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Sofia Paredes December 19, 2012 0 Comments

A limestone block carved with hieroglyphs -from La Ruta Maya collection- was examined by specialists in art history, archeology and epigraphy, in order to determine -at least partially- the lost history of an object that was looted years ago.

Known as the Hiix Witz Panel, this block is registered with the No. 1.2.144.915 at the Cultural Heritage Registry of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and is dated to the Late Classic period (600-900 AD). However, little was known about it, as it had been ripped from its original context, destroying any related information. Therefore, it was urgent and important to identify it. The archaeologist and Pre-Columbian art historian, Dr. Dorie Reents-Budet, and epigrapher Simon Martin, made a careful examination of its style and hieroglyphic texts and concluded that:

“This delicately carved block is a fine example of Classic Maya calligraphy in stone that refers to an action performed by the ruler of Hiix Witz under the supervision of the Calakmul king. The nature of the inscription, its format, and size suggests that it was once a riser from a hieroglyphic stairway. Once an isolated fragment, it now finds a home in our ever-growing understanding of Classic Maya political dynamics.”

Martin, Simon & Dorie Reents-Budet. 2010. “A Hieroglyphic Block From the Region of Hiix Witz, Guatemala”. The PARI Journal, A quarterly publication of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute (Volume XI, No. 1, Summer 2010).

http://www.mesoweb.com/pari/journal/archive/PARI1101.pdf