“Serpent Emperor”: The Reign of K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ and the Origins of Dzibanché Hegemony

Summary

This is an abstract from the "New Light on Dzibanché and on the Rise of the Snake Kingdom’s Hegemony in the Maya Lowlands" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Recent studies of the inscriptions related to the Kaanul dynasty has revealed a new ruler named K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’. He is mentioned in various Maya sites (El Peru, Uaxactun, Naranjo) as a high king and overlord with a wide dominion. His accession in 550 CE is recorded on the wooden Lintel 3 from Dzibanché, and is referred to as “seating as kaloomte.” As far as we know, K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ is the earliest Kaanul ruler to used this supreme Classic Maya title. A reexamination of the text of Altar 21 from Caracol reveals the name of K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ and suggests the possibility that it was he who defeated Tikal in the famed star war event of 562 CE. He appears to be associated with a later date, in 570 or 571 CE, which indicates that his reign was not so short as previously believed. In the paper we summarize the data that demonstrate that K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ consolidated the political success of his predecessor Tuun K’ab Hix and made Dzibanché the capital of the largest hegemony in the Maya World.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• New Light on Dzibanché and on the Rise of the Snake Kingdom’s Hegemony in the Maya Lowlands   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33405