Pacal the Great
Encyclopedia
K'inich Janaab' Pakal 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 Pakal was responsible for the construction or extension of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture.
, this ruler has been known by an assortment of nicknames and approximations, common ones including Pakal (or Pacal), "Sun Shield", "8 Ahau", and (familiarly) as "Pacal the Great".
In modern sources his name is also sometimes appended with a regnal number, to distinguish him from other Janaab' Pakals that either preceded or followed him in the dynastic lineage of Palenque. Confusingly, he has at times been referred to as either "Pakal I" or "Pakal II". The reference to him as Pakal II takes into account that his maternal grandfather (who died in 612) was also named Janaab' Pakal. However, although his grandfather was a personage of ajaw
ranking most recent inscriptional interpretations hold that he probably did not himself hold the actual rulership position over the Palenque city-state. When instead the name Pakal I is used, this serves to distinguish him from two later known successors to the Palenque rulership, Upakal K'inich Janaab' Pakal (ruled c. 742, aka "[K'inich Janaab'] Pakal II") and Wak Kimi Janaab' Pakal (aka [Janaab'] Pakal III), the last-known Palenque ruler who acceded in 799.
" in the Maya language
.
Pakal saw expansion of Palenque's power in the western part of the Maya states, and initiated a building program at his capital that produced some of Maya civilization
's finest art and architecture.
He was preceded as ruler of Palenque by his mother Lady Sak K'uk'. As the Palenque dynasty seems to have had Queens only when there was no eligible male heir, Sak K'uk' transferred rulership to her son upon his official maturity.
After his death, Pakal was succeeded by his son Chan Bahlum II
. A younger son, Kan Xul II
, succeeded his brother Chan Bahlum II.
After his death, Pakal was deified and said to communicate with his descendants. Pakal was buried within the Temple of Inscriptions. Though Palenque had been examined by archaeologists before, the secret to opening his tomb—closed off by a stone slab with stone plugs in the holes, which had until then escaped the attention of archaeologists—was discovered by Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier
in 1948. It took four years to clear the rubble from the stairway leading down to Pakal’s tomb, but was finally uncovered in 1952 http://research.famsi.org/whos_who/people.php?mathewsnumber=PAL%20011. His skeletal remains were still lying in his coffin, wearing a jade mask and bead necklaces, surrounded by sculptures and stucco reliefs depicting the ruler's transition to divinity and figures from Maya mythology
.
That the bones within the tomb are really those of Pakal himself is under debate due to the fact that the analysis of wear on the skeleton’s teeth places the age of the owner at death as 40 years younger than Pakal would have been at his death. Epigraphers insist that the inscriptions on the tomb indicate that it is indeed K'inich Janaab' Pakal entombed within, and that he died at the age of 80 after ruling for around 70 years. Some contest that the glyphs refer to two people with the same name or that an unusual method for recording time was used, but other experts in the field say that allowing for such possibilities would go against everything else that is known about the Maya calendar
and records of events. The most commonly accepted explanation for the irregularity is that Pakal, being an elite, had access to softer, less abrasive food than the average person so that his teeth naturally acquired less wear http://research.famsi.org/whos_who/people.php?mathewsnumber=PAL%20011. Despite the controversy, it remains one of the most spectacular finds of Maya archeology. A replica of his tomb is found at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City
.
. The widely accepted interpretation of the sarcophagus lid is that Pakal is descending into Xibalba
, the Maya underworld. Around the edges of the lid are glyphs representing the Sun, the Moon, Venus, and various constellations, locating this event in the nighttime sky. Below him is the Maya water god, who guards the underworld http://members.shaw.ca/mjfinley/vondaniken.html. Beneath Pakal are the "unfolded" jaws of a dragon or serpent, which Pakal is escaping from, ascending towards the world tree. This is a common iconographic representation of the entrance to the underworld. Other examples of this imagery are found in sculpture on Monument 1 "El Rey" and Monument 9 at the Olmec
site of Chalcatzingo
, Morelos, on Altar 4 at the Olmec
site of La Venta
, Tabasco, and in recently discovered murals at the Late Preclassic
Maya
site of San Bartolo
, Guatemala
.
's 1968 best seller, Chariots of the Gods?. Von Däniken reproduced a drawing of the sarcophagus lid (incorrectly labeling it as being from "Copan
") and comparing Pacal's pose to that of 1960s Project Mercury
astronauts, interpreting drawings underneath him as rockets, and offering it as evidence of a supposed extraterrestrial
influence on the ancient Maya.
Von Däniken's claim is not considered a credible interpretation by any professional Mayanist
. For example Ian Graham
responded, "Well I certainly don't see any need to regard him as a space man. I don't see any oxygen tubes. I see a very characteristically drawn Maya face"
is José Argüelles
' identification of "Pacal Votan
," of whom he claims to be an incarnation named "Valum Votan
," who will act as a "closer of the cycle" in 2012 (an event that is also significant on Argüelles' "13 Moon" calendar). Daniel Pinchbeck
, in his book 2012: The Return of Quetzalquatl (2006), also uses the name "Votan" in referring to Pakal. However, this name is not used for Pakal by Mayanist
researchers such as academic archaeologists, epigraphers, and iconographers. Argüelles claims a connection between Pakal and the semi-historical Toltec figure Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, but this is not supported by archaeological or epigraphic evidence. New Age
interpretations of Pakal's tomb are a cornerstone of contemporary Mayanism
.
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
polity of Palenque
Palenque
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
in the Late Classic period of pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
. During a long reign of some 68 years Pakal was responsible for the construction or extension of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and monumental architecture.
Name
Before his name was securely deciphered from extant Maya inscriptionsMaya script
The Maya script, also known as Maya glyphs or Maya hieroglyphs, is the writing system of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization of Mesoamerica, presently the only Mesoamerican writing system that has been substantially deciphered...
, this ruler has been known by an assortment of nicknames and approximations, common ones including Pakal (or Pacal), "Sun Shield", "8 Ahau", and (familiarly) as "Pacal the Great".
In modern sources his name is also sometimes appended with a regnal number, to distinguish him from other Janaab' Pakals that either preceded or followed him in the dynastic lineage of Palenque. Confusingly, he has at times been referred to as either "Pakal I" or "Pakal II". The reference to him as Pakal II takes into account that his maternal grandfather (who died in 612) was also named Janaab' Pakal. However, although his grandfather was a personage of ajaw
Ajaw
Ajaw is a political rulership title attested from the epigraphic inscriptions of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, with a meaning variously interpreted as "lord", "ruler", "king" or "leader". It denoted any of the leading class of nobles in a particular polity and was not limited to a single...
ranking most recent inscriptional interpretations hold that he probably did not himself hold the actual rulership position over the Palenque city-state. When instead the name Pakal I is used, this serves to distinguish him from two later known successors to the Palenque rulership, Upakal K'inich Janaab' Pakal (ruled c. 742, aka "[K'inich Janaab'] Pakal II") and Wak Kimi Janaab' Pakal (aka [Janaab'] Pakal III), the last-known Palenque ruler who acceded in 799.
Biography
Pakal ascended the throne at age 12 on July 29, 615, and lived to the age of 80. The name pakal means "shieldShield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
" in the Maya language
Maya language
A Maya language is one of a group of languages spoken by the Maya peoples of Mesoamerica.Maya language may also refer to:* Yucatec Maya language or Maya, a Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula...
.
Pakal saw expansion of Palenque's power in the western part of the Maya states, and initiated a building program at his capital that produced some of Maya civilization
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
's finest art and architecture.
He was preceded as ruler of Palenque by his mother Lady Sak K'uk'. As the Palenque dynasty seems to have had Queens only when there was no eligible male heir, Sak K'uk' transferred rulership to her son upon his official maturity.
After his death, Pakal was succeeded by his son Chan Bahlum II
Chan Bahlum II
K'inich Kan B'alam II, also known as Chan Bahlum II , was king of the pre-Columbian Maya polity of Baakal in the Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, based around the ceremonial center and city now known as the Maya archaeological site of Palenque.Kan B'alam took the throne on January 10,...
. A younger son, Kan Xul II
Kan Xul II
K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II , also known as Kan Xul II or K'an Hok' Chitam II, was a ruler of the Classic-era Maya civilization polity based at Palenque. He began his reign in 702 at the age of 57, succeeding upon the death of his elder brother K'inich Kan B'alam II...
, succeeded his brother Chan Bahlum II.
After his death, Pakal was deified and said to communicate with his descendants. Pakal was buried within the Temple of Inscriptions. Though Palenque had been examined by archaeologists before, the secret to opening his tomb—closed off by a stone slab with stone plugs in the holes, which had until then escaped the attention of archaeologists—was discovered by Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier
Alberto Ruz Lhuillier
Alberto Ruz Lhuillier was a Mexican archaeologist. He specialized in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeology and is well-known for leading the National Institute of Anthropology and History excavations at the Maya site of Palenque, where he found the tomb of the Maya ruler, Pakal...
in 1948. It took four years to clear the rubble from the stairway leading down to Pakal’s tomb, but was finally uncovered in 1952 http://research.famsi.org/whos_who/people.php?mathewsnumber=PAL%20011. His skeletal remains were still lying in his coffin, wearing a jade mask and bead necklaces, surrounded by sculptures and stucco reliefs depicting the ruler's transition to divinity and figures from Maya mythology
Maya mythology
Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Mayan tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles...
.
That the bones within the tomb are really those of Pakal himself is under debate due to the fact that the analysis of wear on the skeleton’s teeth places the age of the owner at death as 40 years younger than Pakal would have been at his death. Epigraphers insist that the inscriptions on the tomb indicate that it is indeed K'inich Janaab' Pakal entombed within, and that he died at the age of 80 after ruling for around 70 years. Some contest that the glyphs refer to two people with the same name or that an unusual method for recording time was used, but other experts in the field say that allowing for such possibilities would go against everything else that is known about the Maya calendar
Maya calendar
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars and almanacs used in the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in many modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. and in Chiapas....
and records of events. The most commonly accepted explanation for the irregularity is that Pakal, being an elite, had access to softer, less abrasive food than the average person so that his teeth naturally acquired less wear http://research.famsi.org/whos_who/people.php?mathewsnumber=PAL%20011. Despite the controversy, it remains one of the most spectacular finds of Maya archeology. A replica of his tomb is found at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
.
Pacal's sarcophagus lid
The large carved stone sarcophagus lid in the Temple of Inscriptions is a famous piece of Classic Maya artMaya art
Maya art, here taken to mean the visual arts, is the artistic style typical of the Maya civilization, that took shape in the course the Preclassic period , and grew greater during the Classic period Maya art, here taken to mean the visual arts, is the artistic style typical of the Maya...
. The widely accepted interpretation of the sarcophagus lid is that Pakal is descending into Xibalba
Xibalba
Xibalba , roughly translated as "place of fear", is the name of the underworld in Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. According to some of the...
, the Maya underworld. Around the edges of the lid are glyphs representing the Sun, the Moon, Venus, and various constellations, locating this event in the nighttime sky. Below him is the Maya water god, who guards the underworld http://members.shaw.ca/mjfinley/vondaniken.html. Beneath Pakal are the "unfolded" jaws of a dragon or serpent, which Pakal is escaping from, ascending towards the world tree. This is a common iconographic representation of the entrance to the underworld. Other examples of this imagery are found in sculpture on Monument 1 "El Rey" and Monument 9 at the Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
site of Chalcatzingo
Chalcatzingo
Chalcatzingo is a Mesoamerican archaeological site in the Valley of Morelos dating from the Formative Period of Mesoamerican chronology. The site is well-known for its extensive array of Olmec-style monumental art and iconography. Located in the southern portion of the Central Highlands of Mexico,...
, Morelos, on Altar 4 at the Olmec
Olmec
The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....
site of La Venta
La Venta
La Venta is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco. Some of the artifacts have been moved to the museum "Parque - Museo de La Venta", which is in Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco....
, Tabasco, and in recently discovered murals at the Late Preclassic
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
site of San Bartolo
San Bartolo (Maya site)
San Bartolo is a small pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in the Department of Petén in northern Guatemala, northeast of Tikal and roughly fifty miles from the nearest settlement...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
.
Erich von Däniken's "Maya Astronaut"
Pakal’s tomb has been the focus of attention by some "ancient astronaut" enthusiasts since its appearance in Erich von DänikenErich von Däniken
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken is a Swiss author best known for his controversial claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, in books such as Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968...
's 1968 best seller, Chariots of the Gods?. Von Däniken reproduced a drawing of the sarcophagus lid (incorrectly labeling it as being from "Copan
Copán
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD...
") and comparing Pacal's pose to that of 1960s Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
astronauts, interpreting drawings underneath him as rockets, and offering it as evidence of a supposed extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
influence on the ancient Maya.
Von Däniken's claim is not considered a credible interpretation by any professional Mayanist
Mayanist
A Mayanist is a scholar specialising in research and study of the Central American pre-Columbian Maya civilization. This discipline should not be confused with Mayanism, a collection of New Age beliefs about the ancient Maya....
. For example Ian Graham
Ian Graham
Ian Graham is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Collingwood in the VFL during the 1960s.His best season came in 1964 when he won the Copeland Trophy for Collingwood's Best and Fairest player...
responded, "Well I certainly don't see any need to regard him as a space man. I don't see any oxygen tubes. I see a very characteristically drawn Maya face"
José Argüelles' "Pacal Votan"
Another example of this carving's manifestation in pseudoarchaeologyPseudoarchaeology
Pseudoarchaeology — also known as alternative archaeology, fringe archaeology, fantastic archaeology, or cult archaeology — refers to interpretations of the past from outside of the academic archaeological community, which typically also reject the accepted scientific and analytical methods of the...
is José Argüelles
Jose Arguelles
Joseph Anthony Arguelles , better known as José Argüelles, was a world-renowned author, artist, visionary and educator. He was the founder of Planet Art Network and the Foundation for the Law of Time. He held a Ph.D...
' identification of "Pacal Votan
Votan
Votan is a legendary or mythological figure mentioned in early European accounts of the Maya civilization.-Origins of the Votan story:The story of Votan in Mexico dates back to at least the late 17th century. It was first published in Constituciones diocesanas del obispado de Chiappa by Francisco...
," of whom he claims to be an incarnation named "Valum Votan
Votan
Votan is a legendary or mythological figure mentioned in early European accounts of the Maya civilization.-Origins of the Votan story:The story of Votan in Mexico dates back to at least the late 17th century. It was first published in Constituciones diocesanas del obispado de Chiappa by Francisco...
," who will act as a "closer of the cycle" in 2012 (an event that is also significant on Argüelles' "13 Moon" calendar). Daniel Pinchbeck
Daniel Pinchbeck
Daniel Pinchbeck is an author living in New York’s East Village, where he is editorial director of Reality Sandwich, a blog website centered around New Age philosophy and activism. He is the author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism and 2012:...
, in his book 2012: The Return of Quetzalquatl (2006), also uses the name "Votan" in referring to Pakal. However, this name is not used for Pakal by Mayanist
Mayanist
A Mayanist is a scholar specialising in research and study of the Central American pre-Columbian Maya civilization. This discipline should not be confused with Mayanism, a collection of New Age beliefs about the ancient Maya....
researchers such as academic archaeologists, epigraphers, and iconographers. Argüelles claims a connection between Pakal and the semi-historical Toltec figure Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, but this is not supported by archaeological or epigraphic evidence. New Age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
interpretations of Pakal's tomb are a cornerstone of contemporary Mayanism
Mayanism
Mayanism is a non-codified eclectic collection of New Age beliefs, influenced in part by Pre-Columbian Maya mythology and some folk beliefs of the modern Maya peoples...
.