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
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.
Linda Schele, in her book "A Forest of Kings" devotes an entire chapter to the war between Tikal and Uaxactun, in which she gives 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. +Trails: Guatemala 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 Copan. 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: 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: Chiapas Maya
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 Accession to the throne of Palenque’s third ruler, B’utz’aj Kak Chiik (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya
500 The Maya city of Tikal is believed to have become the first great Maya city about this time. A long-running rivalry between Tikal and Calakmul began in the 6th century, with each of the two cities forming its own network of mutually hostile alliances arrayed against each other in what has been likened to a long-running war between two Maya superpowers.
The kings of these two capitals adopted the title kaloomte', a term that has not been precisely translated but that implies something akin to "high king" (Webster 2002).
The early 6th century saw another queen ruling the city, known only as the "Lady of Tikal", who was very likely a daughter of Chak Tok Ich'aak II. She seems never to have ruled in her own right, rather being partnered with male co-rulers.
The first of these was Kaloomte' B'alam, who seems to have had a long career as a general at Tikal before becoming co-ruler and 19th in the dynastic sequence. The Lady of Tikal herself seems not have been counted in the dynastic numbering. It appears she was later paired with lord "Bird Claw", who is presumed to be the otherwise unknown 20th ruler (Martin & Grube 2000). +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
500 Maya chronicles say that Uxmal was founded about 500 CE by Hun Uitzil Chac Tutul Xiu. For generations Uxmal was ruled over by the Xiu family, was the most powerful site in western Yucatán, and for a while in alliance with Chichen Itza dominated all of the northern Maya area. +Trails: Maya
501 B’utz’aj Kak Chiik’s brother, Ah kal Mo’ Naab’ I, becomes Palenque’s fourth ruler (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya
504 Reign of Balam Nehn, seventh in the dynastic line of kings at Copán and responsible for major expansion of the Copán acropolis buildings (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Copan Honduras Maya
529 Accession to Palenque throne of K’an Joy Chitam I after a four-year hiatus apparently without a ruler at the city (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya
550 By the mid 6th century, Caracol seems to have allied with Calakmul and defeated Tikal, closing the Early Classic (Miller 1999). The "Tikal hiatus" refers to a period between the late 6th to late 7th century where there was a lapse in the writing of inscriptions and large-scale construction at Tikal.
In the latter half of the 6th century CE a serious crisis befell the city, with no new stelae being erected and with widespread deliberate mutilation of public sculpture (Coe 1999). +Trails: Kalakmul Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános Structure II Structure VII
551 Accession of Ruler 9 at Copán, recorded on a stone on the Hieroglyphic Staircase (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Copan Honduras Maya
553 Inauguration of Tzik Balam at Copán, the ruler responsible for building the splendidly stuccoed and painted (in red, green, and yellow) Rosalila Temple, dedicated to the founder, Yax Kuk Mo, with chert objects elaborately chipped in the forms of gods and humans in a building termination offering (McKillop 2004).
Tikal’s twenty-first ruler, Wak Chan K’awill, sponsors inauguration of Caracol ruler Yajaw Te’ K’inich II (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Belize Copan Guatemala Honduras Maya
562 This hiatus in activity at Tikal was long unexplained until later epigraphic decipherments identified that the period was prompted by Tikal's comprehensive defeat at the hands of Calakmul and the Caracol polity in 562 CE, a defeat that seems to have resulted in the capture and sacrifice of the king of Tikal (Webster 2002). The badly eroded Altar 21 at Caracol describes how Tikal suffered this disastrous defeat in a major war in 562. It seems that Caracol was an ally of Calakmul in the wider conflict between that city and Tikal, with the defeat of Tikal having a lasting impact upon the city (Webster 2002). Tikal was not sacked but its power and influence were broken (Webster 2002).
After its great victory, Caracol grew rapidly and some of Tikal's population may have been forcibly relocated there. During the hiatus period, at least one ruler of Tikal took refuge with Janaab' Pakal of Palenque, another of Calakmul's victims (Webster 2002). Calakmul itself thrived during Tikal's long hiatus period (Webster 2002).
The beginning of the Tikal hiatus has served as a marker by which archaeologists commonly sub-divide the Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology into the Early and Late Classic (Miller and Taube 1993). +Trails: Guatemala Teotihuacan Teotihuacaners Teotihuacano Teotihuacános
565 Inauguration of Palenque ruler Ahkal Mo’ Naab’, the grandson of an earlier ruler of same name (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya
572 Kan B’alam I is inaugurated as ruler of Palenque. (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya
578 Accession to throne of Butz’ Chan, Copán’s eleventh ruler (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Copan Honduras Maya
579 Uneh Chan (Scroll Serpent) becomes king of Calakmul (Martin & Grube 2000), and probably the ruler of Kaan as well. The kings of Calakmul were known as k'uhul kan ajawob ("Divine Lords of the Snake Kingdom") (Braswell et al 2005).
Calakmul administered a large domain marked by the extensive distribution of their emblem glyph of the snake head sign, to be read "Kaan." Calakmul was the seat of what has been dubbed the Kingdom of the Snake or Snake Kingdom (Mann 2005). This Snake Kingdom reigned during most of the Classic period.
Calakmul itself is estimated to have had a population of 50,000 people and had governance, at times, over places as far away as 150 kilometers. +Trails: Kalakmul Campeche
583 Uneh Chan (Scroll Serpent) king of Calakmul builds and maintains his alliances with cities in the east. He is depicted on Caracol Stela 4 supervising an event involving king Yajaw Te' K'inich of that city that occurred before 583 (Martin & Grube 2000). +Trails: Kalakmul Campeche
583 Lady Yohl Ik’nal, either sister or daughter of Kan B’alam I, is inaugurated as the first queen of Palenque. (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya
595 Accession to the throne of the first great Toniná king, K’inich Hix Chapat (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Maya Tonina
599 April 23 The defeat and sacking of Palenque by Calakmul is recorded on a series of hieroglyphic steps at Palenque. Uneh Chan (Scroll Serpent) engaged in an aggressive military campaign in the western Maya region and attacked Palenque with his ally
Lakam Chak, lord of the small city of Santa Elena 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Palenque, defeating Palenque's queen Lady Yohl Ik'nal and sacking the city (Martin & Grube 2000).
The defeat of Palenque initiated a long-lasting grudge against Calakmul. Lady Yohl Ik'nal survived the battle and ruled for several more years, although she perhaps paid tribute to Calakmul (Stuart & Stuart 2008). +Trails: Kaan Kalakmul Campeche
600 The Late Classic period begins. (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Maya
600 Central Mexico's great city of Teotihuacán is destroyed by an unknown event and left in ruins. Its great palaces are burned and the city's population is reduced to a few people living in hovels in the deserted city. Even though people continued to live there for another century and a half, the city was eventually destroyed and abandoned by its inhabitants, who took refuge in places such as Culhuacán and Azcapotzalco, on the shores of Lake Texcoco. The fall of Teotihuacán is believed to be associated with the emergence of city-states within the confines of the central area of Mexico.
It is thought that these city-states, Cacaxtla, Xochicalco, Teotenango, and El Tajín, were able to flourish thanks to the decline of Teotihuacán, but some believe things may have occurred in the opposite order: the cities of Cacaxtla, Xochicalco, Teotenango, and El Tajín could have increased in power first, and were then able to economically strangle Teotihuacán, trapped as it was in the center of the Valley of Mexico without access to trade routes.
The name Teōtīhuacān was given to the destroyed city by the Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs (Mexica) centuries after the fall of the city. The name has been translated as "birthplace of the gods", reflecting Nahua creation myths that were said to have occurred at Teotihuacān. Nahuatl scholar Thelma D. Sullivan interprets the name as "place of those who have the road of the gods" (Millon 1993).
The original name of the city is unknown, but it appears in hieroglyphic texts from the Maya region as Puh, or "Place of Reeds". This suggests that the Maya of the Classic period understood Teotihuacán as a Place of Reeds similar to other Postclassic Central Mexican settlements that took the name Tollan, such as Tula-Hidalgo and Cholula (Mathews and Schele 1997).
Tollan, Tolan, or Tolán is a name used for the capital cities of two empires of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica; first for Teotihuacán, and later for the Toltec capital, Tula-Hidalgo, both in Mexico. The name has also been applied to the Postclassic Mexican settlement Cholula.
The name Tōllān means "Among the reeds" in the Nahuatl language, with the figurative sense of a densely populated "place where people are thick as reeds". Names with the same meaning were used in Maya and other native Mexican languages.
Teotihuacán seems to have been the first city known by this name. After the collapse of the Teotihuacán empire, central Mexico broke into various petty states. The Toltec created the first sizable Mexican empire after the fall of Teotihuacan, and their capital was referred to by the same name as a reference to the earlier greatness of Teotihuacán.
Tollan is also the name given to the mythical place of origin in many Mesoamerican traditions, including those of the Aztecs and the K'iche' Maya. In the K'iche' epic Popul Vuh, the first people created are gathered at Tollan, the place of seven caves, where they receive their languages and their gods (Read & González 2000). +Trails: El Tajin Teotihuacan Teotihuacános Mexica Mexico City
600 Chichén Itzá rises to regional prominence towards the end of what is called the Early Classic period, or approximately 600 CE. It was, however, towards the end of the Late Classic and into the early part of the Terminal Classic that the site became a major regional capitol, centralizing and dominating political, sociocultural, economic, and ideological life in the northern Maya lowlands.
During the Central Phase of the Classic Period (625 - 800 CE) the arts and sciences flourished. It was at this time that Chichén Itzá became a religious center of increasing importance and many of its greatest buildings were constructed. +Trails: Chichen-Itza Chichen Itza Yucatecan Mayan
600 The city of Joya de Cerén in El Salvador, on the southeast edge of the Maya cultural area, is buried by a volcanic eruption. At about this same time in the late 500s (or early 600s), much of Quiriguá was flooded and covered by river silt from a hurricane or volcanic eruption, resulting in reorientation of construction at the city (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Joya de Ceren Hurricanes Storms Quirigua Volcanoes
604 Death of Queen Yohl Ik’nal and accession to the Palenque throne of her son, Aj Ne’ Ohl Mat (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya
611 The army of Kaan ruler Scroll Serpent (Uneh Chan, 579-611+) sets out to attack far-distant Palenque. Retrospective references on Late Classic Stelae 8 and 33 have Scroll Serpent celebrating the 9.8.0.0.0 (AD 593) k'atun ending at a named location, but it is not known whether this was somewhere within Calakmul or at another site altogether (Martin & Grube 2008). If it was Dzibanche, the distance covered in the attack on Palenque was all the greater.
Calakmul administered a large domain marked by the extensive distribution of their emblem glyph of the snake head sign, to be read "Kaan". Calakmul was the seat of what has been dubbed the Kingdom of the Snake or Snake Kingdom (Mann 2005). This Snake Kingdom reigned during most of the Classic period. Calakmul itself is estimated to have had a population of 50,000 people and had governance, at times, over places as far away as 150 kilometers. +Trails: Campeche Kalakmul Kaan Kingdom of the Snake
611 April 7 Calakmul again sacks Palenque under the personal direction of Uneh Chan, also known as Scroll Serpent. Palenque was now ruled by king Ajen Yohl Mat who had gained some sort of independence from Calakmul, provoking the new invasion (Stuart & Stuart 2008), The immediate aftermath of this second victory over Palenque involved the deaths of the two most important nobles at the city, Ajen Yohl Mat himself and Janab Pakal, a high ranking member of the royal family and possibly co-ruler (Martin & Grube 2008).
Janab Pakal died in March 612 and Ajen Yohl Mat a few months later. Their deaths so soon after the sacking of the city suggests that their demise was directly linked to Calakmul's triumph. Palenque suffered a lengthy decline in its fortunes after this date before it was able to recover from its disastrous war with Calakmul.
The wars against Palenque may have been undertaken by Uneh Chan in order to seize control of wealthy trade routes that passed through the western Maya region (Stuart & Stuart 2008). +Trails: Campeche Kalakmul Kaan Kingdom of the Snake
615 July 29 K'inich Janaab' Pakal, popularly known as Pakal the Great, ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12 (born 603). The name pakal means "shield" in the Maya language. Pakal oversaw the expansion of Palenque's power in the western part of the Maya states, and initiated a building program at his capital that produced some of Maya civilization's finest art and architecture.
Pakal was preceded as ruler of Palenque by his mother Lady Sak K'uk', the granddaughter of Aj Ne’ Ohl Mat (or another ruler). The Palenque dynasty seems to have had Queens only when there was no eligible male heir, and Sak K'uk' transferred rulership to her son upon his official maturity.
Before his name was securely deciphered from extant Maya inscriptions, Pakal has been known by an assortment of nicknames and approximations, common ones including Pakal (or Pacal), "Sun Shield" and "8 Ahau."
Palenque, is located in the modern-day state of Chiapas, Mexico. +Trails: Pacal the Great
625 At Lamanai in Belize, Stele 9 is erected and inscribed in the Yucatec language of the Maya (Closs 2009). Lamanai will continue to be occupied until the 17th century CE.
Structure N10-9 at Lamanai is the formal designation given to a stepped-pyramid structure at the Lamanai archaeological site. Referred to informally as the "Jaguar Temple," the structure is twelve feet shorter in exposed height than the High Temple, however a significant amount of this temple is under the ground, having been covered by dirt on its front side, and jungle roughage on its left side (when facing the front of the temple). Angular (blocky) jaguar heads adorn the front in the same style as other temples at this site.
Check-out the Lamanai Archaeological Project website. +Trails: Yucatecan Mayan
625 October 15 B'alaj Chan K'awiil is born and later claims to be a member of the Tikal royal line. On Panel 6 at Dos Pilas, he names a king of Tikal as his father, this was probably the 23rd or 24th ruler of Tikal. He probably saw himself as the legitimate heir to the throne of Tikal and defected from Tikal in 648 CE to found Dos Pilas as a rival kingdom under the overlordship of Calakmul (Martin & Grube 2000).
B'alaj Chan K'awiil had two wives - Lady of Itzan and Lady Bulu'. A daughter of B'alaj Chan K'awiil, Wak Chanil Ajaw, left Dos Pilas to found a dynasty at Naranjo (Martin & Grube 2000). Another daughter (or perhaps a sister) married into the royal lineage of Arroyo de Piedra. B'alaj Chan K'awiil was the father of Itzamnaaj B'alam and Itzamnaaj K'awiil and likely a grandfather of K'ak' Tiliw Chan Chaak, known as Smoking Squirrel, a ruler of Naranjo.
Dos Pilas Stela 9, dated to 682 CE, bears the only known portrait of B'alaj Chan K'awiil (Martin & Grube 2000). +Trails: Guatemala Mayan Mayans
626 K'inich Janaab' Pakal (Pakal the Great) of Palenque marries Lady Tz’akb’u Ajaw, from another city, Toktan (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas Maya Mayan Mayans Pacal the Great
628 Accession to the throne of K’ak’ Na K’awill (Smoke Imix) at Copán. He is responsible for the erection of many stelae and also the beautiful Chorcha temple, now under the Hieroglyphic Stairway, with an elaborate tomb containing pottery effigies of the Copán dynastic rulers (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Copan Honduras Mayan Mayans
629 The ruler of Tikal, King K'inich Muwaan Jol II founds the city of Dos Pilas, approximately 110 kilometers (68 miles) to the southwest, as a military outpost in order to control trade along the course of the Pasión River. +Trails: Mayan Guatemala
635 K'inich Muwaan Jol II, the king of Tikal, installs his son Balaj Chan K’awiil as ruler of Dos Pilas, at the age of four. With the establishment of this new kingdom, Dos Pilas advertised its origin by adopting the emblem glyph of Tikal as its own. For the next two decades Balaj Chan K’awiil fought as a loyal vassal fighting for his brother and overlord, the king of Tikal.
The early history of the Dos Pilas site is unclear, there are traces of an earlier indigenous dynasty predating the arrival of B'alaj Chan K'awiil from Tikal. From the Early Classic the Petexbatún region had been dominated by a Maya kingdom centered on the sites of Tamarindito and Arroyo de Piedra.
B'alaj Chan K'awiil founded Dos Pilas within the territory of this pre-existing kingdom and the new city quickly came to dominate the region. +Trails: Mayan Guatemala Peten Basin
636 April 28 Yuknoom Che'en II, sometimes called Yuknoom the Great, becomes king of Calakmul at the age of 36. During his reign Calakmul experienced its highest achievements. A significant increase in the production of stelae at the city began with his reign, and 18 stelae were commissioned by the new king.
Yuknoom the Great is known to have ruled the Kaan kingdom for fifty years during the height of its power and ascendency over Tikal (Martin and Grube 2008). Taking the name of the Early Classic king Yuknoom Che'en upon his accession, he is well deserving of the epithet by which is he known to us: he was truly "Great" whether measured by the length of his reign, the number of his monuments, the ambition of his building projects or the vast scope of his military conquests.
Yuknoom Che'en's architectural activity was particularly focused on the extensive palace complexes throughout the site core, characterized by long galleries and large enclosed spaces of the type seen, by contrast, only at the very center of Tikal. Yuknoom Che'en II was probably responsible for the construction of the palace complexes that form a major part of Calakmul's site core (Martin & Grube 2000). +Trails: Kaan Yuknoom Che'en Peten Basin
640 Death of Lady Sak K’uk’ of Palenque (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Chiapas
647 K'inich Muwaan Jol II, The king of Tikal (628 - 647 CE) dies. +Trails: Mayan Guatemala
648 King Yuknoom Che'en II (Yuknoom the Great) of Calakmul attacks and defeats Dos Pilas, capturing 17-year-old B'alaj Chan K'awiil. At about the same time, Balaj Chan K’awiil's brother, the king of Tikal was killed. Yuknoom Che'en II then reinstated Balaj Chan K'awiil upon the throne of Dos Pilas as his vassal. In an extraordinary act of treachery for someone claiming to be of the Tikal royal family, he thereafter served as a loyal ally of Calakmul, Tikal's sworn enemy. The exact methods used by Calakmul to induce Balaj Chan K'awiil to switch sides are unknown.
The early history of the Dos Pilas site is unclear, there are traces of an earlier indigenous dynasty predating the arrival of B'alaj Chan K'awiil from Tikal. B'alaj Chan K'awiil founded Dos Pilas within the territory of this pre-existing kingdom and the new city quickly came to dominate the region.+Trails: Mayan Guatemala Peten Basin
649-50 After Dos Pilas was attacked by Calakmul and soundly defeated. B'alaj Chan K'awiil was captured by the king of Calakmul, but instead of being sacrificed, he was reinstated on his throne as a vassal of his former enemy, and attacked Tikal in 657, forcing Nuun Ujol Chaak, the then king of Tikal, to temporarily abandon the city. The first two rulers of Dos Pilas continued to use the Mutal emblem glyph of Tikal, and they probably felt that they had a legitimate claim to the throne of Tikal itself.
For some reason, B'alaj Chan K'awiil was not installed as the new ruler of Tikal; instead he stayed at Dos Pilas.
Hieroglyphic inscriptions at the ruins of Tikal refer to it as Yax Mutal or Yax Mutul, meaning "First Mutal" (Martin & Grube 2000). Tikal may have come to be called this because Dos Pilas also came to use the same emblem glyph; the rulers of the city presumably wanted to distinguish themselves as the first city to bear the name (Schele & Mathews 1999).
The kingdom as a whole was simply called Mutul (Sharer & Traxler 2006), which is the reading of the "hair bundle" Emblem Glyph seen in this photo. Its precise meaning remains obscure (Martin & Grube 2000), although some scholars think that it is the hair knot of the Ahau or ruler. +Trails: Maya Mayan Warfare Guatemala
657 King Yuknoom Che'en II (Yuknoom the Great) of Calakmul turns his attention to Tikal and vanquishes it in a "star war" encounter, as a consequence of which Nuun Ujol Chaak must have pledged some form of fealty, because both he and Bajlaj Chan K'awiil subsequently attended a ritual performed by Calakmul prince Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' (Martin and Grube (2008). +Trails: Maya
659 Tikal ruler Nuun Ujol Chaak is driven from Tikal by Calakmul and visits K'inich Janaab' Pakal (Pakal the Great) at Palenque (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Maya
668 Inauguration of Ruler 2 at Toniná (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Maya Tonina
672 Nuun Ujol Chaak of Tikal counterattacks against Dos Pilas, driving B'alaj Chan K'awiil into an exile that lasted five years (Webster 2002). Calakmul tried to encircle Tikal within an area dominated by its allies, such as El Perú, Dos Pilas and Caracol (Hammond 2000 ).
The Tikal king asserted his independence by ousting Bajlaj Chan K'awiil from Dos Pilas and pursued him as he sought refuge at other sites (Martin & Grube 2009). +Trails: El Peru Maya
677 Nuun Ujol Chaak of Tikal is defeated by Calakmul (McKillop 2004). +Trails: Maya
679 Nuun Ujol Chaak is defeated by Dos Pilas and Calakmul (McKillop 2004). A record at Dos Pilas of the victory over Tikal in 679 is the last mention of Nuun Ujol Chaak, but it is clear from ensuing events that the advantage was not pressed home. B'alaj Chan K'awiil never sat on the throne of Tikal itself, and the defeated Tikal ruler's son, Jasaw Chan K'awiil I, acceded as divine lord of Tikal (Mutal) in 682. +Trails: Maya Mutul
680 A year after Nuun Ujol Chaak of Tikal was decisively vanquished by Dos Pilas and Yuknoom Che'en II (Yuknoom the Great) of Calakmul in 679, another region of Kaan's hegemony, Naranjo, which had defected from its vassal status after the death of Aj Wosal Chan K'inich and had been punished by the defeat of its thirty-sixth ruler, had recovered sufficiently for the thirty-seventh ruler to attack Kaan's client Caracol in present-day Belize.
Retribution seems to have followed swiftly, however, as the royal lineage of Naranjo was terminated within two years, ultimately to be replaced by the grandson of Kaan vassal Bajlaj Chan K'awiil of Dos Pilas (Martin & Grube 2008). A record at Dos Pilas of the victory over Tikal in 679 is the last known mention of Nuun Ujol Chaak.
Yuknoom the Great's status was recognized in inscriptions at a number of sites, while it is probable that a great many other such mentions are lost to us. He is known to have overseen the accession of El Peru ruler K'inich Bahlam, whose loyalty was further insured by marriage to a princess of Calakmul.
The subordinate status of La Corona was ensured by having the heir to its lordship reside at Calakmul (Martin & Grube 2008). Present-day La Corona has been heavily looted, and many of the buildings are in poor condition. A main plaza has been identified, along with several temples.
Site Q inscriptions found at La Corona have led scholars to believe it was an ally or vassal of Calakmul. +Trails: Kaan Maya Mutal Mutul Yuknoom Ch'een
682 Nuun Ujol Chaak’s son, Jasaw Chan K'awiil I (also known as Ruler A or Ah Cacao, reigned 682-734 CE) erects the first dated monument at Tikal after more than 100 years and claims the title of kaloomte', thereby ending the so-called hiatus at Tikal. He initiates a massive program of new construction and begins planning to rebuild Tikal's military power. It's almost certain that the defeat and subjugation of Calakmul is his ultimate goal.
Jasaw Chan K'awiil, who has been identified as 26th in dynastic line from the founder of Tikal, soon brought about a resurgence in the city's political fortunes. After his death, in 734, Jasaw Chan K'awiil I was entombed in Temple I at Tikal. His queen was Lady Twelve Macaw died in 704.+Trails: Maya Mutal Mutul
682 B'alaj Chan K'awiil, the ruler of Dos Pilas begins a program of monumental inscriptions in 682, recording his travails and ultimate victory, as well as his debt of fealty to Calakmul; he states that he celebrated the 9.12.10.0.0 period ending at Calakmul in a ceremony with his overlord Yuknoom the Great, and he returned to Calakmul four years later for the accession of Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk'.
Mystery cloaks the circumstances under which B'alaj Chan K'awiil became the first known ruler of a previously uninhabited site in the Petexbatún. Inscriptions at Dos Pilas make it clear that he eventually swore allegiance to Calakmul, and this during the time of Tikal's Hiatus when Calakmul might well have involved itself directly in the royal succession at Tikal. This led to speculation that B'alaj Chan K'awiil might have been a ruler of Tikal under the aegis of Calakmul who was driven out by a rival lineage. See a biography of Bajlaj Chan K'awiil at Mesoweb.
Bajlaj Chan K'awiil's daughter Lady Six Sky re-founded the dynasty of Naranjo, while another daughter (or perhaps a sister) married into the royal lineage of Arroyo de Piedra, which together with Tamarindito had been the principal power in the Petexbatun region before the founding of Dos Pilas (Martin & Grube 2000). Bajlaj Chan K'awiil's marriage to the Lady of Itzan (a nearby kingdom) produced at least one son and heir (ibid.:57).
683 K'inich Janaab' Pakal (Pakal the Great) dies at the age of 80 and is entombed in a huge sarcophagus within in the magnificent Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque. Pakal was succeeded by his son Chan Bahlum II (Kam B’alam II). A younger son, Kan Xul II, succeeded his brother Chan Bahlum II (Kam B’alam II). Palenque, is located in the modern-day state of Chiapas, Mexico. New Age interpretations of Pakal's tomb have become a cornerstone of contemporary Mayanism and theories concerning "ancient astronauts."
Before his death, Pakal was deified and said to have communicated with his descendants, before being entombed within the Temple of Inscriptions. Though Palenque had frequently been examined by archaeologists since its discovery by Europeans, the secret to opening Pakal's tomb — closed off by a stone slab with stone plugs in the holes, which had until then escaped the attention of archaeologists — was discovered by Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier (1906-1979) in 1948.
It took four years to clear the rubble from the stairway leading down to Pakal’s tomb, which was finally uncovered in 1952. His skeletal remains were still lying in his coffin, wearing a jade mask and bead necklaces, surrounded by sculptures and stucco reliefs depicting the ruler's transition to divinity and figures from Maya mythology. The lid of his large carved stone sarcophagus has become one of the most famous pieces of Classic Maya art, and the widely accepted interpretation is that Pakal is depicted descending into Xibalba, the Maya underworld.
Around the edges of the lid are glyphs representing the Sun, the Moon, Venus and various constellations, locating this event in the nighttime sky. Below him is the Maya water god, who guards the underworld. Beneath Pakal are the "unfolded" jaws of a dragon or serpent, from which Pakal is escaping, ascending towards the world tree. This is a common iconographic representation of the entrance to the underworld. Other examples of this imagery are found in sculpture on Monument 1 "El Rey" and Monument 9 at the Olmec site of Chalcatzingo, Morelos, on Altar 4 at the Olmec site of La Venta, Tabasco, and in recently discovered murals at the Late Preclassic Maya site of San Bartolo, Guatemala.
Pakal’s tomb has been the focus of attention by some "ancient astronaut" enthusiasts since its appearance in Erich von Däniken's 1968 best seller, Chariots of the Gods?. Von Däniken reproduced a drawing of the sarcophagus lid (incorrectly labeling it as being from "Copan") and comparing Pakal's pose to that of 1960s Project Mercury astronauts, interpreting drawings underneath him as rockets, and offering it as evidence of a supposed extraterrestrial influence on the ancient Maya.
In the center of that frame is a man sitting, bending forward. He has a mask on his nose, he uses his two hands to manipulate some controls, and the heel of his left foot is on a kind of pedal with different adjustments. The rear portion is separated from him; he is sitting on a complicated chair, and outside of this whole frame, you see a little flame like an exhaust(Chariots of the Gods? 1968).
