Tikal Burial 196 Tomb of the Jade Jaguar - Maya Archaeology

split and broken and the pyrite mosaic pieces almost com-
pletely disintegrated with the overall pattern not discern-
207
able. This, the only plaque that did not have a shell in the
immediate vicinity, had the usual encrustation of decayed pyrite
on it except parts of the slate backing was bare of encrustation
as most of it had slipped or run over the sides.
The encrustation on this plaque was a darker grey than that
of other plaques which may indicate a different kind of pyrite
as there was very little red coloration. Beneath the
disk of unidentified stone there was no eating away of the
floor but there was pitting where the floor was in contact
with the pyrite that lay on the floor around the sides of the
plaque. There was one piece of pyrite mosaic still preserved
on the upper surface of the plaque indicating that this was
the side with the shiny mosaic surface.
On the edges, beveled toward the plain side, there were
traces of green stucco, but this did not seem to extend to
the faces of the disk. Two conical perforations, GD .8 cm.
pierce the plaque from the plain side.
Large Slate-backed Pyrite Mosaic Plaque Plan #52 117A-95
The easternmost of the three plaques was the largest,
with a diameter of ca. 18.4 cm. The edges of the badly broken
disk had a few traces of green stucco on them but there were
no traces of stucco on the faces of the plaque. Unlike the