Naranjo Gallery
Naranjo is a large site (the site's core is 8 Km2),
that formed a polity, was the capital of one of the most powerful
Classic Maya kingdoms governed by the dynasty of the “holy
lords of Sa’aal.” , (sa’aal
meaning “the place where maize gruel abounds”). It was the second classic site in size after
Tikal, located between the
Mopán and
Holmul rivers Basins. Two
place names—Maxam and
Wakabnal—are prominently associated
with Naranjo, although the distinction between the two is still
unclear., that was founded in the Middle Pre
Classic and abandoned in the Late Classic, is located north east of
Yaxhá and
Nakúm.
The site has a
Monumental architecture with several
Pyramids including one with a hieroglyphic
staircase, as well as plazas, Acrópolis,
Altars and Stelas, the Central Plaza has
two distinctive construction Phases the Pre Classic that is oriented
in an East to West, and the Classic that is South to North oriented.
The central part of the site has 112 important structures and is 1,5 Km2,
grouped
in
six
triadic complexes, two ‘palace’ compounds, one
E group,
and two
ball courts.
There are 45 sculptured monuments. The Triadic Acropolis C-9
is located in the easternmost area of the site core. This
architectural complex is dominated by a massive mound known as
Structure C-9, measuring 79 x 55 meters at its base and has a height
of 32 meters. Two lines of
carved stelas (Stelas 28, 29, 30,
and 31 in the first row and Stelas 25, 26, 27 in the second row)
once stood on a narrow platform in front of the main stairway of the
pyramid, whereas Stela 32 was located at the foot of that sanctuary,
upon the main terrace of the triadic group. The founder of the
Classic Dynasty is, according to Stela 45, Tzik’in Bahlam, and his son Naatz Chan Ahk,
ca 400 AD. They were responsible for large-scale construction
programs that resulted in the remodeling of the Triadic Acropolis
B-5, the E-Group, and the Central Acropolis.
This
architectural
complex might have played a pivotal ceremonial role at Naranjo as
early as the Late Preclassic: plain stelae were placed in front of
the Late Chicanel phase of Structure C-9. Stela 45 would not be the
first monument dedicated in that location. Famous rulers of Naranjo, ‘Ajwosaaj’ Chan K’ihnich,
Lady ‘Six Sky’
and K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan Chaak,
chose that place as a setting of the most elaborate groups of carved
stelas. C-9 was the largest triadic acropolis in the city. Its main
pyramid is the tallest building at Naranjo. It occupies the top of a
natural hill with a cave inside—a perfect candidate for a local ‘sacred
mountain’ . Some evidence of the
dynastic union between the rulers of Naranjo and
Tikal
provides the first insight into the position of Sa’aal lords in
the geopolitical landscape of the fifth century. This union was
important enough for Tikal rulers to mention their Naranjo ancestors
and even to claim the proper titles of Naranjo dynasts, something
they never did before or after in Tikal’s history. It could be as an
acknowledgement of the importance of the Sa’aal dynasty as
one of the oldest Petén lineages at the time.
The City was rival in the late classic at the beginning, and then, and allied to Nakún and Yaxhá as well as
Tikal and
flourished in the Late Classic,
were
the most extensive
building is registered.
The main Burials are from this era, It was home of the now Famous
Wak'
Chanil Ahau or Lady Six Sky, a noble daughter of
B’alaj Chan
K’awiil the founder of
Dos Pilas and
Lady B'u'ul, that later, became an enemy of his native
Tikal, and founded a Dynasty that give back to Naranjo, its
dominance in the area east of Tikal, until the Terminal Classic. She
arrived from Dos Pilas on August 27, 682 AD, (Stelas 28 and 29)
and become a War Lord that conquered several cities in the area,
including
Ucanal (Kan'witznal or K'inich'il Kab') to the south an important site that was her first conquer,
giving Naranjo the dominance in the area and the power to challenge
and to conquer Caracol to the south east. In the
context of other Classic monumental depictions of female rulers at
sites like Yaxchilan, Palenque, and Calakmul, Wak'
Chanil Ahau, is the only ruling woman depicted on
contemporaneous monuments. Because of this distinction and her
dynastic ties to the Tikal and
Dos Pilas lineages,
Lady Six Sky becomes a very important
focus for understanding the role of women as mothers, wives, and
rulers in the turbulent political landscape of the Late Classic.
Born at Tikal into the royal family, Lady Six
Sky’s father, B’alaj Chan K’awiil,
left the city of Tikal to found a rival
center at Dos Pilas in the
Petexbatún
region in the mid-seventh century. He claimed the same
emblem glyph of the Tikal family, yet proclaimed himself the vassal
of Yuknoom the Great of Calakmul, a great rival of Tikal. After
several clashes between Tikal and a Dos Pilas/Calakmul contingent,
Dos Pilas emerged victorious around the year 680. Around the same
time, the entire ruling dynasty at Naranjo vanished in an unknown
event, mostly likely due to a clash with the city of Caracol. In the
wake of these events, Lady Six Sky traveled from her native Dos
Pilas to the kingdom of Naranjo under the directives of both her
father and his overlord in 682. The story of her arrival survives in
at least four texts; the two most legible are from Stela 24 and
Stela 29. She arrived on August 27, 682: the glyphic phrase for ‘arrival
event’ is linguistically very similar to the one at Tikal a
few centuries earlier and implies dynastic foundation.
His son
K'ak Tiliw Chan Chaak, The text of
Stela 22 records the first mention of the accession of K’ak’ Tiliw Chan Chaak, recorded as May
28, 693. The ruler that namely reign at 5 years old, with his mother
holding the true political and military power, the name of her husband is not known yet. The earliest
dated monument at Naranjo
after Lady Six Sky’s arrival is Stela 5, located north of Structure
A-21, recording a ritual performed by K’ak’ Tiliw Chan Chaak in 699.
This Stela shows the young king in a frontal position, facing to his
right. He holds a fan in his left hand. To the left of the ruler kneels
a small figure that faces upward toward the ruler. It is unclear due to
damage whether this figure is a dwarf court attendant or, more likely, a
captive. The event of 699 is also commemorated on Stela 24, where Lady
Six Sky tramples a captive from Kinichil-Cab. Found broken near the A
group, Stela 37 pictures a woman in a full royal headdress, as her left
arm is bent across her chest, seemingly holding one head of a serpent.
The serpent lip flares up over her left shoulder, and from its mouth a
small deity emerges with the glyph for ‘yellow’ and ‘precious’ in his
tiny headdress. The jade-netted skirt and a belt are present containing
the floral/bone symbol. An interesting detail about this jade skirt is
that it apparently falls to just above her knees indicated by curves in
the legs, the shortest length of any known jade skirt on a female in the
Maya area. Between her feet springs a two-sided scroll, the one to the
right contains a diamond motif and the scroll to the right contains
small circles with dots in the center. These scrolls most likely
represent snakes, one of whose heads lies above Lady Six Sky’s left
shoulder. Representations of snakes coiling around humans in this manner
are found in scenes depicting the
moon goddess, Stela 37 most likely
represents Lady Six Sky in her later reign as true ruler of Naranjo,
after his son's death around 726 AD because of similarities in the
costuming to Stela 31, as well as the association with the
moon goddess
and coiling serpents, Lady Six Sky employs similar imagery as the moon
goddess, and a bacab title on her other monuments, which has been read
as ‘first in the world, sky bearer.’ and also as a
K'alomté Balam: The most powerful Military Title of The Maya.
The first calendric
ritual performed by K’ak’ Tiliw Chan Chaak in 704
reflects a shift of power from mother to son. This transition is
earliest marked in Stela 21, located directly to the west of Stela
22, dedicated on December 29, 706.
Lady Six Sky
died in the year 741, fifteen years after taking over the rule at
Naranjo in her own right. Her successors did not record her death at
Naranjo, instead, her half-brother’s son recorded her death at
her native Dos Pilas, in a hieroglyphic bench.
Naranjo is the source of several pottery masterpieces such as the
7 and 11 god Vases:
Rollout of the 7 Gods vase |
4 sides of the11 Gods square Vase |
7 Gods vase |
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Evolution of the Astronomic Complex (Middle Pre Classic 300 BC) |
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LatePreClassic250AD |
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Early Classic 450 AD |
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LateClassic700AD |
The site is now part of the Nakún –Yaxhá -Naranjo
national Park, to visit the Site from Flores,
go to Yaxhá, and then follow the signs,
is some 70 Km. west and some 25 Km north of Modesto Méndez,
the othe acces.
