Audio: Recorded during a preview tour of the exhibit. Voices: Daniel Finamore, The Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History at the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) and Stephen D. Houston, The Dupee Family Professor of Social Science and Professor of Archaeology at Brown University. The tour lasted more than a hour, but the video only contains them describing the objects for which we were provided images. I apologize for the poor audio, but I had trouble recording them and at the same time examine the more than 90 artifacts they collected for the exhibit.

The following photos, provided by the Peabody Essex Museum, were used in this video::

Lidded bowl with the Iguana‐Jaguar eviscerating humans; circa AD 500; Becan, Mexico; Ceramic; 13 ⅜ x 19 ⅜ x 19 ⅜ inches (34 x 49.3 x 49.3 cm); Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Museo Fuerte de San Miguel, Campeche, Mexico, Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph c. 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Incense burner with a deity with aquatic elements; AD 700 750; Palenque, Mexico; Ceramic; 46 ¾ x 22 ¼ x 7 ⅞ inches (118.5 x 56.5 x 20 cm); Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Museo de Sitio de la Zona Arqueológia de Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico; Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph c. 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Vessel with a duck lid; circa AD 500; Becan, Mexico; Ceramic; 8 ¾ x 9¼ x 9 ¼ inches (22 x 23 x 23 cm); Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Museo Fuerte de San Miguel, Campeche, Mexico; Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph c. 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Sculpture of a pelican; AD 650 850; Comalcalco, Mexico Stucco; 19 ¾ x 27 ⅝ x 13 ⅜ inches (50 x 70 x 34 cm); Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Museo de Sitio de la Zona Arqueológia de Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico; Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph c. 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Jade Sculpture of a deity; AD 550 650; Altun Ha, Belize; Jadeite 5 ⅞ x 4 ⅜ x 5 ¾ (14.9 x 11.2 x 14.8 cm); National Institute of Culture and History, Belize; Photographs courtesy National Institute of Culture and History, Belize.

Lobster effigy; circa AD 1550; Lamanai, Belize; Clay and paint; 2 ¾ x 8 ¼ x 3 inches (7 x 21 x 8 cm); National Institute of Culture and History, Belize; Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph c. 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Carving of a frog; AD 700 800; Topoxte, Guatemala; Shell and quartz; 2 ⅛ x 2 ¾ x ¼ inches (6.7 x 7 x 0.4 cm); Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City; Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph c. 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Lidded vessel of a world‐turtle; AD 300 400; Tikal, Guatemala; Ceramic; 7 ⅛ x 6 ½ x 6 ½ inches (18 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm); Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City; Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, photograph c. 2009 Jorge Pérez de Lara.

Lintel with a bloodletting rite; AD 723; Yaxchilan, Mexico; Limestone; 49 ¾ x 33 ¾ x 5 ¼ inches (126.5 x 85.5 x 13.5 cm); The British Museum, London; Photograph K2888 c. Justin Kerr

Three face ornaments of Quetzalcoatl, 800-900, Chichen Itza, Mexico (gold) and scepter with diving figure, 1300-1450, Chichen Itza, Mexico (wood, jade and turquoise). From Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Photographs c. President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Duration : 0:9:8

Continue reading ‘Fiery Pool: The Maya and the Mythic Sea,’ an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.

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