Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Archaeologists from the University of Houston have made a significant discovery at Caracol in Belize, Central America, uncovering the tomb of Te K’ab Chaak. He was the first ruler and founder of the royal dynasty of this ancient Maya city.
Caana, the central architectural complex at Caracol, Belize, uncovered by Diane and Arlen Chase in the 1980s. Credit: University of Houston
Although now in ruins, Caracol was once a major political force in Maya history, exerting influence over the southern Yucatan Peninsula from 560 to 680 AD before being abandoned by 900 AD.
This discovery marks the first identifiable ruler’s tomb found after more than forty years of research at Caracol, which is recognized as both Belize’s largest Maya archaeological site and one of the most extensive in the Maya lowlands. Te K’ab Chaak ascended to power in 331 AD and was laid to rest at a royal family shrine with an array of artifacts including eleven pottery vessels, carved bone tubes, jadeite jewelry, a mosaic jadeite mask, Pacific spondylus shells, and other perishable items.
Among these artifacts were pottery vessels depicting scenes such as a Maya ruler wielding a spear while receiving offerings from deities. Another vessel features Ek Chuah, the Maya god of traders surrounded by offerings. Four vessels depict bound captives—a motif also seen in two related burials—and two vessels have lids with handles shaped like coatimundi heads. The coatimundi or tz’uutz’ held significance for later Caracol rulers who incorporated it into their names.
Archaeologist Diane Chase in the recently excavated tomb. Credit: University pf Houston
A research team, led by husband-and-wife collaborators Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase from the University of Houston, has been conducting excavations at Caracol for over 40 years. This particular field season was conducted in collaboration with Belize’s Institute of Archaeology and received support from the Alphawood Foundation, the University of Houston, the Geraldine and Emory Ford Foundation, and the KHR Family Fund.
The Chases estimate that at the time of his burial, the ruler was an elderly individual standing approximately 5’7″ tall. Notably, he had lost all his teeth by then.
Investigations at Caracol’s Northeast Acropolis have revealed that Te K’ab Chaak’s tomb was the earliest of three significant burials, dating back to approximately 350 AD. This period marks an early phase of interaction with Teotihuacan, a central Mexican city located about 1,200 kilometers away. By around 300 AD, Teotihuacan had developed into a vast city engaged in extensive trade across Central America.
Maya pottery basal flange bowl with a coatimundi head. Credit: University of Houston
“One question that has perplexed Maya archaeologists since the 1960s is whether a new political order was introduced to the Maya area by Mexicans from Teotihuacan,” said Diane Z. Chase, archaeologist and senior vice president for academic affairs and Provost at the University of Houston in a press release.
“Whether this event represented actual Teotihuacanos in the Maya area or Maya using central Mexican symbols is still debated. The Caracol archaeological data suggests that the situation was far more complicated,” she said.
In 2010, a significant cremation was uncovered at the center of Caracol’s Northeast Acropolis plaza, dating back to AD 350 through radiocarbon analysis. This site included artifacts from central Mexico and contained the remains of three individuals. Among the items found were two large knives, six atlatl points, and fifteen pristine green obsidian blades from Pachuca, Mexico (north of Teotihuacan). Several pottery vessels also likely originated from central Mexico. Notably, a carved atlatl projectile tip—uncommon for the Maya but typical for a Teotihuacan warrior—was part of this cremation.
The placement and nature of this cremation align more with high-status Teotihuacano practices rather than traditional Maya burial customs. Based on additional ceramics found in the cremation, it is believed that the primary individual was likely a member of Caracol’s royal family who had adopted central Mexican ritual practices. This person may have served as a royal Maya envoy residing in Teotihuacan before returning to Caracol.
In 2009, another burial—a tomb containing a woman covered with hematite—was discovered in the northern building of the same residential group. It included four pottery vessels, a spondylus bead necklace, mirror fragments, and two Pacific spondylus shells and is similarly dated.
These three burials within Caracol’s Northeast Acropolis are all dated around AD 350—a generation before any previously recognized presence of Teotihuacan influence in the Maya region. They reveal that early Maya rulers were already deeply engaged in Mesoamerican-wide interactions well before what is documented on later Maya monuments regarding Teotihuacan’s entrance into their area.
Four jadeite tubular beads showing live and dead spider monkeys. Credit: University of Houston
“Both central Mexico and the Maya area were clearly aware of each other’s ritual practices, as reflected in the Caracol cremation, said Arlen F. Chase, professor and chair of Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Houston.
The royal dynasty established by Te K’ab Chaak continued at Caracol for over 460 years.
The Chase’s findings also indicate that ancient peoples in the New World were travelers. A trip between Teotihuacan and Caracol today by car would take over 23 hours. The one-way walking time may be estimated to be approximately 153 days.
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Research continues on the contents of the chamber with the reconstruction of the jadeite death mask and with ancient DNA and stable isotope analysis of the skeletal material. The Chases will present results of the 2025 Caracol field season at a conference on Maya–Teotihuacan interaction hosted by the Maya Working Group at the Santa Fe Institute (New Mexico) in August 2025.
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
