Hacha, Head 7th-10th century Veracruz Portable sculptures like this one from Classic-period Veracruz replicate in stone the yokes, hachas, and palmas, presumably made of perishable materials, worn by players of the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame. This hacha depicts the head of a ballplayer or warrior wearing a type of jaguar helmet shown elsewhere in Mesoamerica as part of an elite warriors full-body jaguar costume. The image, with the lower lip of the wearer concealed and the tongue of the jaguar protruding, blurs the distinction between the two, and can be read as a conflation of man and jaguar, a human appropriation of the power of the beast. Hachas take their name from the ax-like shape of many of these portable sculptures (“hacha” is Spanish for “ax”), although their form and imagery vary widely (see MMA 1978.412.151). Those more rounded in shape most often depict human or animal heads. An interesting variation is an hacha in the form of a pair of bound hands in the museums colle