Secrets in Stone: Yokes, Hachas and Palmas from Southern Mesoamerica, Memoirs, American Philosophical Society (Vol. 217)

Yokes, hachas and palmas (YH&P) are 3 extraordinary pre-Columbian art forms that occur in a specific region of Mexico and Central Amer. and have no counterparts anywhere else. Although research proves that the names by which they are known have no bearing on their function, these misnomers have persisted. The practice of carving YH&P originated in the state of Veracruz in Mexico where they have been fairly well documented and considered exclusive paraphernalia of the ceremonial pre-Columbian ballgames. This vol. focuses on the YH&P that are from outside of Veracruz, in the peripheral Maya area of Southern Mesoamerica (Chiapas, Tabasco, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador). Reprint of Hardcover edition. Hundreds of b&w illus.