Existing comment:
Altar L:
The overall design of this unique rhyolite disc is the Maya day sign for Ajaw, contained in a large cartouche or frame. The Maya word for Lord is also Ajaw. The original use of the disc is not known since it was moved from its original location and later used as an altar table. It may have been a ball court marker or the marker for a new building at Quirigua. The style appears to be that of local artisans, unlike the more skilled carvings of Copan, but similar to the Giant Ajaws found at Caracol.
Altar L was dedicated on June 2, AD 653, by the Lord of Quirigua, seen seated cross-legged in the center of the disc, wearing jade ornaments and a headdress adorned with the symbol for Venus. A pair of glyphs beneath him states that he danced in ceremonial ritual, and the glyphs to the right of the figure give his name as K'awil Yo'at, Divine Lord of Quirigua. |