page_title: Calakmul
section_title: Early Classic
hierarchical_section_title: Calakmul / History / Early Classic
caption_attribution_description: Stele 43 on Base of Structure II, Site of Calakmul, Mexico. Estela 43 en la base de la Estructura 2, en la zona arqueológica de Calakmul, México.
context_page_description: Calakmul is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is 35 kilometres from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul was one of the largest and most powerful ancient cities ever uncovered in the Maya lowlands.
  Calakmul was a major Maya power within the northern Petén Basin region of the Yucatán Peninsula of southern Mexico. Calakmul administered a large domain marked by the extensive distribution of their emblem glyph of the snake head sign, to be read "Kaan". Calakmul was the seat of what has been dubbed the Kingdom of the Snake or Snake Kingdom. This Snake Kingdom reigned during most of the Classic period. Calakmul itself is estimated to have had a population of 50,000 people and had governance, at times, over places as far away as 150 kilometers. There are 6,750 ancient structures identified at Calakmul, the largest of which is the great pyramid at the site. Structure 2 is over 45 metres high, making it one of the tallest of the Maya pyramids. Four tombs have been located within the pyramid.
context_section_description: Both Calakmul and Tikal were sizeable Preclassic cities that survived into the Classic Period. Early hieroglyphic texts from stelae found in Structure 2 record the probable enthronement of a king of Calakmul in AD 411 and also records a non-royal site ruler in 514. After this there is a gap in the hieroglyphic records that lasts over a century, although the Kaan dynasty experienced a major expansion of its power at this time. The lack of inscriptions recording the events of this period may be either due to the fact that the Kaan dynasty was located elsewhere during this time or perhaps that the monuments were later destroyed.
  The earliest legible texts referring to the kings of the Kaan dynasty come from excavations of the large city of Dzibanche in Quintana Roo, far north of Calakmul. A hieroglyphic stairway depicts bound captives, their names and the dates they were captured together with the name of king Yuknoom Che'en I, although the exact context of the king's name is unclear - the captives may have been his vassals captured by an enemy or they may have been rulers captured by the king of Calakmul. The dates are uncertain but two of them may fall within the 5th century AD. The nearby Quintana Roo site of El Resbalón has a jumbled hieroglyphic text, including a date in 529, that indicates that the city was within the control of the Kaan dynasty.
  By the middle of the 6th century AD Calakmul was assembling a far-reaching political alliance, activity that brought the city into conflict with the great city of Tikal. The influence of Calakmul extended deep into the Petén; king Tuun K'ab' Hix of Calakmul oversaw the enthronement of Aj Wosal to the rulership of Naranjo in 546. Another vassal of Tuun K'ab' Hix was taken captive by Yaxchilan on the banks of the Usumacinta River in 537.
  In 561, the king now known as Sky Witness installed a ruler at the site of Los Alacranes. Sky Witness played a major part in the political events of the Maya region. He became the overlord of the city of Caracol, to the south of Naranjo, which had previously been a vassal of Tikal. In 562, according to a damaged text at Caracol, Sky Witness defeated Tikal itself and sacrificed its king Wak Chan K'awiil, thus ending his branch of the royal dynasty at Tikal. This catastrophic defeat began a 130-year hiatus for Tikal, reflecting an extended period of dominance by Calakmul. This event is used as a marker to divide the Early Classic from the Late Classic. Sky Witness is also mentioned at Okop, a site much further north in Quintana Roo. The last reference to Sky Witness occurs at Caracol and is dated to AD 572. The text is damaged but probably records the death of this powerful king.
caption: Stela 43 dates to AD 514, in the Early Classic period.[30]
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