Draft:Star war of 562

Coordinates: 17°13′30″N 89°36′42″W / 17.225084981952392°N 89.61157341327831°W / 17.225084981952392; -89.61157341327831
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Caracol–Tikal star war of 562

Detail of Bonampak mural / in Bonampak Building 1 Room 2, above doorway / depicts Yajaw Chan Muwaan (left) and Knot Hair noble (right) / 2019 photograph by E. Ferorelli / via Nat Geo
Date
Location
Tikal
17°13′30″N 89°36′42″W / 17.225084981952392°N 89.61157341327831°W / 17.225084981952392; -89.61157341327831
Result Caracol victory
Belligerents
 Tikal
Commanders and leaders
 Yax Ehb Xook K’inich Ajaw4
Strength
xx xx
Casualties and losses
xx xx
  • 1 Using the GMT-correlation with a 584,283 constant
  • 2 aka Lord Water
  • 3 aka xxx
  • 4 aka Wak Chan K'awiil aka Double-Bird

The star war of 562 was a star war waged by Caracol against Tikal on AD 29 April 562 (562-04-29). The earliest known star war, it resulted in a 130-year dark age in Tikal, the battle's defeated side, and a xxx-year golden age in Caracol, the battle's victor.[n 1]

Prelude[edit]

Caracol‍–‍Tikal relations[edit]

Caracol was Tikal's most significant client city-state or ally from xx to xx./xx

The 9.5.19.1.2 (16 April 553 (553-04-16) Greg.) coronation or accession ceremony of K'inich II was conducted or overseen by Wak Chan K'awiil, the 21st King of Tikal and patriarch of the Mutul dynasty.[1][2][3][n 2]

Caracol‍–‍Tikal axe event[edit]

Tikal is thought to have lost its grip over client states in the 550s. In this same year of 556, El Peru Stela 44 tells us of the accession of a local king who was “owned” by one K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ (Stanley Guenter, pers. comm. 2013). Although the titles of this character are too damaged to read, we now know that this was part of the longer name of the Kaanul king Aj Saakil (Martin and Beliaev 2017). There is good reason to believe that these developments are connected [to the 562 star war]. The previous ruler of El Peru, father to the commissioner of Stela 44, was called Chak Tok Ich’aak, a name that is only otherwise used by kings of Tikal. We know that client kingdoms had a propensity for mirroring the names of their patron power, if usually at a generation’s remove. This could well place El Peru as a one-time vassal to Tikal, and its switch in allegiance a sign that Tikal was losing its grip over nearby clients in the build-up to its defeat (David Freidel, pers. comm. 2016).[4]

At least in the case of Caracol, the breakdown of its relationship with one hegemon [Tikal] was directly followed by a new one with its [Tikal's] bitter rival [Kanuul dynasty]./v Martin 2020 346

Caracol‍–‍Tikal relations broke down sometime prior to or on xxx (xxx 556 Greg.), as on said date, Yax Ehb Xook K’inich Ajaw sacked or desecrated Caracol during an axe event. It is widely believed that K'inich II considered this a casus belli, directly resulting in the star war of 562.[5][6][7][n 3]

It has been suggested that Wak Chan K'awiil's reign (537-xxx) was a time of growing threat from Calakmul, possibly resulting in defensive earthworks being built /Sharer Traxler p367-370

Battle[edit]

The only surviving (hieroglyphic) record of the battle states‍–‍

[undeciphered] k'uhul mutal ajaw ukabiij [illegible] [ajaw]
A star war was waged upon the Holy Lord of Tikal by [Lord] [illegible].

—K'an II in xx, dedicated AD 633, trans. S. Martin.[8]

Record of the Caracol–Tikal star war of 562 in Altar 21 of Caracol.[9][n 4]
No ID Glyph Mayan English Notes
1 R2b ? A star war was waged Undeciphered (as of 2020)[10]
2 Q3 k'uhul mutal ajaw upon the Holy Lord of Tikal –
3 R3 ukabiij by –
4 Q4 R4 ? ? *ajaw *Lord [ill.]. Illegible (crack on altar)

Aftermath[edit]

Tikal Hiatus[edit]

Tikal's defeat is commonly thought to have resulted in the Tikal Hiatus, a 130-year gap in monument building and simultaneous interruption of the city-state's dynasty.[11][12][n 5]

That defeat evidently had dire consequences for Tikal, initiating its 130-year monument hiatus and an interruption to its dynastic line – perhaps even the installing of a compliant ruler subject to its conqueror (Jones 1991: 117–118; Martin 2008c, 2017b; Martin and Beliaev 2017). Although the name of that victor is almost illegible, the finger must point to the major beneficiary of Tikal’s downfall, the Kaanul dynasty, which thereafter rose to pre-eminence in the lowlands. In 619 a recently elevated Caracol king, a son of the one installed by Tikal in 553, had his rule sanctioned by the king of Dzibanche, confirming the switch from one hegemonic sphere to that of another./v Martin 2020 345

Caracol's golden age[edit]

The Tikal Hiatus was matched with a corresponding period of wealth and population growth in Caracol. It has been further suggested that Caracol's conquest of Naranjo (during a star war in 631 AD), and an extensive expansion of its causeways, was prompted by the former's need to consolidate direct territorial rule over Tikal.[13][n 6]

Legacy[edit]

Social[edit]

Scholarly[edit]

Rediscovery[edit]

Glyphic variants of the star war verb (to wage a star war).[14][15]
  • (generic)
  • Stairway 4
  • Mutul II
  • Temple IV Linkel 2
  • Mutul
  • Stela 3
  • Caracol

Altar 23 was excavated (from the central playing alley of the Group A Ballcourt) in 1985 by Keith Sullivan and Arlen Chase.[16][17] Its close study by Stephen Houston (1991) retrieved a surprising amount of information/xxx[18]

The event has been confirmed, source Stela 3 of Caracol.[19] /// Or Altar 21??

Stela 3 excavated in 1950 by Penn / Found broken in two major fragments, one found in 1950 in Plaza A3, the lower portion found in 1953 at the west edge of Reservoir B. /Carl P. Beetz, Linton Satterthwaite 1981 The Monuments and Inscriptions of Caracol, Belize. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.

Altar 21 excavated xxx /Arlen Chase and Diane Chase, 1987 Investigations at the Classic Maya City of Caracol, Belize: 1985-1987. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.

Victor[edit]

Alliance[edit]

It has been suggested that a Caracol‍–‍Calakmul alliance defeated Tikal.[20]

Caracol[edit]

Yajaw Te' K'inich' II has generally been presumed victor, especially given the event's inclusion in Caracol's Altar 21.[21][22]

Calakmul[edit]

Sky Witness

It has been suggested that the star war was not waged by Yajaw Te’ K’inich’ II, but rather by Sky Witness.[23][24] Epigraphic evidence has been put forward in support of this theory, namely, that‍–‍

  • Glyph Q4 has a leftward curl in its upper-left quadrant, which those glyphs naming K'inich' II (eg A4) do not,[25][26]
  • Glyphs Q4 and R4 resemble those glyphs naming Sky Witness (eg Glyphs D1c and D1b).[27][26]

It has further been noted that Kaanul dynasty of Dzibanche (Sky Witness patriarch) gained geopolitical influence from Tikal's defeat. For instance, Sky Witness installed a ruler at Los Alacranes in 561 (Grube 2008: 195), making him a prime suspect (Martin 2005b: 3–5).[28] /No long date for accession at Los Alacranes /v Sharer Traxler p=360

Glyphs naming the Caracol–Tikal star war victor, compared to glyphic names of K'inich II and Sky Witness.[23]
ID Structure Site Glyph Mayan English Notes
A4 Altar 21 Caracol yajaw te’ k’inich Lord Yajaw Teʼ Kʼinich II –
Q4 Altar 21 Caracol ? *ajaw *Lord [ill.] Illegible (crack on altar)
D1c D1d House C Palenque ? Lord Sky Witness Undeciphered (as of 2005)
Q4 R4 Altar 21 Caracol ? ? *ajaw *Lord [ill.] Illegible (crack on altar)

K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ Aj Saakil

Sky Witness's predecessor, K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ Aj Saakil (of the Kaanul dynasty of Dzibanche), has been proposed as the axe event's victor.[26] /Known predecessor of Sky Witness = Tuun Kab Hix /v Sharer Traxler p=360

K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ is named in a later section of the Altar 21 text (Sergei Vepretskii, pers. comm. 2017) and his responsibility for the war would make sense of a further record, seen on a vessel painted in the style of Naranjo dating to the later sixth century. This names K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ as the overlord of a k’uhul mutul ajaw – which is to say, a full Tikal king – by means of another yajaw formula (Martin and Beliaev 2017). This monarch is otherwise unknown to us and if he ever ruled at the city, perhaps as a puppet following the conquest, he was later struck from Tikal’s numbered dynastic count. The next yajaw statement in the corpus also involves the dynasty of the serpent. It appears within a lengthy stucco frieze text at the site of Holmul, the greater site to which La Sufricaya is attached, which mentions several successive rulers of that centre (Estrada-Belli and Tokovinine 2016). The then-current Holmul sovereign is said both to be the vassal of an unspecified kaanul ajaw and a grandson of Aj Numsaaj Chan K’inich of nearby Naranjo, suggesting that he fell within the orbit of both kingdoms. There are no preserved dates here, but the general timeframe should fall somewhere around 580. More recently, a jade jewel depicting the Maize God was found in a tomb at Holmul, its incised inscription showing that it was once owned by a Kaanul king (Francisco Estrada-Belli, pers. comm. 2016). This was probably a diplomatic gift and part of the reciprocal, but asymmetrical, exchanges between patron and clients.[26]

Recent developments[edit]

Scholars have long debated the role of astronomical phenomena in Maya warfare beliefs /Ancient Maya Politics: A Political Anthropology of the Classic Period 150–900 CE. Cambridge University Press, New York. 2020:220–222 /Agency and the “Star War” Glyph: A Historical Reassessment of Classic Maya Astrology and Warfare. Ancient Mesoamerica 16:305–320 xxx.[29]

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

Explanatory footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Maya-Columbian calendar correlations in this article follow Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 279–284, ie using the Goodman-Martínez-Thompson or GMT correlation with a 584,283 correlation constant. A calculator is available from the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies.
  2. ^
    chumlaj *ta *ajawlel yajaw te’ k’inich *k’uhul *k’antumaak *ukabiiy yax ehb *xook k’inich k’uhul mutal ajaw
    Yajaw Te' K'inich II was seated in the rulership of Caracol by [under the aegis of] the Lord of Tikal [Double Bird].

    —K'an II in 633, trans. Simon Martin (Martin 2005, pp. 1–3)
  3. ^ Damage to the epigraphic record (Glyphs O2b to P2a of the Caracol Altar 21) prevents conclusive identification of the sacked or desecrated city. Nevertheless, this city is widely thought to have been Caracol, based on extant fragments of the damaged glyphs, and subsequent Caracol‍–‍Tikal relations (Martin 2005, p. 3, Martin 2020, p. 345).
  4. ^ Glyph outlines by Simon Martin, based on photographs by Jorge Pérez de Lara, during a c. 2005 examination authorised by the Archaeological Commissioner for Belize, Jaime Awe (Martin 2005, p. 2).
  5. ^ xxx
  6. ^ Excavations of those residential structures dated to after circa 550 AD (during the beginning of the Late Classic) have revealed that‍–‍
    • a majority contained obsidian artefacts,
    • 70 percent contained shrines or mausaleums,
    • 41 percent contained jadeite luxury items.
    (Brown & Stanton 2020, pp. 24–26)

Short citations[edit]

  1. ^ Martin 2020, pp. 246–247, 345.
  2. ^ Martin 2005, pp. 2–3.
  3. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 361–362.
  4. ^ Martin 2020, p. 247.
  5. ^ Martin 2005, p. 3.
  6. ^ Martin 2020, p. 345.
  7. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 369–370.
  8. ^ Martin 2005, pp. 1–2, 4.
  9. ^ Martin 2005, pp. 3–8.
  10. ^ Martin 2020, p. 208.
  11. ^ Martin 2020, pp. 247–248, 345.
  12. ^ Brown & Stanton 2020, pp. 23–24.
  13. ^ Brown & Stanton 2020, pp. 23–27.
  14. ^ Aldana 2005, p. 306, fig. 2a–2c.
  15. ^ Martin 2020, p. 204, fig. 46b.
  16. ^ Chase & Chase 1987, p. 33.
  17. ^ Martin 2005, p. 1.
  18. ^ Martin 2005, pp. 1–2.
  19. ^ Aldana 2005, p. 312.
  20. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 312, 365, 370–371.
  21. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, pp. 370–371.
  22. ^ Brown & Stanton 2020, p. 23.
  23. ^ a b Martin 2005, pp. 3–6.
  24. ^ Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 360.
  25. ^ Martin 2005, pp. 3–4.
  26. ^ a b c d Martin 2020, pp. 247–248.
  27. ^ Martin 2005, p. 4.
  28. ^ Martin 2020, p. 248.
  29. ^ Braswell 2022, p. 316.

Full citations[edit]

  1. Aldana, Gerardo (July 2005). "Agency and the "Star War" Glyph: A Historical Reassessment of Classic Maya Astrology and Warfare". Ancient Mesoamerica. 16 (2): 305–320. doi:10.1017/S0956536105050133. S2CID 163071969.
  2. Braswell, Geoffrey E., ed. (2022). 3,000 Years of War and Peace in the Maya Lowlands. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781351268004. ISBN 9781351268004. S2CID 246542762.
  3. Brown, M. Kathryn; Stanton, Travis W., eds. (2003). Ancient Mesoamerican Warfare. Walnut Creek, Calif.: AltaMira Press. hdl:2027/mdp.39015056933610. OCLC 51171894.
  4. Brown, M. Kathryn; Stanton, Travis W., eds. (2020). A Forest of History: The Maya after the Emergence of Divine Kingship. Boulder, Col.: University Press of Colorado. OCLC 1137753365.
  5. Chase, Adrian S. Z.; Cesaretti, Rudolf (March–April 2019). "Relational Economies of Reciprocal Gifting : A Case Study of Exchanges in Ancient Maya Marriage and War". WIREs Water. 6 (2): 1–13. doi:10.1002/wat2.1332. S2CID 134039335.
  6. Chase, Arlen F.; Chase, Diane Z. (1987). Investigations at the Classic Maya City of Caracol, Belize, 1985-1987. Monograph / Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute / [No.] 3. San Francisco, Calif.: Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute. hdl:2027/txu.059173018480421. OCLC 17005788.
  7. Chase, Diane Z.; Chase, Arlen F. (January 2002). "Classic Maya Warfare and Settlement Archeology at Caracol, Belize". Estudios de Cultura Maya. 22 (sn): 33–51. doi:10.19130/iifl.ecm.2002.22.406.
  8. Chase, Diane Z.; Chase, Arlen F. (September 2017). "Caracol, Belize, and Changing Perceptions of Ancient Maya Society". Journal of Archaeological Research. 25 (3): 185–249. doi:10.1007/s10814-016-9101-z. S2CID 254601431.
  9. Ertsen, Maurits W.; Wouters, Kyra (May–June 2018). "The Drop that Makes a Vase Overflow: Understanding Maya Society Through Daily Water Management". WIREs Water. 5 (2): 1–17. doi:10.1002/wat2.1281. S2CID 134916873.
  10. Fagan, Garrett G.; Fibiger, Linda; Hudson, Mark; Trundle, Matthew, eds. (2020). The Prehistoric and Ancient Worlds. The Cambridge World History of Violence. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316341247. ISBN 9781316341247.
  11. Gunn, Joel D.; Scarborough, Vernon L.; Folan, William J.; Isendahl, Christian; Chase, Arlen F.; Sabloff, Jeremy F.; Volta, Beniamino (2016). "A Distribution Analysis of the Central Maya Lowlands Ecoinformation Network: Its Rises, Falls, and Changes". Ecology and Society. 22 (1): sn. doi:10.5751/ES-08931-220120.
  12. Harrison-Buck, Eleanor (October 2021). "Relational Economies of Reciprocal Gifting: A Case Study of Exchanges in Ancient Maya Marriage and War". Current Anthropology. 62 (1): 569–602. doi:10.1086/716726. S2CID 239254083.
  13. Haviland, William A. (1987). Cultural Anthropology (5th ed.). New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston. hdl:2027/pst.000013736194. OCLC 13271935.
  14. Haviland, William A. (20–24 November 1991). Star Wars at Tikal, or Did Caracol Do What the Glyphs Say They Did?. 90th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. Chicago, Ill.
  15. Haviland, William A. (1992). "Star Wars at Tikal, or Did Caracol Do What the Glyphs Say They Did?". Institute of Maya Studies Newsletter. 21 (10): 4–7. ISSN 1524-9387. OCLC 20744890.
  16. Iannone, Gyles, ed. (2014). The Great Maya Droughts in Cultural Context: Case Studies in Resilience and Vulnerability. Boulder, Col.: University Press of Colorado. OCLC 873807557.
  17. Martin, Simon (June–September 2005). "Caracol Altar 21 Revisited: More Data on Double Bird and Tikal's Wars of the Mid-Sixth Century". PARI Journal. 6 (1): 1–9.
  18. Martin, Simon (7 June 2008). "A Caracol Emblem Glyph at Tikal". Maya Decipherment. Austin, Tex.: David Stuart. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  19. Martin, Simon (2020). Ancient Maya Politics: A Political Anthropology of the Classic Period 150–900 CE. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108676694. ISBN 9781108676694. S2CID 243365082.
  20. Martin, Simon; Grube, Nikolai (2008). Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya (2nd ed.). London: Thames & Hudson. hdl:2027/uc1.32106019910212. OCLC 191753193.
  21. Masson, Marilyn A., ed. (2020). The Real Business of Ancient Maya Economies: From Farmers' Fields to Rulers' Realms. Gainesville, Fl.: University Press of Florida. OCLC 1112131447.
  22. Robertson, Merle Greene; Fields, Virginia M., eds. (1991). Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986. Norman, Okl.: University of Oklahoma Press. OCLC 21230103.
  23. Sharer, Robert J.; Traxler, Loa P. (2006). The Ancient Maya (6th ed.). Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. hdl:2027/mdp.39015062626216. OCLC 57577446.
  24. Trejo, Silvia, ed. (2000). La guerra entre los antiguos mayas: memoria de la Primera Mesa Redonda de Palenque. México, D.F.: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. OCLC 48907260.
  25. Woodfill, Brent K. S.; Andrieu, Chloé (September–December 2012). "Tikal's Early Classic Domination of the Great Western Trade Route: Ceramic, Lithic, and Iconographic Evidence". Ancient Mesoamerica. 23 (2): 189–209. doi:10.1017/S0956536112000156. S2CID 162499800.

External links[edit]

Category:Maya civilization Category:Ancient warfare Category:6th century in the Maya civilization

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