
The (Beautiful) Men and Women of Jaina Figurines
January 25, 2026 @ 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Sponsored by: AIA-Los Angeles County Society, Spring Ahmanson Lecture
AIA Society: Los Angeles County

Lifelike Maya figurines from the Island of Jaina have been collected for almost 200 years, with hundreds now known in collections around the world, from Berlin to Brooklyn, and Los Angeles to Mexico City. These figurines also present the largest corpus of female representations of the ancient Americas, comprising roughly one-third of all known examples. Many examples are rattles or whistles, and trace of brilliant pigments remain in place. In this talk, Mary Miller will look at their meaning and their making, all c 700-900 CE.

