The Itzá Maya Migration Narratives

Abstract

According to native accounts, such as the Books of Chilam Balam and Spanish accounts from shortly after the Conquest, there were migrations with the foundation and rise of the kingdom of Chichén Itzá during the Classic to Postclassic transition. The Itzá play a central role in these events, but their identity remains unclear. I address this first through an analysis of the native and Spanish accounts of their migration to bring some clarity to the historical record. I then address archaeological and epigraphic evidence of changes at Chichén Itzá that suggest a correlation of the historical and archaeological records. Finally, I discuss evidence from earlier inscriptions from the southern lowlands that suggests an origin for the Itzá in the area around the central Petén lakes.