Necklace
Unknown Artist
150–200 CE
Medium
jadeite-albitite?
Dimensions
l. 40.3 cm
Classification
Jewelry
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
Accession Number
1990.263.1.a
About this artwork
Near Teotihuacán’s largest palace is a temple ornamented with green-feathered serpents, symbols of the earth’s fertility. Beneath the temple were at least 120 human sacrifices, most men, many warriors, and some wearing greenstone ornaments like these, perhaps a set. The sacrifices may have consecrated the temple or a ruler’s tomb, or both.