University of Houston Archaeologists Discover Tomb of First King of CaracolArchaeologists from the University of Houston working at Caracol in Belize, Central America have uncovered the tomb of Te K’ab Chaak, the first ruler of this ancient Maya city and the founder of its royal dynasty. Now in ruins, this metropolis was a major political player in Maya history, dominating the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula from 560 through 680 AD before its abandonment by 900 AD.
The discovery is the first identifiable ruler’s tomb found in over four decades of work in Caracol, the largest Maya archaeological site in Belize and in the Maya lowlands.
Te K’ab Chaak, who acceded to the throne in 331 AD, was interred at the base of a royal family shrine with eleven pottery vessels, carved bone tubes, jadeite jewelry, a mosaic jadeite mask, Pacific spondylus shells, and other perishable materials. Pottery vessels in the chamber included a scene of a Maya ruler holding a spear and receiving offerings from supplicants in the form of deities. Another vessel portrays the image of Ek Chuah, Maya god of traders, surrounded by offerings. Four of the pottery vessels portray bound captives (similar vessels also appeared in two related burials). Two vessels supported lids with modeled handles of coatimundi (pisote) heads. The coatimundi, or tz’uutz’ in Maya, was used by subsequent Caracol rulers as part of their names.
Archeologists Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase estimate that at the time of his burial the ruler was of advanced age and approximately 5’7” in height. He had no remaining teeth.
Their investigations at Caracol’s Northeast Acropolis show that Te K’ab Chaak’s tomb was the first of three major burials dating to about 350 AD, a time of early contact with the central Mexican city of Teotihuacan, some 1,200 kilometers distant. By 300 AD, Teotihuacan was a huge city that traded throughout Central America.
“One question that has perplexed Maya archaeologists since the 1960s is whether a new political order was introduced to the Maya area by (Central) Mexicans from Teotihuacan,” said Diane Z. Chase.
“Maya carved stone monuments, hieroglyphic dates, iconography, and archaeological data all suggest that widespread pan-Mesoamerican connections occurred after an event in 378 AD referred to as ‘entrada,’” said Diane Chase.
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