Chac Mool

[Michelle Sandberg]

Chac-Mool is the name given to a type of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone statue.

The Chac-Mool depicts a human figure in a position of reclining with the head up and turned to one side, holding a tray over the stomach. The meaning of the position or the statue itself remains unknown.

Chac-Mool statues are found in or around temples in Toltec and other post-Classic central Mexican sites, and in post-Classic Maya civilization sites with heavy Toltec influence, such as Chichen Itza.

The ancient name for these type of sculptures is unknown. The name Chac-Mool is attributed to Augustus Le Plongeon, who excavated one of the statues at Chichen Itza in 1875. Le Plongeon named it Chaacmol, which he translated from the Maya as "thundering paw." Le Plongeon claimed the statue was a depiction of a former ruler of Chichen Itza. Le Plongeon's sponsor, Stephen Salisbury of Worcester, Mass., published Le Plongeon's find, but corrected the spelling to "Chac-Mool."

Chac-Mools should not be confused with Chaac, one of the leading deities in Maya mythology associated primarily with the phenomena of rain and thunder, and with whom they are not associated.

Chac-Mools can be found throughout Central Mexico and Yucatan. In addition to Tula and Chichen Itza, sites known for Chac-Mools include Mexico City, Cempoala in Michoacán and Tlaxcala, and Quirigua in Guatemala.

[Michelle Sandberg]

Chac Mool statue from the Chichen Itza site

[Michelle Sandberg]

A chacmool at Chichen Itza