THESE ARE OUR MOUNTAINS NOW: STATECRAFT AND THE FOUNDATION OF A LATE CLASSIC MAYA ROYAL COURT

Abstract

AbstractThis article presents a synthesis of new epigraphic readings of hieroglyphic texts from the sites of Sacul and Ixkun, in the northwestern Maya Mountains of Guatemala, with archaeological data previously published by the Atlas Arqueológico de Guatemala. It proposes that a late eighth century king of Sacul broke with his former allies at Ucanal to establish himself as a local suzerain, sponsoring a new vassal kingdom at Ixkun in the process. Visible in both the hieroglyphic and stratigraphic records, these events recapitulated on a smaller scale the geopolitical practices of hegemonic Maya kingdoms like Calakmul and Tikal. The Sacul king’s strategic cultivation of a separate but dependent court sheds light on the possibilities of and limitations on Classic Maya kingship.