What is the historical significance of Yaxchilan?

What is the historical significance of Yaxchilan?

Yaxchilan was a large center, important throughout the Classic era, and the dominant power of the Usumacinta River area. It dominated such smaller sites as Bonampak, and had a long rivalry with Piedras Negras and at least for a time with Tikal; it was a rival of Palenque, with which Yaxchilan warred in 654.

Who lived in Yaxchilan?

Yaxchilan, located on the banks of the Usumacinta River in the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico, was an important Late Classic Maya centre. The Maya dated the founding of their city to 320 CE, but Yaxchilan flourished between c. 580 and c.

Is Yaxchilan a Mayan?

Yaxchilán is a classic Maya urban complex—a perfect expression of the Usumacinta style. Its architecture is covered with hieroglyphs and extensive relief sculpture. Across the Usumacinta River from another ancient Maya city, Piedras Negras in Guatemala, Yaxchilán thrived between A.D. 500 and 700.

Who was responsible for the structures at Yaxchilan?

Structure 21, commissioned by Bird Jaguar IV, housed lintels 15, 16 and 17. Bird Jaguar was Yaxchilán’s most prolific builder and at least a dozen major structures were initiated or remodelled during his reign. In this lintel above, Bird Jaguar IV dominates a captive.

When was Yaxchilan founded?

5th century AD
Yaxchilán was founded in the 5th century AD and reached its maximum splendor in the 8th century AD. Famous for its more than 130 stone monuments, among which include carved lintels and stelae depicting images of royal life, the site also represents one of the most elegant examples of classic Maya architecture.

Who made lintel 24?

Lady K’abal Xook, his most prominent wife, initiated three extraordinary sculptures for the front doorways of structure 23: lintels 24,25 and 26. These works mark a remarkable era of artistic and… political vigour for the city.

When was yaxchilan created?

What is yaxchilan made out of?

Limestone
Lintel 24 is the designation given by modern archaeologists to an ancient Maya limestone carving from Yaxchilan, in modern Chiapas, Mexico….Yaxchilan Lintel 24.

Lintel 24
Material Limestone
Created Estimated to be 709 AD
Present location British Museum, London, England

Where is the yaxchilan?

Chiapas
Yaxchilán is located on the south bank of the Usumacinta River, in Chiapas, Mexico. It was a significant Maya center during the Classic period (250-900 C.E.) and a number of its buildings stand to this day.

Who made the Yaxchilan lintels?

Itzamnaaj Bahlam II (Lord Shield Jaguar) acceded to the throne at Yaxchilan in October AD 681 and commissioned a series of magnificent buildings. Lady K’abal Xook, his most prominent wife, initiated three extraordinary sculptures for the front doorways of structure 23: lintels 24,25 and 26.

Where does the history of Yaxchilan come from?

Yaxchilan has its origins in the Preclassic Period. A large part of what is known of the Classic Period history of the city comes from the hieroglyphic texts of the kings who ruled during its Late Classic apogee, one of the most important of which is Hieroglyphic Stairway 1.

Where is the Yaxchilan River in Chiapas Mexico?

The site lies in Ocosingo Municipality in the state of Chiapas, on the Mexican side of the international border with Guatemala, which follows the line of river. It is 80 kilometres (50 mi) downriver from the Maya site Altar de Sacrificios. Yaxchilan has its origins in the Preclassic Period.

Where is Yaxchilan on the Usumacinta River?

Yaxchilan is located on the south bank of the Usumacinta River, at the apex of a horseshoe-shaped meander. This loop defends the site on all sides except for a narrow land approach from the south.

When was Yaxchilan defeated by Piedras Negras?

In 726, Yaxchilan was defeated by its rival Piedras Negras, an event described on Piedras Negras Stela 8. A sajal (subordinate lord) of Itzamnaaj B’alam II was captured by the enemy city, an event that is completely absent from inscriptions at Yaxchilán itself although, importantly, there is no false claim of victory.