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Charles Zidar
ANCIENT MAYA ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH |
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| Family: | Viperidae | | Genus: | Crotalus | | Species: | spp. | | Authority: | Varies | | Common Name: | Rattlesnake | | Maya Name: | Tsáab kaan | | Faunal Type: | Reptile/Amphibian | | Depictions: | Polychrome Ceramics | | Significance: | Many Maya depictions show an ancestor leaning out of the mouth of a snake, speaking with an ahaw. This may be the vision serpent, a link between this world and the otherworld. “Snakes appear in Maya art more than any other animal,” (Schlesinger 2001 p. 269). The rattlesnake was feared by the Maya due to its deadly, venomous bite. Widely represented animal in ancient Maya iconography. | | Notes: | Subfamily: Crotalinae
C. oreganus helleri - Meek, 1905
C. durissus tzabcan -
| | Photos: | Click on an image below for high resolution comparison. |
Other Faunal Photos: Additional views of the faunal species, click on a photo below to view larger image. |  | | Artifact Photo(s) Courtesy of Justin Kerr (FAMSI); Animal Photo(s) Courtesy of Wikipedia GNU General Public License Version 1.2, November 2002; Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0/2.5 License(s). |
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