K8622 is another painted polychrome vessel from the Late Classic Period. This one comes from the city of Sa’al, known today as Naranjo. K8622 has a nearly identical color and style to two other Naranjo vessels, K1398, more commonly known as the Regal Rabbit Vase, and K0927. Both of these vessels were created during the reign of K’ahk’ Tihliw Chan Chahk, which would suggest that K8622 was as well.

The scene on K8622 depicts an old man in the center with Itzamnaaj riding an animal on either side, a deer on the left and a peccary on the right. The nature of the scene, including the hair like grass at the bottom, the mosquitoes on the far right, and the skyband above would seem to indicate that this scene takes place outdoors, not in a celestial or underworld location.

On the left side of the scene Itzamnaaj appears riding a deer. In both this depiction and the other Itzamnaaj appears with his standard iconographic traits including LEM glyph “god-markings”, large eyes with square pupils, and his fanciful headdress containing a an AK’AB marked flower at the front and YAX and NAAH glyphs at the top. Emerging from his mouth are speech lines that connect to the caption text that will be discussed later. At first glance, the deer that Itzamnaaj rides appears to be fairly ordinary, with hooves and an ear marked by a scent scroll, but upon closer inspection several patches of jaguar skin appear on the back, legs, and neck of the deer. Typically this is an iconographic trait exclusive to Yax Baluun, which has led to the idea that this may be a depiction of Yax Baluun transformed into a deer (Houston 2025).

In the direct middle of the scene is an elderly man with some peculiar features. His elderly appearance and the wooden paddle he holds hint at a connection to the Paddler Gods, yet he lacks their large eyes, “god-markings”, and agnathic animal headdresses. The biggest clue may come from the small K’IN ‘sun’ glyph surrounded by a dotted ring at the back of his head. This is, however, reminiscent of two other glyphs, glyph G9 of the lunar series and the head variant of PUUL ‘to burn’. Glyph G9 has the elderly face, but instead has a large K’IN glyph placed atop the head. On the other hand, the PUUL glyph has a nearly identical small K’IN glyph on the back of the head, but the face it depicts lacks the elderly features.

To the right of the elderly man Itzamnaaj appears again, this time on the back of a peccary. Just as how the deer is depicted with traits if Yax Baluun, this peccary has a single large spot on his cheek, typically a trait of Juun Ajaw, suggesting that Juun Ajaw has transformed into a peccary (Houston 2025). Unfortunately the answer to why the Hero Twins have transformed into animals and why Itzamnaaj needs to be carried remains unclear.

Glyph	Transcription	Transliteration	Translation
U	ba-ya	bay	where/thus
V01	bi-hi	bih	road
V02	lok’-yi	lok’oyi	to depart
V03	mok? witz?	mok? witz?	Mok? Witz?
V04	mam	maam	grandfather
W	07 ??	wuuk ??	07 Ok
X	13 yax sihom	huxlajuun ya’x sihoom	13 Yax
Y	t’ab?-yi	t’abayi?	appears
Z	yu-k’i-bi	yuk’ib	his drinking vessel
A’	sih-ya-ja	sihyaj	Sihyaj
B’01	–	–	??
B’02	yax bu-k’u	yax buk’	Yax Buk’
B’03	13 tzu-ku	huxlajuun tzuk	13 provinces

Within the scene itself, K8622 has two small texts. One is related to the scene itself, and the other describes a real world event involving the owner of the vessel. The first text, spanning from glyphs U to V04, is connected to Itzamnaaj’s mouth via speech scrolls, showing that he is talking to the elderly man at the center of the scene, asking him a question “Where is the road to depart Maize Flower Mountain (Mok Witz), grandfather?” This text gives some additional context to the scene, showing that the transformed Hero Twins are assisting Itzamnaaj in leaving this location.

The second text within the scene, running from glyph W to glyph B’03, begins with a date, 07 Ok 13 Yax. If this was a date that occurred in the present time, and not one in the mythical past, then August 21, 721 CE (using the Martin & Skidmore correlation and the Julian calendar) is the most likely candidate as this is within the lifetime of K’ahk’ Tihliw Chan Chahk, the Naranjo king mentioned on K1398 who likely commissioned both of these vessels. The text goes on to state that on this date the drinking vessel (likely this very one) of Sihyaj ?? Yax Buk’, of the 13 provinces, appeared. It is very likely that this vessel, K8622, was a gift from K’ahk’ Tihliw Chan Chahk to Sihyaj ?? Yax Buk’.

Lastly, the scene on K8622 is split and framed by a single pillar, in the middle of which is the head of the Olla-Mouthed God. This deity is nearly identical to the Jaguar War God, sharing all of his iconographic traits with one exception, the Olla-Mouthed God instead has an odd olla shaped object over the mouth. The significance of this object, and the role and purpose of this deity remain enigmatic, as depictions of the Olla-Mouthed God are no where near as common as those of the Jaguar War God or other better known deities.

Sources
Justin Kerr photograph collection, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, DC.
Houston, Stephen
2025 Of Aardvarks, Horses, and Hairless Dogs. Maya Decipherment: https://mayadecipherment.com/2025/12/18/of-aardvarks-horses-and-hairless-dogs/
Looper, Matthew G. and Martha J. Macri
1991-2026 Maya Hieroglyphic Database. Department of Art and Art History, California State University, Chico. http://www.mayadatabase.org