In 1997, the Didrichsen Museum of Art and Culture organised an exhibition on archaeological findings from the ancient maya city of Dos Pilas, Guatemala. One of the exhibits was a ball court marker, which archaeologist Sylvanus Morley had found already in 1915. The significance of the ball court marker was not understood for decades. When the monument was on show in Helsinki in 1997, we only knew that one of the persons pictured in the monument was a king from Cancuen.
The same ball court marker is part of this MAYA II exhibition. According to new analyses, we now know that the monument is dated 795 A.D. We have also learnt that the king´s name is Taj Chan Ahk and that the other person is one of his sons, Kan Maax. The ceremony marks the transfer of power from father to son.
Three Ball Court Markers
This ball court marker appears now in a new context, as in 2001 and 2004 the two other monuments that had been located on the same ball court, were found. With the dechipherment of the three monuments, the researchers can now educate us about the final years of Cancuen, before it was destroyed in about 800.
The ball court markers of the royal Cancuen ball court, from 790, 795 and 800 A.D.
Elaborate Palace of the Princess
The first maya exhibtion also showed Panel 19, is a bloodletting ceremony taking place in Dos Pilas. The Princess of Cancuen, married to the King of Dos Pilas, is standing on the left side of the monument. Professor Arthur Demarest became interested in the background of the Princess, since he knew she had a much more elaborate palace than the king himself. Why was she superior to the elite in Dos Pilas? This is what the professor wanted to find out.
A blood letting ceremony in Dos Pilas, with the King and Queen preciding over their son
The Professor fell into a Snakes Nest
After years of puzzlement, the mystery suddenly opened up. In 1999 professor Demarest was walking on top of what seemed to be a jungle-covered hill. All of a sudden he fell up to his armpits through vegetation, and thousands of butterflies sparked up in the air. He soon realized there were crawling snakes under his feet. After slowly managing to get out of the snake nest, he understood that he had been walking on top of an enormous palace. He had fallen into the court yard of the King´s most holy chambers.
After this breakthrough a vast excavation program was started financed by the Guatamalan state, Vanderbilt University (USA) and National Geographic and several other organisations. The excavation program will continue for several years.
This MAYA exhibition tells about the finding of the palace, Cancuen´s powerful position, its violent end and about a new approach to ethical archaeology. The exhibition presents sustainable development projects carried out to improve the conditions of the indigenous mayans by engaging them in the archaeological excavations and letting them become custodians of their own cultural heritage. New research results are dropping in all the time and we will get updated information during the exhibition directly from the excavations in Cancuen.
Professor Demarest literally stumbled into this enormous, three story palace
