Pa' K'in Chak I is known only from a single reference on Stela 11 of Machaquila. He is named in the parentage statement of the Machaquila king "Etz'nab'" Chak, who according to Stela 11 was ruling on AD 741. Because he has a Machaquila emblem glyph in his name phrase, Pa' K'in Chak I was presumably a king, and since he was the father of "Etz'nab'" Chak, he was likely his predecessor as ruler of Machaquila. Unfortunately we have no dates for Pa' K'in Chak I. It is possible that the earliest known Machaquila monument, Stela 13 (which probably dates to AD 711) is a Pa' K'in Chak I monument, but its inscription is almost completely weathered. In sum, it is likely that Pa' K'in Chak I was ruling Machaquila early in the eighth century, and he was probably born in the last half of the seventh century, AD.
Pa' K'in Chak I had at least one namesake. I have labelled the fifth known ruler of Machaquila as Pa' K'in Chak II. (Some scholars have considered the third Machaquila ruler as another namesake, but the name—which I list as ??? Chak—is not clear.) |