The figure is shown cross-eyed, with large eyes and square pupils. These kinds of eyes are used to identify shining, solar, and/or resplendent supernatural beings in Maya art. The pupils look in at a small nose with in-curving nostrils. The nose sits atop a beak that has been flattened downward against the face in a frontal view. When seen in profile images, this beak has a distinct bracket shape and is frequently depicted with an upper and lower tooth inside it (see , b). The deity is covered in jewelry, wearing large earflares, a beaded necklace, beaded bracelets, and beaded anklets, while a jade-beaded beard is visible below his chin. The u-shaped motif carved between his eyebrows was used in early Maya art to mark precious materials. Combined with his shining, solar eyes, these features label the Principal Bird Deity as a supernatural being of resplendent, precious jade. Even his skin has the texture of jade beads (his calves are carved with beaded designs). In Maya art, the patterns carved or painted onto the skin of deities often takes on special meaning, giving the viewer clues as to the figure’s physical nature. On one vessel (), for instance, the storm deity Chahk has calves painted like the belly of a snake, referencing his wet, reptilian figurine lacks suspension holes, so it was not worn as an ornament a

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