Download a high-resolution photo of Guatemala’s Minister of Culture, Manuel
Salazar Tezahuic, in the white hat, and U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala,
John Hamilton, assisting archaeologists in the excavation of a
500-pound Maya altar stone. (Photo by Andrew Demarest)
Download a high-resolution photo of Restoration expert Rudy Larios working at an
entrance to the CancuÈn royal palace which was decorated with a number
of larger-than-life sized stucco figures of soldiers or kings. (Photo
by Andrew Demarest)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Important new stone monuments covered with
historical texts dating from a period just before the collapse of the
classic Maya civilization have been unearthed by archaeologists from
Vanderbilt University and the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture who are
excavating a thousand-year-old ball court with support from the
National Geographic Society.
The discoveries were announced on Friday, April 23 by Guatemala’s
Minister of Culture, Manuel Salazar Tezahuic, after a visit to the
CancuÈn Archaeological Project on April 16. The Minister, himself a
Kaqchikel Maya, and U.S. Ambassador John Hamilton assisted the
archaeologists in the excavation of a 500-pound altar stone.
The project, which is headed by Vanderbilt Ingram Professor Arthur A.
Demarest, is excavating one of the largest and most elaborate Maya
royal palaces yet discovered. The palace at CancuÈn was constructed
between A.D. 765 and 790 by Taj Chan Ahk, one of the last great Maya
rulers, so the artifacts discovered at the site are providing valuable
new information about the critical events that transpired in the last
30 years of the life of this ancient civilization.
The new altar stone is the third taken from the CancuÈn ball court. The
first altar stone from CancuÈn was removed from the site in 1905 and is
on display in Guatemala’s National Museum of Archaeology, where it has
long been considered one of that museum’s greatest treasures.
The second altar stone was stolen unnoticed from the site in 2001 by a
group of local gangsters who sold it to black marketers. Its remarkable
recovery by Demarest and a team of undercover agents of the S.I.C.
(Guatemala’s F.B.I.) last fall made headlines around the world. The
archaeologists have only recently discovered its original position in
the ball court site.
All three altars portray the great king Taj playing against visiting
rulers. The third monument has been moved to the National Museum of
Archaeology in Guatemala City, where it is being cleaned and restored.
The minister also announced the discovery of a perfectly preserved
100-pound stone panel from the ball court. It is covered with beautiful
images and hieroglyphics that portray ceremonies of the Maya kings. The
panel, uncovered last week by Guatemalan archaeologist Antonieta Cajas,
"is one of the greatest masterpieces of Maya art ever discovered in
Guatemala," according to project epigrapher and hieroglyphic expert
Federico Fahsen. "The images of the rulers and the historical text are
deeply and finely carved in high relief and miraculously preserved."
CancuÈn was strategically located at the head of navigation of the
PasiÛn River, the principal highway of the Classic Maya world. From
this capital, the kings of CancuÈn controlled the trade between the
volcanic southern highlands of Central America and the PetÈn jungle to
the north, where the Maya city-states flourished between 500 B.C. and
A.D. 850. The royal ball court, located near the city’s river port
entrance, was a ceremonial setting for ball games between the kings of
the CancuÈn dynasty and the rulers of other city-states.
Many of the cities in the PetÈn rain forest lie along the PasiÛn River
route, and their kings needed the exotic goods from CancuÈn for the
headdresses, necklaces, pendants, and scepters that were the sacred
symbols of their royal power and the central elements of the costumes
for the lavish ceremonies they staged.
The newly discovered panel shows Taj Chan Ahk presiding over a ceremony
in the royal plaza of his second capital seat, the city of Machaquila,
40 kilometers to the north. It depicts the king seated on a divine
earth symbol and throne, installing into office a subordinate king and
another official. The inscriptions date this event at the very end of
the eight century A.D. According to Demarest, the panel confirms
Fahsen’s interpretation of the original altar stones that portray Taj
Chan Ahk as a powerful king who dominated the PasiÛn River valley.
"At a time when most of the other great city-states of the Maya world
were in decline or collapsing, Taj Chan Ahk expanded his kingdom
through alliances, royal marriages and clever politics," said Demarest.
"His palace at Cancuen is one of the largest and most splendid in the
Maya world, and he used it and his ball court to awe and entertain
visiting kings and nobles.
"In this particular ball court, the games and the monuments that
portray them were really ‘photo opportunities’ celebrating the creation
of alliances between the holy lord of Cancuen and vassal kings and
nobles. The kings are portrayed in full royal regalia, with high
headdresses, necklaces and elaborate costumes ñ so it’s pretty clear
that these were not normal versions of the game but staged ceremonial
and political events."
The Maya ballgame could often be a religious or political event, rather
than "sport" in the Western sense. The game was similar to soccer, but
players could only use their hips, knees and elbows, not their feet or
hands, according to most interpretations based on Conquest period
descriptions of the game. "Taj Chan Ahk used his ball court and his
royal palace to legitimize his sacred power and facilitate his
Machiavellian diplomacy," Demarest said.
The sprawling palace at CancuÈn is being excavated by a Vanderbilt and
National Geographic team, led by project co-directors Tomas Barrientos
and Michael Callaghan. The palace has more than 200 masonry rooms and
11 plazas, according to Barrientos, and its high walls were covered
with elaborate, larger-than-life stucco figures portraying deities and
deified kings of the dynasty. Restoration expert Rudy Larios is
carefully consolidating and preserving hundreds of these striking
sculptures. Meanwhile, Callaghan and his team are excavating tunnels
into an earlier royal palace, buried beneath that of Taj Chan Ahk.
In addition to showcasing the archeological work, the purpose of the
visit by the minister and ambassador was to highlight the success of
the CancuÈn Regional Development Project sponsored by Counterpart
International, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),
Vanderbilt University and National Geographic’s sustainable tourism
program. The project has gathered more than $6 million in international
support to create programs enabling the people of some 30 Q’eqchi’ Maya
villages to participate in the excavations and develop
community-designed guide, boat and inn services.
The Minister of Culture, in Maya ceremonies at several of the Q’eqchi’
communities, announced that the "modelo CancuÈn" would become the
standard for ethical archaeology in Guatemala.
Media contact: David F. Salisbury, (615) 343-6803
david.salisbury@vanderbilt.edu
Barbara Moffet, (202) 857-7756
bmoffet@ngs.org
[Note: High resolution photos are available from Chris Pollock at the National Geographic Society: (202) 857-7760; cpollock@ngs.org]