Limestone panel commissioned by ruler Taj Chan Ahk “Torch-Sky-Turtle” in 799 AD. The sculptor was the same one who carved Panel 3 of Cancuén. It has 160 hieroglyphic blocks sculpted in high relief, organized in eight double columns. It corresponds to the second part of an extensive text written on another panel, now missing.

The first event mentioned in this monument took place in the year 652 “in the company of Yukno’om Che’en of Calakmul.” At that time Cancuén was already subordinate to the great Calakmul, located more than 250 kilometers away.  The text also refers to the enthronement of the new ruler of Cancuén, named K’ib Ahaw, in the year 656, explicitly mentioning that he received his royal insignia from the hand of Yukno’om Che’en himself. The final passages of the panel record another ascension at Cancuén under the auspices of Yuknoom Ch’e’n (that of Taj Chan Ahk) culminating in the creation of the panel to mark the tomb of the second ruler to the throne of Cancuén under the cover of Calakmul.

* Former “Príncipe Maya” Museum Collection, Cobán, Alta Verapaz

Comments:

The story described in this panel begins in another panel that has not yet been located. The end of the text – composed of 160 hieroglyphic blocks in good condition – places Cancuén within a more complex geopolitical scenario, making reference to a higher-ranking character called Yuknoom Ch’e’n from the great city of Calakmul (today in Mexico). Born in the year 600, this ruler rose to power in 656 and his invading forces were noticeable in most of the Mayan region during his 50 years of rule.

The panel records that this ruler presided over an event in 652, in which the city of Calakmul is mentioned in connection with the death of a ruler, possibly from Cancuén. Indeed, on December 9, 656, Yuknoom Ch’e’n supervised the enthronement of a ruler of Cancuén.

A variety of patron gods, including “Stingray God 5” and a version of the Rain God, Yaxhá (“New Rain”) Chahk, also “witnessed” this ritual. The fact that the text mentions that “the Lord came to the throne” on the ahaw day or day of the “lord” suggests a special emphasis that the ruler represented a new dynasty or royal lineage.

The panel also mentions that on March 21, 657, the ruler of Cancuén arrived in a mountainous or hilly province, Makam Witz, where he is identified as a “giver of offerings” (ak’noom). Another person (ani) accompanied the ruler on this ceremonial route. By August 25, in a crucial passage, the ruler arrived (huli) at a place characterized by four expressions that, in the conventions of Mayan poetry, describe something in different ways. The first is a location related to foliage. The second is not clear, but the third and fourth expressions say ? Nahb 3 ahk peten ¿ yohl ahk, “between/within the pond, the island of the 3 turtles, between/within the heart of the turtle.”

The passage seems to describe a metaphorical journey, or a journey to local altars. However, the presence of cosmic expressions related to the primordial sea along with references to turtle islands and a pond suggests the possibility that a new ruler, possibly seeking legitimization, made a pilgrimage to the sea after his enthronement. The time elapsed in the text from August to December seems to reflect the length of the walk from Cancuén to the Mayan Mountains in Belize to finally reach the Caribbean Sea. The king could also have traveled from Cancuén to the Sierra del Lacandón, another very mountainous region, to the Tabasco Plain and the Gulf of Mexico. Since there were no animals of burden, a chair or palanquin was the only form of transportation in this case.

This panel provides clues that the Mayan kings traveled to the sea and that such pilgrimages reinforced what could have been a weak claim to the throne.

Finamore, Daniel y Stephen Houston. 2010.

*FIERY POOL: The Maya and the Mythic Sea. Yale University Press, Plate 70, page 201

*Catalogue description with the support of epigraphers Camilo Luín and Yuriy Polyukhovych

Interactive Video (Chaac 3D: June 2026): https://youtu.be/NMJV735KeuY

Height: 97 cm;
Width: 130 cm;
Thickness: 10 cm

Weight: 1500 pounds

Originally part of a wall, it was carved by the same sculptor who carved Panel 3 from Cancuén.

Object displayed in the Príncipe Maya Museum (Cobán, Alta Verapaz) until the collection was transferred to La Ruta Maya Foundation in October 2010.

Exhibition THE FIERY POOL, THE MAYA AND THE MYTHIC SEA. Fortworth Museum, Texas, USA. (August 2012 to January 2011).

“THE WORLD OF THE MAYAN ARTIST.” Spanish Cooperation Training Center. Antigua Guatemala (February 3 – June 16, 2013)

“THE WORLD OF THE MAYAN ARTIST.” Casa N’oj Cultural Center, Quetzaltenango (August 12 – September 6, 2013). Only one life-size, high-resolution photograph was exhibited.

“MAYA: RULERS OF THE RAINFOREST”
Drents Museum, Assen, Netherlands (February 28 – September 4, 2016)
Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Speyer, Germany (October 2, 2016 – April 23, 2018)
Archaeological Museum of Alicante, MARQ, Spain (May 25, 2017 – January 7, 2018)

“MAYAS IN SANTO DOMINGO DEL CERRO.” Santo Domingo del Cerro Cultural Center, Antigua Guatemala (August 16, 2018–April 20, 2019)

“MAYA: THE GREAT JAGUAR RISES” (1st Tour) Canada and United States (May 15, 2019–October 20, 2021)

“MAYA: THE GREAT JAGUAR RISES” (2nd Tour) Kansas City Union Station (August 2022–March 2023) and California Science Center (April–September 2023)

“MASTERPIECES OF THE PRE-COLUMBIAN ARTIST.” La Ruta Maya Foundation, Guatemala City (November 6, 2024–May 31, 2025)

On permanent display at the La Ruta Maya Foundation headquarters from November 6, 2024.

* Guenter, Stanley. 2002. “A Reading of the Cancuén Looted Panel“. MESOWEB.
https://www.mesoweb.com/features/cancuen/Panel.pdf

* Finamore, Daniel y Stephen Houston. 2010. FIERY POOL: The Maya and the Mythic Sea. Yale University Press, Plate 70, page 201. Para ver un vídeo en inglés (por el Dr. Stephen Houston y el Dr. Daniel Finamore) haz click en:

http://www.pem.org/exhibitions/106-fiery_pool_the_maya_and_the_mythic_sea?autovideo=Cancuen_Panel

* Kistler, Ashley. 2004. “The Search for Five-Flower Mountain: Re-Evaluating the Cancuen Panel” en Mesoweb:
www.mesoweb.com/features/kistler/Cancuen.pdf

* Mayer, Karl Herbert. 1995. “A Unique Maya Glyphic Panel in Guatemala” MEXICON XVII(1): 3 https://www.academia.edu/11531344/A_Unique_Maya_Glyphic_Panel_in_Guatemala 

* Mayer, Karl Herbert. Dec. 2004. “The Museo El Principe Maya in Cobán, Alta Verapaz“. MEXICON, Vol. XXVI. Graz.

* “Presentan el Mundo del Artista Maya”. Diario El Quezalteco. Miércoles 14 de Agosto 2013. Página 11.

* “Cultura Prehispánica Resplandece”. Prensa Libre, sección Cultura. Martes 5 Febrero 2013. Página 46.

* “Mirada al Artista Maya”. Diario ElPeriódico. Lunes 11 Febrero 2013.

* “Treasures of The Maya Spirit”. IMS Explorer. Institute of Maya Studies. Julio 16, 2014. Página 2.