Ritual and Power in Stone: The Performance of Rulership in Mesoamerican Izapan Style ArtThe ancient Mesoamerican city of Izapa in Chiapas, Mexico, is renowned for its extensive collection of elaborate stone stelae and altars, which were carved during the Late Preclassic period (300 BC AD 250). Many of these monuments depict kings garbed in the costume and persona of a bird, a well known avian deity who had great significance for the Maya and other cultures in adjacent regions. This Izapan style of carving and kingly representation