Archeology / Hurricanes revealed inscriptions on the remains of the steps of a Mayan temple in Guatemala
John Noble Wilford, New York Times, Haaretz *
The hurricanes that raged about a year ago in the jungles of northern Guatemala uprooted many trees and bushes. In the place where one of the uprooted trees grew, the ruins of a pyramid that was used as a temple for the Mayans in the city of "Dos Filas" were discovered. A fascinating and important historical find was discovered among the ruins: stone tablets with hieroglyphs on them that make up one of the longest Mayan inscriptions uncovered so far.
The panels are part of a set of stairs that leads to the heart of the pyramid and describe the victories and defeats of the residents of Dos Filas. This city was caught in a prolonged war between the two superpowers of that time - the cities of "Tikal" and "Kalamol".
According to researchers, the inscriptions reveal information about the armed struggles during the golden age of the Mayan culture, which ruled most of Central America and southern Mexico. It may have been the struggles that led to the fall of the Mayan culture some 200 years later.
Vanderbilt University and National Geographic announced last week the completion of the hieroglyph translation project by Frederico Pahsen, a Guatemalan citizen and expert on Mayan writing.
According to experts, the hieroglyphic steps unfold a story about 60 years in the life of the ruler of Dos Filas, Balj Chen Kavil. The inscriptions support the contention that local and rival dynasties were not responsible for most of the fighting in that period. However, it turned out that the most notable events of that time were the struggles between Tikal and Calacmol.
Tikal, one of the most prominent cities in Mayan history, was located in present-day Guatemala. However, it had an impact far beyond its borders. Calacmal, which was also known as the "Kingdom of the Snakes", was located about 100 kilometers north of there - in today's Mexico. The hieroglyphs provide new evidence that Dos Filas was established by the rulers of Tikal as a military observation city. It was never considered a large city or an independent power.
"Dos Philas appears to have been a game piece in a much larger battle," said Dr. Arthur Demarest of the Vanderbilt Institute of Archaeology, who organized the project. "In today's terms, it is the Vietnam of the Mayan world - a place that was used as a tool in the war between two superpowers."
Maya culture experts who have been examining its hieroglyphs since the 70s have discovered that Maya leaders, as well as members of the ruling social class, used this highly developed writing system to describe the lives of their rulers, their wars and their holidays. The texts were usually engraved on soft stones, which were placed as monuments in the center of the city.
The hieroglyphs at Dos Filas also tell about the first 23 years of Cavill's life. The details are meticulous down to the date of his birth: October 15, 625. Cavill was brought from Tikal to Dos Filas when he was four years old, and was made king there in 635
Fahsen said that Cavill is portrayed as a military commander of great importance, who was loyal for many years to his mother city, Tikal. However, when Cavill was in his 20's Calammol attacked dos Filas and defeated her. The ruler became a sort of "puppet leader" of dos Filas - a possibility he apparently preferred over his execution.
The findings about the attack on the city surprised the researchers, who until now did not know about the important battle and the development that followed it. It turned out that Cavil, loyal to his new masters, began to wage a "war of attrition" with Tikal, which lasted about a decade. Dr. Demarest compares this to the Cold War waged by the USA and the USSR. Later in the war, Cavil's army conquered Tikal and took control of Tikal - Tikal's brother - to sacrifice him.
According to Dr. Demarest and other researchers, the translation will help disprove the claim that upheavals in the seventh and eighth centuries were the result of the struggles for control between Tikal and Kalakmol. "It didn't really happen," said Dr. Demarest. "The great war went through vicissitudes. After Tikal was defeated she was able to defeat Clacmol. And then, the Mayan world was divided into local forces, which led to a difficult period of war - the war that led to the fall of the Maya."
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