Overview

Spearthrower Owl or Atlatl Cauac was the emperor of Teotihuacan at the start of height of its influence across Mesoamerica in the 4th and 5th century. He ascended to the throne on 4 May 374 (already an adult at the time), and the long lived ruler died on 9 June 439. As no Teotihuacan records survive, he is only known from references in inscriptions in the Maya cities of Tikal, Uaxactun, Yaxchilan, and Tonina. Teotihuacan was the largest Pre-Columbian known city in the Americas, and the name Teotihuacan is used to refer to the civilization this city dominated, which at its greatest extent included most of Mesoamerica. ... The cultural areas of Mesoamerica The term Mesoamérica is used to refer to a geographical region that extends roughly from the Tropic of Cancer in central Mexico down through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua to northwestern Costa Rica, and which is characterized by the particular cultural homogeneity... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 - 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... Events 4 May: Spearthrower Owl becomes emperor of Teotihuacan. ... June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Events Licinia Eudoxia, wife of the Roman Emperor Valentinian III, is granted the rank of Augusta following the birth of their daughter Eudocia. ... The Maya civilization is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its spectacular art, monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... Tikal Temples I, II and III Tikal (or Tik’al, according to the more current orthography) is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization. ... Uaxactun (pronounced Wash-ak-toon) is an ancient ruin of the Maya civilization, located in the Peten department of Guatemala, some 40 km (25 miles) north of Tikal. ... One of the pyramids on the upper terrace of Yaxchilan. ... Ruins of a structure at Tonina For the flowering plant of the same name, see Tonina (plant) Tonina (Toniná in the Spanish language) is a Pre-Colombian ruined city of the Maya civilization located in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico, some 13 km east of the town...

Under his rule Teotihuacan armies subjected much of the central Maya area to client states. His general Siyah K'ak' (more commonly known as "Smoking Frog" prior to phonetic decipherment of the Classic Maya hieroglyphs) conquered the Peten. Nun Yax Ayin (one of his sons), was installed as king of Tikal in 379 and Siyah K'ak' was installed as king of Uaxactun. Maya rulers were still mentioning their descent from Spearthrower Owl on monuments five generations later. Siyah Kak (alternative spelling: Siyaj Kak ) was a Mesoamerican leader of the 4th century, mentioned in the glyphs of some monument of the Maya civilization. ... The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, located in the northern portion of the modern-day nation of Guatemala, and essentially contained within the department of El Petén. ... Nun Yax Ayin was a king of the most powerful state of classic Maya civilization, Tikal in the late 4th century. ... Tikal Temples I, II and III Tikal (or Tik’al, according to the more current orthography) is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization. ... January 19 - Theodosius I is elevated as Roman Emperor at Sirmium. ... Siyah Kak (alternative spelling: Siyaj Kak ) was a Mesoamerican leader of the 4th century, mentioned in the glyphs of some monument of the Maya civilization. ... Uaxactun (pronounced Wash-ak-toon) is an ancient ruin of the Maya civilization, located in the Peten department of Guatemala, some 40 km (25 miles) north of Tikal. ...

Spearthrower Owl is among the first major figures in a "foreign intrusion" into the Maya heartland of the Peten beginning in the 4th century AD. However, little evidence is presented of his actual physical presence in the region, leading to speculation that he was lord of Teotihuacan at the time of the intrusion. Much like the later Quetzalcoatl, subsequent Maya kings would claim a legitimizing descent from Spearthrower Owl; and through these later Maya Kings, many other centers such as Copan and Quirigua would begin to show Highland Mexican (that is, Teotihuacan) influence in their public iconography. Quetzalcoatl in human form, from the Codex Borbonicus. ...

Controversy

It should be noted that the idea of direct, physical intrusion of Central Mexican personages into Tikal and other Classic Maya cities only began appearing in the late 1990s and is not universally supported. Linda Schele, for example, proposed that military technology and a "Venus-Tlaloc" ritual system of warfare were imported from Central Mexico, but the importation was done by emissaries, not invaders.

References

• David Stuart, Extract of a paper presented at Princeton University October 1996 , PARI Conference, 1996

• David Freidel, Linda Schele, Joy Parker, Maya Cosmos, Harper 1995.