prev - home - next

Ironically, the second Chak Tok Ich'aak also seems to have died under adverse circumstances. A mere thirteen days after his death, as recorded in an inscription at Toniná, one of his vassals was captured by the upstart kingdom of Yaxchilán. Turmoil at Tikal is indicated by the fact that rulership passed to a six-year-old queen, the so-called Lady of Tikal.

The name of Chak Tok Ich'aak (Jaguar Paw) II is on the right in this photograph from an altar in the museum of Toniná. The sign on the left is an unusual "bundle-glyph" signifying death or perhaps some burial rite (Simon Martin, letter circulated in September, 2000). David Stuart first realized that this inscription in distant Toniná recorded the death of Chak Tok Ich'aak II. Photo: Joel Skidmore.