JATZ'O:M?-KU?, "Spearthrower Owl". Drawing and translation after Martin and Grube (2000). Transcription by Simon Martin (personal communication 2002).

Also known as Atlatl-Cauac and Spearthrower Shield (the name is elsewhere spelled glyphically as ja-?-ma ku? [Martin 2003:note 20]).

Acceded, probably to the throne of Teotihuacan, on 8.16.17.9.0, 11 Ajaw 3 Wayeb (May 4, 374).

Died: 9.0.3.9.18, 12 Etz'nab 11 Sip (June 10, 439).

Son: Yax Nuun Ayiin I of Tikal.

Spearthrower Owl was a ruler, probably of Teotihuacan, under whose auspices the great Central Mexican metropolis entered the Maya lowlands and made a lasting impression.

The foregoing is based on Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens by Simon Martin and Nikolai Grube (2000:30-31).

At Mesoweb/PARI see an excerpt from David Stuart's The Arrival of Strangers (Stuart 2000). As Stuart explains, Spearthrower Owl's association with the iconography of Teotihuacan, together with inscriptional evidence that he acceded as a ruler, makes it probable that he was the king of that city.

Martin and Grube (2000) describe the Tikal monument known as the Marcador, a stone version of a Teotihuacano feather marker, as dedicated to Spearthrower Owl in that it records his accession and depicts the glyphs of his name in its central medallion.

Based on Tikal Stela 1, Martin (2002) suggests that Siyaj K'ahk' may have married a woman of Tikal named Unen B'alam or "Baby Jaguar" (probably not the Tikal queen — or king — of that name: see note under Siyaj Chan K'awiil II entry).

Spearthrower Owl's death is recorded on Tikal Stela 31 and also at El Zapote (Martin and Grube 2000:35).