Piedras Negras, Guatemala
Encyclopedia
Maya city
A Maya city was a centre of population of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica. It served the specialised roles of administration, commerce, manufacturing and religion that characterised ancient cities worldwide...
of the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Maya civilization
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
located on the north bank of the Usumacinta River
Usumacinta River
The Usumacinta River is a river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. It is formed by the junction of the Pasión River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz and the Salinas River, also known as the Chixoy, or the Negro, which descends from the Sierra Madre de Guatemala...
in the Petén
Petén (department)
Petén is a department of the nation of Guatemala. It is geographically the northernmost department of Guatemala, as well as the largest in size — at it accounts for about one third of Guatemala's area. The capital is Flores...
department of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
. The name Piedras Negras means "black stones" in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Its name in the language of the Classic Maya
Classic Maya language
The Classic Maya language is the oldest historically attested member of the Mayan language family. It is the main language documented in the pre-Columbian inscriptions of the Classic Era Maya civilization.- Relationships :...
has been read in Maya inscriptions
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
as Yo'k'ib', meaning "great gateway" or "entrance", considered a possible reference to a large and now dry sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
nearby. Some authors think that the name is Paw Stone, but is more likely to be the name of the founder as hieroglyphs on Throne 1 and altar 4 show.
Piedras Negras in Maya Times
Piedras Negras seems to have been an independent city-state for most of the Classic Period, although sometimes in alliance with other states of the region and perhaps paying tribute to others at times. It had an alliance with YaxchilanYaxchilan
Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta, with Piedras Negras as its major rival...
, in what is now Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, some 40 km up the Usumacinta River. Ceramics show the site was occupied from the mid-7th century BC
7th century BC
The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising formidable power over neighbors like Babylon and Egypt. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to...
to 850
850
Year 850 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Montoku succeeds Emperor Nimmyō as Emperor of Japan.- Europe :...
AD. Its most impressive period of sculpture and architecture dated from about 608
608
Year 608 was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 608 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Khosrau II of Persia attacks Chalcedon.* Prince...
through 810
810
Year 810 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Byzantine Empire :* October 1 – A man with a sword makes an attempt on emperor Nicephorus I's life...
, although there is some evidence that Piedras Negras was already a city of some importance since 400
400
Year 400 was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus...
AD.
The panel 12 of Piedras Negras showed three neighboring rulers as captives of the ruler C of Piedras Negras. One of the captives might be the ninth king of Yaxchilan, Knot-Eye Jaguar I, who kept reigning after the panel was made. As late maya subservient rulers were often depicted as bound captives in spite of keeping ruling their own kingdoms, the panel suggests that Piedras Negras might have established its authority in the nearby area, i.e. the Usumacinta drainage, in about 9.4.0.0.0 Period Ending, which corresponds to 514 AD.
Piedras Negras had been populated since the 7th century BC. The population of Piedras Negras seems to have reached a peak twice. The first population peak happened in the preclassic era, around 200 BC, and was followed by a decline. The second population peak of Piedras Negras happened in the late classic era, around the second half of the 8th century AD, during which the maximum of Piedras Negras' population is estimated to be around 2 600. At the same time, Piedras Negras was also the largest polity in this region. The total population of the polity at this time is estimated to be around 50 000.
The artistry of the sculpture of the late classic period of Piedras Negras is considered particularly fine. The site has two ball courts and several plazas; there are vaulted palaces and temple pyramids, including one that is connected to one of the many caves in the site. Along the banks of the river is a large boulder with the emblem glyph of Yo’ki’b carved on it, facing skyward.
A unique feature of the monuments at Piedras Negras is the frequent occurrence of the so-called "artists' signatures". Individual artists have been identified by the use of recurring glyphs on stelae and other reliefs.
Ruler 7 (reigned 781-808?) of Piedras Negras was captured by K'inich Tatbu Skull IV of Yaxchilan. This event was recorded on the lintel 10 of Yaxchilan. Piedras Negras might be abandoned within several years after this event.
Before the site was abandoned, some monuments were deliberately damaged, including images and glyphs of rulers defaced, but images and glyphs of deities left intact, suggesting a revolt or conquest by people literate in Maya writing.
Rulers of Yo'k'ib' / Piedras Negras
- Ruler APiedras Negras Ruler APiedras Negras Ruler A was a king of that Mayan city. He is also known as Turtleshell.He reigned c. 460. It seems that he was captured....
, whose name might be Itzamk'anahk, c. 460 - Ruler BPiedras Negras Ruler BPiedras Negras Ruler B was the second ruler of that Mayan city in Guatemala. He was a successor of Ruler A. He reigned c. 478.Nothing is known of this king except that one of his lieutenants, a yajawte , was captured by Yaxchilan ruler Bird Jaguar II, probably in AD 478, as recorded at...
, c. 478 - Turtle ToothTurtle ToothTurtle Tooth was the third king of Mayan city-state Piedras Negras in Guatemala. He is also known as Ah Cauac Ah K'in. He was a successor of Ruler B....
, 508-510 - Ruler CPiedras Negras Ruler CPiedras Negras Ruler C was a king of that Maya city-state. He was the fourth ruler of Piedras Negras, successor of Turtle Tooth, who could be his father....
, 514-518 - K'inich Yo'nal Ahk IK'inich Yo'nal Ahk IK'inich Yo'nal Ahk I was the fifth king of Maya city Piedras Negras in Guatemala. He is also known as the Ruler 1.He reigned AD 603 - 639.- Biography :It is unknown when was he born. His parents are also unknown...
, also known as Ruler 1, 603-639 - Itsamk'anahk IIItsamk'anahk IIItsamk'anahk II was a king of Maya city Piedras Negras in Guatemala. He had many monuments.He is also called Ruler 2. He reigned 639-686, as a successor of his father.- Birth :...
, also known as Ruler 2, 639-686 or 639-689 - K'inich Yo'nal Ahk IIK'inich Yo'nal Ahk IIK'inich Yo'nal Ahk II was a king of Piedras Negras, Maya city in Guatemala. He reigned from January 2, 687 until 729.He had many monuments.- Birth :...
, also known as Ruler 3, 687-729 - Ruler 4Piedras Negras Ruler 4Piedras Negras Ruler 4 was one of the kings of that Maya city-state. He reigned AD 729-757.- Biography :This king was a successor of K'inich Yo'nal Ahk II. It seems that they were not a father and son...
, 729-757 - Yo'nal Ahk IIIYo'nal Ahk IIIYo'nal Ahk III - Ruler 5 - was a king of the Mayan city Piedras Negras, who ruled AD 758-767. His monuments are stelae 14 and 16.He was a successor of Piedras Negras Ruler 4....
, also known as Ruler 5, 758-767 - Ha' K'in Xook, 767-781
- Ruler 7, also known as Ruler 6, 781-808?
Modern history of the site
The site was first explored, mapped, and its monuments photographed by Teoberto MalerTeoberto Maler
Teoberto Maler or Teobert Maler was an explorer who devoted his energies to documenting the ruins of the Maya civilization....
at the end of the 19th century.
An archeological project at Piedras Negras was conducted by the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
from 1931 to 1939 under the direction of J. Alden Mason and Linton Satterthwaite
Linton Satterthwaite
Linton Sattherthwaite Jr. was a Maya archaeologist and epigrapher and is primarily associated with the University Museum at the University of Pennsylvania...
. Further archaeological work here was conducted from 1997 to 2000, directed by Stephen Houston of Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
and Hector Escobedo of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
The Universidad del Valle de Guatemala is a private, not-for-profit, secular university located in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It was founded in 1966 by a private foundation, which had previously overseen the American School of Guatemala...
, with permission from the Instituto de Antropología e Historia de Guatemala (IDAEH).
Mayanist
Mayanist
A Mayanist is a scholar specialising in research and study of the Central American pre-Columbian Maya civilization. This discipline should not be confused with Mayanism, a collection of New Age beliefs about the ancient Maya....
Tatiana Proskouriakoff
Tatiana Proskouriakoff
Tat’yana Avenirovna Proskuriakova was an American Mayanist scholar and archaeologist who contributed significantly to the decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs, the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica.-Early life:...
was the first to decipher the names and dates of a Maya dynasty from her work with the monuments at this site, a breakthrough in the decipherment of the Maya Script
Maya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
. Prouskourikoff was buried here in Group F after her death in 1985.
In 2002 the World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training....
earmarked 100,000 United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s for the conservation of Piedras Negras. It is today part of Guatemala's Sierra del Lacandón
Sierra del Lacandón
The Sierra del Lacandón is a low karstic mountain range in Guatemala and Mexico. It is situated in the north-west of the department of El Petén and the south-east of Chiapas...
national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
.