|
Simon Martin has suggested that the Calakmul lord named on the stairs also occurs at Caracol Stela 3 associated with the dates 9.6.18.12.0, which is about 27 years before the stairway date (figure 2). This Calakmul king was probably already in office at 9.6.8.4.2 when Caracol, in alliance with Calakmul, conducted the "Star War" against Tikal (Houston 1991; Grube 1993). Unfortunately, no nominal glyphs in the Stairway passage identify the decapitated individual. The fact that this event is mentioned on the Hieroglyphic Stairs suggests that the victim was a member of the royal lineage of Palenque.
Like many other propagandistic texts, the hieroglyphic stairs first mention an attack on Palenque by Calakmul only to justify Palenque's later revenge. Maya scribes often inserted "humiliating encounters" into accounts of later success so as to contrast insignificant defeats with glorious victories; the latter neutralized the former. The same rhetoric is found on Caracol Altar 21 where the "Star War" against Tikal is preceded by an attack by Tikal against Caracol. Ruler 1 of Dos Pilas used the same rhetorical device, recording first an aggression by an enemy and then their later defeat (Houston 1993:108).
|
Page 6 
