For nearly 40 years, archaeologists Arlen and Diane Chase from the University of Houston have excavated the ancient Maya structures of Caracol in the jungles of modern-day Belize. In 2025, they announced one of their biggest finds yet: a 1,700-year-old royal tomb dating roughly to A.D. 330-350.
The tomb, discovered in an acropolis near Caana — the central architectural complex at Caracol — is believed to have belonged to Te K’ab Chaak, the potential founding king of a Maya dynasty that ruled for nearly 500 years.
“Inside the cinnabar-covered tomb, researchers found a shattered mosaic death mask made of jade and shells, jade ear flares, and the bones of an elderly man whose skull had rolled into a pottery vessel.”
The findings at the site — specifically, a cremation burial and green obsidian blades — offer clues to a possible relationship between the Maya living at Caracol and the powerful city of Teotihuacan, hundreds of miles away.
If the remains are confirmed to be Te K’ab Chaak, the discovery would provide unprecedented insight into the founding of one of the most powerful Maya dynasties — and its connections to the broader Mesoamerican world.
