page_title: Itzam Kʼan Ahk II
section_title: Pyramid O-13
hierarchical_section_title: Itzam Kʼan Ahk II / Monuments / Pyramid O-13
caption_attribution_description: English: Palenque ( Chiapas ). Temple of inscriptions Deutsch: Palenque ( Chiapas ). Tempel der Inschriften Español: Palenque ( Chiapas ). Templo de las Inscripciones
context_page_description: Itzam Kʼan Ahk II, also known as Ruler 4, was an ajaw of Piedras Negras, an ancient Maya settlement in Guatemala. He ruled during the Late Classic Period, from 729–757 AD. Itzam Kʼan Ahk II ascended to the throne following the death of Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk II. Itzam Kʼan Ahk II may have fathered the following three kings of Piedras Negras: Yoʼnal Ahk III, Haʼ Kʼin Xook, and Kʼinich Yat Ahk II. Following Itzam Kʼan Ahk II's demise, he was succeeded by Yoʼnal Ahk III in 757 AD. Itzam Kʼan Ahk II left behind several monuments, including stelae at Piedras Negras and a large mortuary temple now known as Pyramid O-13. In addition, the details of his life and his Kʼatun-jubilee were commemorated on Panel 3, raised by Kʼinich Yat Ahk II several years following Itzam Kʼan Ahk II's death.
context_section_description: Pyramid O-13 is the name given to the hypothesized mortuary temple of Kʼinich Yat Ahk II. According to Stephen Houston et al., it was nearly "twice as large" as any of Piedras Negras's previous structures. The pyramid was modified substantially following Itzam Kʼan Ahk II's demise: Kʼinich Yat Ahk II, for instance, reset the older Panel 2 and installed Panel 1 and the now-famous Panel 3. Megan O'Neil argues that these changes were made in order for the ruling ajaw to "engag[e] with the past". Given that the last known rulers of Piedras Negras erected their stelae on or near this pyramid and all three of these leaders also revered the site as some sort of dynastic shrine, it is possible that they were Kʼinich Yat Ahk II's sons.
  In 1997, Héctor Escobedo discovered a tomb (Burial 13) containing the bodies of an adult and two adolescents underneath the plaza floor at the front of the pyramid's frontal stairs. While some believe this to have been the resting place for Itzam Kʼan Ahk II, Stephen D. Houston cautions that this has not been conclusively proven. Among the artifacts found within (including pieces of jade and ornaments), archaeologists uncovered evidence that the tomb had been reentered after it was sealed: many bones were missing from the three bodies, and it appeared that the skeletons had been charred by fire sometime after their initial entombment. Scholars eventually concluded that this apparent desecration was actually part of a ritual described on Panel 3 called el naah umukil (the "house-burning at the burial"), and that it was carried out by Kʼinich Yat Ahk II.
  In terms of architecture, the O-13 Pyramid and the Late Classic Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque are very similar: both have the same number of substructure terraces, both pyramids' substructures have exactly five doors, and both were built into the sides of hills. Damien Marken and Kirk Straight, use this similarity—as well as inscriptions on stelae at Palenque—to argue that there existed some sort of relationship between Piedras Negras and Palenque.
caption: There are substantial similarities between Pyramid O-13 and the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque (pictured), seeming to suggest a relationship between the two sites.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 400D DIGITAL", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2017:08:06 15:09:36", "Image Artist": "unknown", "Image ExifOffset": "240", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "866", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8374", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/80", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2008:09:14 18:42:20", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2008:09:14 18:42:20", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "790241/125000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "1/3", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/8", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "22", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2000", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1333", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "3888000/877", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "432000/97", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "unknown", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "330140276", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[18, 55, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM"}