“Serpent Emperor” and “Serpent Co-ruler”: New Evidence on Kanul Hegemony under K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Rise and Apogee of the Classic Maya Kaanu’l Hegemonic State at Dzibanche" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2017 previously unknown mid-sixth-century Kanul king K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ Aj Saakil was identified in Classic Maya hieroglyphic inscriptions. He acceded as “high king” (kalomte) in AD 550 and was responsible for the defeat of Tikal in AD 562 and the expansion of Dzibanche hegemony through the Southern Lowlands. New reference to K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ recently found at Chochkitam and dated to AD 568 as well as revision of the inscription on Caracol Altar 21 show that his reign as high king continues longer than we believed, for about two decades, and that his successor “Sky Witness” for a decade could be a co-ruler. In the paper, we propose to reconsider the co-rulership model of the political organization of Kanul hegemonic polity. We also discuss the reference to K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ as the overlord of the Tikal king and ceramic texts from the early Tepeu 1 phase (AD 550–600) that mention various lords claiming the title of “divine Mutul kings” in order to understand whether the Kanul ruler controlled Tikal and Tikal region after AD 562.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Rise and Apogee of the Classic Maya Kaanu’l Hegemonic State at Dzibanche   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39910.0