Dos Pilas

Dos Pilas is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in Guatemala's Petén department, founded in AD 629 by a branch of Tikal's dynasty to control trade along the Pasión River in the Petexbatún region [1]. In AD 648 it broke from Tikal and became a vassal of Calakmul, though its first two rulers retained Tikal's emblem glyph [1]. The site functioned as a predatory state, subjugating neighboring polities like Itzan, Arroyo de Piedra, and Tamarindito [1]. Eventually, Dos Pilas and Aguateca formed twin capitals of the Petexbatun Kingdom [1].