 The K 'iche ' king Q 'uq 'umatz died in battle against a group of the northern Mam . His son K 'iq 'ab continued where his father had left off and completed the conquest of the people . K 'iq 'ab was ruler when Zaculeu was conquered by the K 'iche . ' This appears to have been a second K 'iche ' conquest of the city , having previously fallen some time earlier . When the K 'iche ' conquered another kingdom , its practice was to place the newly subject kingdom under the control of one of the K 'iche ' noble lineages . Based on the style of Structure 4 , archeologists believe that Zaculeu was likely controlled by the Nija 'ib . ' The <unk> , who had conquered much of the region , are another possibility . The K 'iche ' tended to place their newly installed ruling elite in a mountain @-@ top fortress securing the population in the valleys below . However , substantial portions of the original Mam population remained in place in the plateau area . 
