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"This is the writing, the speaking of the dream"

Leek itz'at Ah Maxam ("Skilled Observer from Maxam" - Maxam, also known as Wak Kab'nal, nowadays the archaeological site of Naranjo, in the Petén department of Guatemala, was the main city of the Sa'al polity. Sa'al means "where maize abounds") is one of the very few ancient Maya individuals known to have registered, in Classic Maya script, their authorship over a couple of artworks. Their title is present in at least two ceramic vessels, the "Waterlily vessel" and the "Vessel of the Dancing Lords", from the mid to late 8th Century CE.

Ah Maxam ("He/She from Maxam") describes themselves as a child of K'ak Ukalaw Chan Chaak ("Fiery Crack in the Sky / Thunderbolt"), lord of Sa'al from 755 - 780, who married Ix Jub' Ek' ("Lady Shell Star") a woman from the nearby town of Yaxhá. Ah Maxam had two brothers: Bat K'awiil (K'ak Ukalaw Chan Chaak's immediate successor, who ruled for 4 years, and failed to restore peace between Yaxhá and Maxam) and Itzamnaaj K'awiil (who succeeded his brother and ruled between 784 - 810. In 799, he captured Yaxhá's ruler K'inich Lakamtuun "Sun Wide / Great Stone". His immediate successor, Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil is the last known ruler of Yaxhá, and a major drought dated to 810 one of the last documented events mentioning the city).

In the translation of the writing found on the "waterlily vessel" (possibly used to drink chocolate), the "skilled observer of Maxam" describes themselves as a child of those nobles, starting with their mother, Lady Jub' Ek', who "made offerings of jade and objects of value (...) on an altar, while praying for her subjects, asking for abundance of children, crops and wealth", and following with their father, K'ak Ukalaw Chan Chaak, lord of Sa'al, who "observes penitential fasts and practices sacrificial bloodletting during three consecutive periods".

Later in the vessel's writing the author further describes themselves as a Sak Chuwen "Lucid Artisan". The Maya have pioneered an elaborate form of writing based in logograms, and dating back to at least the 3rd century b.c, that so far has been the only writing system in Mesoamerica substantially deciphered (undeciphered ones include the Olmec, Zapotec, "epi-Olmec or Isthmian" and pre-Classic era writings from highland Maya areas such as Kooja / Takalik Abaj and Kaminaljuyu, dating to the Izapa culture and possibly based on Mixe-Zoquean languages), and is known today to have been a literary form of the Ch'olti' Maya language, although texts in other Maya languages, such as Iucatec exist. These writings made possible the understanding of diverse aspects of ancient Maya culture and knowledge, not only about historical events involving nobles, disputes and trade between cities, but also about the ancient Maya version of the Mesoamerican calendar systems, their astronomy and cosmology, a knowledge that continues to exist in certain way among contemporary indigenous Maya communities in Guatemala and Mexico.

The "Skilled Observer / Lucid Artisan from Maxam" is an important historical figure and one among many ancestral artists (many who, unlike them, were left unnamed) whose dedication created an invaluable contribution to the history and culture of all humanity. A culture and history which many institutions, governments, corporations and the christian churches have tried to undermine or erase, up to this day, but that keeps breathing, existing, resisting and inspiring.

Digital painting minted and sold on the Tezos Blockchain

Description

"This is the writing, the speaking of the dream"

Leek itz'at Ah Maxam ("Skilled Observer from Maxam" - Maxam, also known as Wak Kab'nal, nowadays the archaeological site of Naranjo, in the Petén department of Guatemala, was the main city of the Sa'al polity. Sa'al means "where maize abounds") is one of the very few ancient Maya individuals known to have registered, in Classic Maya script, their authorship over a couple of artworks. Their title is present in at least two ceramic vessels, the "Waterlily vessel" and the "Vessel of the Dancing Lords", from the mid to late 8th Century CE.

Ah Maxam ("He/She from Maxam") describes themselves as a child of K'ak Ukalaw Chan Chaak ("Fiery Crack in the Sky / Thunderbolt"), lord of Sa'al from 755 - 780, who married Ix Jub' Ek' ("Lady Shell Star") a woman from the nearby town of Yaxhá. Ah Maxam had two brothers: Bat K'awiil (K'ak Ukalaw Chan Chaak's immediate successor, who ruled for 4 years, and failed to restore peace between Yaxhá and Maxam) and Itzamnaaj K'awiil (who succeeded his brother and ruled between 784 - 810. In 799, he captured Yaxhá's ruler K'inich Lakamtuun "Sun Wide / Great Stone". His immediate successor, Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil is the last known ruler of Yaxhá, and a major drought dated to 810 one of the last documented events mentioning the city).

In the translation of the writing found on the "waterlily vessel" (possibly used to drink chocolate), the "skilled observer of Maxam" describes themselves as a child of those nobles, starting with their mother, Lady Jub' Ek', who "made offerings of jade and objects of value (...) on an altar, while praying for her subjects, asking for abundance of children, crops and wealth", and following with their father, K'ak Ukalaw Chan Chaak, lord of Sa'al, who "observes penitential fasts and practices sacrificial bloodletting during three consecutive periods".

Later in the vessel's writing the author further describes themselves as a Sak Chuwen "Lucid Artisan". The Maya have pioneered an elaborate form of writing based in logograms, and dating back to at least the 3rd century b.c, that so far has been the only writing system in Mesoamerica substantially deciphered (undeciphered ones include the Olmec, Zapotec, "epi-Olmec or Isthmian" and pre-Classic era writings from highland Maya areas such as Kooja / Takalik Abaj and Kaminaljuyu, dating to the Izapa culture and possibly based on Mixe-Zoquean languages), and is known today to have been a literary form of the Ch'olti' Maya language, although texts in other Maya languages, such as Iucatec exist. These writings made possible the understanding of diverse aspects of ancient Maya culture and knowledge, not only about historical events involving nobles, disputes and trade between cities, but also about the ancient Maya version of the Mesoamerican calendar systems, their astronomy and cosmology, a knowledge that continues to exist in certain way among contemporary indigenous Maya communities in Guatemala and Mexico.

The "Skilled Observer / Lucid Artisan from Maxam" is an important historical figure and one among many ancestral artists (many who, unlike them, were left unnamed) whose dedication created an invaluable contribution to the history and culture of all humanity. A culture and history which many institutions, governments, corporations and the christian churches have tried to undermine or erase, up to this day, but that keeps breathing, existing, resisting and inspiring.

Digital painting minted and sold on the Tezos Blockchain