Friday, September 16, 2022

Checking in on the White Dog

h/t Saraceni and the NYT, here is a nonpaywalled Indian-Express reprint of White Dog City, Sak Tz’i’ in Choltal. This has been mentioned a few times over the past two years or more; so, we're just getting an update here.

Although we can read the glyphs as Choltal the people there may have spoken then-mutually-intelligible Tzeltal. This because of the nearest village, apparently a ranching hamlet founded as "Lacanjá Tzeltal" by the Gomez and/or Sanchez family/ies. The ruin was found at Jacinto Gomez Sanchez' ranch - or, at least, some loot was traced back there. Sanchez then called in the archaeologists and has been doing his utmost to save the site (which was open to the elements). He considers himself a Maya and has much pride in his heritage, which pride he absolutely deserves.

Chiapas has long been considered a difficult part of the Mesoamerican isthmus, with jungle and badland. Other Classic-Maya cities recorded that the Maya even then considered the White Dog to be annoying. Several accounts record warfare over there. Apparently those cities nabbed a king in AD 628, almost a century after that civilisational "Hiatus".

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