Nowadays we like to say 'we are what we eat', but for generations among the faithful, it's been equally true to say 'we worship what we eat'. There were eight mythological beings, four women and four men, who are the ancestors of all the Maya people. In a very real sense, the Mexican maize god is still alive, and he's not to be trifled with. Early farmers in Mexico grew chilli to make their maize taste better The statue is of the Mayan maize god. Shop unique, award-winning Artisan treasures by NOVICA, the Impact Marketplace. Well beyond Mexico, the idea of genetic modification of crops still causes deep unease, as much religious as scientific - a sense that the natural order is being disturbed, that humans are trespassing on territory that's properly reserved for the gods. His headdress is a stylised ear of corn and his hair is the silk of the corn. Maya Maize God statue at British Museum March 25, 2012. A common medium of Maya sculpture that is almost entirely lost to observers today is that of wood. The mythical story is told in the most famous epic in the whole of the Americas, the 'Popol Vuh'. google_color_text="565555"; All of the temple's statues were commissioned by the Mayan ruler of the day, to adorn the magnificent temple that he built at Copán around AD 700. © Trustees of the British Museum, Maize is still one of the most important food sources in Mexico and across the world. The head is disproportionately large compared to the narrow shoulders and slender torso. Stone bust in the British Museum, London, England. So it might be argued that the withholding of information by the conquered Mayan peoples was an act of sabotage which along with similar acts by other American indigenous peoples such as with tobacco and potato appear to be working quite nicely to this day. So the European colonisers in Mexico did not eat tortillas or other masa products. After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC), Culture 24 - Listings, Resources, Reviews. For generations, this was passed on through oral traditions before finally being written down in the seventeenth century. The maize god, Hun Hunahpu, was one of the most important owing to his connection with this vital staple crop. Explore the collection See all. BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Instead they imported wheat and with it they baked bread. Read more. It provides a visual starting point for exploration of the importance of corn and of the harvest cycle as well as the religious beliefs of the Maya. It measures approximately 35.4” x 25.25” x14.2” and was made in 715 CE. Maize was the Maya's most important food and was worshipped as a god. British Museum. 1901,1012.6. But it is, let's face it, pretty stodgy, and so from very early on, farmers also cultivated an ingenious - and tasty - accompaniment; the indigenous chilli. Why not wheat or a certain type of meat? Joint project of BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum, consisting of 100 objects used ancient art, industry, technology and arms, all of which are in the collections of the British Museum as the introduction of human history. Read more. It must have taken genius to figure out that the humble maize forebear had the most enormous potential for sustenance and further genius to experiment until its nutritional value had been fully exploited. May 22, 2020 - Buy Marble dust figurine, 'Maya Maize God' today. Genius is a commodity every bit as valuable as gold or silver and for this reason alone the God myth was probably created. Read Maya Maize God Statue by with a free trial. The sculpture was probably carved from two different blocks of limestone, one for the head and another for the torso. But there's a particular time, after the end of the Ice Age, so between ten and five thousand years ago roughly, when a range of new foods seems to be accompanied by a range of new gods. The myth of the maize god is just one example of how the development of agriculture led to major changes in how people across the world conceived their gods. The British Museum shop has a range of unique gifts, replicas, games and more. In the Middle East - as we saw in the last programme - it was wheat and barley; in China millet and rice; in Papua New Guinea taro; and in Africa sorghum. Each original piece goes through a certification process to guarantee best value and premium quality. John Staller, anthropologist and author of the book 'Histories of Maize' explains why the maize god was a common choice for rich and powerful patrons: 'The elite from ancient societies focussed upon corn as having sacred kinds of properties which they then associated with themselves. The Director of the British Museum, Neil MacGregor, retells the history of human development from the first stone axe to the credit card, using 100 selected objects from the Museum. The god of maize expected his disciples to work hard for their supper. This limestone statue of a Mayan maize god was found in Copán , Honduras. Maya Maize God | The British Museum Images. AD 175. Easily seduced by encyclopedic attempts to organize vast amounts of data, I fell in love with the BBC/British Museum podcast series “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” So I scoured the Museum and am posting one object a day: my terrible iPhone photos and vague memories of what MacGregor & Co. had to say. Collection online showcases more than four million of the Museum's objects. This statue shows the Maya maize god as a youthful and handsome man with a stylised corn headdress. Collection online showcases more than four million of the Museum's objects. google_color_border="FFFFFF"; View and buy royalty free and rights managed stock photos at The British Museum Images. Early farmers in Mexico grew chilli to make their maize taste better. Apr 11, 2015 - Explore Madame Delacroix's board "Corn God" on Pinterest. Nine thousand years ago, the maize cob was very hard, and eating it raw would have made you very ill. He is shown here as a youthful, handsome man. AD 175. Why did the Mayans worship maize? But beans and squashes don't become gods - why does maize? Material: Stone The statue is of the Mayan maize god. Objects of ancient art, industry, technology and arms, all of which are in the British Museum's collections, as an introduction to parts of human history. From Indigenous clothing and Mexican skulls to necklaces made of dolphin teeth, this is one of the most extensive online museum databases in the world. The other problem being the genetically-modified maize, it's almost personally offensive - and religiously - that you are playing God, as it were ... it's just very sensitive. The head of the god is covered with an enormous headdress in the shape of a stylised corn cob, and his hair is like the silky strands that line the inside of a cob of corn, inside the wrapping leaves. Even today, maize still dominates much of Mexican cuisine, and it still carries a surprisingly powerful religious and metaphorical charge, as restaurateur Santiago Calva knows only too well: 'The continuous spin-offs of maize into daily life is vast and complex. Stone statue, found in Honduras. The disease was later named pellagra. See more ideas about mesoamerican, mayan art, maya art. Our statue of the maize god is obviously a comparative new boy; he's made as late as AD 700. Many regional artistic traditions existed side by side, usually coinciding with the changing boundaries of Maya polities. He was found in Copán, a major Mayan city and religious centre, whose monumental ruins you can still visit today. The British Museum shop has a range of unique gifts, replicas, games and more. And this was when they found the staple foods, and then the yellow corn and white corn were ground. Here, in the heart of the British Museum, we have a god of maize. Statue of the Maya maize god from Copán in Honduras. The model is (at maximum) 8.2 centimetres high, 24.2 cm long and 15.3 cm wide. Stone. Maya maize god statue, British Museum WLA lacma Tripod Vessel with Rattles Maya Maya Vessel with an enthroned Lord Kimbell Maya sculpture Louvre MH 82-17-26 Maya maize god statue, British Museum 1 Maya vessel with sacrificial scene DMA 2005-26 WLA metmuseum Maya Vessel with Mythological Scene 8th C google_ad_height=600; Like the maize plant, the maize god is decapitated at harvest time, and is then reborn - fresh, young, and beautiful at the beginning of each new growing season. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site’s House Rules please Flag This Object. But then disaster struck. Well, the plant from which maize derives, the teosinte, is wonderfully adaptable. The disease occurred because the Europeans were not able to digest the corn’s nutrients. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. It was built in AD 715 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of his accession to the throne. So even today for some people it's unthinkable that maize, the divine food, should end up in a petrol tank. The culinary secrets of the ancient Mesoamerican cultures had not been learned. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Photo: Jerry Driendl, Map showing where this object was found. Maya maize god statue Statue of a Maya maize god. Their father was defeated by the Lords of Death in the Underworld. English: Maya maize god statue. 10% off for Members Become a Member and enjoy a 10% discount at all of the Museum's shops. google_color_url="135355"; After all, people have been stealing from one another from the dawn of time. For them, lime was synonymous with death, as they used lime to disintegrate organic matter. Across the world, people began to identify particular plants that would provide them with food. It has virtually no nutritional value but, as we all know, it's uniquely able to liven up dull carbohydrates - and it shows that we've been foodies for as long as we've been farmers. The Mesoamerican cultures discovered more than 5,000 years ago that cooking corn with lime allows the solid particles to crack, releasing the minerals for the body to absorb. This figure has not got his eyes closed as you say Ian. Here, in the heart of the British Museum, we have a god of maize. He's a bust, carved of limestone using a stone chisel and a basalt hammer, and the features are large, symmetrical, the eyes closed, the lips parted - as though this god is in communion with a different world, quietly meditating. Sculpture of the Maya Maize God, a youth wearing a headdress in the form of a stylized ear of corn and hair in the form of the silk of the cob. Very few examples survive to the present because of … The arms are bent, the palms of the hands face outwards – one raised, one lower – giving an impression of serene power. The first exhibition in the revamped galleries of the British Museum brings together innumerable and beautiful images of humans from Congolese masks to Yemeni grave markers to Mayan maize … Maize was the Maya's most important food and was worshipped as a god. In our next programme, we'll be turning from the food of the gods to the vessels that it's cooked in. Honduras. By the seventeenth century around 60% of the diet of southern Europe consisted of untreated corn. The statue was commissioned by the 13th ruler of Copán , Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, also known as … British Museum. Thomasina Miers, Owner, Wahaca Mexican Market Eating. At some stage there will always be maize around, and it jumps any class barrier or identity. Grains of corn boiled with lime and water are easily milled to obtain a nutritionally rich dough or ‘masa’. From Indigenous clothing and Mexican skulls to necklaces made of dolphin teeth, this is one of the most extensive online museum … The Maya maize god. The Spanish conquistadores did not understand the need for lime. Without it, the two key nutrients in the vegetable - the amino acids and vitamin B - would not be released. Description. But crucially, maize is a rich carbohydrate that gives you a rapid energy hit. Between the head and the body you can very clearly see the join, and indeed the head looks rather too big for the body, because when the temple in Copán (in western Honduras, from which this came) was destroyed, all the statues fell, and heads and bodies were pieced together, but whether this head and this body precisely belong together is actually not the key thing - because all these gods are about the central power, the central role, of maize to the local people. Split place, bitter water place, is the name, the yellow corn, white corn, came from there. Originally this statue would have sat with many other similar gods high up on a stepped pyramid-style temple in western Honduras. But why did maize become the favoured food and the revered grain of the Americas? Buy Mayan Maize God Statue: Statues - Amazon.com FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases : Attribution: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). Maya maize god statue Statue of a Maya maize god. Joint project of BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum, consisting of 100 objects used ancient art, industry, ... Maya maize god statue. Corn had a mythical status in Mexico, being an ancient and nutritious crop full of vital minerals like niacin, calcium and riboflavin. But the culinary secrets of the ancient Mesoamerican cultures have been preserved for centuries. The Spanish wouldn?t have missed a trick like this if they had realised what problems they would be foisting upon themselves in their greed lust. Under the Mexica ruler, Moctezuma, corn became a symbol of life and fertility and was offered to the Gods as sacrifice. (Restaurateur Santiago Calva). The Spanish brought corn to Europe where it easily adapted to the local conditions. There were no easily domesticated animals - as you would find pigs, sheep or cattle elsewhere - and the staples were a trinity of plants that were slowly cultivated and tamed: squashes, beans and maize. This elaborate process of boiling the raw kernel in lime and water was essential. Visit the online shop. In this part of the world at this time around nine thousand years ago, other food resources were very thin on the ground. google_ad_format="120x600_as"; Some archaeologists argue that food must always have had a divine role even for our earliest ancestors; just think of the cow goddess of Egypt, or Bacchus and Ceres of classical mythology, or Annapurna, the Hindu goddess of food. Egypt Read more. A common medium of Maya sculpture that is almost entirely lost to observers today is that of wood. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. The arms are bent, the palms of the hands face outwards - one raised, one lower - giving an impression of serene power. , After the Ice Age: Food and Sex (9000 - 3500 BC), Maya maize god (made around 1,300 years ago). From the 1730s symptoms of digestive disturbances, dementia and death were recorded. We'll be in Japan, with some of the oldest pottery in the world, and the birth of the stew. google_ad_width=120; Object 9 of 100. The maize god. Corn is different from other cereals: its nutrients are encapsulated in solid particles that do not crack with heat or water. Most of the content on A History of the World is created by the contributors, who are the museums and members of the public. The El-Amra clay model of cattle is a small ceramic sculpture dating from the Predynastic, Naqada I period in Ancient Egypt, at around 3500 BC. But he comes at the end of a very long tradition; Central Americans had been worshipping him and his predecessors for thousands of years, and his mythic story mirrors the annual planting and harvesting of the corn on which all Central American civilisation depended. Aug 26, 2013 - This sculpture of the Maize God was comissioned by Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil (also known as '18-Rabbit'), the thirteenth ruler of Copán. By AD 1000, maize had spread north and south, virtually through the whole length of the Americas; which is perhaps surprising - because, in its earliest form, not only did maize have little taste, it was practically inedible. 'It's always present in one way or another - either to be eaten, or to be looked at, or to be worshipped. The first exhibition in the revamped galleries of the British Museum brings together innumerable and beautiful images of humans from Congolese masks to Yemeni grave markers to Mayan maize … This statue shows the Maya maize god as a youthful and handsome man with a stylised corn headdress. Desire, love and … Such a man or school whose discovery gave the world a food for ever would have been worthy of remembrance and after the fashion of the ancient world deified. Explore the collection See all. It killed thousands. It provides a visual starting point for exploration of the importance of corn and of the harvest cycle as well as the religious beliefs of the Maya. He’s a bust, carved from limestone using a stone chisel and a basalt hammer, and the features are large and symmetrical, the eyes closed, the lips parted – as though this god is in communion with a different world, quietly meditating. Very few examples survive to the present because of … Head of Interpretation and Volunteers, Stuart Frost, highlights objects from the tour and looks at stories that, until recently, have been overlooked or underrepresented in museums and galleries. Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites, Kakiemon elephants - Porcelain from Japan, Miniature of a Mughal prince - Watercolour from India, Reformation centenary broadsheet from Germany, Russian revolutionary plate - Porcelain from St Petersburg, Shi'a religious parade standard - Steel alam from Iran. It couldn't just be boiled and eaten straight away as it is today. In the Classic period (200-900 AD), the maize deity shows aspects of a culture hero . If you are looking from below, as you should be, you would be looking up directly into his open compassionate gaze. Maize was certainly a primary focus of ritual and religious veneration by ancient Meso-American people, going back all the way before the Maya and even into the Olmec civilisation.'. It's able to grow in both the lush wet lowlands and the dry mountainous regions, which means that farmers can plant crops in any of their seasonal dwellings. The Maya maize god. Cylinder Vase with dancing maize god, 675-725 AD, Maya culture, eastern Peten lowlands, Guatemala or Belize, earthenware with slip - Gardiner Museum, Toronto - DSC01183.JPG 2,580 × 4,112; 3.35 MB Stone. 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