The only photograph that remains of the enigmatic Colossal Head of Izamal, Yucatan, was captured in 1860 by the French explorer Desiré Charnay.
The photo shows us an invaluable fragment of pre-Hispanic history.
This majestic sculpture, which is now lost, mysteriously disappeared in the last decades of the 19th century, leaving behind unanswered questions and a void in the cultural heritage of Yucatan and all of Mexico.
Izamal is a city that has distinguished itself for its architectural and cultural beauty. But there is also historical data that this city holds. One of these historic buildings is the pyramidal mounds that can be seen today, one of them is known as Kinich Kak Moo, the largest in Yucatan.
A colossal head was discovered in these mounds, this stucco portrait indicates that it could have represented a deity and was used to burn coal during religious ceremonies.
Unfortunately, we cannot appreciate the majesty of this monumental sculpture today because, like the vast majority of Mayan monuments in Izamal, it was destroyed in the growth process of the old colonial city.
With information from Curiosa Mente
