Motul de San José has been identified as the source of Ik-style polychrome ceramics bearing painted scenes of the Late Classic Maya aristocracy involved in a variety of courtly activities.

[5] The Ik-style was characterised by hieroglyphs painted in a pink or pale red colour, scenes with dancers wearing masks, and the realistic representation of subjects as they appeared in life.

[8] Motul de San José lies on a limestone plateau at the northern edge of the fault depression that underlies the central lakes of the Petén Basin.

[10] Motul de San José is possibly the source of the so-called "Ik-style" painted polychrome ceramics, a theory that has recently received additional support from archaeological excavations at the site.

[28] The Ik-style ceramic corpus includes a set of features such as hieroglyphs painted in a pink or pale red colour and scenes with dancers wearing masks.

The corpus is represented by more than 30 intact vessels, the majority of unknown provenance, which have been compared to ceramic fragments recovered from Motul de San José and its satellite sites.

The subject matter of the vessels includes courtly life from the Petén region in the 8th century AD, such as diplomatic representations, feasting, bloodletting, scenes of warriors and the sacrifice of prisoners of war.

[5] The variations in artistic style and chemical composition of the Ik-style ceramics suggests that they were produced in a number of workshops local to the Motul de San José area.

In spite of differences, all the Ik-style ceramics are thought to have been made within a network of allied workshops dedicated to producing vessels for use in the banquets of the aristocracy of Motul de San José and of the petty nobility of the capital's satellites.

[30] A particularly rare feature found on Motul de San José ceramics is the so-called X-ray style, showing a figure wearing a mask but also portraying his face underneath it.

All the other representations using this rare style are depicted on Late Classic sculptures at sites with which it is known that Motul de San José had contact at this time, including Dos Pilas, Machaquila, Tikal and Yaxchilan.

This region also includes two major water sources in the form of Lake Péten Itzá to the south and the Kantetul river 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the north.

[36] Some animal remains were recovered that were clearly associated with elite status occupation, such as those of the jaguar, the ocelot or other small feline and the crocodile (crocodilus spp.).

Aquatic animal products arriving at Motul de San José were far more likely to be consumed by the elite than by commoners, whether used as food or to craft artefacts.

[42] Early Classic ceramic finds are scarce at Motul de San José and those that have been found were a minor component in mixed fill deposits.

Motul de San José became one of the three most important cities around Lake Petén Itzá and was approximately the same size as Tayasal, while it was slightly smaller than Nixtun Ch'ich'.

[44] After its defeat at the hands of the Petexbatún kingdom, Motul de San José no longer erected sculpted stelae but the history of the site continued to be recorded to a certain extent in texts on Ik-style ceramics.

This seems to be the case at Motul de San José with its rich ceramic tradition being a testament to the politically motivated banqueting that took place in the city.

[47] In spite of these shifting alliances, Motul de San José acted with a degree of independence and was a powerful kingdom in the 8th century AD, with its ruler using the kaloomte title given to high kings.

[51] Lady Wak Jalam Chan Ajaw is shown preparing her husband for a battle that took place in 755 on Yaxchilan Lintel 41, now in the British Museum in London.

[54] All dates A.D. An Ik-style vessel possesses a hieroglyphic text declaring that it was the property of Chuy-ti Chan, the son of Sak Muwaan, divine lord of Motul de San Jose who ruled between AD 700 and 726.

[49] Seibal Stela 10, dating to roughly 849 AD, has an inscription naming Kan Ek' as ruler of Motul de San José, which is recorded as being one of the four paramount polities in the mid-9th century (ca.

[68] Teoberto Maler visited Motul de San José in May 1895, and described one of the stelae in his report Explorations in the Department of Peten, Guatemala, published by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Harvard University in 1910.

The group includes a 5.5-metre (18 ft) tall pyramid, severely damaged by looters' pits, with one in the summit and one each on the north, east, south and west sides.

[82] Excavations in the northwestern portion of the Acropolis have revealed a series of stucco floors and large amounts of ceramic remains, as well as fragments of worked stone, obsidian, bone and shell.

Investigations behind the west structure of the northwest plaza in the Acropolis recovered fill that included ceramic fragments dating as far back as the Late Preclassic and Early Classic.

[112] Buena Vista features an early architectural style that differs from that at Motul de San José, consisting of platforms built from unworked stone, with wide front stairways and probably without superstructures.

[115] A stairway ascended the front of the building, under which were found the remains of Late Classic polychrome ceramics, perhaps belonging to a pre-construction ritual offering.

[115] Chachaklum (also spelt Chächäklu'um) is situated 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) east of the site core and may also have formed a part of the Motul de San José polity.

[118] It occupies an area of 16 hectares (0.062 sq mi) and consists of 59 structures widely dispersed around a small plaza upon the flat summit of a 40-metre (130 ft) high hill.