refines the Mesoamerican pantheon of deities, whose origins dated from the time of the Olmec. Of special importance were the worship of Quetzalcoatl and Tláloc, agricultural deities. Trade links promoted the spread of these cults to other Mesoamerican societies, who took and transformed them. It was thought that Teotihuacan society had no knowledge of writing, but as Duverger demonstrates, the writing system of Teotihuacan was extremely pictographic, to the point that writing was confused with drawing. Teotihuacan was completely dependent on agricultural activity, primarily the cultivation of maize, beans and squash, the Mesoamerican agricultural trinity. However, its political and economic hegemony was based on outside goods for which it enjoyed a monopoly: Anaranjado ceramics, produced in the Poblano-Tlaxcalteca valley, and the mineral deposits of the Hidalgan mountains. Both were highly valued throughout Mesoamerica, and were exchanged for luxury merchandise of the highest caliber, from places as far away as New Mexico and Guatemala. Because of this, Teotihuacan became the hub of the Mesoamerican trade network. Its partners were Monte Albán and Tikal in the southeast, Matacapan on the Gulf coast, Altavista in the north, and Tingambato in the west.
Once it was free of competition in the area of the Lake of Mexico, Teotihuacán experienced an expansion phase that made it one of the largest cities of its time, not just in Mesoamerica, but in the entire world. During this period of growth, it attracted the vast majority of those then living in the Valley of Mexico. +Trails: Teotihuacan Teotihuacános Mexica Mexico City Monte Alban
100 The decline of the Epi-Olmec civilization begins. +Trails: Tabasco Mexico Veracruz
143-156 Long Count dates on carving at La Mojarra, a non-Maya site in Mexico, shows an early precursor of Maya writing (McKillop 2004). La Mojarra and environs have yielded two important Epi-Olmec culture artifacts: La Mojarra Stela 1 and the Tuxtla Statuette. Both of these artifacts contain what has been classified as Epi-Olmec script as well as very early Long Count calendar dates.
La Mojarra is an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Veracruz, located not far from the Gulf Coast at a bend in the Acula River. It was continually occupied from the late Formative period (ca. 300 BCE) until perhaps as late as 1000 CE.
Not a large site, La Mojarra has been little excavated. It covers roughly 1 km² and consists of small mounds and a modest plaza. Three kilns were constructed to fire locally used orange pottery. +Trails: Mayan Writing
150 Emergence of the Río Bec style of architecture in Becán, Xpuhil and Chicanná. Río Bec is a Maya archaeological site located in what is now the southern portion of Campeche. The name also refers to an architectural style (Río Bec Style) that first appeared at Río Bec and subsequently spread to other nearby sites.
Río Bec style temple-pyramids are characterized by a unique architectural style that began to appear during the seventh century CE. and continued into the early twelfth century CE. The temple-pyramids consist of a range-type building with typically two nonfunctional solid masonry towers on both ends of the range-type building.
The twin-towers narrow with ascension in order to give an illusion of greater height. The twin-towers appear to have stairs along their faces leading to the temple that rests atop them. However, the steps are only a design motif that creates the illusion of functional stairs. Even if the steps were functional, the towers rise at steep vertical angles that would make ascending them difficult. The temples, which are located on the platform at the top of the Río Bec towers are inoperative as well. The temples are solid masses with no interior rooms. Pseudo-doorways, which have been built into niches in the fronts of the temples, give the appearance of a functional door.
Despite their nonfunctional components, the Río Bec towers hold the typical decorations of a pyramid and its upper temple and at first glance are taken as functional pyramids. The purpose of the Río Bec temple-pyramids is unknown, but they do resemble the twin-tower complexes of Tikal. The Río Bec Style is closely related to the Chenes architectural style found northwest of the Río Bec region. +Trails: Architects Campeche Mexico
162 A Long Count date on a statue in the Tuxtla Mountains of Mexico, shows pre-Maya origins of writing (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Mayan Writing
200 The Classic Period (200–1000 BCE) - The Classic period was dominated by numerous independent city-states in the Maya region and also featured the beginnings of political unity in central Mexico and the Yucatán. The city-state of Teotihuacán dominated the Valley of Mexico until the early seventh century, but we know little of the political structure of the region because the Teotihuacános left no written records. The city-state of Monte Albán dominated the Valley of Oaxaca until the late Classic, leaving limited records in their mostly undeciphered script.
In the Maya region, numerous city states such as Tikal, Calakmul, Copán, Palenque, Uxmal, Cobá, and Caracol reached their zeniths. Each of these polities was generally independent, although they often formed alliances and sometimes became vassal states of each other. The main conflict during this period was between Tikal and Calakmul, who fought a series of wars over the course of more than half a millennium.
Each of these states declined during the Terminal Classic and were eventually abandoned. In the early 20th century, the term "Old Empire" was sometimes given to this era of Maya civilization in an analogy to Ancient Egypt; the term is now considered inaccurate and has long been out of use by serious writers on the subject. Recent research at El Mirador and other sites now indicates that the Maya Classic period might need to be adjusted and moved to an earlier date.
The Maya were sophisticated architects and builders and they constructed numerous types of structures: Ceremonial Platforms, Temples, Palaces, Towers, Pyramids, Ball Courts and Observatories among other things. The Maya often built chultunes, underground cisterns used to catch rainwater for drinking. They also built and maintained steam baths for ritual purification rites and medicinal use.
A mathematically-advanced culture, the Maya designed and built sewer systems, as well as the well-traced sacbeob (white roads) — which were sometimes elevated to avoid flood planes — and which the common people also used as worship trails.
Through the Post-Classic Period (A.D. 900-1500) murals and stalwarts were built, as well as walls that were used to delineate private lots. Funerary constructions varied from simple burial sites to very elaborate tombs for the ruling class. +Trails: Copan Guatemala Mirador Basin Sacbe Sacbes Teotihuacan Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Yucatan
200 Yax Ch’aktel Xok – ca. 200 CE ruler of Tikal dynasty. +Trails: Maya Mayan Mayans Guatemala
217 Toniná had a particularly active Early Classic presence, although the Early Classic remains lie entirely buried under later construction. Due to this, early texts are scarce and only offer a glimpse of the early history of the site. An 8th century text refers to a king ruling Toniná in 217 CE, although it only mentions his title, not his name. (Martin & Grube 2000) +Trails: Chiapis Mexico Tonina
250 Tres Zapotes is eclipsed by Cerro de las Mesas, Remojadas, and other sites further north along the Veracruz coast. Although Tres Zapotes would continue into the Classic era, its heyday had passed and Epi-Olmec had given way to the Classic Veracruz culture.
Located about 50 km (30 miles) due south of Veracruz City, Cerro de las Mesas, meaning "hill of the altars" in Spanish, is an archaeological site in the Mexican state of Veracruz, in the Mixtequilla area of the Papaloapan River basin. It was a prominent regional center from 600 BCE to 900 CE, and a regional capital from 300 CE to 600 CE.
Cerro de las Mesas is on the west edge of what had been the Olmec heartland. Rising to prominence after the decline of the Olmec civilization's culture, some researchers consider Cerro de las Mesas, along with similar sites like La Mojarra and Tres Zapotes, to be a center of epi-Olmec culture, a successor culture to the Olmecs, and one that itself gave way to Classic Veracruz culture in the 3rd century CE. +Trails: Epi-Olmecs
292 The first unequivocally Maya artifact known to archaeologists is Stela 29 from Tikal, with the Long Count date of 292 CE (8.12.14.8.15), more than 300 years after Stela 2 from Chiapa de Corzo in Chiapas (Coe & Koontz, 2002). See our chart of the Earliest Long Count Artifacts.
Maya influence can be detected from Honduras, Guatemala, Northern El Salvador and to as far as central Mexico, more than 1000 km (625 miles) from the Maya area. Many outside influences are found in Maya art and architecture, which are thought to result from trade and cultural exchange rather than direct external conquest.
Balam Ajaw ("Decorated Jaguar" also known as "Scroll Ahau Jaguar") was the king of Tikal on this earliest lowland dated stela (Sharer 1996). +Trails: Guatemala Long Count Calendar
300 Maya cities are built or expanded along the Usumacinta River at Yaxchilán, Kaminaljuyu and Piedras Negras. Yaxchilan's royal founder is believed to be Yat Balam in about 320 CE. Kaminaljuyu has been described as one of the greatest of all archaeological sites in the New World (Coe 2005), although its remains today are far less impressive than other Maya sites.
Kaminaljuyu was primarily occupied from 1500 BCE to 1200 CE. When first mapped scientifically (by E. M. Shook over a period of decades from the 1930s on), it comprised some 200 platforms and pyramidal mounds, at least half of which were created before the end of the Preclassic period (250 CE).
The known parts of Kaminaljuyu lie on a broad plain beneath roughly the western third of modern Guatemala City. The Valley of Guatemala is surrounded by hills which culminate in a string of lofty volcanoes to the south. The Kaminaljuyu site largely was swallowed up by real estate developments in the late 20th century, although a portion of the site is preserved as a park.
Another important factor is the fact that Kaminaljuyu's ancient architecture was constructed of hardened adobe, more perishable than the limestone used to build the cities in the Maya Lowlands. +Trails: Mayan Mayas Guatemala Teotihuacan
300 K'inich Ehb' – ca. 300 CE is the ruler of Tikal. +Trails: Maya Mayan Mayans Guatemala
300 The city of Cancuén is believed to have been founded about this time. It is an important site due to the unique location it occupied from 300 to 950 CE, reaching its maximum splendor during the Late Classic period about 800 CE. Recent findings there have been remarkable and range from fine pottery to jade workshops and beautiful carved images as ball game markers.
The largest and most impressive Mayan palace discovered to date is located at Cancuén and believed to have been built between 765 and 790 CE by T'ah 'ak' Cha'an, the King believed to have made Cancuén the dominant city in the southern Petén. +Trails: Mayan Mayans Mexico
307 Siyaj Chan K'awiil I is the ruler of Tikal ca. 307 CE. +Trails: Maya Mayan Mayans Guatemala
317 Ix Une' B'alam ("Queen Jaguar") – 317 CE is the ruler of Tikal. +Trails: Maya Mayan Mayans Guatemala
320 "Leyden Plate Ruler" – 320 CE is the ruler of Tikal. +Trails: Maya Mayan Mayans Guatemala
359 K'inich Muwaan Jol – ruler of Tikal dies in 359 CE. +Trails: Maya Mayan Mayans Guatemala
360 Chak Tok Ich'aak I (Great Jaguar Paw) begins his rule at Tikal (360-378). After ruling for 18 years, he died on the same day that Siyah K’ak’ (Fire Is Born) arrived in Tikal from the west. +Trails: Maya Mayan Mayans Guatemala
374 May 4 Inscriptions on the Marcador monument at the Petén Basin center of Tikal record that Spearthrower Owl (Mayan: Atlatl Cauac) ascended to the throne of an unspecified polity on a date equivalent to 4 May 374 CE. Maya inscriptions at several other sites describe the arrival of strangers from the west, depicted with Teotihuacán style garments and carrying weapons. These arrivals are connected to changes in political leadership at several of the sites. +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
378 January 8 Siyah K’ak’ (Fire Is Born) departs from El Perú, and sets out eastward towards Tikal. Siyah K’ak’ is later described as "Lord of the West" on a Maya stela at Tikal. Most archaeologists believe he was probably a foreign general serving a powerful figure represented by a non-Maya hieroglyph at Tikal of a spearthrower combined with an owl, a glyph that is well known from the great metropolis of Teotihuacán in the distant Valley of Mexico (Drew 1999).
During the month of January 378 CE monuments at El Perú, Tikal and Uaxactun describe the arrival of the personage of Siyaj K'ak', somehow under the auspices of Spearthrower Owl (Mayan: Atlatl Cauac).
Spearthrower Owl was mentioned in later texts for example on a door lintel of Temple one at Tikal where the ruler Hasaw Chan K'awil celebrated the anniversary of Spearthrower Owl by "conjuring the holy one (Stuart 1998)." +Trails: El Peru Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános Waxaktun
378 January 14 Siyah K’ak’ (Fire Is Born) arrives in Tikal from the west, having passed through El Perú, a site to the west of Tikal, six days earlier. On the same day Siyah K’ak’ arrives in Tikal, Chak Tok Ich'aak I (Great Jaguar Paw), the fourteenth king of Tikal is killed (Coe 1999). Little is known about Chak Tok Ich'aak except that he built a palace that was preserved and developed by later rulers until it became the core of the Central Acropolis (Webster 2002).
On Stela 31 at Tikal, Siyah K’ak’ is named as "Lord of the West" (Drew 1999). He was probably a foreign general serving a powerful figure represented by a non-Maya hieroglyph of a spearthrower combined with an owl (Spearthrower Owl) (Mayan: Atlatl Cauac), a glyph that is well known from the great metropolis of Teotihuacán in the distant Valley of Mexico.
Spearthrower Owl may even have been the ruler of Teotihuacán. These recorded events strongly suggest that Siyah K’ak’ led a Teotihuacán invasion that defeated the native Tikal king, who was captured and immediately executed (Coe 1999).
Siyah K'ak' appears to have been aided by a powerful political faction at Tikal itself (Webster 2002); roughly at the time of the conquest, a group of Teotihuacán natives were apparently already residing near Tikal's Lost World complex (Drew 1999).
Spearthrower Owl was mentioned in later texts for example on a door lintel of Temple one at Tikal where the ruler Hasaw Chan K'awil celebrated the anniversary of Spearthrower Owl by "conjuring the holy one" (Stuart 1998). +Trails: El Peru Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános Tikal
378 Uaxactun Is defeated by forces led by Siyah K’ak’ (Fire Is Born), who had taken control of Tikal less than a year before. In her book "A Forest of Kings," Linda Schele, devotes an entire chapter to the war between Tikal and Uaxactun, giving a brief overview of the known history of Uaxactun up to the final year of the war (378 CE), and of the Uaxactun kings who claimed descent from Fire is Born.
The combined political entity of Tikal/Uaxactun dominated the Guatemalan Peten for the next 180 years. It appears that even then the metropolis of Calakmul in what is now the state of Campeche, Mexico, was their greatest adversary. More information is needed on this subject.+Trails: Guatemala Kalakmul Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános Waxaktun
379 September 13 Yax Nuun Ayiin I is appointed king of Tikal and begins a reign of 33 years. Siyah K’ak’ (Fire Is Born) did not take the throne of Tikal for himself, instead Yax Nuun Ayiin I (First Crocodile), a son of Spearthrower Owl (Mayan: Atlatl Cauac) is enthroned as the tenth king of Tikal on 13 September while still a boy (Drew 1999). Siyah K’ak’also exerted control over other cities in the area, including Uaxactun, where he became king.
Tikal Stela 31 describes that in 379 a year after the arrival of Siyaj K'ak' at Tikal, Yax Nuun Ayiin, described as a son of Spearthrower Owl and not of the previous ruler Jaguar Paw, was installed as king of Tikal. His rule saw the introduction of Teotihuacán style imagery in the iconography of Tikal. Stela 31 was erected during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin's son Siyaj Chan K'awil and describes the death of that rulers grandfather, Spearthrower Owl, in 439 CE.
Yax Nuun Ayiin I reigned for 47 years as king of Tikal, and remained a vassal of Siyah K'ak' for as long as the latter lived. It seems likely that Yax Nuun Ayiin I took a wife from the pre-existing, defeated Tikal dynasty and thus legitimised the right to rule of his son, Siyaj Chan K'awiil II (Drew 1999).
Siyaj Chan K'awiil II, the son of Yax Nuun Ayiin I, later conquers Río Azul, a small site 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Tikal while his father is still on the throne of Tikal. Río Azul became an outpost of Tikal, shielding it from hostile cities further north, and also became a trade link to the Caribbean (Drew 1999). +Trails: Guatemala Río Azul Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacáno Teotihuacános Tikal Waxaktun
381 A text at Bejucal mentions the Teotihuacán-linked general Siyah K’ak’ ("Fire is Born") as overlord of Bejucal in 381 CE (Hermes et al 2006). Stela 1 from Bejucal also indicates that Siyaj K'ak' was overlord of nearby El Zotz (Houston et al 2007). From around this time the kings of Bejucal began to refer to themselves as vassals of Tikal using the "y ajaw" phrase meaning subordinate lord (Drew 1999).
Siyaj K'ak' conquered Bejucal in the 4th century, together with many other sites in Petén, including the great city of Tikal (Estrada-Belli & Foley 2004). Inscriptions at Bejucal all fit within a very short 40-year span in the second half of the 4th century, ending about AD 396. The abrupt cessation of inscriptions at Bejucal is possibly the result of the expansion of the Tikal polity (Culbert 1991). +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacáno Teotihuacános
400 The Maya highlands fall under the influence of Teotihuacán, and the disintegration of Maya culture and language begins in some parts of the highlands. Although the new rulers of Tikal were foreign, archaeologists believe their descendants became rapidly Mayanised. Tikal became the key ally and trading partner of Teotihuacān in the Maya lowlands and rapidly began to dominate the northern and eastern Petén. Uaxactun, together with smaller towns in the region, were absorbed into Tikal's kingdom.
Other sites, such as Bejucal and Motul de San José near Lake Petén Itzá became vassals of Tikal, and by the middle of the 5th century Tikal had a core territory of at least 25 kilometers (16 miles) in every direction (Drew 1999). Although it is a subject of debate whether Teotihuacān was the center of a state empire, its influence throughout Mesoamerica is well documented; evidence of Teotihuacāno presence can be seen at numerous sites in Veracruz and the Maya region.
Even the Aztecs (Mexica) may have been influenced by Teotihuacán at this early date, long before their migration into central Mexico. The ethnicity of the inhabitants of Teotihuacán is still a subject of debate. Possible candidates are the Nahua, Otomi or Totonac ethnic groups. Scholars have also suggested that Teotihuacán might have been a multiethnic state. +Trails: Copan Guatemala Peten Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános Tikal Waxaktun
400 Destruction of monuments and interruption of new construction at at Tak'alik Ab'aj occurs simultaneously with the arrival of so-called Naranjo style ceramics, which appear to be linked to styles from the great metropolis of Teotihuacán in the distant Valley of Mexico. This Teotihuacan influence places the destruction of monuments in the second half of the Early Classic (Popenoe de Hatch and Schieber de Lavarreda 2001).
The presence of the conquerors linked to the Naranjo-style ceramics was not of long duration and suggests that the conquerors exerted long-distance control of the site, replacing the local rulers with their own governors while leaving the local population intact (Popenoe de Hatch and Schieber de Lavarreda 2001).
The conquest of Takalik Abaj broke the ancient trade routes running along the Pacific coast from Mexico to El Salvador, these were replaced by a new route running up the Sierra Madre and into the northwestern Guatemalan highlands.
In the Late Classic Takalik Abaj appears to have recovered from its earlier defeat. Naranjo-style ceramics diminished greatly in quantity and there was a surge in new large-scale construction. Many monuments broken by the conquerors were re-erected at this time (Popenoe de Hatch and Schieber de Lavarreda 2001). +Trails: Abaj Takalik Abaj Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
400 At Kaminaljuyu the tombs of Mounds A and B are notable because of the interment within them of elite-use ceramic vessels in unmistakable Teotihuacán style. During the Early Classic period in the Maya world, art and artifacts, as well as hieroglyphics, attest to specific intrusions by and influences from Teotihuacán at great Lowland cities such as Tikal, Piedras Negras, and Copán, although the exact nature of this presence remains controversial (Braswell 2003).
Teotihuacán, like the later Aztec empire, was drawn to the Southern area undoubtedly because of its rich resources of obsidian and cacao.+Trails: Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
400 Around the 5th century Tikal constructs an impressive system of fortifications consisting of ditches and earthworks along the northern periphery of its hinterland, joining up with the natural defences provided by large areas of swampland lying to the east and west of the city. It should be noted that Calakmul was located directly north of Tikal and does not seem to show Teotihuacán enfluences.
Additional fortifications were probably also built to the south of Tikal. These defences protected Tikal's core population and agricultural resources, encircling approximately 120 square kilometers (46 sq miles) in area (Webster 2002). Recent research suggests that the earthworks served as a water collection system rather than a defensive purpose (Silverstein 2009).
In the 5th century the power of the city reached as far south as Copán, whose founder K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' was clearly connected with Tikal (Webster 2002). Copán itself was not in an ethnically Maya region and the founding of the Copán dynasty probably involved the direct intervention of Tikal (Wyllys Andrews & Fash 2005). +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
411 Siyaj Chan K’awill II ascends the royal throne at Tikal (McKillop 2004). He was a son of his predecessor Yax Nuun Ayiin I and grandson of Spearthrower Owl. Stela 31, erected during his reign, describes the death of his grandfather in 439. +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacán Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
426 December K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' arrives in Copán from the west (likely Tikal), introducing Teotihuacán styles of pottery, clothing, and architecture to Copán. Scientific bone analysis of his remains shows that he passed his childhood and youth at Tikal (Fash & Agurcia Fasquelle 2005). An individual known as Ajaw K'uk' Mo' (lord K'uk' Mo') is referred to in an early text at Tikal and may well be the same person (Looper 2003).
At about the same time, in late 426, Copán founded the nearby site of Quiriguá, possibly sponsored by Tikal itself (Wyllys Andrews & Fash 2005). Quiriguá’s first dynastic ruler, Tok Casper, was inaugurated under supervision of Copan’s Yax Kuk Mo, demonstating inclusion of Quiriguá within Copan hegemony (McKillop 2004). The founding of these two centers may have been part of an effort to impose Tikal's authority upon the southeastern portion of the Maya region (Looper 2003).
Yax K'uk' Mo's tomb had Teotihuacán characteristics and he was depicted in later portraits dressed in the warrior garb of Teotihuacán. Hieroglyphic texts refer to him as "Lord of the West", much like Siyah K’ak’ (Fash & Agurcia Fasquelle 2005).
The interaction between Copán, Quiriguá and Tikal was intense over the next three centuries (Looper 1999). +Trails: Copan Guatemala Quirigua Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános Yax Kuk Mo
431 March 11 K’uk’ B’alam I the first ruler of Palenque is inaugurated during the reign of Siyaj Chan K’awiil II at Tikal, suggesting the inception of the Palenque dynasty may be related to the arrival of Teotihuacános in the Petén Basin (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapis Mexico Kuk Balam Peten Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacanos
435 August Accession of Palenque’s second ruler, Casper, also known as 11 Rabbit. He ruled from 435 to 487 and was the immediate successor of K'uk' B'alam I, who founded the ruling dynasty. Casper came to power at the age of 13 and ruled the city for 52 years. Only Pacal the Great is recorded to have ruled Palenque longer.
The real name of Casper has not been deciphered. He was given the nickname Casper by Mayanist scholar Floyd Lounsbury because his name glyph is said to resemble the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Read more about Casper and the rulers of Palenque here. +Trails: Chiapis Mexico
437 Death and burial of Yax Kuk Mo in Hunal (Temple 16) at Copán, accompanied by Teotihuacán-style pots (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Copan Honduras Maya Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacanos
439 The Death of Spearthrower Owl (Mayan: Atlatl Cauac). The cause of his death is unknown. Sprearthrower Owl is the name commonly given to a Mesoamerican personage from the Early Classic period, who is identified in Maya inscriptions and iconography. It has been suggested that Spearthrower Owl was a ruler of Teotihuacán at the height of its influence across Mesoamerica in the 4th and 5th century. A large number of respected archaeologists believe he was responsible for the introduction of Teotihuacán related cultural traits and artifacts into the Maya area (Stuart 1998).
Stela 31 at Tikal describes how in 379 CE, a year after the arrival of Siyah K’ak’ at Tikal, Yax Nuun Ayiin, described as a son of Spearthrower Owl and not of the previous ruler Jaguar Paw, was installed as king of Tikal. His rule saw the introduction of Teotihuacan style imagery in the iconography of Tikal. Stela 31 was erected during the reign of Yax Nuun Ayiin's son Siyaj Chan K'awil II and describes the death of that rulers grandfather, Spearthrower Owl, in 439 CE.
The name Spearthrower Owl was invented by archaeologists to describe the visual appearance of the Teotihuacán originated spear holding owl symbol stylized as one or two Maya glyphs, usually used to represent his name. The symbols themselves are not readable Maya writing, even though inserted among otherwise normal glyphs. Spearthrower Owl was mentioned in texts for example on a door lintel of Temple one at Tikal where the ruler Hasaw Chan K'awil celebrated the anniversary of Spearthrower Owl by "conjuring the holy one (Stuart 1998)."
However, in Tikal, the name appears once written as an ordinary Maya glyph compound, that can be spelled out. The suggested spelling for the name is Jatz'om K'uh, meaning "owl that will strike" (Nielsen & Helmke 2008). This naturally also looks like a verbal description of the spear holding owl symbol.
Various logographs or glyphs depicting an owl and a spearthrower are documented in Teotihuacán and in the Maya cities of Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxchilan, and Toniná. They may or may not refer to the same individual, or have some other symbolic meaning. Maya inscriptions at several sites describe the arrival of strangers from the west, depicted with Teotihuacán style garments and carrying weapons. These arrivals are connected to changes in political leadership at several of the sites.
The connection of Spearthrower Owl to Teotihuacán as well as the precise nature of Teotihuacán influence in the Maya has been a hotly debated topic since the hieroglyphic texts first became fully readable in the 1990s. The controversy is related to the general discussion of central Mexican influence in the Maya area which was sparked by the findings of Teotihuacán related objects in the early Maya site of Kaminaljuyú in the 1930s.
The controversy has two sides: The internalist side, arguing for limited direct contact between Teotihuacán and the Maya area. This side has been represented by epigraphers such as Linda Schele and David Freidel who have argued that the Maya merely had friendly diplomatic relations with Teotihuacán which caused the Maya elite to emulate Toetihuacano culture and ideology. And an externalist side arguing that Teotihuacán was an important factor in the development of Maya culture and politics in the Classic period. This viewpoint was first associated with Archaeologist William Sanders who argued for an extreme externalist viewpoint.
As more evidence of direct Teotihuacán influence in the Maya area surged at Copán and new hieroglyphic decipherments by epigraphers such as David Stuart interpreted Teotihuacán incursion as a military invasion, the externalist position was strengthened. In 2003 George Cowgill an archaeologist specialising in Teotihuacán who had formerly espoused a mostly internalist perspective on Teotihuacán-Maya relations summarised the debate, conceding that Teotihuacán had probably exercised some kind of political control in the Maya area in the early classic and that left an important legacy into the late and epi-classic periods.
In 2008 an interpretation of Spearthrower Owl related iconography at Teotihuacán suggested that the Spearthrower Owl was an important military god at Teotihuacán that had given name to both a place known as "Spearthrower Owl Hill" and to the ruler mentioned in the Maya hieroglyphic texts (Nielsen & Helmke 2008). +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános Tonina Waxaktun
450 Construction of elaborately stuccoed and painted Margarita temple at Copán as a memorial shrine to Yax Kuk Mo (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Copan Honduras Maya
457 March 20 Burial 48 at Tikal is generally believed to be the tomb of Siyaj Chan K'awil. It is located beneath Temple 33 in the North Acropolis (Martin & Grube 2000). The walls of the tomb were covered with white stucco painted with hieroglyphs that included the Long Count date equivalent to 20 March 457, probably the date of either the death or interment of the king (Coe 1999). Siyaj Chan K'awil was the son of Yax Nuun Ayiin and the grandson of Spearthrower Owl, who died in 439 CE.
The chamber of Siyaj Chan K'awil's tomb was cut from the bedrock and contained the remains of the king himself together with those of two adolescents who had been sacrificed in order to accompany the deceased ruler to the underworld (Coe 1999).
The king's skeleton was missing its skull, its femurs and one of its hands while the skeletons of the sacrificial victims were intact (Miller 1999). This sounds very similar to Burial 85, the tomb of Yax Ehb' Xook, the dynastic founder of Tikal, which also lacked a skull and its thighbones (Drew 1999).
In regard to Burial 85 archaeologists believe Yax Ehb' Xook probably died in battle and his body was mutilated by his enemies before being recovered and entombed by his followers (Coe 1999). +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacán Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
487 B’utz’aj Kak Chiik becomes the third ruler of Palenque (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapis Mexico
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