Maya Knapped Chert EccentricNotched Silhouette

Pre-Columbian, Guatemala, Maya. An eccentric knapped from a single thin slab of chert. Its tall, narrow outline is broken by a row of deep notches and squared shoulders. At the top, two small prongs rise like a crest or a pair of ears. The middle section steps from side to side in alternating lobes, and the lower end narrows into a short, rounded tab that may be a tang for hafting. The stone is mottled cream, oatmeal, and pale umber, and both faces carry fine pressure flaking that keeps the piece remarkably thin. The silhouette may be read as a stylized creature or as an abstract emblem. The Maya made eccentrics as non-utilitarian prestige objects, too fragile to cut with. They were most likely meant for ritual deposit rather than for daily use. Early Mesoamericans prized flint and chert because the stone throws sparks when struck. They linked it to lightning and sometimes believed it formed where lightning hit the ground. Over many centuries Maya knappers worked chert, chalcedony, and obsidian into more and more ambitious shapes. Around 600 CE, specialist workshops were producing thin, flat, intricate eccentrics whose skill modern flintknappers still find hard to match. Maya archaeologist David Freidel has compared the concentration the work required to that of a chess master. The first blow decided the overall shape, and the rest was patient flaking and pressure work. Eccentrics come in many forms. Zoomorphic ones show scorpions, serpents, and centipedes, while others depict weapons such as maces and clubs, and a few show human heads. A well-known group shows K'awiil, the Maya god of lightning, which fits the stone's old association with lightning. Archaeologists usually find eccentrics in groups, cached beneath stelae or placed in elite tombs as offerings. They show no sign of use, and some have tangs that suggest they were once mounted on staffs, lances, or scepters. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. Item # 205747

Estimate:£224.35

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