October
25
/ 2025
Epigraphists have successfully identified a woman who held supreme power in the ancient Maya city of Cobá during the 6th century AD. The ruler, known as Ix Ch'ak Ch'een, emerges from inscriptions carved into a remarkable limestone monument called the "Foundation Rock," discovered near a natural water reservoir in the Nohoch Mul Group of Cobá, located in Mexico's Quintana Roo state. This breakthrough provides unprecedented insight into female political authority in the ancient Maya world and reveals the complex dynastic networks that connected powerful city-states during the Classic Period. The Foundation Rock represents one of the most extensive hieroglyphic texts ever discovered at Cobá, and conservation efforts have allowed specialists to unlock its secrets more than a year after its
