Cancuen's boom in this period abruptly ended about A.D. 800. At some point in that time period the city began to be threatened by war and the people of Cancuen began to construct a sprawling system of defensive walls. The wall system was first placed around the most strategic points of the city, the royal palace and one of the site's portages.
However, the defenses were never completed. A sudden attack on the center is testified to by the broken defenses of the walls around the port, spear and dart points, dozens of scattered unburned skeletons and many with bones showing cut marks and or burning. The project osteologists are analyzing these bones for clues on this massacre, which marked the tragic closing episode in the history of Cancuen. Refugees from this center moved north and west as occurred at other Pasión river sites, bringing the processes of cultural impact and change to other regions - and speeding up the (often less violent) decline of the Classic Maya Theater State system in those neighboring zones.
In the summer of 2005 the archeaologists found the skeletons of the royal family in a water reservoir.
Skeletons in the city water reservoir
In 2005, archaeologists found evidence of a violent end at the site. This discovery was made in a paved and plastered cistern or water reservoir adjacent to the royal entrance to the palace. The fine masonry reservoir looks as well-preserved as a modern swimming pool. Its area of over 80 square meters was painted red, a color reserved for sacred contexts. To the surprise of the excavator the bottom of the pool was covered with human bones, the remains of thirty-one individuals, all lying on the stone pool floor. Scattered among the bones appeared to be the elements of the costumes of these individuals. Ornaments of mother of pearl, carved pink spondylus, shell, pyrite, and jade indicate a highand, possibly, noble status for these individuals. Jaguar canines from necklaces and claws from pelts were also formed amidst the mass of bones, as well as spearheads, some whole, some broken.
The last king Kan Maax
The queen's grave was found in 2005 adjacent to the burial of the king, found in 2004. The king and queen were buried about 100 meters from the cistern deposit. The king, Kan Maax, was identified by the glyphs on his "mother of pearl" necklace as the holy Lord of Cancuen and of Machaquila. The king had an elaborate headdress and rich grave goods of finely carved Pacific shell, while the queen had highland imported vessels as her offerings. Yet both were buried just 60 centimeters deep into the construction fill of his unfinished renovations of the royal palace. The shallow graves of the rulers and the cistern full of bodies suggest a violent end to the site between about 800 and even further indicate a violent end at the same time as the skeletons and elite goods in the sacred water system.
The last king of Cancuen, Kan Maax, was found 100 meters from the reservoir. His name was written on his necklace.
Forensic team investigating
The project has brought in the world's top authorities on war massacres, the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala (FAFG). The foundation's team of archaeologists and forensic osteologists has worked all over the world for the U.N., World Court, and other agencies examining the sites of modern day massacres from war on genocide campaigns. Their work in Guatemala, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Central Africa, and elsewhere has helped the fight for justice and the battle against genocide. Now, for the first time, they are currently examining the evidence recovered from what appears to be the scene of a Pre-Columbian war crime over 1200 years ago. The final moments at Cancuen appear to be one of the most dramatic and grisly manifestations of the Classic Maya collapse.
