Solving the Mystery of the Maya Red Queen

26th Feb 2023

Mexicolore contributor Leonide Martin

We are sincerely grateful to Leonide Martin for this illuminating article on the Maya Red Queen. Leonide Martin, DPH is a professor, writer, and editor who has published award-winning historical fiction set in ancient Maya civilization. Her series about four Maya queens of Palenque depicts the lives of these remarkable women in K’inich Janaab Pakal’s family, based on archeological timelines and research. Dr. Martin lived and studied in Mexico and Guatemala with archeologists and Maya elders, becoming a Solar Initiate and Maya Fire Woman.

“The Red Queen” was the nickname given by archeologists to the woman of high status buried in a crypt in Temple XIII in Palenque, a World Heritage Maya site in Chiapas, Mexico. In 1994 they excavated the sarcophagus of a tall woman whose skeleton was permeated with red cinnabar, a mercuric oxide preservative the Mayas used for royal burials. The inner walls of the sarcophagus were also coated red, and her skeleton covered with jade and shells. They knew she was someone important, probably related to famous Maya king K’inich Janaab Pakal, since Temple XIII was adjacent to his burial pyramid, the Temple of the Inscriptions. The discovery was made by a young archeologist named Fanny Lopez while doing routine work clearing weeds and debris off the collapsed stairs of Temple XIII. Finding the royal burial of a woman was the biggest discovery in Mesoamerican archeology in 40 years.

After an expert Mexican physical anthropologist determined the skeleton was female, speculation ran rampant over who she was. It was not easy to figure out her identity, however, because the crypt and sarcophagus did not have any inscriptions. This was surprising, because Palenque is a Maya site well known for prolific carved and painted inscriptions. In Pakal’s burial chamber, the crypt walls, sarcophagus walls, and sarcophagus lid were literally covered with Maya hieroglyphs, symbols and portraits of ancestors. When his burial was discovered in 1943, it was the richest Maya tomb ever found and was compared to that of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen.

The Red Queen was buried with a jade mask similar to Pakal’s mask (pic 3).
It took ten years for archeologists to make progress in solving the mystery of The Red Queen’s identity. They agreed early on that the woman must be very important, and most likely related to Pakal since her pyramid was adjacent to his. The process of deduction had led to four woman candidates who were in Pakal’s family. From portraits and hieroglyphs in Pakal’s burial, on tablets and panels in Palenque, they knew the names of his mother and grandmother.

From panels in the Palace and Temple of the Inscriptions they could identify the names of his wife and daughter-in-law. He apparently did not have any sisters or daughters, although he did have four sons. The candidates for The Red Queen were his grandmother, mother, wife and daughter-in-law:
• Yohl Ik’nal, his grandmother – Heart of North Wind
• Sak K’uk, his mother – Resplendent White Quetzal
• Tz’aakb’u Ahau, his wife – Accumulator of Lords
• K’inuuw Mat, his daughter-in-law – Sun-Possessed Cormorant.

Yohl Ik’nal was the grandmother of Pakal. Her birth date is not known, but the glyphs recorded that she ascended to the throne of Palenque in 583 CE. She was the first Maya woman to rule in her own accord, and most probably inherited rulership from her father, Kan Bahlam I. She ruled successfully for 21 years, fending off attacks from Kalakmul and bringing prosperity and new constructions to her city. Although there is disagreement among Mayanists about dynastic succession, many believe that Yohl Ik’nal was the mother of Aj Ne Ohl Mat, her son who ruled from 605-612 CE, and Sak K’uk, her daughter who ruled from 612-615 CE.

Sak K’uk was the mother of Pakal. She was born around 578 CE, and became the second Maya woman to rule in her own right. She took over during a chaotic period in Palenque, when the city suffered a devastating defeat by Kalakmul near the end of her brother’s reign. After he was killed, the city was without leadership and in spiritual crisis, because their sacred portal to the Gods and Ancestors (the Sak Nuk Nah—White Skin House) had been destroyed. There is controversy about who actually ruled during this time, because another woman’s name, Muwaan Mat, is found in some inscriptions. Muwaan Mat was the name of the Maya Primordial Mother Goddess, and some Mayanists interpret the situation as a melding of Sak K’uk and Muwaan Mat identities, giving greater authority for the earthly woman to assume rulership. Sak K’uk managed to ascend to the throne and hold it until her son, Pakal, was 12 years old and acceded. It’s highly likely that she continued to provide leadership for several more years.

Tz’aakb’u Ahau was the wife of Pakal. Her birth date is unknown; they married in 626 CE. Born in a neighboring town, possibly Tortuguero (then called B’aak), very little is recorded about her. She and Pakal had four sons, two of whom became rulers (K’inich Kan Bahlam II, K’inich Kan Joy Chitam II). Her portrait is depicted on the Palace Tablet, sitting on one side with Pakal on the other side of their second son to rule, K’inich Kan Joy Chitam II. The Palace Tablet has multiple carved glyphs with figures at the top showing him seated on a double-headed serpent bar, receiving the headdress of royalty from his father Pakal, as his mother offers him the god-figurine symbol of divine ancestry. Her death in 673 CE is recorded in the Tablets of the Temple of the Inscriptions. An image that many consider to be her appears on an inner pier on top of the Temple, cradling the lineage deity Unen K’awiil (Baby Jaguar of the Palenque Triad Deities).

K’inuuw Mat was the daughter-in-law of Pakal. She married Pakal’s youngest son, Tiwol Chan Mat, who died at age 33 in 680 CE. Although two of Pakal’s older sons ruled, neither of them left heirs and rulership went to the youngest son’s son, the grandson of Pakal and nephew of the previous kings. We know almost nothing about K’inuuw Mat, except that she was not from Palenque. She is depicted on a carved tablet from the residential complex Group IV, called The Tablet of the Slaves. On the tablet she is seated to the left of her son K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nab III, offering him the K’awiil icon of royal lineage. Seated at the right is the ruler’s father, Tiwol Chan Mat, holding up the drum-major hat of rulership. Their son K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nab III continued Pakal’s dynasty by acceding to the throne in 721 CE.

Early on, Pakal’s grandmother was eliminated because she died more than 70 years before the Red Queen’s tomb was built. Both his mother and wife died within the right time frame, and possibly his daughter-in-law although her death date is not known. She seemed a less likely candidate, although it was her son who continued Pakal’s dynasty. It took progress in scientific analysis of ancient bones to solve this mystery.
Cinnabar used to coat the bones of Pakal and the Red Queen made microscopic examination difficult. New techniques were needed, and by 2003 samples of bone and teeth from both their skeletons had been extracted by the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). From these samples, studies of strontium isotopes were done by researchers at the Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan (UADY). These isotopes in rock and soil are different in various regions, and move into humans through eating plant foods. They move into tooth enamel during childhood, but not into skeletal bones until later in life.

Determining strontium isotope ratios can indicate where a person grew up and where they were living before they died. Pakal’s isotope ratios showed he was born and resided later in life in Palenque. The Red Queen’s isotope ratios showed she was born in western Veracruz in the Tortuguero region, and resided later in Palenque. This made Pakal’s wife a better candidate than his mother for being the Red Queen, since his mother was born and lived her life in Palenque.
The most definitive evidence came from DNA analysis. In 2012 a group at Lakehead University in Canada had specialized DNA techniques for studying ancient bones. They analyzed samples of bone from Pakal, the Red Queen, and three others from Palenque. Their results confirmed that Pakal and the Red Queen did not share DNA. Thus, they were not blood relatives.

Now most Mayanists believe that the Red Queen is Tz’aakb’u Ahau, Pakal’s wife and not his mother, Sak K’uk. This is not complete proof however, since his daughter-in-law K’inuuw Mat would also not share his DNA. If future excavations discover the tomb of a son, and if these bones could be analyzed for DNA and compared to the Red Queen, then the mystery would be finally solved.
The Red Queen’s story has been told in two books. La Reina Roja by Adriana Malvido is a journalistic account of the discovery of the Temple XIII crypt, speculation on who was the woman buried there, and subsequent 15-year quest to confirm her identity. The Mayan Red Queen: Tz’aakb’u Ahau of Palenque by Leonide Martin is historical fiction that depicts the life and society in which The Red Queen lived, based on archeological timelines and indigenous culture.

Further Reading
• Malvido, Adriana. 2006. La Reina Roja. Random House Mondadori, S.A. de C.V., Mexico, D.F. Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH), Mexico, D.F.
• Martin, Leonide. 2018. The Mayan Red Queen: Tz’aakb’u Ahau of Palenque. Made for Success, Issaquah, WA
• Stuart, David & Stuart, George. 2008. Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya. Thames & Hudson Ltd. London and New York
• Tiesler, Vera and Cucina, Andres (editors). 2006. Janaab’ Pakal of Palenque: Reconstructing the Life and Death of a Maya Ruler. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

Image Sources
• Pic 1: The sarcophagus of the Red Queen, Palenque. Photo by Héctor Montaño. © Secretaría de Cultura - Instituto Nacional de Arqueologia y Historia (INAH)
• Pic 2: Skull of the Red Queen. Palenque-Temple of the Red Queen. Article by Dorothy Bell, photo by Bill Bell http://ontheroadin.com/Mexico
• Pic 3: Jade Mask of the Red Queen. Natalia Klimczak, “Unravelling the Mysteries of the Tomb of the Red Queen in Palenque.” 29 July 2018. Photo by Wolfgang Sauber. https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/unravelling-mysteries-tomb-red-queen-palenque-006283
• Pic 4: Temple of Inscriptions with Temple XIII adjacent. Arqueologia Mexicana. 10 February 2023. Drawing by Elvia Perez Samaniego. https://arqueologiamexicana.mx/mexico-antiguo/tumba-de-la-reina-roja-palenque-chiapas
• Pic 5: Drawing of Yohl Ik’nal on side of Pakal’s sarcophagus. Drawn for author by Made for Success Publishing. Based on Merle Greene Robertson drawing, Mesoweb.com
• Pic 6: Drawing of Sak K’uk from Oval Palace Tablet. Drawn for author by Made for Success Publishing. Based on Linda Schele drawing, Famsi.org
• Pic 7: Drawing of Tz’aakbu Ahau from Palace Tablet. Drawn for author by Made for Success Publishing. Based on Linda Schele drawing, Famsi.org
• Pic 8: Drawing of K’inuuw Mat from Tablet of the Slaves Drawn for author by Made for Success Publishing. Based on Linda Schele drawing, Famsi.org
• Pic 9: Artist’s reconstruction of two piers on top of the Temple of Inscriptions. (We regret we are unable to trace the original source for this image)
• Pic 10: Fanny Lopez and Arnoldo Gonzales Cruz look into the sarcophagus of The Red Queen. Malvido, Adriana. 2006. La Reina Roja
• Pic 11: Reconstruction of the face of The Red Queen based on forensic science. August 2, 2010. Discovery Channel International. “Historical Project for Discovery Channel – Red Queen.” Created by Karen T. Taylor, forensic and portrait artist, working with Dr. Vera Tiesler.