The Legacy of the Plumed Serpent in Ancient Mexico

I went to the Dallas Museum today. Yes, a museum all about me! Lol. Just kidding. No, I went and saw the Legacy of the Plumed Serpent in Ancient Mexico, because I like Mesoamerican history somewhat. 

The exhibit is much like what you'd expect: pottery, jewelry, masks, some textiles, architectural artifacts, etc. 

Some of it was just meh, but some was also beautiful and impressive. They took sea shells and cut them into cross sections to use as jewelry and pectorals, which I have never seen before and which was quite beautiful. I can't find an exact image, but it looks similar to this, only you could see through the openings in the middle because the cut was only about a quarter inch thick or so.

My favorite piece was this basalt sculpture of a coiled plumed serpent:

It was blacker in real life than it appears in this photo, and it was just stunning, I thought. I loved how the artist made each feather individual, as opposed to an even consistent pattern throughout, in that some curve up or down sharply, others only slightly, while others just lay straight. 

Many of the vessels and cups were decorated with protruding animal heads and bodies, which is also interesting because you get to see what kinds of animals shared their environment (if you didn't know already):

I also really like the language, and how it sounds on the tongue. I mean, how can you not like words like Tezcatlipoca or Huitzilopochtli?

Sadly, the content of the exhibit shows how little people have changed: a marked fanaticism to religious myth and the sacrificing of others for those myths, endless warfare, the desire to own beautiful or symbolic objects, and a need for personal ornamentation for the sake of one's vanity, privilege, or class. Just as we are today.