Bird Ornament 7th-8th century Maya This delicate shell pendant depicts a long-necked water bird with its wings spread and the head of a deity fused to its breast. The artist indicated individual feathers with light, u-shaped incisions on the wings. The birds head contains a crest and the long beak is incised, perhaps to show a serrated beak. These features are consistent with ancient Maya depictions of cormorants, which are known to spread their wings in the sun to dry themselves after diving.The face in the body of the bird is that of a deity, indicated by the large eye and spiral curl-shaped pupil. The deitys head has a heavy brow and light incisions represent a stepped hairline; the deitys hair merges with the body of the bird. A line with four dots underlines the large eye, and the deity wears an incised ear spool. Under the prominent nose, a large tooth protrudes from the gods mouth. The large, protruding chin may indicate a Maya convention used to depict aged individuals with