Specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) discovered a stone tablet with Mayan hieroglyphic text measuring just over 11 square meters, in the Archaeological Zone of Cobá, the city of Agua Picada, located in Quintana Roo.
Diego Prieto, director of the INAH, explained during the morning conference of President López Obrador that the tablet, sculpted entirely in stone, is a panel composed of 123 hieroglyphic cartridges in the shape of an “L.” It was found on the rocky surface of a pool near the tallest pyramidal structure in the Archaeological Zone of Cobá, also known as Nohoch Mul.
The Mayan hieroglyphics are from the Keh Witz Nal people from 569
The INAH anthropologist highlighted that an epigraphic study has already been carried out which indicates that the meaning of the inscriptions is relative to the founding date of the town called Keh Witz Nal or “Deer Mountain”, corresponding to May 12, 569 AD.
With the studies, they recognized the name of a sovereign, K’awiil Ch’ak Chéen, identified for the first time, thus managing to fill a gap in the dynastic sequence of Cobá, the anthropologist highlighted.
“This allows us to corroborate that many of the rulers of this city-state —of which 14 have been identified; three of them women, of which one led for four decades— adopted the name of the god K’awil, which gave them their attributes as protective deities of the place”, added Prieto.
Archaeological Zone of Cobá, where the Mayan hieroglyphics were found. Photo: INAH.
According to the official, the Mayan hieroglyphics intertwine events from historical time with the mythical past, “because it alludes to a group of tutelary gods who founded Cobá, such as Bolón Tz’akab Ajaw, ‘Lord of the countless generations’, in charge of the foundations of the corn and cocoa dynasties.”
The Cobá archaeological project began a cleaning process
The discovery was made within the framework of the progress of the Program for the Improvement of Archaeological Zones (Promeza) in sites on the eastern coast of that state, close to the route of Section 5 of the Mayan Train.
The Cobá archaeological project has extended its scope to protect this tablet from environmental factors, which have caused it to deteriorate, so a thorough cleaning process was implemented to remove the earth, salts, and weeds that covered it.
The Mayan hieroglyphics correspond to the founding of the town called Keh Witz Nal. Photo: INAH.
Subsequently, restoration began with the injection of lime mortar fillings, to give internal resistance to the rock, which has multiple external cavities, where water stagnates during the seasons of greatest rainfall.
At the same time, a high-precision record of the glyphic text was made, to create three-dimensional models that will allow for more in-depth epigraphic studies, to achieve its complete decipherment.
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