Invest in History Education
Illustration
This is the face of the sun god Kinich Ahau in The Temple of the Masks at Kohunlich. The masks all face west so that the setting sun illuminates them. It was thought that Kinich Ahau traveled down into and through the underworld at night, to rise again the next morning, and the masks may have been purposefully situated to encourage the sun god in his dangerous journey through the darkness of the underworld of Xibalba. The masks are incredibly ornate and show a high degree of skill in craftsmanship. Kohunlich was an important Maya trading center which thrived between 200 BCE and 900 CE.
License & Copyright
Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.
Original image by N/A. Uploaded by Joshua J. Mark, published on 08 July 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
Related Images
Jade Death Mask of Kinich Janaab Pakal
Clay Maya Nobleman Figure
Remnants of Maya Ruins at San Gervasio, Mexico
Maya Spouted Jar
Presentation of Captives to a Maya Ruler
Maya kakau glyph
Cite This Work
APA Style
N/A. (2012, July 08). Kinich Ahau at Kohunlich. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/755/kinich-ahau-at-kohunlich/
Chicago Style
N/A. "Kinich Ahau at Kohunlich." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified July 08, 2012. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/755/kinich-ahau-at-kohunlich/.
MLA Style
N/A. "Kinich Ahau at Kohunlich." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 08 Jul 2012. Web. 30 Dec 2025.
