Earliest Classic Stelae: Second Half of Cycle 8

The earliest known historical date on a monument from the Maya lowlands id 8.12.14.8.15 13 Men 3 Zip, on the recently discovered Stela 29 at Tikal (fig. 1). This stela is fairly typical of monuments carved in Cycle 8, which occur, so far as we know, only in a circumscribed area in northeastern Petan. Stela of this period are large limestone slabs, some as high as 3 m., poorly shaped and planed, and carved in low relief that rides over decivilities in the stone. Small round altars are often placed in front of them. A single masculine figure is depicted on the front, and the hieroglyphic inscription appears on the back or, more rarely in this period, on the sides. Typically, the early figure stands with its shoulders in front view and with the head and the lower part of the body in profile. The feet are placed one behind the other, the mass of the body evenly balanced upon them. Hands are often drawn in clasped position, the forefinger curled around the thumb, and one arm is sharply bent, with an object resting in the crook of the elbow. When an object is held in an extended hand it does not rest on the palm, since the hand is usually turned into the plane of the carving.

This manner of presenting objects in their most characteristic form rather than in their normal position is applied to ornaments as well as to the figure itself. Huge earplugs attached to the headdress, which is fastened under the chin and completely encircles the face, are strikingly characteristic at this time, and a heavy chain usually suspends from the belt a grotesque ornament that hangs behind the legs of the figure.