In the spring of 1965 the Art Institute of Chicago purchased this limestone panel from New York antiquities dealer William Randall for $12,500. Measurements: 29.3 x 43 cm. The sculpture shows two ballplayers. The text above the one on the right identifies him as Chak Kutz (Great or Red Turkey) and tells of his witnessing a calendar ritual at Oxte'tun Chik Nab (Three Stone Waterlily Tree [?] Place) in 9.?.15.0.0. (A.D. 690). One of six ballplayer panels from Site Q, this sculpture, along with nine glyphic panels, were probably part of the same structure. These blocks may have served as risers for a staircase much like that of structure 33 at Yaxchilán, Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. (© Justin Kerr) [LARGER IMAGE]

BALLPLAYER PANEL 2

One of five similar panels depicting ballplayers, all of which were sold by William Randall in the mid-1960s for about $10,000 each. This sculpture, along with nine glyphic panels, were probably part of the same structure. Last known location: Galerie Jeanne Boucher, Paris. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

BALLPLAYER PANEL 3

One of five panels depicting ballplayers, all of which were sold by William Randall in the mid-1960s for about $10,000 each. This sculpture, along with nine glyphic panels, were probably part of the same structure. Last known location: André Emmerich Gallery, Zürich. (Drawing by Linda Schele) [LARGER IMAGE]

BALLPLAYER PANEL 4

One of five panels depicting ballplayers, all of which were sold by William Randall in the 1960s for about $10,000 each. This sculpture, along with nine glyphic panels, were probably part of the same structure. Last known location: Galerie Jeanne Boucher, Paris. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

BALLPLAYER PANEL 5

One of five panels depicting ballplayers, all of which were sold by William Randall in the 1960s for about $10,000 each. This sculpture, along with nine glyphic panels, were probably part of the same structure. Last known location: Perls Collection, New York. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

BALLPLAYER PANEL 6

One of five panels depicting ballplayers, all of which were sold by William Randall in the 1960s for about $10,000 each. This sculpture, along with nine glyphic panels, were probably part of the same structure. Currently in the Heye Foundation, National Museum of the American Indian, New York. (© Justin Kerr) [LARGER IMAGE]

One of four (actually two, each of which had been broken in half) large text panels that came on the market in the late 1960s. This sculpture may have served as a funerary monument for a Maya noble. Published by Michael Coe in The Maya Scribe and his World (1973). The text on Panel 1 continues on Panel 4. (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

One of four (actually two, each of which had been broken in half) large text panels that came on the market in the late 1960s. This sculpture may have served as a funerary monument for a Maya noble. Last known location: Royal Bank of Brussels. The text on Panel 2A continues on a newly discovered Panel 2B and recounts the dedication of a tomb on September 8, A.D. 668. According to Nikolai Grube of the University of Bonn, the text on Panel 2 includes a pair of verbs--xan, "to walk, travel," and hul, "to arrive"--that mark an extended visit the deceased had made to Chik Nab (Waterlily Tree [?] Site). (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

One of four (actually two, each of which had been broken in half) large text panels that came on the market in the late 1960s. This sculpture may have served as a funerary monument for a Maya noble. Currently in the Miles Lourie Collection. The text on this panel is a continuation of an inscription that begins on Panel 2A, which records the dedication of a tomb on September 8, A.D. 668. (© Justin Kerr) [LARGER IMAGE]

PANEL 3

No graphic record. Last known location: Ford Gallery, Boston.

One of four (actually two, each of which had been broken in half) large text panels that came on the market in the late 1960s. This sculpture may have served as a funerary monument for a Maya noble. Last known location Ford Gallery, Boston. The text on Panel 4 is a continuation of an inscription that begins on Panel 1. (Courtesy Peter Mathews) [LARGER IMAGE]

PANEL 5

No graphic record. Last known location: Saenz Collection, Mexico City.

GLYPHIC PANEL A

One of four limestone blocks (Glyphic Panels A-D) bearing 12-glyph inscriptions, this panel is in the collection of Thomas Ford in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL B

One of four limestone blocks bearing 12-glyph inscriptions, this panel is in the collection of Thomas Ford in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL C

One of four limestone blocks bearing 12-glyph inscriptions, this panel is in the collection of Rina Lazo, Mexico City. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL D

One of four limestone blocks bearing 12-glyph inscriptions, this panel is in the collection of Robert Shaw, Sydney, Australia. (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

One of nine text-bearing blocks (Glyphic Panels 1, 3-9, 11) that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location: Galerie Jeanne Boucher, Paris. (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

This sculpture is the right hand of a pair (Glyphic Panel 10)of carved limestone blocks that together bear the long-count date 9.15.1.6.15, or December 29, A.D. 732. Now in the collection of the San Bernardino County Museum, San Bernardino, California. Scholars are unsure how these two blocks, bearing a date some 40 years after most of the other panels, fit with the rest of the Site Q material. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL 3

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location: Galerie Jeanne Boucher, Paris. (Photograph © Justin Kerr; drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER PHOTO] [LARGER DRAWING]

GLYPHIC PANEL 4

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location, André Emmerich Gallery, Zürich, Switzerland. Five of the nine blocks have inverted L-shaped inscriptions. This text includes the snake-head emblem glyph some scholars have associated with Calakmul (first glyph of the second line). (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL 5

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Purchased for $1,500 by the Art Institute of Chicago from Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL 6

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location: Galerie Jeanne Boucher, Paris. Five of the nine blocks have inverted L-shaped inscriptions. This text includes the snake-head emblem glyph some scholars have associated with Calakmul (second glyph of the third line). (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL 7

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location: Galerie Jeanne Boucher, Paris. Five of the nine blocks have inverted L-shaped inscriptions. This text includes the snake-head emblem glyph some scholars have associated with Calakmul (second part of the second glyph on the fourth line). (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL 8

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location: private collection, United States. Five of the nine blocks have inverted L-shaped inscriptions. (Drawing by William Ringle) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL 9

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location: collection of Manuel Barbachano Ponce, Mexico City. Five of the nine blocks have inverted L-shaped inscriptions. (Courtesy Peter Mathews) [LARGER IMAGE]

This sculpture is the left hand of a pair (Glyphic Panel 2) of carved limestone blocks that together bear the long-count date 9.15.1.6.15, or December 29, A.D. 732. Now in the collection of the Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado. Scholars are unsure how these two blocks, bearing a date some 40 years after most of the other panels, fit with the rest of the Site Q material. (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

GLYPHIC PANEL 11

One of nine text-bearing blocks that, with the six ballplayer panels, were probably part of the same monument. The panels may have served as risers for a staircase like that on structure 33 at Yaxchilán in Chiapas, Mexico, built in A.D. 761. Offered for sale for $1,500 by Samuel Merrin in the late 1960s. Last known location, anonymous collector, United States. Five of the nine blocks have so-called inverted L-shaped inscriptions. This text includes the snake-head emblem glyph as the first glyph of the inscription. (Drawing by Andrea Stone) [LARGER IMAGE]

STELA 1

Now known as El Perú stela 34, this monument bears a royal portrait of Na Kan Ajaw (Divine Woman of the Snake Polity) dressed as a maize god and accompanied by a court dwarf. The text passages carved on the stela, which include a date corresponding to A.D. 692 and the names of at least eight artists, record an alliance with the Snake-Head Polity, possibly Calakmul, and mention that site's king, Yich'ak K'ak (Jaguar Fire Paw), who lived ca. A.D. 649-695. Measurements: 274.4 x 182.3 x 5 cm. Currently in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (J.H. Wade Fund 1967.29) (Drawing by Ian Graham) [LARGER IMAGE]

STELA 2

Now known as El Perú stela 33, this sculpture bears a portrait of K'inich B'alam (Sun-Faced Jaguar), a ruler of El Perú and possibly the husband of Na Kan Ajaw, depicted on El Perú stela 34. There is a date carved on the stela corresponding to the early 690s. Measurements: 272.7 x 173.7 cm. Currently in the collection of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas (AP 70.2). [LARGER IMAGE]

STELA 6

Actually a side panel from El Perú stela 33 now in the collection of the Rufino Tamayo Museum in Oaxaca, Mexico. (Drawing by Peter Mathews) [LARGER IMAGE]

ALTAR 1

Possibly from El Perú. Measurements: 72 x 71.9 x 5.6 cm. Now in the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX (1988.15.MCD, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc. in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick M. Mayer) (Drawing by Linda Schele). [LARGER IMAGE]

See also "The Search for Site Q" from ARCHAEOLOGY's September/October 1997 issue.

© 1998 by the Archaeological Institute of America archive.archaeology.org/online/features/siteq/