Exemplar of the god K'awiil discovered in Mayan Train Excavations

The exemplar of the god K’awiil was located in a vessel, whose cover ends with a head of this ancestral divinity, related to dominion, wealth and prosperity.

Currently, few three-dimensional representations of this entity are known, coming from Tikal, Guatemala, highlighted the general director of the INAH, Diego Prieto Hernández.

An illustration of the Mayan god K’awiil, connected with lightning, power and authority, among other attributes, was unearthed by scientists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), dependent on the federal Ministry of Culture, in the course of of the archaeological recovery works in Section 7 of the Mayan Train project, which runs from Bacalar, in Quintana Roo, to Escárcega, in Campeche.

The discovery was disclosed by the general director of the INAH, Diego Prieto Hernández, in a morning conference, where he conveyed to the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, his joy at the improvement in his health.

The anthropologist described that the representation of the ancestral divinity was located in a vessel, in whose body the face of a deity, possibly solar, is exhibited, and on the cover, the head of the god K’awiil.

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“This discovery is transcendental, since there are very few sculptural representations of the god K’awiil; so far, we only know of three in Tikal, Guatemala, and this is one of the first in Mexican territory”
emphasized Prieto Hernández.

This divinity, according to him, is embodied in paintings, ritual axes and reliefs, as well as in the Dresden and Maya codices of Mexico, formerly called Grolier, and rarely appears as a three-dimensional figure.

The INAH leader mentioned that said piece was exhibited to President López Obrador during his visit the previous weekend to observe the progress of Section 7; In addition, he was informed of other aspects, such as the location of structures, platforms and vaulted buildings, in which engineering solutions have been sought to preserve them. Later, many of these buildings will be restored so that train users can enjoy they.

The general director of the INAH clarified that the archaeological supervision tasks have culminated in sections 1 to 5, which extend from Palenque, Chiapas, to Tulum, Quintana Roo,

“The authorizations for the work have been 100% completed, that is, there are no more field tasks; however, work is still underway on additional works, such as the collection and cleaning of archaeological materials, their categorization and organization, and the systematization of the information not only of the materials, but of the georeferenced records of each of the vestiges discovered on the train route.

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Exemplar of the god K’awiil discovered in Excavations of the Mayan Train

Exemplar of the god K’awiil

“All this effort should lead to the analysis of the extensive data, the writing of academic reports and a major international research symposium on the Maya civilization, which is planned for this year,”

he announced, stressing that the INAH has a laboratory in Chetumal where all the information on archaeological interventions is centralized, which will enrich the study of Mesoamerican Mayan cultures, at least for the next 25 years.

Prieto Hernández reported that the archaeological works are now focused on sections 6 and 7, which go from Tulum to Bacalar, in Quintana Roo, and from there to Escárcega, in Campeche; with progress of 94% and 97% in the approval of work, respectively.

The anthropologist pointed out that, once the archaeological rescue work in the Mayan Train works is completed, a large part of the archaeological personnel will join the actions carried out in 26 archaeological sites near the Mayan Train route, where the Program is applied. Improvement of Archaeological Zones (PROMEZA), in charge of the federal Ministry of Culture.

He announced that another place that will be attended to is Ichkabal, located in the municipality of Bacalar, south of Quintana Roo, which is not open to the public, but whose inauguration is scheduled for August 2024.

Finally, he highlighted that, as of April 27, 2023, the following have been registered and preserved: 48,971 real estate, including foundations, albarradas, and basements; 896,449 pottery fragments analyzed; 1,817 personal property, corresponding to metates and ceramics; 704 vessels in the restoration process; 491 bones and 1,307 natural features (caves and cenotes).