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Iconographic studies of Teotihuacan murals confirm the extension of the lineage of a ruler of the ancient city of Tikal, Guatemala, already revealed by epigraphists of the Maya area. The aforementioned investigation sums up to interpretations of Stele 31 of Tikal that relate to the dynastic line of Atlatl-Cauac ("Dart-thrower Owl"), possible ruler of Teotihuacan between 374 and 439 AD, and whose son, Yax Nuun Ayiin I, was seignior of Tikal. The emblem of this lineage would be represented by the image of a bird with a shield, observed in Teotihuacan murals, declared Dr. Raul Garcia Chavez, researcher at the...

According to a statement released by Brown University, an international team of archaeologists discovered an altar in the Maya city of Tikal that is characteristic of the Mesoamerican culture centered at Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan, located outside of present-day Mexico City, thrived between the first and eighth centuries a.d., when it had a population of as many as 100,000. The new discovery is some of the strongest evidence to date that they had cultural interactions with Maya cities more than 600 miles to their southeast. The four painted panels of the late fourth-century altar, which was found in an elite residential complex,...

The 16th of January 378 C.E. marked a turning point in ancient Maya history. On that day, foreigners arrived in the Maya city of Tikal—in what is now northern Guatemala—and Tikal's king died. Shortly thereafter, the son of the conquering king became Tikal's new ruler.Many archaeologists think these invaders came from Teotihuacan, a metropolis 1000 kilometers away, near what is now Mexico City, famed for its imposing pyramids and sweeping central avenue. But a new discovery in Tikal reveals Teotihuacan may have had an outpost in the Maya city long before possibly conquering it. That bolsters the idea that Teotihuacan’s...

SAN JUAN TEOTIHUACAN, MEXICO—On 16 January 378 C.E., a stranger arrived in Tikal, a large Maya city in what is now northern Guatemala. His name was Sihyaj K’ahk’ (SEE-yah Kak), or Fire is Born, and he was likely a mighty warrior from a distant land. Many archaeologists think he hailed from Teotihuacan, a metropolis of 100,000 people about 1000 kilometers northwest of Tikal, near today’s Mexico City. And he may have come with an army. The stone Maya monuments that record Sihyaj K’ahk’s arrival don’t say why he came or how he was received by Chak Tok Ich’aak, or Jaguar...