Dos Pilas is located along the Pasion River in Guatemala, and is so named for the two tank-shaped puddles which are close to each other within the area. It was discovered by geologist G.L. Vinson in 1960 and has recently been excavated by Arthur Demarest of Vanderbuilt University in Nashville. Demarest, upon his excavations, found caves underlying the city and called in James E. Brady to explore them. In 645 AD the brother of the King of Tikal left the city to found a rival kingdom about 100km from Tikal. The city he founded was Dos Pilas. Back then the Mayan only waged war for prestige and political power not to gain territory. King I of Dos Pilas wanting to gain power over his brother in Tikal waged many battles against him for the cities shield, which represented the political power that Tikal had. Finally in 679 AD he succeeded and emerged the winner.
When King II, the son of the first king, took over in 698AD, wars were waged for the gain of territory and King II set out to do just that. In fact he succeeded in conquering two neighboring cities, that of Tamarindito and Seibal. King III reigned from 726-741AD he too extended his power through war but also through marriage. His marriage to a princess from Cancuen gave him a son who would go on to become King IV. King III also reigned over Dos Pilas’s twin city of Aquateca where he moved and which became the center of power of his dynasty. King IV reigned in 741-761 more from the city of Aquateca than from Dos Pilas. He managed to conquer the entire Pentexbatun region making the Pentexbatun empire complete. He was to be the last King of Dos Pilas, for the city of Tamarindito (captured by the second king) gained its independence. King IV died at the hands of Tamarindito rebels. This led to the collapse of the empire and Dos Pilas.
The people of Dos Pilas had to build walls around the great city for protection, tearing down temples and other buildings to do so. Farmers had do defend their land and settlements from outside attackers thus they would only farm adjacent areas of the city which caused an environmental disaster. There was a decline in the confidence of leadership, as well as ritual activity and what held the people together as a society. Eventually the great city of Dos Pilas collapsed and was forgotten until 1960. Demarest began excavating Dos Pilas and has found caves underneath the city, great temples and walls full of hieroglyphs. These hieroglyphs led him to the tomb of King II, which is quite a rarity, the hieroglyphs rarely lead a person to the tomb of kings. Also by trying to decipher these hieroglyphs there is hope that one day we will know what exactly happened to this culture and city.
Brady, James E. “Settlement configuration and Cosmology: The Role of Caves at Dos Pilas.” American Anthropologist Vol. 99 no. 3 (1997): 602-618.
“Dos Pilas.” Anth 506 Lecture http://www.ukans.edu/~hoopes/506/Lectures/DosPilas.html 2 December 1999.
“Mayan Kings.” http://www.didrichsenmuseum.fi/maya/e_kuninkaat.htm 5 December 1999.
Written by: Jennifer Gleason