Researchers have identified what they believe is one of the oldest known representations of the mythical Maya hero Juun Ajaw at the ancient city of Calakmul in Mexico. Their findings, which were based on three years of research and analysis, were published in IdeAs, the online journal of the Institute of the Americas.
The authors of the paper, archeologists Daniel Salazar Lama, Ana García Barrios, and Benjamin Esqueda Lazo De La Vega, focused on what is considered the earliest mural painting found at Calakmul, a massive Maya city whose ruins, deep in the Yucatan jungle, were discovered in 1931. Though the mural, which depicts a man in a headdress holding a spear, had been removed for conservation in 2004, the team relied on advanced imaging techniques to reconstruct both the work and its surrounding architecture.
In their report, the authors posit that the image, which until now had been thought to represent a warrior with a spear, is in fact a painting of Juun Ajaw, a central figure in Maya mythology best known from the Mayan sacred text the Popol Voh. Furthermore, they say, the mural may have been part of an immersive environment used for rituals honoring him.
In its heyday during the 7th and 8th centuries, Calakmul was the most powerful kingdom in the Maya world and notable for its artistic and architectural innovations. Its origins, however, date back to the end of the Middle Preclassic period, around 500-400 BCE.
It is in earliest sections of the complex, specifically in an underground vault covered with stucco to imitate the interior of a cave, that the mural was originally found. In ancient Mayan cosmology, caves were conceived as thresholds connecting the human world to the subterranean world of gods and supernatural beings; as substitutes for the real thing, such architectural caves served as settings for protective or commemorative rituals.
In the mural, the figure’s lower half seems to be submerged in swirling water. His facial features are partially missing, but his mouth and nose are clearly Olmec. His hair is pulled back in a knot, and his spear is aimed at something under the surface of the water. A striking detail, the authors note, is a double line marking the bottom of the figure’s right arm—perhaps an attempt by the artist to convey three dimensionality.
During their 2022 field season, the researchers observed that during heavy rainfall, corridors in the structure may have channeled water down an interior staircase into the artificial cave. This might have been used, they speculate, to create a tangibly watery environment for the recreation of the mythical narrative around Juun Ajaw, celebrated in myth for his hunting prowess.
The team plans to continue its research into the function and significance of the cave and its mural within the history of Calakmul.
