Editing Altun Ha (section)

====The Sun God's Tomb====

The Sun God's Tomb is in Structure B-4, also called the Temple of the Masonry Altars. Structure B-4 is in Group B, which is part of the central precinct at Altun Ha, and has a height of 16 meters. Phase VII, the level where this tomb is, is dated to about 600−650, which is at the beginning of the Late Classic period. The tomb is the seventh and earliest in B-4, which made the excavators designate this burial Tomb B-4/7.<ref name= "Sun God">Pendergast, David M. 1969 Altun Ha, British Honduras (Belize): the Sun God's tomb [by] David M. Pendergast. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto.</ref>

Tomb B-4/7 contained the skeleton of an adult male with many offerings. The body was fully extended dorsally with the skull facing south-southwest. The person had a height of 170–171&nbsp;cm, with the recovered skeletal materials consisting of a fragment of the skull, the mandible, long bones, five teeth, two vertebrae, five carpal bones, the patellas, and miscellaneous metacarpals, metatarsals, and phalanges.<ref name= "Sun God" />

The bulk of the interpretations, research, and interest in this tomb have undoubtedly been on the artifacts that were contained in this particular burial. In the initial study, Pendergast classifies these artifacts between perishables and non-perishables.

The perishable artifacts that are in the burial that the researchers were able to recognize include a wooden platform that the body was placed on, felid skins, cloth, matting, cordage, rods, stuccoed objects, red pigment, and gray clay. Not all perishable objects have been interpreted for their original use in the burial, but some have clear associations. The entire tomb was covered in cloth, with textile impressions noted on the pottery. Red pigment was distributed throughout, with evidence of it on most of the jade.

The researchers documented 43 non-perishable artifacts. These include ceramic bowls; shell beads; jadeite anklets, bracelets and beads; pearls; pyrite and hematite artifacts; and, the most outstanding of all, a carved jade head of the Sun God, [[Kinich Ahau]]. The head has a height of 14.9&nbsp;cm, a circumference of 45.9&nbsp;cm and a weight of 4.42&nbsp;kg. It was placed at the pelvis of the body, with the face of the jade boulder facing the skull.<ref name= "Sun God" />

The Sun God's Tomb marks the starting point for tomb construction in Structure B-4 during the Late Classic period. The unusual form of this tomb shows the distinctive cultural aspects of Altun Ha and the Caribbean zone compared to the inland Classic Maya sites. Pendergast suggests that with so much jade found at the site, the jade head may have been carved at the site with imported jade. The giant jade head also suggests that this small site had a strong status as a trade or ceremonial center. Pendergast suggests that this tomb contained a priest that was associated with the Sun God and that Structure B-4 was dedicated to this deity, based on this one artifact.

More recent research, however, has shown that this interpretation may be incorrect: it suggests that this giant jade head is a Jester God. When drawing this figure spread out on a plane, the figure on this carving shows more of a resemblance to a bird deity with maize iconography, not [[Kinich Ahau]].<ref name= "Jade Hearth">Taube, Karl 1998 The Jade Hearth: Centrality, Rulership, and the Classic Maya Temple. In Function and Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture, edited by Stephen D. Houston, pp. 427-478. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington D.C.</ref> The Jester God is an early symbol of Maya rulership and is usually seen iconographically in the head, or in this case the jade head.

With so many artifacts associated with this tomb, it is clear that the male buried in here was of great importance.<ref name= "jester god">Fields, Virginia M. 1991 The Iconographic Heritage of the Maya Jester God. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986, edited by Merle Greene Robertson and Virginia M. Fields. Electronic version. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.</ref> The Jester God argument is a better fit for what this person represented, which would also correlate with this being the first tomb constructed in Structure B-4.
[[File:Altun Ha face.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Stuccoed Jester God face on Structure B4, similar to the face on the Jade Head]]