Lords of Creation: More Info

The archaeologists who discovered this cache vessel found that the hollow figure inside it had broken and spilled its contents, which included ten solid figurines, six of which portray Teotihuacan warriors. Two others portray non-Teotihuacan-style men, and two wear the Teotihuacan-like mosaic headgear with chin strap adopted by the Maya.

Archaeologist Joseph Ball, who excavated the cache, interprets it as a "victory offering" or a gift associated with funerary visitation. Both the cache and the construction of a new building coincide with ceramic changes at Becan that imply that the site shifted its focus from northern Yucatan to the Peten lowlands in the south during the sixth century AD. It is tempting to suggest that this cache is a reflection of political changes in the Maya lowlands after the fall of Teotihuacan as a major power, and that the Maya-style vessel was symbolically "containing" Teotihuacan's military might.

References:
Ball, Joseph W. 1974. "A Teotihuacan Cache from the Maya Lowlands." Archaeology 27 (1): 2-9.
Ball, Joseph W. 1977. The Archaeological Ceramics of Becan, Campeche, Mexico. Middle American Research Institute Publication 43. New Orleans: Tulane University, 172-73.
Clancy, Flora. 1985. Cat. entries 19, 33, 48-49, in Gallencamp and Johnson, Maya, 118-19.

Tripod Vessel with Human Figure
Room 3, Structure XIV, Becan, Campeche, Mexico
AD 450-550
Ceramic
16.5 x 18 cm
CNCA-INAH, Museo Regional de Yucatan, "Palacio Cantón," Merida, Mexico