Excavators struggled in 1989 to lift the giant capstones off a chamber hidden far behind the Hieroglyphic Stairway. His kingship spanned 67 years, A.D. 628 to 695. On special occasions people crowded the ball court for a contest between good and evil. But 18 Rabbit became a little too bold. During one raid in 738, the king of the nearby city of Quirigua captured and beheaded him , recording this momentous event on a stela of his own.
Scholars still debate what happened.
Perhaps too many people in too little space caused soil erosion, crop failure, starvation, and disease, or perhaps the public execution in a rival city of one of their rulers shook the people's faith in their god-kings and led to the state's collapse. The Maya villagers of today marvel at the monumental wonders of their ancestors and are helping archaeologists protect the Maya heritage. Gold of the Maya , jade was worn by kings and queens to symbolize their divine power. Painstakingly worked eccentric flints , perhaps outlined with the faces of noble ancestors, were offerings to the Maya gods of sky and underworld when buildings or monuments were dedicated. Schools of scribes wrote bark-paper books outlining days of good fortune and sacrifice in the cycles of sun, moon, and stars.