EL PALMAR, GUATEMALA—UC Riverside News reports that a team led by archaeologist Kenichiro Tsukamoto has unearthed a temple platform and a burial at the site of El Palmar that shed light on the life and times of an eighth-century A.D. Maya “lakam,” or standard-bearer, who served as an ambassador. Hieroglyphs on a temple stairway at El Palmar record that in September of A.D. 726, the ambassador Ajpach’ Waal traveled to the city of Copan, more than 300 miles from El Palmar. There, in what must have been a diplomatic coup, he brokered an alliance between the king of Copan and the king of Calakmul, a Maya city near El Palmar. Under the temple floor the team found the burial of a man with two clay pots, presumably Ajpach’ Waal himself. Study of his remains revealed some surprises. “His life is not like we expected based on the hieroglyphics,” said Tsukamoto. “Many people say that the elite enjoyed their lives, but the story is usually more complex.” Among many maladies, Ajpach’ Waal suffered from arthritis, perhaps caused in part by his ceremonial role carrying banners between cities separated by harsh terrain. In his lifetime, the emissary also saw the alliance he engineered between Copan and Calakmul collapse, and he likely died in reduced circumstances. To read about a royal Maya tomb unearthed in Guatemala, go to “Tomb of the Vulture Lord.”
