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<< Our Photo Pages >> Tonina - Pyramid / Mastaba in Mexico in Chiapas

Submitted by davidmorgan on Sunday, 12 July 2015  Page Views: 9744

Multi-periodSite Name: Tonina Alternative Name: Toniná
Country: Mexico Region: Chiapas Type: Pyramid / Mastaba
Nearest Town: Ocosingo
Latitude: 16.901324N  Longitude: 92.009859W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
3 Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
4 Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
3 Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
4

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I have visited· I would like to visit

john_op_stap visited on 7th Feb 2004 - their rating: Cond: 2 Amb: 5 Access: 4 Lesser known but very impressive site, with a fantastic museum added to it.

SolarMegalith visited on 1st Mar 2002 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 4



Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 2.5 Ambience: 5 Access: 4

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)
Ancient city with pyramid, ballcourt etc in Chiapas, Mexico. A Mayan city dating mainly from the Late Classic Period. One of the latest Mayan date stelae was found here dated to 909 CE.

"Tonina is believed to have conquered Palenque and led to its eventual collapse. In the 7th century a dynast change occurred from the long standing "Lord of the Lineage of the Underworld" to the "Snake Skull-Jaguar Claw".

As customary the new ruling elite built over their predecessor's works adding their layer. During the revitalization period Palenque and surrounding villages were attacked and taken under control by the new ruling party.

Tonina reached its zenith around ten years after sacking Palenque in 730 AD. It was known as the Place of Celestial Captives having chambered many captured personages. A popular theme in Tonina sculptures is captives being decapitated or subjected to torture.

The last ruler to be immortalized by any remaining record was Jaguar Serpent in 903. This is the last period that Tonina is believed to experienced any standing as a society.
The site was explored in the twenties by the University of Tulane but it was not until the 1970s that the French researchers, Pierre Becquelin, Claud-Fracois Baudez and Eric Taladoire excavated the site."

Source: Travel Chiapas

Note: Researchers confirm that at 75m, Toniná has the tallest pyramid in Mexico but beware dodgy news reporting as the announcement was in 2010 and the image going round with this story is of the wrong pyramid in the wrong country! See the latest comment on our page
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Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Tonina : though this building to enter the site! Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tonina
Tonina submitted by dodomad : Researchers confirm that at 75m, Toniná has the tallest pyramid in Mexico Photo credit: INAH (Vote or comment on this photo)

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina Museum - 07/02/04 Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina Museum - 07/02/04 Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Tonina, view from above Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by SolarMegalith : Tonina - structures build on slope of the hill form main part of the complex. Most of the monuments are dated for Classic period (photo taken on March 2002).

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Model in Tonina Museum - 07/02/04 Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API. (1 comment)

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina Museum - 07/02/04 Tonina - Captive on Bas relief from the site''s museum. He could be from Palenque. Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina Museum - 07/02/04 Tonina - statue from the Site''s museum. Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Tonina - Stucco Artwork, wall detail Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Tonina - Stucco Artwork, full wall! Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Tonina - Stucco artwork, little dancers Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Tonina -Stucco with paint remnants Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by john_op_stap : Tonina - 07/02/04 Tonina complex - view from the ball court Image copyright: john_op_stap (John Schelstraete), hosted on Flickr and displayed under the terms of their API.

Tonina
Tonina submitted by durhamnature : Old drawing, from "Travels among American...."via archive.org Site in Chiapas Mexico

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 65.0km N 357° Palenque* Ancient Village or Settlement
 78.8km E 99° Plan de Ayutla* Ancient Village or Settlement
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 103.1km ESE 102° Bonampak* Ancient Village or Settlement
 106.2km NW 326° El Tortuguero* Ancient Village or Settlement
 108.1km WSW 258° Chiapa de Corzo Pyramid / Mastaba
 108.1km WSW 258° Zoque Culture Archaeological Zone Ancient Village or Settlement
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"Tonina" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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Researchers confirm that at 75m, Toniná has the tallest pyramid in Mexico by Andy B on Sunday, 12 July 2015
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Researchers in Mexico have discovered a Pyramid that, according to initial measurements, is larger than the Great Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. Initial excavations were done in 2010.

The Pyramid, 75 meters in height, was explored by specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) on the acropolis of Tonina, Chiapas, estimated to be around 1700 years old.

Emiliano Gallaga, director of the archaeological zone, explained that work has been done in the last two years, and by means of a “three-dimensional, researchers verified that in the northeastern part of the site, stands one of the largest construction in Mesoamerica, comparable in size only to great Mayan cities like Tikal and El Mirador in Guatemala.

“It’s a big surprise to see that the pyramid was done almost entirely by pre-Hispanic architects and therefore is more artificial than natural. “This is because it was believed that the entire structure was a natural hill, but recent evidence has revealed that the structure was almost entirely built by ancient inhabitants.

More at
http://www.ancient-code.com/researchers-confirm-the-largest-pyramid-in-mexico-has-been-found

BUT NOTE: The image on that page seems to be a old cutaway image of a pyramid in Guatemala:
http://www.petroglyphs.us/article_mural_reveals_pre-classic_Maya_as_a%20civilized_society.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4526872.stm
But oh well, everyone else seems to have copied it!

This appears to be the original press release from 2010 http://www.inah.gob.mx/boletin/7-zonas-arqueologicas/4329-tonina-de-las-mas-grandes (Google Translation)

The 5 Tallest Pyramids in Mexico
http://www.mexiconewsnetwork.com/art-culture/top5-tallest-pyramids/

Tonina at Uncovered History
http://uncoveredhistory.com/mexico/tonina/brief-history-of-tonina/

The Dates of Tonina and a Dark Horse in Its History
http://www.precolumbia.org/pari/publications/journal/201/Tonina.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonin%C3%A1
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Re: Tonina by john_op_stap on Thursday, 14 November 2013
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My picsets of the site and from the museum.
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Tonina Ballgame Court may be the one described in Popol Vuh by davidmorgan on Friday, 24 December 2010
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The recent finding of 2 sculptures with the shape of a serpent’s head that 1,500 years ago were part of the Ballgame at the Maya city of Tonina, Chiapas today, were found by archaeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). This discovery allows the consolidation of the hypotheses of how this ritual place looked like in the Prehispanic age; due to its architectural position it is the one that resembles more the one described in Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Mayas.

The recent finding of the 2 sculptures adds up to four other similar that have appeared in different moments since 1992, all of them in Palacio del Inframundo (Underworld Palace), at the Acropolis of Tonina. Both monuments, manufactured with limestone and 80 centimeters long, present a Teotihuacan style.

Archaeologist Juan Yadeun Angulo, responsible for the Tonina Archaeological Project, informed that the finding allowed reinforcing hypotheses regarding the form that the ritual court had.

“With this discovery, the Tonina Ballgame court, 70 meters long, becomes the only example in Mexico of how these ritual spaces were in the Classic period (200-900 AD), whose scoreboards were animal-shaped monuments”.

After pointing out that the study of this ballgame court goes back three decades, the archaeologist from the Chiapas INAH Center detailed that since 1992, fragments of figures of reptile heads were found, buried at the Palacio del Inframundo. At present, four of them have been completed, but inscriptions at the site refer to six.

“Finally, during the maintenance works at Palacio del Inframundo we found the 2 missing representations; we compared the finding with the information of the glyphs and concluded that they date around 500 of the Common Era”.

According to Yadeun, sculptures of snake heads were attached to the lateral walls of the court until 688 AD, representing the myth mentioned in Popol Vuh regarding astral movement, specifically the equinoxes, solstices and the Ecliptic, which is the orbit described by the Earth in its movement around the Sun.

“The Ballgame court at Tonina is the one that resembles more the one described in Popol Vuh, since it is, among the ones known in Mexico, the deepest sunken ballcourt, and the sacred book of the Mayas points out that the Ballcourt of the Underworld is the meander of a plentiful river. In the case of Tonina, there is a river that often floods the court.

“By its architectonic position, Tonina Ballcourt is the one that has more relation with the tales of the Popol Vuh; for this reason, when we found the first four sculptures of serpent’s head, we thought they could symbolize the Wakah Chan, “Six Heaven” or “High Heaven”, and finding the last pair of sculptures confirmed it”.

Juan Yadeun explained that the number of sculptures is also related to the ancient Maya power symbols. “Serpents refer to the scepter of the rulers, considered lords of the maize, those who held the knowledge of the agricultural cycle, farming and harvest times, which only could be calculated by reading the sky”.

The reptile-shaped scoreboards remained exposed until 688 AD, declared the archaeologist, adding that they were also associated to a catastrophic event: the decline of Tonina.

At the time, forces allied with Palenque, under the command of K’inich Janaahb’ Pakal, invaded Tonina and took its ruler captive, Yukno’m Wahywal, “Lord of Fire”, who was probably killed. There was chaos, and “all this serpents and feathers iconography was destroyed and buried, because these were the symbols of the warriors that were defeated.

“The Ballcourt got into operation again in 699AD, when ruler K’inich B’aaknal Chaahk, defeated in revenge different provinces of Palenque, taking captives. Then, sculptural representations of the prisoners substituted the serpent’s head markers. This way, the Popol Vuh

Read the rest of this post...
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Mexico's Anthropology Specialists Identify Name of Maya Ruler by davidmorgan on Tuesday, 31 August 2010
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From coldrum:

The name of a Maya ruler that did not appear in the dynastic line of the ancient city of Tonina was recently identified by specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) based on hieroglyphs found on a sculptural fragment. This is the fourteenth ruler registered in the city that was enemy of Palenque.

Epigraphist Carlos Pallan Gayol, director of the INAH Maya Hieroglyphic and Iconographic Heap (AJIMAYA) explained that the fragment of stone contains inscriptions that read the name K’awiil, seignior of Po’, as the ancient city of Tonina was originally denominated, word that may mean “white” in the ancient Zoque-Mixteca language.

Recent monument research and registration work at Tonina Archaeological Zone, Chiapas, allowed detecting the name (partially damaged) of a ruler that has as main emblem the head of the lightning deity, named K’awiil, followed by another sign that could be similar to the one of a storm deity named Yopaat.

Pallan Gayol mentioned that the high rank of this character is inferred by the emblem he carries, with the title of Divine Lord of Po’ used exclusively by rulers. It may correspond to a male individual, different from the names of 3 ladies previously identified as Ix Winik Timak K’awiil, mother of the ninth ruler of Tonina; Ix Muyal Chan K’awii, a foreigner, and Ix K’awiil Kaan, who apparently governed the site in 722 AD.

Pallan, in coordination with Juan Yadeun, director of Tonina Archaeological Project, has been able to reconstruct the dynastic line of the ancient Maya city, parting from the study of inscriptions. “After adding up the glyph name of K’awiil, the list would rise to 14 possible lords, all of them associated with the title “Divine Lord of Po’”, whose power periods comprise 4 centuries, from 501 to 909 AD, approximately”.

Pallan declared that in such list high-rank priests that played a significant political role are also included, as Aj Ch’aaj Naah and Kelen Hix, who effectively assumed the control of Tonina in difficult times of history, as the period after Palenque defeat it in 687 of the Common Era.

Tonina Lords Mentioned in Inscriptions:

• Nicknamed “Reptile Head”, he ruled near 514 AD: Apparently the name of a bird (Kohkaj?) is combined.

• K’inich? Sawan B’ahlam Yaxuun Tihl, nicknamed “Sotz’ Choj”, ruled near 568 AD.

• Chak B’alu’n Chaahk, died near 589 AD.

• K’inich B’ahlam Chapaht, ruled since 615 AD and was contemporary of K’inich Janaahb’ Pakal, the famous Palenque lord.

• Yuhkno’m? Wahywal? , defeated and probably sacrificed by Palenque in 687 AD.

• K’inich B’aaknal Chaak, the most powerful lord of Tonina, was enthroned in 688 AD. He defeated Palenque and its allies in at least 3 military campaigns.

• K’inich Chuwaaj? K’ahk’ used the title of “Young Prince” since he was enthroned at the age of 2, in 708 AD. His army defeated Palenque in 711 AD and captured its lord Joy Chitam II.

• Lady K’awiil Kaan, died in 722 AD.

• K’inich Yich’aak Chapaht, nicknamed “Centipede Claw”, ruled over Tonina from 723 until at least 739 AD.

• Kawiil Yopaat? It is not easy to locate yet the new ruler in the dynastic sequence of Tonina, because dates when he ruled are not known, although it could have been between 739 and 762 AD.

• K’inich Tuun Chapaht governed near 762 AD. Under his command, Palenque was defeated again.

• K’inich ¿? Chapaht, ruled nearly 787 AD.

• K’inich Uh Chapaht, was lord near 837 AD.

• A lord of unknown name was enthroned between 901 and 909 AD.

http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=40252
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Wall with Maya Seignior Glyphs Discovered at Archaeological Zone by bat400 on Tuesday, 09 February 2010
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A wall with a rich glyphic text that includes the complete name of the ruler that founded one of the most important Maya military seigniories was discovered in Tonina Archaeological Zone, in Chiapas. Epigraphists point out that the finding will bring in new information regarding Maya grammar, since it shows linguistic features yet to be deciphered.

The discovery adds to the discovery of a sarcophagus recently uncovered by specialists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The wall dated in 708 AD was detected at El Palacio; a stucco portrait of K’inich B’aaknal Chaahk, the most powerful seignior of the ancient Maya city, was found as well.

Dr. Juan Yadeun Angulo, coordinator of Tonina Conservation and Research Project, declared that K’inich B’aaknal Chaahk forged “one of the greatest military seigniories of Maya history before Mexica people arrived to the region”.

Two vaulted rooms found with the wall and portrait are part of El Palacio or Casa de las Luciernagas (Palace or House of Fireflies), an architectural complex at the Acropolis, which is “one of the greatest pyramidal structures of Mexico and the world”.

Dr. Carlos Pallan Gayol, director of INAH Acervo Jeroglifico e Iconografico Maya, Ajimaya (Maya Hieroglyphic and Iconographic Heap), who has dedicated to study the recently found wall, declared that it is important because it confirms that The Palace was the power seat of K’inich B’aaknal Chaahk, the 6th of 14 (known to present) rulers of Tonina.

“This wall is fundamental to understand a chapter of Tonina history between 680 and 715 AD, when the 6th seignior appears in the dynastic sequence of the site. To present, it is known that K’inich B’aaknal Chaahk was the ruler with greater politic and hegemonic power in Tonina, a city known in its times as Po’ (white in Mixe-Zoque language)”, he explained.

Behind the stuccoed wall with hieroglyphs that represent 2 dates corresponding to March and June of 708 AD, is located the seat of a throne, the only of 4 found at El Palacio placed in a very private and restricted location.

For more, including a photograph showing the glyph and remaining traces of paint, see Artdaily.org.
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Sarcophagus could provide clues to Mayan decline by davidmorgan on Sunday, 07 February 2010
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Posted by coldrum -

A thousand-year-old stone sarcophagus discovered in southern Mexico could provide clues to the reason for decline of Mayan culture, the archaeologist responsible for the find has said.

The tomb was discovered in November by specialists from the National Institute of Archaeology and History, known as INAH, in the Mayan city of Tonina in Chiapas state on the border with Guatemala.

The stone sarcophagus and the gravestone accompanying it dates to a period from 840 to 900 AD, when the Mayan civilization's decline began, Juan Yadeum told a news conference on Thursday.

Remains found inside were believed to be that of a woman or an adolescent of high rank, Yadeum said.

The sarcophagus, described as of a type "unique in Mexican antiquity," was altered by indigenous Tzotziles between 1490 and 1495, a period when the Mayan civilization was in a state of collapse, he said.

The find could help determine whether those responsible for the Mayan collapse were locals influenced by a group from the Andean highlands, or if they came from Central America and the regions on the border of modern Mexico, he said.

The Mayan civilization, which lasted from 2000 BC to 1546, a half century after the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, developed a calendar, city states and advanced political organizations.

Many theories have been put forward to explain its decline, including internecine struggles, wars, and peasant rebellions. Some experts believe the misuse of natural resources led to droughts and famine.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100129/sc_afp/mexicoarchaeology
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