Maya Site Of Palenque History - Enclosed and surrounded by dense jungle forest with pervasive mahogany, cedar and sapodilla trees, frequently shrouded in fog lies the Maya site of Palenque. Resting on the eastern front of the Rio Usumacinta Basin in the neighborhood of the roaming foothills of Chiapas' Oriental- at elevation of about 3000 meters-overlooking the lower plain extending to the Gulf of Mexico it is one of the most fascinating and most beautiful places the world has to offer.
Enclosed and
surrounded by dense jungle forest with
pervasive mahogany, cedar and sapodilla trees, frequently shrouded in fog lies
the Maya site of Palenque. Resting on the eastern
front of the Rio Usumacinta Basin in the neighborhood of the roaming foothills
of Chiapas' Oriental- at elevation of about 3000 meters-overlooking the lower
plain extending to the Gulf of Mexico it is one of the most fascinating and
most beautiful places the world has to offer.
The Mayan
archaeological site of Palenque represents the western
regional variant of Classic Maya civilization. Although the earliest occupation
of the site dates to about 100 BC, it became a major population center only at
about 600 AD. Nearly all construction at Palenque stopped by about 800 AD.
Unlike its cousin site of Chichen
Itza or Tikal,
Palenque's well-preserved ruins now visible are the heavily restored remains of
the ceremonial center the ceremonial center may be divided into three major
areas:
1. The Pyramid of
the Inscriptions, the west facade of the Palace and the unexcavated mound Temple XI;
2. Arroyo
Otulum, Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Cross and the Temple of the Foliated
Cross;
3. Ball Court and the Temple of the Count, Palace, Temple X, and the North Group.
In 1952 an
impressive tomb was uncovered under the
Temple of the Inscriptions, demonstrating for the first time that the Maya
pyramids served -contrary to former belief of the Maya- both as funerary
structures and temple platforms. To this day many of the inscriptions at Palenque have been deciphered,
revealing much of the dynastic history of the site. The following descriptions
of the different elements are best described via the time frame that
corresponds to the rulers. This is because it was the rulers, namely Pacal and
his children that held the greatest and most influential power in Palenque, sponsoring structures
during their reign.
Perhaps one of the
greatest and most ambitious, not to mention precocious Mayan kings, Pacal
assumed power in 603 AD at the very early age of 12 and ruled for 68 years until
his death in 683 AD. Well known for his drive and contributions of Palenque, Pacal built the Forgotten Temple in 647 AD. He also
sponsored the Temple of the Count, as well as
underground galleries beneath passages in the Palace. Stucco reliefs of masks
in tableros on the west end of the north facade of the Palace and figures with
well defined facial features on columns on the north facade celebrate Pacal's
ancestry. His remains, adorned with jade ornaments and face covered with a jade
mask were deposited in a stone sarcophagus covered with an elaborately carved
stone located in a chamber 1.5 m below the surface of the plaza above which was
erected as the Pyramid or Temple of the Inscriptions. The
sarcophagus is currently accessible by a stairway from Temple of the Inscriptions on the
top of the pyramid.
Pacal left more
than just majestic temples to remind the Mayan world of his existence;
Chan-Balum, the eldest son, assumed power in 684 AD upon the death of his
father ruled under the same lineage for another 18 years. He was responsible
for the completion of the temple atop the Pyramid of the Inscriptions modeled
after the Forgotten Temple and the construction of the
Group of the Cross temples: the Temple of the Cross, the Temple of the Foliated Cross, and
the Temple of the Sun. The panels on
the rear interior walls of all these temples depict Chan-Balum and Pacal
containing texts purporting to legitimize Chan-Balum's power.
Kan-Xul the younger
son of Pacal succeeded his older brother in 702 AD at the age of 38 and ruled
for yet another 23 years. He remodeled the Palace adding rooms, galleries and
courtyards with bas-relief slabs some exhibiting fine detail. Under his
direction the Palace assumed roughly its present form including T-windows (also
present in other structures at Palenque and at other sites) whose
function is unclear. Some theories suggest that the T formations functioned as
vocal points for an system of acoustics within the walls of the palace that
allowed for communication around its walls. The T-form also appears in the Ik
day glyph which means `wind" and `breath" and might be taken
as a metaphor for `life'.
Though uncertain,
Kan-Xul may also been responsible for adding the tower to the Palace. This
structure supported by wooden lentils with an interior staircase is thought by
some to have functioned as an astronomical observatory, a theory supported by
the presence of a venus glyph on a landing. Temple XIV is also attributed to
Kan-Xul. This structure was apparently deliberately placed to block access to
the Group of the Cross. Kan-Xul is thought to have been made a prisoner of war
and decapitated.
Fields, Virginia M.
(1991) Iconographic heritage of the Maya Jester God. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986. Virginia
M. Fields, ed. pp. 167 - 174 Palenque Round Table (6 session, 1986)
University of Oklahoma Press Norman.
Freidel, David and
Barbara Macleod (2000) Creation Redux:new thoughts on Maya cosmology from
epigraphy, iconography, and archaeology. PARI Journal 1(2):1-8,18.
Guenter, Stanley (n.d.). The Tomb of K'inich
Janaab Pakal:The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque (PDF). Mesoweb Articles.
Mesoweb. Retrieved on 2008-02-04.
Houston, Stephen
(1996) Symbolic Sweatbaths of the Maya:Architectural Meaning in the Cross Group
at Palenque, Mexico. Latin American Antiquity,
7(2), pp. 132-151.
Kelley, David
(1965) The Birth of the Gods at Palenque. In Estudios de Cultura
Maya 5, 93-134. México:Universidad Nacional AutÛnoma de Mexico.
Robertson, Merle
Greene (1991) The Sculpture of Palenque Vol. IV. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Schele, Linda
(1992) Notebook for the XVIth Maya Hieroglyphic Writing Workshop at Texas. Austin, TX:University of Texas at Austin.
Stuart, David and
Stephen Houston (1994) Classic Maya Place Names Studies. Pre-Columbian Art and
Archaeology, 33. Washington, DC:Dumbarton Oaks Research
Library and Collection.
LISS.398A
TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT and HUMAN ADAPTATION:PART II PRE-EUROPEAN MESOAMERICA
www.mines.edu/fs_home/jsneed/courses/LISS.380-83/LISS.381/resources/sites/palenque/index.shtml
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