that characterized much of the scholarship on the ancient Maya from the 1960s to the present. The extensive iconography and textual corpus has also allowed for study of Classic period Maya mythology and ritual practice.
Ruler list
A list of possible and known Maya rulers of the city, with dates of their reigns:
• Snake Spine? 967- ? BC (legendary? - Olmec?)
• Ch'a Ruler I? 252- ? BC
• K'uk' B'alam I 431-435 AD
• "Casper"435-487 AD
• B'utz Aj Sak Chiik 487-501 AD
• Ahkal Mo' Naab' I 501-524 AD
• K'an Joy Chitam I 529-565 AD
• Ahkal Mo' Naab' II 565-570 AD
• Kan B'alam I 572-583 AD
• Yohl Ik'nal 583-604 AD (female)
• Aj Ne' Yohl Mat 605-612 AD
• Janaab' Pakal 612 AD
• Sak K'uk' 612-615 AD (female)
• K'inich Janaab Pakal 615-683 AD ("Pakal the Great")
• K'inich Kan B'alam II 684-702 AD
• K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II 702-722? AD
• K'inich Ahkal Mo' Naab' III 722-741? AD
• Upakal K'inich Janab Pakal? ? -764? AD
• K'inich Kan Bahlam? ? 651 ? AD
• K'inich K'uk' Bahlam? 764- ? AD
• 6 Kimi Janab Pakal? 799- ? AD (uncertain)
Early Classic period
The first ajaw, or king, of B'aakal that we know of was K'uk Balam (Quetzal Jaguar), who governed for four years starting in the year 431. After him, a king came to power, nicknamed Casper by archaeologists. The next two kings were probably Casper's sons. Little was known about the first of these, B'utz Aj Sak Chiik, until 1994,
