Toniná

House of stone

Its terraces rise 71 meters, and one pyramid is taller than Teotihuacan's

Toniná is a ruined Maya city about 13 km east of the town of Ocosingo. Its name means house of stone in the Tzeltal language. Groups of temple-pyramids stand on terraces rising 71 meters above a plaza, beside a large ballgame court and more than 100 carved monuments. It is known for its well preserved stucco sculptures and for carvings in the round. One of its pyramids, at 74 meters, is taller than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan.

74 mheight of its pyramid, taller than the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan

Palenque

It fought Palenque for centuries, and in 711 took its king

Toniná lies about 64 km south of Palenque, its greatest rival throughout its recorded history. Toniná was an aggressive state in the Late Classic and used warfare to build a powerful kingdom. In 699 Ballcourt 1 was dedicated to celebrate three victories over Palenque. In 711 Toniná won an important victory and captured Kan Joy Chitam II of Palenque, which made it the dominant center of the lower Usumacinta region.

909

The last known Long Count date on any Maya monument is carved here

The last date recorded at Toniná is on Monument 101: 15 January 909. It is the last known Long Count date on any Maya monument, and it marks the end of the Classic Maya period. The history of Toniná went on after most other Classic Maya cities had fallen, perhaps helped by the site's isolation. Pottery shows people lived here for another century or more.

Ashes

The ashes of rulers were mixed with the materials of a rubber ball

Urns with the cremated remains of Maya rulers were found in the Temple of the Sun at Toniná. They also held rubber, coal and roots, the materials of the rubber balls used in the Mesoamerican ballgame. Archaeologists believe that the Maya of Toniná honored their rulers by putting their ashes into the ritual ball game.

Its enemies

A stucco death god carries the severed head of a lord of Palenque

Much of the public imagery at Toniná shows how the city dealt with its enemies. A stucco sculpture 16 by 4 meters, rising from the fourth to the fifth terrace, shows a skeletal death god carrying in one hand the severed head of a lord of Palenque. A frieze on the fifth terrace is in the style of Palenque, which suggests that captured artists carved it.