When you think of ancient flint objects, you think of arrowheads and handheld scrapers, not elaborate sculptures. But the ancient Maya carved astounding “eccentric” (asymmetrical) flints, and the MFAH has a great example in its collection. This depiction of gods riding a canoe features K’awiil, the lightning god, at the center. In the Mayan religion, lightning played a central role as a force associated with fertility, agricultural abundance, and the creation of the world itself. Here, K’awiil, flanked by two figures who are possibly the Hero Twins of Mayan mythology, ride a monster-headed canoe to the underworld.

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