Lord Pacal and the tale of the Ancient Astronaut
One of the most mysterious ancient societies as a subject of study is the Mayan civilization. With most of their texts having been destroyed by Christian missionaries and Spanish imperialists, constructing an understanding of the ancient Mayan way of life has been one of the most important works of scholarly insight, and also one of the most misinterpreted. Lord Pacal, was discovered in 1952 by Mexican archaeologist, Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, after noticing that the hieroglyphs on the wall in the Temple of Inscriptions seemed to continue beneath the floor. (Fagan 2008) Replicas of Lord Pacal’s tomb can be found in the museum at Palenque and in Mexico City, as visitors are no longer allowed to view the original.
It took Alberto and his team around 3 years after removing the first floor panel in 1949, to make their way down a staircase, removing some 400 tons of debris in the process, to finally discover the tomb of Lord Pacal. Of course, it wouldn’t be until years later that scholars would actually be able to identify the remains. The tomb itself was covered with a large slab of stone engraved with many hieroglyphs and pictures which have led to the subject of much debate over the years. In 1968, Swiss author Erich von Daniken wrote, “Chariot of the Gods” which went on to become an international bestseller, and claims that the hieroglyphs depicted on the slab liken Pacal to that of an ancient astronaut. These explanations of Lord Pacal, seated in a rocket, are exhaustingly explained in nearly every episode of the History Channels, “Ancient Aliens” and have been misinterpreted by laymen everywhere for generations now.
Figure 1: Engraved Relief of the Tomb of Pacal
As Daniken describes the image (Fig. 1), we see Lord Pacal seated as his feet and hands apparently operating control levers. There is fire projecting out of the back of the “rocket” and the rig looks to form into a point, suggesting the rocket shape. Daniken even suggests a breathing apparatus is connected to Pacal’s nose. Now to many of the non-discerning consumers of interesting discussions, this might come off as strong evidence in support of his case. However, for anybody with even a rudimentary understanding of Mayan symbols, we can take Daniken’s argument for what it is, absolute balderdash. What Daniken would have us believe is the head of the spaceship, is actually a well-known symbol in Mayan culture known as the Waka-chan, or World Tree. There are also 2 faces of deities up towards the top of the World Tree, as well as the deity of the underworld below (behind as pictured) Pacal. The general consensus among Mayan experts is that this image is telling the story of Pacal’s death, as he slips from the world of man into the underworld. (Bob 2011)
When Lord Pacal was discovered, he had been buried with a jade mask covering his face. It is believed to be an accurate likeness of Pacal himself. Along with this treasure inside the tomb, were also an abundance of such high quality treasures that the discovery is compared to that of Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt. (Bahn 1999) Much like the hieroglyphs on the stone slab noted above, much wasn’t understood about the Maya until years after the discovery. For example, the use of jade was quite deliberate; jade was valued by the Maya because it symbolized moisture and the breath as an indication of life. Therefore, to lay a jade mask over the face of Pacal, the Maya believed they were guaranteeing Pacal life in the underworld. “The obsidian used in the eyes was prized by Mesoamericans for its reflective qualities, and is thought to have been used by shamans as an aid in negotiations with other-worldly powers.” (Bahn 1999) There is even more to be said about the mask. There is a T-shaped tooth appearing through parted lips which is an indication of Pacal’s association with the divine. This is in line with the story we have come to understand of Pacal’s ascent to the throne.
Unlike other Mayan kings, Pacal inherited his throne from his mother, Lady Zac-Kuk. In order to be legitimized as ruler, Pacal declared his mother to be equal to the first mother of gods and kings at the beginning of the present creation; and that Pacal was born on the goddess’ “birthday”. Not much else is known about the great king, except that Palenque flourished under his rule of about 66 years, one of the longest known reigns in history. (Fagan 2008) Pacal is the Mayan word for shield, which is the hieroglyph used for his name. Originally, academics just referred to him as Lord Shield, until protests from the Maya caused researchers to revise his name for authenticity’s sake. (Griffin 2008)
In 1985, thieves broke into the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and stole some 124 pre-Columbian treasures, including the Funeral Mask of Pacal. The mask, along with the other artifacts went missing for 3 ½ years until an informant led the police to Carlos Percher Trevino; where upon raiding his home, had found a canvas bag containing the mask as well as most of the other stolen artifacts. According to Percher, he and his partner in crime, Ramon Sardina Garela, scoped the museum out for months in advance. Finally, at 2 am on Christmas Day, the pair broke into the museum through the air conditioning duct and stole the artifacts, never encountering any of the 9 museum guards. Percher and Sardina eventually tried to trade the artifacts for cocaine to drug traffickers. After one of the traffickers was arrested, he told the authorities of Percher and fortunately for us, the Mask of Pacal was returned to the museum, in newly designed security cases of course. (Bahn 1999)
Bahn, Paul G. World’s Great Archaeological Treasures. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Illustrated, 1999.
Prof. Bob and Pacal the Mayan King. Directed by Youtube: http://youtu.be/5JjfAOR7f4Y. Performed by Prof. Bob. 2011.
Fagan, Brian. Ancient Civilizations. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2008.
Cracking the Maya Code. Directed by David Lebrun (NOVA) http://to.pbs.org/U7tq8X. Performed by Gillett Griffin. 2008.
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Originally published at matthewgarvinblog.wordpress.com on November 8, 2015.
