PALENQUE, CHIAPAS, MÉXICO

600-900ADLate Classical Period

Palenque, located in the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico

PALENQUEPalenque contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced.By 2005, the discovered area covered up to 2.5 km² (1 sq mi), but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle.Palenque’s most famous ruler was King Pakal, who would rule for almost 70 years! Longer than any other Mesoamerican ruler. Through his reign is major expansion of the site and the construction of hundreds of pyramids, including his own tomb.

PALACE COMPLEXThe Palace, a complex of several connected and adjacent buildings and courtyards, was built by several generations on a wide artificial terrace during four century period. This royal complex was not only the residence of the king, provided with all the comforts such as latrines and sweat baths, but also the political core of the Maya capital, and was used to receive foreign visitors, organize sumptuous feasts, and to work as an efficient administrative center. The Palace was equipped with numerous large baths and saunas which were supplied with fresh water by an intricate water system. An aqueduct, constructed of great stone blocks with a three-meter-high vault, diverts the Otulum River to flow underneath the main plaza.

Note: The use of corbel vault technique

THE OVAL PALACE TABLET652 AD STONE TABLET Located in “House E” the king’s throne room. This tablet shows Pakal the Great sitting on a double-headed jaguar throne just before receiving the crown from his mother, Lady Zak-Kuk. Pakal was 12 years old when he ascended to power and ruled for the next 68 years until his death in A.D. 683.

*NOTE: Pakal is being crowned by his motherLady Zak-Kuk extends a crown used by Palenque's kings, towards her son, giving him the first part of the regalia that will transform him into the king.

Temple of the Inscriptions: It owes its name to the fact that its walls are covered with one of the longest carved inscription of the Maya area, including 617 glyphs.

This temple contains the tomb of King Pakal*Note: 9 distinct levels as seen in Tikal as well, associated with the underworld**

This temple is unique in Mesoamerica because it was built before the ruler’s death.

In 1952, the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, who was in charge of the excavation work, noticed that one of the slabs that covered the floor of the temple presented one hole at each corner that could be used to lift the stone. Lhuillier and his crew lifted the stone and encountered a steep stairway filled with rubble and stones that went many meters down into the pyramid. Removing the backfill from the tunnel took almost two years, and in the process they encountered many offerings of jade, shell and pottery that spoke for the importance of the place.

The stairway ended about 25 meters (82 feet) below the surface and at its end the archaeologists found a large stone box with the bodies of six sacrificed individuals. On the wall next to the box on the left side of the room, a large triangular slab covered the access to the funerary chamber of King Pakal

The funerary chamber is a vaulted room of about 9 x 4 meters (29 x 13 feet). At its center sits the large stone sarcophagus made out of a single limestone slab. The surface of the stone block was carved to house the body of the king and it was then covered by a stone slab. Both the stone slab and the sides of the sarcophagus are covered with carved images portraying human figures emerging from trees.

SARCOPHAGUS LID OF KING PAKAL

650-700ADLATE CLASSIC

PERIOD As if in the moment of death, king Pakal is depicted being swallowed by skeletal jaws on his sarcophagus lid. Found within the temple-pyramid, was a corbeled chamber which held the uterus-shaped sarcophagus of the great king, whose remains lay covered with jade and cinnabar. The sarcophagus lid shows the king at the moment of death, falling in rapture into the jaws of the underworld. The sides of the sarcophagus display Pakal’s ancestors, emerging from the ground, while nine stucco attendants flank the walls. The construction was designed for eternity.

JADE MASK OF KING PAKAL.

680 ADLATE CLASSIC

PERIODThe life-sized burial mask of King Pakal is a mosaic of more than 200 tiles of jade, albite, and quartz. The eyes of the mask are made of conch shell and obsidian.Note* the body is completely covered in red cinnabar.

PORTRAIT HEAD OF PAKAL650 ADSTUCCOThe focus of Maya courtly art was the person of the king, seen as both political ruler and living god. Noble images like this one served to promote his absolute power. Pakal's headband here is of buds of flowers...just coming into bloom. Maize foliage wraps...around...his headdress, and then his hair is turned back, like the very corn silk that one would find emerging from the cob.This portrait was found in Pakal's tomb.