Cache Vessel

Exploring the Early Americas The Jay I. Kislak Collection

Pre-Contact America | Explorations and Encounters | Aftermath of the Encounter

Urban Landscapes | Ritual, Ceremonies, and Celebrations | Language and Context | Recording History | The Heavens and Time

Two-part cache vessel with applied god heads.
Guatemalan Lowlands. Maya, AD 200–600.
Painted ceramic.
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (18)
Photo ©Justin Kerr, Kerr Associates

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Cache vessels were used to hold ceremonial offerings and were ritually buried in consecrated places, such as beneath stone monuments (stelae) and temples, or buried with a wealthy lord.