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<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/" article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.2" xml:lang="en"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">RUDN Journal of World History</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="en">RUDN Journal of World History</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Всеобщая история</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn publication-format="print">2312-8127</issn><issn publication-format="electronic">2312-833X</issn><publisher><publisher-name xml:lang="en">Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba (RUDN University)</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">46292</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.22363/2312-8127-2025-17-3-420-439</article-id><article-id pub-id-type="edn">SHQZBO</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>THE HISTORY OF PRE-COLUMBIAN AMERICA</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="toc-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>ИСТОРИЯ ДОКОЛУМБОВОЙ АМЕРИКИ</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="article-type"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title xml:lang="en">Four Santa Elena monuments from Balancan museum, Tabasco, Mexico</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="ru"><trans-title>Четыре монумента Санта-Элены из музея Баланкан в штате Табаско, Мексика</trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2550-6799</contrib-id><contrib-id contrib-id-type="spin">3257-6233</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Vepretskii</surname><given-names>Sergei V.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Вепрецкий</surname><given-names>Сергей Викторович</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>PhD (history), researcher, Department of America, Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology; junior researcher and teacher Knorozov Mesoamerican Centre, Russian State University for the Humanities</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>кандидат исторических наук, научный сотрудник Отдела Америки, Института этнологии и антропологии РАН; младший научный сотрудник и преподаватель Мезоамериканского центра имени Ю.В. Кнорозова исторического факультета, Российский государственный гуманитарный университет</p></bio><email>servepr@gmail.com</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1"/><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6609-2302</contrib-id><contrib-id contrib-id-type="spin">4705-6569</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Beliaev</surname><given-names>Dmitri D.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Беляев</surname><given-names>Дмитрий Дмитриевич</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>PhD (history), assistant professor, Knorozov center for Mesoamerican studies, faculty of history, Russian State University for the Humanities; senior research fellow, International Centre of Anthropology, National Research University Higher School of Economics</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>кандидат исторических наук, доцент Мезоамериканского центра имени Ю.В. Кнорозова исторического факультета; старший научный сотрудник Международного центра антропологии, Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики»</p></bio><email>lakamha@mail.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"/><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1080-5614</contrib-id><contrib-id contrib-id-type="spin">6568-9377</contrib-id><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Davletshin</surname><given-names>Albert I.</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Давлетшин</surname><given-names>Альберт Иршатович</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en"><p>PhD (history), chief research fellow, Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies</p></bio><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>кандидат исторических наук, старший научный сотрудник Института восточных культур и античности</p></bio><email>aldavletshin@mail.ru</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author"><name-alternatives><name xml:lang="en"><surname>Love</surname><given-names>Bruce</given-names></name><name xml:lang="ru"><surname>Лав</surname><given-names>Брюс</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="en">PhD (anthropology)</bio><bio xml:lang="ru">PhD по антропологии, исследователь</bio><email>brucelove9@gmail.com</email><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff-alternatives id="aff1"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Институт этнологии и антропологии</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><aff-alternatives id="aff2"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Russian State University for the Humanities</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Российский государственный гуманитарный университет</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><aff-alternatives id="aff3"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">National Research University Higher School of Economics</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики»</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><aff-alternatives id="aff4"><aff><institution xml:lang="en">Anthropological Research Contributions (ARC)</institution></aff><aff><institution xml:lang="ru">Организация «Достижения в антропологических исследованиях» (ARC)</institution></aff></aff-alternatives><pub-date date-type="pub" iso-8601-date="2025-10-02" publication-format="electronic"><day>02</day><month>10</month><year>2025</year></pub-date><volume>17</volume><issue>3</issue><issue-title xml:lang="en">Antiquity in the Mediterranean Region and pre-Columbian America</issue-title><issue-title xml:lang="ru">Древность Средиземноморья и доколумбовой Америки</issue-title><fpage>420</fpage><lpage>439</lpage><history><date date-type="received" iso-8601-date="2025-10-04"><day>04</day><month>10</month><year>2025</year></date></history><permissions><copyright-statement xml:lang="en">Copyright ©; 2025, Vepretskii S.V., Beliaev D.D., Davletshin A.I., Love B.</copyright-statement><copyright-statement xml:lang="ru">Copyright ©; 2025, Вепрецкий С.В., Беляев Д.Д., Давлетшин А.И., Лав Б.</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2025</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">Vepretskii S.V., Beliaev D.D., Davletshin A.I., Love B.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">Вепрецкий С.В., Беляев Д.Д., Давлетшин А.И., Лав Б.</copyright-holder><ali:free_to_read xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/"/><license><ali:license_ref xmlns:ali="http://www.niso.org/schemas/ali/1.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0</ali:license_ref></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://journals.rudn.ru/world-history/article/view/46292">https://journals.rudn.ru/world-history/article/view/46292</self-uri><abstract xml:lang="en"><p>The relevance of the research topic is due to the fact that the corpus of hieroglyphic inscriptions of Santa Elena, located in the municipality of Balancan in the territory of the modern state of Tabasco, is not large, and most of the references to its rulers are taken from the texts of other monuments. The inscriptions analyzed in the study have not previously been fully introduced into scientific circulation. The aim of this study is to analyze the Santa Elena epigraphic inscriptions from the Balancan Museum and to place them in the general context of the political history of the Wa...aˀ kingdom (also known as Wa-”Bird”) during the Classic period. The new documentation of these monuments made by Bruce Love in 2019 (nighttime photography) and Sergei Vepretskii in 2024 (photogrammetric models) has revealed previously unknown data on the political history of Santa Elena. We managed to prove that these inscriptions report on a war against Palenque (probably in 611), and on possible connections between Santa Elena and Kanuˀl at the turn of the 6th and 7th centuries. Considering the new information in the context of data obtained from other hieroglyphic inscriptions, we offer a preliminary reconstruction of the dynastic sequence of Santa Elena in the 6th and 7th centuries.</p></abstract><trans-abstract xml:lang="ru"><p>Актуальность темы исследования обусловлена тем, что корпус иероглифических надписей Санта-Элены, археологического памятника, расположенного в муниципалитете Баланкан на территории современного штата Табаско, не велик, а большинство упоминаний о его правителях взято из текстов других памятников. Анализируемые надписи ранее не были полноценно введены в научный оборот. Цель исследования - проанализировать эпиграфические надписи Санта-Элены из музея Баланкан и рассмотреть их в общем контексте политической истории царства Ва...а, также известного как Ва-«Птица». Новая документация данных памятников, осуществленная Брюсом Лавом в 2019 г. (ночные фотографии со вспышкой) и Сергеем Вепрецким в 2024 г. (фотограмметрические модели), позволила выявить ранее неизвестные данные о политической истории Санта-Элены. Удалось доказать, что среди прочего данные надписи сообщают о войне против Паленке (вероятно, в 611 г.) и возможных связях Санта-Элены и Канульского царства на рубеже VI и VII вв. Рассматривая полученную информацию в контексте сведений из других иероглифических надписей, мы предлагаем предварительную реконструкцию династической последовательности Санта-Элены в VI-VII вв.</p></trans-abstract><kwd-group xml:lang="en"><kwd>Ancient Maya</kwd><kwd>Classic period</kwd><kwd>epigraphy</kwd><kwd>political history</kwd><kwd>Santa Elena</kwd></kwd-group><kwd-group xml:lang="ru"><kwd>древние майя</kwd><kwd>классический период</kwd><kwd>эпиграфика</kwd><kwd>Санта-Элена</kwd><kwd>политическая история</kwd></kwd-group><funding-group/></article-meta><fn-group/></front><body></body><back><ref-list><ref id="B1"><label>1.</label><mixed-citation>Perales R, Mugarte J. 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