Archaeological and Epigraphic Indices of the Political Domination: A View from the Northwestern Periphery of the Kaanu’l Hegemonic State

Author(s): Jerald Ek; Carlos Pallán Gayol

Year: 2016

Summary

The past decade has witnessed a revolution in our understanding of Classic Maya geopolitics, particularly in reconstructing asymmetrical interpolity relationships dominated by expansionist states. Employing variable political strategies, including both direct and indirect rulership, the Kaanu’l Dynasty dominated a large network of kingdoms across the Maya Lowlands. This paper examines the impacts of the expansion and dissolution of the Kaanu’l state in western Campeche, within the northwestern frontier of its vast political network. Implementing a strategy of indirect political control, the powerful Kaanu'l rulers of Calakmul incorporated this region through patronage of the large capital of Edzná as a proxy, facilitating control over the strategic route to the northwest via the Edzná canal system and the Río Champotón waterway. The decline of Calakmul as a major geopolitical power in the mid-eighth century AD in turn ushered in a period of political chaos, with emergent groups with strong links to the western Gulf Coast rising to prominence within the ensuing power vacuum. Drawing on both archaeological and epigraphic data, this paper examines the impacts of incorporation into the Kaanu’l state, as well as the major changes that took place within the region following the decline of the Snake Dynasty.

Cite this Record

Archaeological and Epigraphic Indices of the Political Domination: A View from the Northwestern Periphery of the Kaanu’l Hegemonic State. Jerald Ek, Carlos Pallán Gayol. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Orlando, Florida. 2016 ( tDAR id: 404271)

Keywords

General
Epigraphy Maya Politics

Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica

Spatial Coverage

min long: -107.271; min lat: 12.383 ; max long: -86.353; max lat: 23.08 ;