# Stela

- By: Maya (Mexico (Campeche or Quintana Roo) or Guatemala)
- Date: c. 702
- Medium: Limestone
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: 162.6 × 68.6 × 30.5 cm (64 × 27 × 12 in.)
- Culture: Campeche state
- Credit line: Wirt D. Walker Endowment Fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/75645)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d03d88d6-78f1-beaf-5e5f-073dbfe2fa81/full/!1500,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Maya royals were portrayed on stone monuments like this one, which they erected in public spaces within their cities. These sculptures marked major dynastic events including enthronements, marriages, military triumphs, and deaths. Although the elaborately dressed figure on this stela is currently unidentified, the hieroglyphic text on the left side of the stone marks the date: January 20, 702. We do not yet know what event was being recorded, but this date was likely significant for Maya peoples because it was the end of a ten-year period, or Lahuntun, similar to a decade.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0