MEXICO-MAYAN KING Investigators decode hieroglyphic name of Mayan King Pakal in Palenque

Record ID: 151208

  • Title: MEXICO-MAYAN KING Investigators decode hieroglyphic name of Mayan King Pakal in Palenque
  • Date: 15th June 2015
  • Summary: PALENQUE, CHIAPAS, MEXICO (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF RUINS OF PALENQUE
  • Embargoed: 30th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1NWOAVXU4DRI9V3Z42T8B5SAL
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    More than six decades after King Pakal's burial crypt was first discovered in the ancient Mayan city of Palenque, researchers in Mexico have finally managed to decode the hieroglyphic name on the famous tomb, according to Mexico City's National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
    The hieroglyphic name dedicated to Pakal's 28-tonne (31-ton) sarcophagus was previously known scientifically as T514. The crypt was first discovered in 1948 by Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier. But Guillermo Bernal from UNAM's Mayan Studies Centre said new investigations of the jaguar, a sacred animal for the Maya, led him to make a connection with other hieroglyphics of the same form.
    Speaking at a news conference in the Mexican capital, Bernal announced the decoded name reads as "The House of the Nine Sharpened Spears."
    "'The House of the Nine Sharpened Spears' is the name of the tomb of K'inich Janaab' Pakal. This is a name linked with war and is an aspect which was not previously known as the hieroglyphic was not able to be deciphered until now that we can read it completely, to know exactly the meaning of this enclosure (tomb). 'The House of the Nine Sharpened Spears' is a denomination represented by the nine warriors in the walls of the tomb," he said.
    King Pakal is one of the Mayan civilisation's most famous leaders. Born in the seventh century, he ascended to the throne at age 12 and led one of the longest and most prosperous governments of the ancient city of Palenque. He is believed to be responsible for the construction of some of Palenque's most notable surviving inscriptions and temples.
    But Bernal added that Pakal's mighty rule over the kingdom came at a time when the civilisation faced its final days.
    "This expression is more commonly seen in the classical period, specifically in the eighth century between the years 700 CE to 800 CE, which is the last century of the Mayan culture and very close to its collapse. In the years following 800 CE, the Mayan cities started to collapse. That (event) has a strong relationship with the frequency of the number of wars which began in this century," he said.
    The powerful Mayan empire reached its height, known as its classic period, between approximately 250 and 950 CE. It extended its reach into what is now Guatemala, Honduras and western El Salvador.
    Peaking in the eighth century with a population of some 15 million people, the advanced ancient empire mapped out a precise calendar and astronomical movements.
    Today, the abandoned Mayan city of Palenque is one of Mexico's most popular tourist destinations with thousands of international visitors marvelling at the area's artefacts, which for scientists continue to provide a basis for ongoing research.
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