Artifact: Jade Burial Mask: Inspirations and Relations

A jade encrusted skull found in Oaxaca, Mexico conjures stratification-themed thoughts. The Oaxaca inhabitants existed prior to Uxmal settlement; perhaps Jade Mayan masks at Uxmal were inspired by jade encrusted skulls at Oaxaca. Jade was, after all, imported. Theoretically, contact may have occurred via trade routes.

The skull itself is a layer of information; it further informs human skin stretched across its surface. In this sense, actual skin aforementioned in "Artifact: Jade Burial Mask" is merely a mask overlaying the skull. Mayan jade masks at Uxmal, therefore, are essentially a third layer of information; the skull is the original structure. With each layer--skull bone, flesh, jade mask--additional information and details are added and subtracted.

Oaxaca inhabitants inlaid small jade pieces as a mosaic directly into skulls of the deceased. Dissimilarly, Mayans at Uxmal placed masks loosely atop facial flesh of the deceased. The mask therefore shifts as the flesh disintegrates and a layer of information is slowly removed over time.

This method of decay corresponds to the Uxmal burial space in which the mask exists. More specifically, the burial chamber's construction includes elements designed to mask space for a set amount of time before decomposing. Once the main structure of the chamber is constructed, an opaque cloth is stretched across the opening of the chamber. This cloth--which will eventually decompose--blocks workers' view of the deceased as they construct the chamber's closure. Closure takes the form of a thrice layered ceiling. Thus, the chamber's structure mimics the relationship between the human skull, flesh, and mask; disintegrating, "masking" cloth is analogous to disintegrating human facial flesh.

http://anthropology.net/2007/06/01/damien-hirsts-diamond-encrusted-skull-jeweled-skulls-in-archaeology/