CHAPTER 1 ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF MESOAMERICAN CIVILIZATION 67Figure 1.12 Overview of the site of Palenque; the Palace compound is in the foreground at
the right, and Pakal’s Temple of Inscriptions is shown on the left. Photo by Robert Rosenswig.
Palenque stands apart from other Classic Mayan sites for its unique architectural
style and its beautiful bas-relief sculpture in both stone and stucco, which includes
some of the longest Classic Mayan texts. The rulers of Palenque were particularly
concerned with legitimizing their positions as rulers, and many of the texts focus on
the foundations of royal genealogy in creation myths. Texts focusing on the concern
for legitimacy has made it possible to reconstruct the complete dynastic history of the
site. As a result we know that at least one queen-Lady, Yohl Ik’nal (acceding in A.D.
583), ruled at Palenque, and it is possible that Pakal I’s mother, Lady Sak K’uk’, also
ruled for a brief three-year period before twelve-year-old Pakal acceded to the throne
in A.D. 615.
Innovations by architects at Palenque enabled them to construct rooms with
thinner walls and greater interior space, creating rooms that were lighter and better
ventilated than the small, dark rooms found at other sites. At Palenque, unlike most
other Classic Mayan centers, sculptors did not erect freestanding stone monuments
or stelae, as their work could be displayed on building interiors.
Palenque was a smaller city than Tikal, yet it clearly was a prominent political and
religious center in the Late Classic period. The site is dominated by the Temple of
the Inscriptions, the funerary monument to Pakal, and a network of buildings called
the Palace (Figure 1.12). Deep within the Temple of the Inscriptions is Pakal’s tomb.
His coffin, made of stone, is so massive that it had to be put in place before the pyra-
mid was constructed. The sarcophagus lid is elaborately carved with a depiction of