During the Tepeu 3 phase, activities at Uaxactun were associated with minor construction projects, while in the peripheral and central areas a marked demographic decline is noted. Few burials of relative importance were detected in the majestic palatial group formed by A-5, but it is known that the local elite preserved its power as they erected carved monuments in a. d. 830 and 889, when the last glyphic inscription was dedicated at this site. The presence of these monuments indicates a stable sequence of rulers residing in the monumental Groups A and B, which had become a sole administrative and ceremonial complex. Although the population decreased rapidly, the elite pursued their lives—no doubt with anxiety, given the fatal news of the events taking place in nearby polities. They continued celebrating their traditional rituals, although with a smaller public. Uncertainty about the future must have reigned everywhere while they awaited a means to salvation that never arrived.
The two rulers who had the reins of Uaxactun’s leadership during the Terminal Classic were Olom Chik’in Chakte and K’al Chik’in Chakte (Valdes, Fahsen, and Escobedo 1999). The dates of their accession to the throne are unknown, but monuments record events and dates from their reigns between a. d. 830 and 889.
Here it is of primary importance to emphasize that the design of Strs. A-2 and A-4, built during Tepeu 3, included stone pillars in their facades (Smith 1950: 4748). Their presence is vital, because it permits identification of examples of this trait in central Peten before the Early Postclassic. The dating of these edifices corresponds with the presence of Stelae 13 and 12 erected in front of A-2 in a. d. 830 and 889. So there remains no doubt that constructions of this type were made in Uaxactun during the ninth century, when the Main Plaza was remodeled. This proposal is reinforced by the recent dating that J. Braswell (1998: 722) assigned to a similar structure in Xunantunich, proposing that it predates a. d. 950, or during the Terminal Classic. The presence of architectural elements traditionally considered foreign to the Peten style, such as the use of pillars and columns in the facades, should allow the re-evaluations of these structures because they have now been discovered to pertain to earlier dates than those assigned previously. It is important to note the recent discovery of rounded columns in the facade of Str. M8-37 at Aguateca, dated to ca. a. d. 800, demonstrating once again the early presence of these elements in the Maya zone (Diaz Samayoa and Valdes 2000).
Stela 13 commemorates the date 10.0.0.0.0 (a. d. 830) and was erected in an epoch in which many Maya sites were involved in wars and political conflicts, principally in the zone of the Usumacinta and Pasion Rivers, as well as at Ucanal and Naranjo in the central area.
8.4 Uaxactun Stela 13 erected by the ruler Chik'in Chakte in a. d. 830.
Olom
Uaxactun does not escape, as the text of Stela 13 (Figure 8.4) concluded by mentioning a military event, but lamentably the inscription is not clear enough to know against whom the conflict took place. The nominal of the sovereign who erected this monument was clearly written as Olom Chik’in Chakte. With respect to this lord, we must add that years later there is reference to a personage named Olum on Stela 1 of the nearby site Jimbal (a. d. 879).
The nominal of this latter stela’s subject is erased, but in position B8 appears a clause that reads “son of Olom,” for which reason we propose the governor of Jimbal was the son of the Uaxactun ruler Olom.
In support of this argument is the difference in the years between both monuments, the geographical proximity of the two sites, and the fact that the lord of Jimbal names his father but does not include the Tikal Emblem Glyph. The only ruler known at this moment with the name Olom is that of Uaxactun, and it would be very rare that another existed in the same area. In any case, we know that the name of the Tikal sovereign was different, for which reason the father could not have been from this site. Therefore, the governor who ruled Jimbal in a. d. 879 was the next descendant of the sovereign of Uaxactun, which must have been convenient for reinforcing alliances between these two neighboring centers.
The last monument dated is Stela 12 (Figure 8.5), also erected in the Main Plaza in Group A in front of Str. A-2, and commemorates a bloodletting ritual and the placement of this monument by the rulers K’al Chik’in Chakte of Uaxactun and Hasaw Kan K’awil II of Tikal in a. d. 889 (Valdes, Fahsen, and Escobedo 1999). The text concludes by recording the arrival of a third unidentified personage, but the celebration of this ceremony by the two rulers together can be interpreted as a sign of solidarity, as the two lords continued to share a common destiny.
Another important detail contributed by the inscriptions of the last two stelae and by the “Vase of the Initial Series” is that these rulers carry the title of Chik’in Chakte, translated as “Lord of the East,” which apparently is a noble title or office used at that time. According to the epigraphic information, K’al Chik’in Chakte was the last sovereign of Uaxactun, and it is probable that he was still in charge in the year a. d. 900. The final population of this site shows a minimum number of inhabitants in Groups A, B, and E, as Ricketson (1937) and L. Smith (1950) report evidence of use of these abandoned ancient palaces as well as the deposition of burials in the debris of the rooms (as it occurred at Tikal). No trace of occupation corresponding to the beginning of the Postclassic has been recovered in Uaxactun, demonstrating that it was abandoned before its neighbor Tikal.
World History
