Remains of queen warrior rare find in Mayan research

By Thomas H. Maugh II
Los Angeles Times

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The previously untouched tomb was discovered in a royal palace at the Maya city of Waka, known today as El Peru. Once a city with tens of thousands of inhabitants, Waka is about 36 miles west of the better-known Maya city of Tikal in what today is northern Guatemala. It was inhabited as early as 500 B.C., but flourished between A.D. 400 and 800.

Archeologist David Freidel of Southern Methodist University and his colleagues have been working at the site since 2002 and have discovered more than 40 "stelae" — inscribed stone pillars — chronicling the activities of 22 rulers.

The female skeleton was discovered in a vaulted burial chamber that was built inside the shell of a building atop the palace necropolis. The room contained more than 2,400 artifacts. Although researchers have not identified the name of the queen, intact pottery indicates she was entombed between A.D. 650 and 750.

The woman's royal status was indicated by the presence of small greenstone tiles that form a war helmet and a carved royal jewel that once might have been part of this headdress.

"The helmet is consistent with the kind we associate with the title 'kaloomte,' or supreme warlord," Freidel said.

The skeleton also had stingray spines embedded in its pelvis. Such spines often are depicted being used to let blood from the genitalia of Maya kings, and their presence suggests the woman had a similar stature, he said.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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