* Name UNESCO
** UNESCO Geographical Classification change

Palenque is a city Maya which is located in the Mexican state of Chiapas , near the river Usumacinta. This is one of the most impressive sites of this culture. Compared to other Mayan cities, it is medium size much smaller than Tikal or Copn , it nevertheless stands by its architectural and sculptural.

Discovery zone until 2005 is 2.5 square kilometers but it is believed to have explored less than 10% of the total area of the city. There is still more than a thousand structures covered by forest. In 1981 , the site of Palenque was designated national park. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1987.

Palenque is one of the richest sites in southern Mexico , bordering the peninsula of Yucatan. Among the buildings accessible, it may be noted:

• Pyramid of entries;
• Palace. Previously appeared among the most beautiful buildings of the Mayan classical period, Palenque's palace was in ruins, overgrown with grass when he was photographed by the explorer Alfred Maudslay , there are more than a century.
• Temple of the Cross;
• Temple of the Cross deciduous;
• Temple of the Sun;
• the ball game;
• the North Group.

The architecture presents a variant of the western Maya style.

Summary 1 Etymology 2 Palenque in modern history 2.1 Rediscovery in the eighteenth century 2.2 Exploration in the nineteenth century 2.3 Explorations in the twentieth century 3 History of the Maya Palenque 3.1 General 3.2 Kings of Palenque 3.3 Early Classic 3.4 Late Classic 3.5 The abandonment of Palenque 4 Main structures 4.1 Temple of the inscriptions 4.2 Palace 4.3 Group of the Cross 4.4 Other structures 5 Notes 6 See also 6.1 Bibliography 6.2 Article Related 6.3 External Links

Etymology

The Maya name of the city is Lakam Ha, which means "Great Waters," referring to the numerous springs and waterfalls that can be found throughout the city. The city was already abandoned when the conquest of Mexico in the ^sixteenth century. A missionary, Fray Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada Palenque founded in 1567. At that time, the place was known Mayan Chol as the Otolum, or "Land of the fortified houses." Nada of this translated into Spanish as Palenque, which means "fortification, palisade" of the town (Santo Domingo de Palenque) which was built nearby. Another theory regarding the origin of the word mentioned the name Palenque Mayan bahlam kin (jaguar sun) that would indicate where the sun plunged into the underworld, the realm of jaguar.

Palenque was the capital of the state of the Classical Period B'akaal.

Palenque in modern history

Rediscovery in the eighteenth ^century

The community of Santo Domingo de Palenque was founded around the archaeological site in 1567. There is no record of any interest in the abandoned city before 1773 , when religious Ramn Ordoez, who was aware of the existence of the ruins, advised the captain general of Guatemala , who sent an official on site. In 1785 , the architect Antonio Bernasconi was sent there to prepare a plan ^{Explorations in the nineteenth century}

In 1807 , an expedition led by Guillermo Dupaix , accompanied by the designer Luciano Castaeda visited the site. With the information contained in the reports of previous expeditions, including etchings inspired designs Bernasconi and Castaeda, the first book was published on Palenque London in 1822 under the title Description of the Ruins of Ancient City Year, Discovered near Palenque ("Description of the ruins of an ancient city, discovered near Palenque). In 1834 appeared two other publications inspired by the same sources.

Until the early ^nineteenth century , it was thought that the shapes of the sculptures and bas-reliefs of Palenque represented Egyptians , the Polynesians or the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. In 1831 , the military explorer Juan Galindo was the first to report his visit to Palenque that these figures were more like local people.

In 1832 , the antiquarian, cartographer and French explorer Jean-Frdric Waldeck spent two years in Palenque, in the northern group, and he drew sketches which were published in 1866. Meanwhile, in 1840 , the American John Lloyd Stephens and British artist Frederick Catherwood conducted the first study that can qualify as a scientist on this site. In 1841 , Stephens published his famous book Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, which includes a description of Palenque with illustrations by Catherwood.

French photographer Dsir Charnay took the first photographs of Palenque in 1858 and returned in 1881 / 1882. The British explorer Alfred Maudslay set up camp at Palenque in 1890 and took many photographs of works of art and inscriptions which he then casts of paper.

Explorations in the twentieth ^century

There was subsequently various expeditions, the most interesting is probably that of Frans Blom in 1923. He drew maps of the already known part of the city but also other areas less explored and decided to send its report with recommendations for action to preserve these ruins, the Mexican government.

Between 1949 and 1952 , the Mexican government, through the Instituto Nacional de Antropologa e Historia or INAH ( National Institute of Anthropology and History ), sent a team of excavations and research conducted by the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier. Among other contributions to this team, there are the discovery of inscriptions in the Temple, the tomb of Pakal I K'inich Janaab. Some consider it the discovery of the tomb's largest to date in any area of Mesoamerica. Ruz was the first human being to enter the tomb and more than a thousand years. Subsequently, in the 1970s, Jorge Acosta led another expedition to the INAH. At the same time, INAH built on-site archaeological museum called the Museo de Sitio Dr. Alberto Ruz Lhuillier ("Site Museum Dr. Alberto Ruz L'Huillier").

In 1973 , Merle Greene Robertson organized the first of the "Mesas Redondas (Roundtables) Palenque, a series of meetings of experts in Maya , with the aim to debate and discuss new discoveries. Robertson contributed to the exploration of Palenque, especially as regards the identification of traces of color on the sculptures. Since then, archaeological research activities continued almost without interruption. Roundtable activities resumed in 1995.

History of the Maya Palenque

The available information is the result of archaeological past and present. Indeed, new data is brought to our attention continuously, which can constantly evolve the assumptions. The information presented in this paper reproduce the accepted view in the early ^twenty-first century Palenque.

General

It is estimated that the Maya founded Lakam Ha Preclassic (2500 BC. - 300 AD.) Circa 100 BC. AD was then a largely agricultural village benefiting from many sources and waterways. This fertile region, boasting an average temperature of 26 C and the heaviest rainfall in Mexico (annual average 2156 mm) probably allowed agriculture where the benefits exceed the needs of people who could make the trade. The entries indicate that the city proper, was born ⁱⁿ the fourth century, under the aegis of his first Lord K'uk B'alam (431).

The population increased during the Early Classic (300-600), to become a city and the capital of the region B'akaal. Among the structures discovered, the oldest was built around AD 600.

B'akaal was an important center of Mayan civilization between the ^fifth and ^the ninth century. During this period succeeded episodes glorious and disastrous, alliances and wars. On more than one occasion B'akaal allied with Tikal , the other major Mayan city at the time, and this mainly in order to limit the expansion of the warlike city of Calakmul , also known as from "Kingdom of the Serpent." Calakmul defeated twice in 599 and 611.

Lords of B'akaal claimed that their lineage goes back to a very distant past. Some even boast of the fact that it dated from the creation of the world , which in Mayan mythology, took place in the year 3114 BC. AD

Kings of Palenque

The following are the kings who ruled Palenque and their dates of reign:

• K'uk 'B'alam I (March 11 431-435)
• "Casper" the Maya name has not been identified, 10 August 435-487)
• B'utz Aj Sak Chiiki (July 29 487-501)
• Ahkal Mo 'Naab I (June 5 501-1 ^st December 524)
• Joy k'an Chitam I (25 February 529 - February 8, 565)
• Ahkal Mo 'Naab II (May 4 565 - July 23, 570)
• K'an B'alam I (April 8 572 - February 3, 583)
• Lady Yohl Ik'nal (583-604)
• Ajena Ohl Mat (605-612)
• Muwaan Mat (612-615)
• K'inich Janaab Pakal I (also known as Pacal the Great, 615 - 683)
• K'inich K'an B'alam II (also known as Chan Bahlum II, 683-702)
• K'inich K'an Chitam Joy II (702-720)
• K'inich Ahkal Mo 'Naab III (also known as the Chaacal III, January 3, 721 - after 729)
• K'inich Janaab Pakal II (ca. 742)
• K'inich K'an B'alam III (ca. 751)
• K'inich K'uk 'B'alam II (764 -?)
• Wak Kimi Janaa Pakal (November 17, 799 -?)

Early Classic

The first king of B'akaal (named K'uhul Ajaw, that is to say, 'Divine Lord ") on which information was available was K'uk B'alam (Quetzal Jaguar), sometimes called" Lord of Toktan " . He ruled for four years from 431. His succession was assured by the ajaw that archaeologists named Casper . Both ajaw following were probably the son of Casper. We knew very little about the first son, B'utz Aj Sak Chiiki, until in 1994 we discovered a plate depicting a ritual around the ajaw. On the same plank, described his successor Ahkal Mo 'Naab I as a young prince. That's why we thought there must be a relationship between them. For reasons that are unknown, Ahkal Mo 'Naab I enjoyed a great prestige. The lords who succeeded him showed great pride in being his descendants.

After the death of Ahkal Mo 'Naab I in 524, there was a gap of four years and is therefore in 529 that the following ajaw was crowned in Toktn. K'an Joy Chitam I was in power for thirty-six years. Subsequently, his son Ahkal Mo 'Naab II and K'an B'alam I ruled successively, except during an interim period during which it is unknown if there was a ajaw and what was his name. K year B'alam ajaw I was the first to use the nickname Kinich, or "great sun", which was then used by the Lords following. Ik'nal Dame Yol, probably his daughter, succeeded him in 583. The inscriptions found at Palenque recount a battle that took place during his reign. On 21 April 599 , the troops invaded Calakmul Palenque and began looting the city, a fact unprecedented military.

Classic period

B'akaal began the recent Classic prey to unrest caused by the defeats against Calakmul. In 611, the latter won a second victory in the reign of Ajena Oh Matt, son of Ik'nal Yol. On this occasion, the ajaw Calakmul Palenque came personally, reinforcing the sense of the military defeat which was followed by a period of political disorder. Ajena Ohl Mat died in 612.

During this period of confusion, it seems that a man named Pakal Janaab assumed the duties of ajaw''but Never access to the throne. In 612 Muwaan Mat came to the throne. A text dating from 613 is pessimistic: "Lost is the divine lady, lost is the Lord," and describes some fundamental rites were not performed at that time. But no mention was made of what the Lord was. Archaeologists have long believed that meant Muwaan Maat Lady Sak K'uk who have ruled for three years. This thesis has now been abandoned . A basic fact is that the son of Lady Sak K'uk, K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I, also known as Pacal the Great, the most famous of Mayan kings, ascended the throne in 615, which constituted a breach dynasty. B'akaal then took the path of glory and splendor.

Janaab 'Pakal was then aged twelve, and probably his mother exercised effective power over the first of a long reign, which lasted until 683. When he came to power, the city was in full decline. Despite this, said to be the protg of the gods, he led Palenque to a level unprecedented splendor. Janaab 'Pakal I married Lady Tz'akbu Ajaw in 626 and they had two son.

He built most of the palaces and temples of Palenque, whose olvidado Templo (forgotten Temple, 5 km south of the Palace), Temple of the inscriptions and the Temple of the Count. The sarcophagus of stone houses which his body is still visible in a chamber under the pyramid inscriptions and masks in stucco and the faces of the columns of the palace show his pedigree . The city was flourishing more than ever, and eclipsed even Tikal. The architectural core called the Palace was enlarged and remodeled on several occasions, especially 654, 661 and 668. It is within this structure we have found a text stating that at this period, Palenque was recently sealed an alliance with Tikal, and with Yaxchilan. They captured six enemy lords of the covenant. It was impossible to get more details of this text.

After the death of Janaab 'Pakal I in 683, his eldest son K'inich B'alam Kan. He became the Lord of B'akaal, then succeeded him in 702 , his brother, Joy K'an Chitam II. Elder continued the architectural and sculptural works that his father had initiated, and completed construction of the famous tomb of Pakal. He instigated more ambitious projects like the Cross Group (Temple of the Cross, Temple of the Cross and leafy Sun Temple). Thanks to the many works of art created during his reign, it has been found on various sculptures of portraits of this ajaw. In 711, Palenque was besieged by the king of Tonin prisoner who made the old Lord K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II. It is unclear what exactly was the fate of this ajaw, although it is still referred to him in 714. In 721 , a new sovereign, K'inich Ahkal Mo 'Nab' III belonged to the royal family, but it is unclear whether a direct heir of K'inich K'an Chitam Joy II, but rather its nephew. In a system where political and religious legitimacy of divine nature is based on a succession from father to son, K'inich Ahkal Mo 'Nab' III has certainly had to maneuver and forge political alliances to gain power. The city was in the hands of this ajaw, then his son and nephew to the end of the century. There is little information about that time. Among other events, it just knows that Tonin was still on a war footing. In this city were discovered glyphs telling another defeat of Palenque.

The abandonment of Palenque

B'akaal has always been the target of several attacks during the ^eighth century, in the same manner as other Mayan cities of the classical era. Kini Janaab Wak 'Pakal, also known as the Janaab' Pakal III, took power in 799 , the last date has long known at Palenque, and then we lose all traces of the dynasty. No new construction was undertaken in the ceremonial center. In the early ^ninth century B'akaal held a respectable position and influence in the region. Despite this, emigration and abandonment had already begun. Lakam Ha was still inhabited by several generations dedicated themselves to agriculture, but the places were abandoned gradually, as the forest covered them. In the sixteenth ^century the region was virtually uninhabited.

Major facilities

Hall of Fame entries

The Temple of the inscriptions, designed by K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I like his own tomb and finished by his son K'inich Bahlam Kan II stands atop a pyramid with nine degrees, high of 20 m. It is reached by a staircase axial. The temple was topped by a ridge crest that has almost entirely disappeared. Five doors open onto a rectangular room that communicates with three rooms at the back.

Inside are three shelves covered with inscriptions. The temple owes its name. Together, they form a single piece of 617 glyphic blocks , one of the longest in the Mayan world . It covers the history of Palenque in the eight katuns between 514 and 672, plunges us into a mythological past, upon the attainment of a deity 1,246,826 years ago and we then projected into the future, when celebration of the end of a katun in 4772 AD. AD The text describes some events of the reign of K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I mention his death and ends with the ascension of his son.

Outside, the six pillars of the facade of the temple were decorated with stucco reliefs. The four central pillars are each decorated with a figure holding in her arms a child whose leg is shaped like a snake. The interpretation of these signs is still being debated. The discoverer of the tomb of Pakal, Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, saw offerings of children to the god of rain. Linda Schele and David Freidel have suggested that the child was the son of Pakal, K'inich bahlam Kan II, into the arms of his ancestors, which Pakal himself and his wife. Leg snake is identified with IGI, one of the deities of the Palenque Triad, while a deformity known that Sovereign - six toes - identifies it as an individual . These authors see this staging a form of legitimation of the sovereign. Another possibility is that the child is Pakal himself in the form of GII. The pillars at each end of the temple bore inscriptions that could enlighten us but unfortunately they have disappeared.

From the temple, a stairway which was concealed by a slab turns twice at right angles and leads to a crypt below 22 m, slightly below ground level outside. A large triangular slab closed the crypt. Along the short staircase connecting duct stone temple in the crypt. Archaeologists led christened this "psychoduc" or "leads the soul," whereas his function was to serve as a bridge between the spirit of the deceased and the living world. The crypt is 4 x 10 m and the roof has a height of 7 m. The space is almost entirely occupied by the sarcophagus.

The lid of the sarcophagus, the Cosmic complex iconography, is the late king in a curious position that has given rise to various interpretations. The most commonly accepted is that Pakal tomb in the earth at the mouth of the monster when he died just like the sun. Another possibility is that the king emerges from the earth like the rising sun. Behind the King stands a cosmic tree-shaped cross on which is perched a bird. An inscription on the edge of the cover lists the dates of birth, accession and death of Pakal and the dates of accession and death of its predecessors. On the sides of the sarcophagus are the portraits of ancestors emerging mid-body of the earth in the form of fruit trees: his mother, Lady Sak K'uk ' , and his father K'an Hix Mo 'each represented twice , Ahkal Mo 'NAHB, K'an Chitam Joy, Queen Yohl Ik'nal, also represented twice and Janaab 'Pakal.

The walls of the crypt are decorated with stucco nine characters, each holding a scepter K'awiil and that usually identifies the royal ancestors, especially Yoh Ik'nal as distinguished by her long skirt .

In the sarcophagus, the archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier discovered a skeleton whose face was covered with a mask of jade. What a treasure slept next to the deceased, part of which was stolen in 1985.

Palace

Located northeast of the Temple of Inscriptions on a platform of trapezoidal base, the complex known as the "Palace" is the largest of Palenque . Archaeologists do not agree on its destination, although some, as its name may suggest, regard it as a residential, others think it is rather a complex of buildings for administrative or ceremonial role. It is reached by stairs leading north, east and west. The Palace is actually a cluster of underground, patios, galleries and buildings traditionally called "Houses", each being assigned a letter by archaeologists.

Most buildings were constructed during the reign of K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I. The oldest part consists of underground galleries known as "underground." It is unclear if they existed before the reign of Pakal and were buried beneath the later buildings or if they were designed by Pakal. Consecrated in 654, the House of E, the first of those now visible, is at the heart of the complex. It was the throne room. On the far wall is a panel known as the "oval tablet. It represents Pakal and his mother Lady Sak K'uk who gave him a hat - known as the English word "drum major" - on his accession to the throne. Under the shelf was the oval throne supported by bacaba. Now badly damaged, it nevertheless retains a view of an engraving from 1787, when he was still intact . House E is distinguished from other buildings in more ways than one. Stone panels at the center trim evoke the thatched hut of a traditional Mayan. The building is crowned by a ridge crest and unlike most buildings painted in red, it was white. Her name is Maya also Sak nuk naah ("big white house") . Its facade was decorated with medallions painted in blue and orange. The openings in the walls have the shape of the glyph 'ik', "which means" breath "," wind ".

Immediately north of the House E Pakal built the House C, consecrated in 661. On either side of the staircase that leads from the he Court is, there are panels depicting prisonners. It is noble of Santa Elena, a kingdom allied with Calakmul, which Pakal had defeated in 659, and Pomona. Home C commemorates this victory. Its hieroglyphic stairway, an inscription recounts the defeat of Calakmul Palenque to the late sixth century. Acknowledge a defeat here is a way to highlight the other hand won the reign of Pakal.

On the other side of the Court is a staircase leading to the House A, consecrated in 668. Here too there are roughly carved stones representing prisoners on a slanted wall. These bas-reliefs made a strong impression on John Lloyd Stephens when he explored the site in 1840: "These figures are adorned with lavish headdresses and necklaces, but their attitude betrays the pain and grief. The drawing and the anatomical proportions of these figures are flawed, but it emanates a force of expression that reflects the skill and creative talent of the artist . A first version of the AD house, which closes the whole north, dates from the reign of Pakal also. The second son of Pakal, K'inich k'an Joy Chitam II brought changes to this building and it did install the "Tablet of the Palace", which is surrounded by his father and mother. AD is currently home largely collapsed.

The most distinctive of the Palace, a building shaped like a tower of four floors, almost square base (7 m X 7.50 m) was added to the set during the reign of K'inich K'uk Bahlam. Archaeologists believe it was used as an observatory. The top floor is a reconstruction.

Group of the Cross

The Group comprises the Cross Hall of the Cross, the Sun Temple and the Temple of the Cross hardwood. The band's name comes from the first of these three buildings. The Temple of the Cross itself is named after the central motif of a panel that adorns the back wall of the sanctuary. Early explorers of the site had taken - wrongly - for a cross. Group of the Cross is located southeast of the Palace, on the other side of the river Otulum at the foot of a hill called "El Mirador".

The three temples, standing on the step pyramids, are grouped around a square, the center of which year is a small radial pyramid . Each temple was crowned with a crest ridge openwork (roof comb) decorated with stucco and painted. This arrangement recalls triad models of the Preclassic Period at Nakbe or El Mirador .

They were devoted all three the same day, January 10 692 by K'inich Bahlam Kan II, son of K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I. Their architecture, iconography and hieroglyphic texts are extremely sophisticated and coherent. We know from inscriptions that the Group is associated with the Cross of Palenque Triad, a group of three deities identified by Heinrich Berlin in 1963 , who I named them "God, God God II and III, which shortens IM, GII and GIII. Each temple is associated with one of three deities and represents an aspect of the cosmos and the divine kingship as the Maya of the Classical Era to conceive. The set is a dynastic legitimacy by linking to the reigning monarch and mythical events of royal ancestors

The three temples have a similar plan: the front opens with three doors on two parts that also communicate with each other by three doors. In the middle of the back room is a smaller room, the sanctuary itself, known in Mayan pib naah. At the bottom of this shrine are three shelves. In every shrine, the central panel follows the same pattern: around a central motif different face each other two characters. One represents K'inich Kan Bahlam II six years old, wearing a costume that remains enigmatic. The other shows the same Kan Bahlam adult, dressed in a much more simple. Entries form a coherent whole, the Temple of the Cross, through the Temple of the Sun and Cross hardwood.

The facade of the Temple of the Cross has largely collapsed, revealing the interior of the building. It is associated with IM. The Tablet of the Cross in the center of the shrine is a replica. The original is now on display at the National Museum of Anthropology Mexico.Encadre by figures K'inich Bahlam Kan, young and old, the central icon represents the tree of creation that is at the center of world ("axis mundi") according to Mayan mythology . The tree emerges from a monster mask of land. At its top is perched a bird supernatural. The characters stand on a heavenly band . While the iconography of the Temple of the Cross refers to the celestial sphere and ancestors.

The Temple of the Cross hardwood, which is now devoid of cover, is devoted to GII. The actors of the central panel, said Cross deciduous stand on either side of a corn plant roughly resembling a cross, hence its name .. It emerges from a mask representing the land under his nurturing side. The branches of this "cross" are leaves, where the heads of the Corn God took the place of ears. At its top is perched a bird. Imaging of the building is associated with water and agriculture

The Sun Temple, perched on a pyramid of 4 meters high, is the smallest but best preserved of the three buildings. It is dedicated to GIII. In the central panel of the sanctuary, the characters stand on either side of a central motif consisting of a shield and two spears crossed. On the shield figure representation of a frontal head of a jaguar. The jaguar is the appearance of the nocturnal sun, associated with the war . In this building, the general theme of the iconography is of the underworld and war.

Other structures

• Temple XIII is part of a series of buildings aligned to the west of the temple inscriptions. During work in 1994, it discovered a hallway and three bedrooms, one of which housed a sarcophagus. It contained the bones of a middle-aged woman covered with a thick layer of cinnabar - hence its nickname "Red Queen" - and accompanied by many jade objects. On either side of the sarcophagus lay the skeleton of a sacrificial victim. The nearby Temple of the inscriptions containing the sarcophagus K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I did think that the archaeologists could be the Red Queen Lady Sak K'uk ' mother of the latter. This assumption was belied by examining DNA excludes any relationship between the two . Without any registration, the identity of the Red Queen remains mysterious, although it was speculated that this could be the wife of K'inich Janaab 'Pakal I.
• Aqueduct. It is a vaulted structure of three meters high, which leads to the river Otolum passing under the main square of Palenque, in the section that corresponds to the eastern facade of the Palace. The aqueduct is completed by a stone bridge spanning the waters from a place called "Bath of the Queen" in the far north of the main group.

• Temple of the lion. It is located 200 meters south of the main group. It owes its name to the finely carved bas-relief representing a king seated on a throne-shaped double-headed jaguar.

• Temple of the Count. It Waldeck who named it. In fact that's where he stayed during his trip to Palenque. Among other extravagances, he liked to call himself Earl (and sometimes Baron or Duke). This elegant building has a basic five degrees. At the top is a temple which has retained all its original architectural elements.
• Ball game. Two parallel platforms provide the structure to make a game of pelota. Exploration and consolidation are needed.

Notes

See also

Bibliography

• (In) David Stuart and George Stuart, Palenque. Eternal City of the Maya, Thames & Hudson, 2008
• (In) Mary Miller and Karl Taube, The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, Thames & Hudson, 1993

Related articles

• Maya civilization
• Maya
• Other Mayan sites
• Palenque de San Basilio , Colombia namesake city

External Links

• Palenque on the World Heritage List of UNESCO
• Palenque on the website of the Office of Tourism of Mexico
• (Fr) Virtual tour of Palenque on the website of the Tourism Office of Mexico
• (En) Site of Pre Columbian Art Research Institute on the excavations in progress