Eccentric flint
Mayan, Classic Period.,
Ca. 600 to 900 A.D., Flint,
Height: 5 1/2 inches.

Knapped out of grey flint in the form of the profile figure of a cheiftan with his heraldic regalia on, head dress, back plume, etc.  These objects represent the pinnacle of flint knapping, and required considerable skill to make.  One forgets given the scale and beauty of Mayan and other PreColumbian ruins, that these were stone age cultures, and stone tools were the only tools they had.  This class of objects which come in many irregular shapes, are given the name eccentric for lack of a better word.  They were used in ritual bloodletting rituals, in which the King or noble would slice their own flesh to bleed on paper scrolls which were burnt, and in the smoke of which, with the help of hallucinogens and blood loss, they would have a vision and commune with the ancestors.   This is a particularly nice example of these flints, for its small size and high level of detail given the medium and technique.