Axe

c. 250–900 CE
Overall: 18 cm (7 1/16 in.)
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Description

Axes with stone blades and wooden hafts were used to clear land for planting. This more fragile example, made entirely of chipped flint, is a ceremonial version probably used in rituals before it was deposited in a tomb or an offering. Late Classic Maya vase paintings make the ceremonial associations of axes clear. In these painted scenes, axe-wielding deities dance among skeletons and supernatural animals, or raise the axe to strike a sacrificial victim.
Axe

Axe

c. 250–900 CE

Mexico or Central America, Maya

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