1,600-year-old altar reveals Teotihuacan rule in central Maya city
In a group of buildings near the center of Tikal, the 2,400-year-old Mayan city in Guatemala, an international research team, led by researchers from Brown University, has uncovered a hidden altar that may shed new light on the tensions that existed about 1,600 years ago between Tikal and the Central Mexican capital of Teotihuacan.
The altar, dating to the late 4th century AD, includes four panels painted in red, black, and yellow. The panels depict a figure wearing a feathered headdress, surrounded by a shield or ceremonial objects. Her facial features—almond-shaped eyes, a hooked nose, and a double earring—are very reminiscent of the portrait of the “storm god,” a familiar figure in the capital city of Teotihuacan.
In an article published in Antiquity, researchers from Brown and their collaborators from the United States and Guatemala claim that the altar was not created by a Mayan artist, but rather by a skilled expert who trained in the city of Teotihuacan, located about 1,014 kilometers to the west, near the center of present-day Mexico.
"This was a turbulent period at Tikal," said Stephen Houston, a professor of social sciences, anthropology and history of art and architecture at Brown, and one of the authors of the paper. "The altar confirms that wealthy leaders from Teotihuacan came to Tikal and built replicas of the cultic structures here as if they were at home. It shows how deeply Teotihuacan left its mark on the city."
Even before the discovery of the altar, Houston and his colleagues knew of long-standing interactions between the Maya and Teotihuacan, which erupted around 100 AD and spiraled into a commercial relationship, then into a more strained relationship that exacted a heavy political price.
"It's almost as if Tikal tickled the beast and got too much attention," Houston continued. "Suddenly, outsiders started infiltrating the area."
Previous excavations from the 1960s had revealed a story of massacre and beheading: a stone inscription from 378 AD describes how Teotihuacan deposed a king and installed a puppet prince in his place, a puppet ruler who exploited the city for her own benefit.
Ancient political coup
“Within a few years before the coup, the Teotihuacan infrastructure was being used for surveillance or covert occupation,” Houston said. Using LiDAR technology, the researchers also uncovered a scaled-down model of the Teotihuacan citadel beneath layers of soil and vegetation.
Inside the altar was found the burial of a child in a sitting position, a rare custom in Tikal but common in Teotihuacan. In addition, an adult was also discovered buried with an arrow made of green obsidian – a typical material for making weapons in Teotihuacan.
"The way they buried and left the altar underground as if it were a dangerous site or a painful memory reinforces our theory about the Maya's mixed feelings about the powerful presence of Teotihuacan," added Andrew Scherer, a professor of anthropology and archaeology at Brown.
Despite the pain left by the coup, it ultimately strengthened Tikal's position. In the following centuries, the city became a powerful empire, flourishing until the 900s AD, when it declined along with the entire Mayan civilization.
"There's a kind of nostalgia here: the Maya remembered their good times, when Teotihuacan had a huge influence on them," Houston concluded. "Even in the years of decline, they thought about local politics in relation to contact with central Mexico."
The overall study, published in Antiquity, provides new evidence of how one ancient empire attempted to conquer and influence its neighbor through cult, architecture, and the inauguration of a puppet prince.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
