K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'

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K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'
Ajaw of Copan
Yax Kuk Mo.jpg
Incense burner found at the site of Copan and believed to depict K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo.
Reign426–437
Successor K'inich Popol Hol
Bornlate 300s
Tikal
Died437
Copan

K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' (Mayan pronunciation:  [jaʃ k’uk’ moʔ] "Great Sun, Quetzal Macaw the First", ruled 426 – c. 437) is named in Maya inscriptions as the founder and first ruler, k'ul ajaw (also rendered k'ul ahau and k'ul ahaw - meaning holy lord), of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization polity centered at Copán, a major Maya site located in the southeastern Maya lowlands region in present-day Honduras. The motifs associated with his depiction on Copán monuments have a distinct resemblance to imagery associated with the height of the Classic-era center of Teotihuacan in the distant northern central Mexican region, and have been interpreted as intending to suggest his origins and association with that prestigious civilization. One of the most commonly cited motifs for this interpretation is the "goggle-eyed" headdress with which Yax K'uk' Mo' is commonly depicted; this is seemingly an allusion to the northern central Mexican rain deity known as Tlaloc by later peoples, such as the Aztecs. However, modern strontium isotope analysis of the human remains recovered from the tomb attributed to him indicate that K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' spent his formative years much closer to Copán, at Tikal, and had not himself lived at Teotihuacan.

Maya script writing system of the Maya civilization

Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs, was the writing system of the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica and is the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered. The earliest inscriptions found which are identifiably Maya date to the 3rd century BCE in San Bartolo, Guatemala. Maya writing was in continuous use throughout Mesoamerica until the Spanish conquest of the Maya in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Maya civilization Mesoamerican civilization

The Maya civilization was a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, and noted for its logosyllabic script—the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in pre-Columbian Americas—as well as for its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar, and astronomical system. The Maya civilization developed in an area that encompasses southeastern Mexico, all of Guatemala and Belize, and the western portions of Honduras and El Salvador. This region consists of the northern lowlands encompassing the Yucatán Peninsula, and the highlands of the Sierra Madre, running from the Mexican state of Chiapas, across southern Guatemala and onwards into El Salvador, and the southern lowlands of the Pacific littoral plain.

Copán archaeological site of the Maya civilization

Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples.

Contents

Hunal Tomb

His remains were found in the Hunal tomb inside of Temple 16, in the Copán acropolis; [1] he was buried with jade and shell jewelry, including his 'goggle-eyed' headress.

Shell jewelry

Shell jewelry is jewelry that is primarily made from seashells, the shells of marine mollusks. Shell jewelry is a type of shellcraft. One very common form of shell jewelry is necklaces that are composed of large numbers of beads, where each individual bead is the whole shell of a small sea snail. Numerous other varieties of shell jewelry are made, including bracelets and earrings.

Altar Q

His image occupies the first position in the carving on Altar Q, showing the dynasty's king list. His image is also found in significant positions in other monuments of later rulers.

Copán Altar Q

Altar Q is the designation given to one of the most notable of the rectangular sculpted stone blocks recovered at the Mesoamerican archaeological site of Copán, present-day Honduras.

Analysis of skeleton

Archaeological work done at Copán in 2000 excavated the tomb considered to be that of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo under the Acropolis. The skeleton exhibited a number of traumas including healed fractures of the arm, sternum, and shoulder which have been surmised to have resulted from ball court matches. Analysis of strontium in the teeth of the skeleton indicates that the individual spent his early years near Tikal in the Petén Basin region and then at some point between Tikal and Copán, and the isotopic signature did not match with a Teotihuacan origin. Chronologically and epigraphically, however, much evidence points to the general ascension of rulers who were sent into the lowland Maya region either as invaders or envoys from Teotihuacan during the late 4th century; particularly the widely known and powerful Yax Nuun Ayiin I of Tikal, son of Teotihuacan lord Spearthrower Owl. [2] The implication of this, regardless of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo's physical point of geographic origin, is that later Copán rulers, in particular K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil and Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat retrospectively sought to attribute Teotihuacano heritage to the 'founding' ruler of their dynasty as a means of legitimising the dynastic claim. [3]

The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into Campeche state in southeastern Mexico.

An isotopic signature is a ratio of non-radiogenic 'stable isotopes', stable radiogenic isotopes, or unstable radioactive isotopes of particular elements in an investigated material. The ratios of isotopes in a sample material are measured by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry against an isotopic reference material. This process is called isotope analysis.

"Spearthrower 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 Teotihuacan at the start of height of its influence across Mesoamerica in the 4th and 5th century, and that he was responsible for the introduction of Teotihuacan-related cultural traits in the Maya area.

Influence over surrounding area

K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' installed Tok Casper upon the throne of Quirigua. [4]

Tok Casper was the first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in what is now Guatemala. He ruled 426–?. Casper took the throne when he was only thirteen, but ruled for 50 years. K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', king of Copán, installed Tok Casper upon the throne.

Notes

  1. ↑ FAMSI 2004, Research on Temple 16
  2. ↑ see Stuart (1998)
  3. ↑ See Skidmore (n.d.) for summary of recent research.
  4. ↑ Martin & Grube 2000, p.216

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References

David Stuart (Mayanist) American Mayanist, linguist and epigrapher

David S. Stuart is an archaeologist and epigrapher specializing in the study of ancient Mesoamerica, the area now called Mexico and Central America. His work has studied all aspects of the ancient Maya civilization. He is widely recognized for his breakthroughs in deciphering Maya hieroglyphs and interpreting Maya art and iconography, starting at an early age. He is the youngest person ever to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, at age 18. He currently teaches at the University of Texas at Austin and his current research includes study of Maya, Aztec and ancient Mesoamerican images and texts.

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