Pakal Sarcophagus Lid 1 Photograph by Gary Keesler

Pakal Sarcophagus Lid 1

by Gary Keesler

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Title

Pakal Sarcophagus Lid 1

Artist

Gary Keesler

Medium

Photograph - Digital Art

Description

The Pakal sarcophagus lid became an icon of Maya art and is famous the world over.

K'inich Janaab' Pakal (March 603 to August 683), was ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque in the Late Classic period of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican chronology.

During a long reign of some 68 years, the longest known regnal period in Western Hemisphere history, and the twenty-seventh longest worldwide.

Pakal was responsible for the construction or extension of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture.

The Temple of the Inscriptions is the largest Mesoamerican stepped pyramid structure at the pre-Columbian Maya civilization site of Palenque, located in the modern-day state of Chiapas, Mexico.

The structure was specifically built as the funerary monument for K'inich Janaab' Pakal, ajaw or ruler of Palenque in the 7th century whose reign over the polity lasted almost 70 years.

The Temple of the Inscriptions of Palenque is one of the most famous structures of the ancient Maya world.

The long hieroglyphic text that covers three large tablets placed inside between the temple�s outer and inner rooms provided the name for this building, and this text remains the longest legible Maya text yet found.

Leading to even greater fame, however, were the excavations by Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, who between 1949 and 1952 excavated an incredible tomb, deep below the temple in the heart of the pyramid.

Construction of this monument commenced in the last decade of his life, and was completed by his son and successor K'inich Kan B'alam II.

Within Palenque, the Temple of the Inscriptions is located in an area known as the Temple of the Inscriptions� Court and stands at a right angle to the Southeast of the Palace.

The Temple of the Inscriptions has been significant in the study of the ancient Maya, owing to the extraordinary sample of hieroglyphic text found on the Inscription Tablets, the impressive sculptural panels on the piers of the building, and the finds inside the tomb of Pakal.

To prevent the collapse of the tomb due to the immense weight of the pyramid, the architects designed the hut-shaped chamber using cross vaulting and recessed buttresses.

The tomb of Pakal yielded several important archaeological finds and works of art.

Among these finds was the lid of Pakal�s sarcophagus.

In the image that covers it, Pakal lies on top of the �earth monster.�

Below him are the open jaws of a jaguar, symbolizing Xibalba.

Above him is the Celestial Bird, perched atop the Cosmic Tree (represented by a cross) which, in turn, holds a Serpent in its branches.

Thus, in the image Pakal lies between two worlds: the heavens and the underworld.

Also on the sarcophagus are Pakal�s ancestors, arraigned in a line going back six generations.

Pakal�s death mask is another extraordinary artifact found in the tomb. The face of the mask is made entirely of jade, while the eyes consist of shells, mother of pearl, and obsidian.

There were several smaller jade heads packed into Pakal�s sarcophagus and a stucco portrait of the king was found under the base of it.

Five skeletons, both male and female, were found at the entrance of the crypt.

These sacrificial victims were intended to follow Pakal into Xibalba.

Claims of alien influence on Earth?

Erich von D�niken claimed that the Sarcophagus of Palenque depicted a spaceman sitting on a rocket-powered spaceship, wearing a spacesuit.

The general claim of D�niken over several published books is that extraterrestrials or "ancient astronauts" visited Earth and influenced early human culture.

D�niken writes about his belief that structures such as the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge, and the Moai of Easter Island and artifacts from that period represent higher technological knowledge than is presumed to have existed at the times they were manufactured.

He also describes ancient artwork throughout the world as containing depictions of astronauts, air and space vehicles, extraterrestrials, and complex technology.

D�niken explains the origins of religions as reactions to contact with an alien race, and offers interpretations of sections of the Old Testament of the Bible.

Like Wow! Could we actually be the spawned offspring of ancient aliens?

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