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Palenque - courtesy Ruben Charles - CC-BY

Palenque is an ancient Maya city in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It has some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-reliefs the Maya ever produced. It was first occupied around 100 BC and flourished at its peak from about 600 to 700 AD. During the 8th century, the city came under increasing stress, and in as with with most other classic Maya cities, there was no new construction in the ceremonial centers sometime after 800. A residual population continued to live there for a few generations, then the site was abandoned and hidden by jungle. The area was sparsely populated when the Spanish first arrived in the 1520s.

Vast, mysterious and enchanting, the city of Palenque is considered to be one of the loveliest archaeological sites in the world. Yet as lovely as it currenty is, only 34 structures have been opened of an estimated 500 that are scattered through the heart of the city. Palenque represents the western regional variant of Classic Maya civilization. The ruins now visible are the heavily restored remains of the ceremonial center of a more extensive settlement bordered by agricultural fields.

The most famous site in Palenque is the tomb of Pacal the Great, hidden beneath the Temple of the Inscription. Pacal was the Trump, Medici, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Dalai Lama of his time. He died at age 80 in 683 AD, and was buried by his son Chan Balam, a brilliant mathematician and astronomer. Pacal had already built a tomb for himself, full of cosmology, astronomy, genealogy and a spectacular jade mask. It was hidden from archaeologists until 1952, and then became the basis for Von Daniken’s “ancient astronaut” theories in 1968. Just in time to be debunked by the young historians and iconographers who knocked over the old beliefs and broke the Maya code.

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