User:Gbern10/K'inich Waaw

K'inich Waaw, also known as Animal Skull II, Lizard Head, and Ete II was the 22nd ruler of Tikal in the Hiatus Period, 562-692 AD, of the late Classic Period.

Lineage

K'inich Waaw was described as being an illegitimate ruler of Tikal based upon bloodline. This is because there is no direct lineage to his predecessor, Wak Chan’K’awiil. The Hiatus period left the Mayan culture in a small collapse and Tikal was one of the cities affected. Another reason why K'inich Waaw’s royal blood line was not solidified, was that there were no standing monuments located in Tikal bearing his name or image. The only known sources of him were from painted ceramics which bear inscriptions of his name. K'inich Waaw’s legitimacy as a ruler of Tikal came directly from his mother’s pedigree. His mother was described through his pedigree as being an ix ajaw which literally translates as “lady lord.” There is little known about his father, many have hypothesized that his father was not of royal bloodline. The direct blood lineage of rulers beginning with Yax Nuun Ayiin in 379 AD was put to an end with K'inich Waaw. However, K'inich Waaw attempted to aline his own lineage to earlier rulers than Yax Nuun Ayiin. On a specific ceramic vessel listing the 11th, 13th, and 14th rulers of Tikal, K'inich Waaw is listed as direct lineage to those rulers through his mother’s blood line. K'inich Waaw based his lineage to an older bloodline which was thought to have more legitimacy over the “arrival of strangers” brought by Yax Nuun Ayiin in 379 AD.

Tikal’s Hiatus Period

Calakmul’s Involvement

Tikal’s Hiatus Period starts with K'inich Waaw’s rule. Tikal’s suspension of wealth and prestige began with K'inich Waaw, the 22nd ruler, and ended with the 25th ruler of Tikal. Little is known about the reasons for decline of Tikal, but many archaeologists assume that their rival city, Calakmul, was responsible for the cease in Tikal’s expansion. Tikal and Calakmul were bitter rivals because of the vast expansion Tikal had underwent throughout the early Classic Period. At the beginning of K'inich Waaw rule, Tikal had reduced its power, prestige, and independence exponentially. The downfall of Tikal’s empire was recorded in monuments located in Calakmul. The historical record accounts for many of Tikal’s standing monuments being smashed by the Calakmul incursion, and many of the stelaes with royal Tikal symbols had been destroyed. Much of the wealth during this time was diverted directly to Calakmul and other ruling cities. The erecting of monuments and tributes went directly to benefit the victorious allies.

Caracol’s Involvement

Calakmul had many political alliances during this time, Caracol was one of these alliances against Tikal. Since K'inich Waaw was the acting ruler during a highly unpredictable time, archaeologists have used the few remaining objects in K'inich Waaw’s tomb to depict scenarios of the time period. Within K'inich Waaw’s tomb, there were only four carved wooden boards with inscriptions as well as two polychrome plates and four identical figurines. Within one of the boards, an inscription relating to Caracol was found. The inscription on the board read k’uhul k’antumaak, which was the emblem glyph designated to Caracol. This has led to many speculations about what K'inich Waaw’s relations to Caracol, an ally of Calakmul. One such speculation is the subordination of K'inich Waaw to the victors over Tikal. This would assume that K'inich Waaw had instituted a stable society in which was fully subordinate to the greater societies. Even K'inich Waaw's burial was not adorned with classic examples of Maya wealth including jade and gold. Another scenario implies that a woman’s name is also inscribed on the board. This could have been a direct connection to the Caracol empire through the marriage to a Tikal ruler.

K'inich Waaw’s Tomb

Tikal's North Acropolis

Stucco Figurine from Burial 195

Significance

K'inich Waaw was buried in the North Acropolis, Temple 32, of Tikal. Specifically his tomb is designated as Burial 195. Unfortunately, the tomb was flooded shortly after its commemoration to K'inich Waaw. This has made the excavation process of the tomb very difficult because of the thick layering of mud and other debris which encompassed the entire tomb. Within the grave there were a few salvageable items including four wooden, engraved boards as well as two polychrome plates and four stucco figurines. These cherished objects were able to be salvaged because the layering of mud left hollow cavities allowing archaeologists to poor plaster of Paris within these cavities. The four boards were believed to have been a wooden box that had been laid upon K'inich Waaw. The specific iconography of the boards revealed K'inich Waaw holding a double-headed serpent bar with hieroglyphs surrounding the image. The two polychrome plates were also identical in representation. They depicted K'inich Waaw holding a staff adorned with the deity of K’awiil on top. The four identical stucco figurines were representations of K’awiil, a deity who symbolized lightening and leadership. The figurines were holding a yoke, which was a protective belt used in the Mesoamerican Ballgame. Remnants of a rubber ball where also discovered to be near these figurines. K'inich Waaw was adorned in multiple layers of cotton cloth which had been dyed with a red pigment.

The significance of K'inich Waaw’s tomb was its direct acknowledgement of K'inich Waaw. There were no monuments erected for K'inich Waaw so the objects recovered from the tomb were the only source of information about Tikal’s 22nd ruler. Through careful analysis of the salvaged artifacts, archaeologists were able to still decipher hieroglyphs located on the edges of the two polychrome plates as well as the inscriptions on the wooden boards. Along with K'inich Waaw’s name, the wooden boards provided the date of 9.8.0.0.0 or 593, and K'inich Waaw’s age of 3 K’atun Ajaw which was between the ages of 39 to 59 years old.

Bibliography

1. Sharer, Robert J. The Ancient Maya: Sixth Edition. Stanford University Press, 2006.
2. Martin, Simon and Nikolai Grube. Chronicles of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya, Second Edition. Themes and Hudson Ltd. London, 2008.
3. Martin, Simon. “A Caracol Emblem Glyph at Tikal.” Maya Decipherment: Ideas on Ancient Maya Writing and Iconography. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. 2008. http://decipherment.wordpress.com/2008/06/07/a-caracol-emblem-glyph-at-tikal/.