Roof comb

Roof comb (or roof-comb) is the structure that tops a pyramid in monumental Mesoamerican architecture. Examination of the dections and iconography of Maya civilization roof-combs indicates that each icon had specific sacred meanings.

Typically the roof combs crowned the summit of pyramids and other structures; and they consisted of two pierced framework walls which leaned on one another. This framework was covered by plaster decorated with artist depictions of gods and/or important rulers.

History and Significance

The Mayans engineered some of the most important monuments in Mesoamerica. Their civilization experienced its ‘golden age’ between 500 and 900 CE. Recent deciphering of Maya hieroglyphs has brought new understanding to their architecture; these pictographic symbols tell historians about when specific structures were built and by whom. In Mayan religious architecture there was an emphasis on height, which was often manifested by vertiginous staircases that reached toward the heavens and gods. Oftentimes pyramids were built over existing ones, this embraced ancestral authority while allowing for greater structural height(s).