Yuknoom Took' K'awiil

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Yuknoom Tookʻ Kʻawiil
Title King of Kaan [1]
Spouse(s) Lady of Stela 54 [2]
Children Daughter [3]

Yuknoom Took' Kʻawiil[ pronunciation? ] (reigned >702-731>) was a Maya ruler [4] of the Kaan kingdom (Calakmul). [5]

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.

Ajaw

Ajaw or Ahau ('Lord') is a pre-Columbian Maya political title attested from epigraphic inscriptions. It is also the name of the 20th day of the tzolk'in, the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a king's k'atun-ending rituals would fall.

Contents

Reign

Stela 51, dated to AD 731, depicts Yuknoom Took' K'awiil. Stele51CalakmulMuseum.JPG
Stela 51, dated to AD 731, depicts Yuknoom Took' K’awiil.

Yuknoom Took’ K'awiil erected many stelae to celebrate the 9.13.10.0.0 period ending of 702. [7] Although activity within the site is not necessarily an indicator of the strength of external relations, in the same year a variant of Took' K'awiil’s name appears in a text at Dos Pilas [8] (in external references including this one, he is called "Scroll-head K'awiil", one of a confusing series of alternatives and abbreviations for this king in the glyphic record). This suggests that Calakmul’s sphere of influence had at least to some extent survived the Tikal victory or recovered from it.

Maya stelae Intricately carved stone slabs made by the Pre-Columbian Maya

Maya stelae are monuments that were fashioned by the Maya civilization of ancient Mesoamerica. They consist of tall, sculpted stone shafts and are often associated with low circular stones referred to as altars, although their actual function is uncertain. Many stelae were sculpted in low relief, although plain monuments are found throughout the Maya region. The sculpting of these monuments spread throughout the Maya area during the Classic Period, and these pairings of sculpted stelae and circular altars are considered a hallmark of Classic Maya civilization. The earliest dated stela to have been found in situ in the Maya lowlands was recovered from the great city of Tikal in Guatemala. During the Classic Period almost every Maya kingdom in the southern lowlands raised stelae in its ceremonial centre.

Dos Pilas human settlement

Dos Pilas is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization located in what is now the department of Petén, Guatemala. It dates to the Late Classic Period, being founded by an offshoot of the dynasty of the great city of Tikal in AD 629 in order to control trade routes in the Petexbatún region, particularly the Pasión River. In AD 648 Dos Pilas broke away from Tikal and became a vassal state of Calakmul, although the first two kings of Dos Pilas continued to use the same emblem glyph that Tikal did. It was a predator state from the beginning, conquering Itzan, Arroyo de Piedra and Tamarindito. Dos Pilas and a nearby city, Aguateca, eventually became the twin capitals of a single ruling dynasty. The kingdom as a whole has been named as the Petexbatun Kingdom, after Lake Petexbatún, a body of water draining into the Pasión River.

Tikal Ruins of major ancient Maya city

Tikal is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala. Situated in the department of El Petén, the site is part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

El Peru, as well, is known to have remained a vassal, with Took' K'awiil supervising the accession of a new ruler of that site at some unknown date; and the continuing loyalty of Naranjo is suggested by the fact that as late as 711, a king there is still professing his allegiance to the late Yukom Yich’ak K’ak. [9]

El Perú (Maya site) pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in Guatemala

El Perú, is a pre-Columbian Maya archeological site occupied during the Preclassic and Classic cultural chronology periods. The site was the capital of a Maya city-state and is located near the banks of the San Pedro River in the Department of Petén of northern Guatemala. El Perú is 60 km (37 mi) west of Tikal.

Vassal person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe

A vassal is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support by knights in exchange for certain privileges, usually including land held as a tenant or fief. The term is applied to similar arrangements in other feudal societies.

Coronation ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or his or her consort with regal power

A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term generally also refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of other items of regalia, marking the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power. Aside from the crowning, a coronation ceremony may comprise many other rituals such as the taking of special vows by the monarch, the investing and presentation of regalia to the monarch, and acts of homage by the new ruler's subjects and the performance of other ritual deeds of special significance to the particular nation. Western-style coronations have often included anointing the monarch with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called; the anointing ritual's religious significance follows examples found in the Bible. The monarch's consort may also be crowned, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event.

The 9.15.0.0.0 k'atun ending in 731 saw an even more impressive spate of monument erection by Yuknoom Took’ K'awiil; before looters sawed off their faces in the 1960s, the stelae erected at the base of Structure 1 were the finest surviving sculptures from Calakmul. The magnificent Stela 51, a depiction of Yuknoom, survives in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

A k'atun is a unit of time in the Maya calendar equal to 20 tuns or 7,200 days, equivalent to 19.713 tropical years. It is the 2nd digit on the normal Maya long count date. For example, in the Maya Long Count date 12.19.13.15.12, the number 19 is the k'atun.

Anthropology is the study of humans and human behavior and societies in the past and present. Social anthropology and cultural anthropology study the norms and values of societies. Linguistic anthropology studies how language affects social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans.

Mexico City Capital in Mexico

Mexico City, or the City of Mexico, is the capital of Mexico and the most populous city in North America. Mexico City is one of the most important cultural and financial centres in the Americas. It is located in the Valley of Mexico, a large valley in the high plateaus in the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,350 ft). The city has 16 boroughs.

The inference that Calakmul had fully recovered its bygone vitality, however, is belied by an altar [10] at Tikal showing a bound Calakmul prisoner; this dates to between 733 and 736 and is paired with a stela bearing the latter date. [11] Yuknoom Took’ K'awiil may be named in the damaged caption, and Wamaw K'awiil is known to have replaced him on the throne in 736. [12]

Altar structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes

An altar is a structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto and Taoism. Judaism used such a structure until the destruction of the Second Temple. Many historical faiths also made use of them, including Roman, Greek and Norse religion.

Wamaw Kawiil

Wamaw K'awiil was an 8th century Maya ruler of Kaan (Calakmul).

Family

Wife of Yuknoom Tookʻ K'awiil was possibly Lady of Stela 54.

A daughter of Yuknoom Tookʻ Kʻawiil married a lord of La Corona in 721.

La Corona human settlement

La Corona is the name given by archaeologists to an ancient Maya court residence in Guatemala's Petén department that was discovered in 1996, and later identified as the long-sought "Site Q", the source of a long series of unprovenanced limestone reliefs of exceptional artistic quality. The site's Classical name appears to have been Sak-Nikte' ('White-Flower').

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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.

Calakmul archaeological site

Calakmul is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is 35 kilometres (22 mi) from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul was one of the largest and most powerful ancient cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands.

Uaxaclajuun Ubaah Kawiil Ruler of the Maya associated with the site of Copán

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Jasaw Chan Kawiil I Rulers of Tikal

Jasaw Chan K'awiil I also known as Ruler A, Ah Cacao and Sky Rain,, was an ajaw of the Maya city of Tikal. He took the throne on May 3, 682 and reigned until his death.

Yikin Chan Kawiil Ruler of Tikal

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Chak Tok Ichaak I

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Balaj Chan Kawiil King of Dos Pilas

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Jasaw Chan Kawiil II

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Sihyaj Chan Kawiil II Mayan ruler of the city of Tikal

Sihyaj Chan K'awiil II, also known as Storm Sky and Manikin Cleft Sky, was an ajaw of the Maya city of Tikal. He took the throne on November 26, 411 and reigned until his death. He was a son of his predecessor Yax Nuun Ahiin I and Lady K'inich, and a grandson of Spearthrower Owl. Stela 31, erected during his reign, describes the death of his grandfather in 439; other monuments associated with Sihyaj Chan K'awiil II are Stelae 1 and possibly Stelae 28. Tikal Temple 33 was Sihyaj Chan K'awiil II's funerary pyramid and his tomb was located beneath it.

Scroll Serpent

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Calakmul Ruler Y

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Yuknoom Ch'een II', known as Yuknoom the Great, was a Mayan ruler of the Kaan kingdom, which had its capital at Calakmul during the Classic Period of Mesoamerican chronology.

Yuknoom Yichaak Kahk King of Kaan

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Bolon Kawiil II

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Third Tikal–Calakmul War

The Third Tikal–Calakmul War was the third in a series of wars between Tikal and Calakmul, two of the Major superpowers of the Maya Civilization during the classic period.

Tikal–Calakmul wars

The Tikal–Calakmul wars were a series of wars, mainly between Tikal and Calakmul on the Yucatán Peninsula, but also with vassal states in the Petén Basin such as Copan, Dos Pilas, Naranjo, Sacul, Quiriguá, and briefly Yaxchilan had a role in initiating the first war.

References

  1. ↑ The Ancient Maya, 6th Edition by Robert J. Sharer,Loa P. Traxer
  2. ↑ http://www.famsi.org/mayawriting/calvin/royal_dynasties_i.pdf [Kings] of Calakmul
  3. ↑ Maya queens and princesses
  4. ↑ Maya Kings [ dead link ]
  5. ↑ Braswell, Geoffrey E.; Gunn, Joel D.; Dominguez Carrasco, María del Rosario; Folan, William J.; Fletcher, Laraine A.; Morales López, Abel; Glascock, Michael D. (2005). "Defining the Terminal Classic at Calakmul, Campeche". In Arthur A. Demarest, Prudence M. Rice and Don S. Rice (eds.). The Terminal Classic in the Maya lowlands: Collapse, transition, and transformation. Boulder: University Press of Colorado. pp. 162–194. ISBN   0-87081-822-8. OCLC   61719499.
  6. ↑ Martin & Grube 2000 p.113.
  7. ↑ Martin and Grube 2008:112
  8. ↑ Martin & Grube 2000, pp.111-112.
  9. ↑ Travel Cancun : Cozumel, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Xcaret, Mexican Riviera, and Yucatan Peninsula. This illustrated Travel Guide is designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices.
  10. ↑ Martin & Grube 2000, p.113.
  11. ↑ Jones and Linton Satterthwaite (1982)
  12. ↑ Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens by Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube (2008:112-113)
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