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The head, likely part of a larger sculpture, is topped by a snake-shaped helmet with an open mouth and a feathered headdress. The artifact offers new detail about how ancient Maya warriors may have looked.
Excavations took place ahead of planned railway construction meant to improve infrastructure for a popular tourist city in Mexico. Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) carefully surveyed the area to avoid damaging numerous ancient artifacts.
The team focused on Chichanchob, also known as the Casa-Colorada complex. It’s a rectangular temple-platform built in the Puuc style and sits near the ancient observatory El Caracol.
Diego Prieto Hernandez, the lead researcher, confirmed his team found a stone head of a Maya warrior wearing a snake helmet and feathered headdress. The head measures 33 centimeters tall and 28 centimeters wide, and scholars believe it was carved during the Late Classic period (600–800 AD).
Inside the Chichanchob temple, where the head was found, researchers also uncovered carved hieroglyphs. The inscriptions recount the history of rulers from Chichen Itza and possibly the nearby city Ek’ Balam. The team also found a carved date from the Maya calendar that corresponds to the year 869 AD, Heritage Daily reported.
Chichen Itza, in the northern Yucatan Peninsula, was founded by Maya groups around 455 AD. At its peak, the city covered more than 10 square kilometers and was home to approximately 35,000 residents.
Famous structures at Chichen Itza that visitors can still see include the nine-tiered pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Warriors, and the Great Ball Court, which stretches 135 meters long.
