Women Rulers
Although the Maya preferred rulership to pass to sons and not daughters, the eighth ruler of Palenque was a woman. Her name was Yohl Ik'nal and she ruled for twenty years. She was most likely the sister or daughter of the previous ruler, Kan B'ahlam I.
El Perú (also known as Waka') is a site in northwestern Guatemala. At this site, archaeologists have discovered the almost untouched burial tomb of a Maya queen which dates to approximately 800AD. The queen’s skull and leg bone are missing, and were possibly removed to be used as relics. Though her name, lineage, and cause of death are not known, it is believed that the queen was between 30 and 45 at her death. Inside the tomb archaeologists found more than 1,600 artifacts, including a plated helmet with jade plaques, and a small jade carving of a deity in profile, which were worn by Maya royalty. Stingray spines, which were commonly used for ritual bloodletting, were also found, placed upon the queen’s pelvis in the tomb. According to David Freidel of Southern Methodist University, the placement of the spines may served to represent the queen as both male and female.
Read more about this topic: Women In Maya Society
Famous quotes containing the words women and/or rulers:
“Much of the ill-tempered railing against women that has characterized the popular writing of the last two years is a half-hearted attempt to find a way back to a more balanced relationship between our biological selves and the world we have built. So women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for not wanting to eat their cake and have it too.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
“The rulers of the earth are all worth knowing; they suggest moral reflections: and the respect that one naturally has for God’s vice-regents here on earth is greatly increased by acquaintance with them.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)