ABSTRACT
The Classic period is divided into two main phases that are broken down into subdivisions: Tzakol 1, 2 and 3 (a .d . 250-600), and Tepeu 1, 2, and 3 (a .D. 600-800). By Early Classic Tzakol times, Uaxactun was a major cen ter with sculpted monuments, temples, palaces, and a ball court. Elaborate burials indicate the growing importance of the elite. The tomb offerings included costly jade orna ments, fine polychrome vessels, and ritual objects. How ever, the hieroglyphic texts of stelae 5 and 22 indicate that in A.D. 378 Uaxactun was taken over by the ruler of Tikal, whose name is read as “Smoking Frog.” Some controversy exists over whether this event was actually a conquest; if it was, it provides the earliest evidence of forced takeover by an expansionist power in the Maya area. Whether by con quest, marriage, or other means, Uaxactun clearly came under the control of Tikal for the rest of the Early Classic period.
