Anthropology

By Madison Dapcevich
28 AUG 2018, 11:554

A life-sized stucco mask depicting one of ancient Mexico’s most well-known rulers has been discovered tucked away at the Mayan Palenque Palace, according to the country’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

K’inich Janaab ‘Pakal, known as King Pakal the Great, became king of Mexico at the age of 12 and for 68 years ruled over the ancient Mayan city, chartering construction of some of the area’s finest architecture and elaborate building. Wrinkle lines around the mouth and cheeks of the mask represent him as an old man and, if proven to be him, would be the first of its kind.

"It is noteworthy, unlike other Mayan sites where representations are generic, in Palenque many of the features we see in [the] mural painting or stone carvings are faithful reflections of specific characters," said archaeologist Benito Venegas Duran in a statement.

The mask was discovered in a building called “House E”. Other ritualistic objects were also buried with the mask, including ceramic figures, pearls, fragments of jade, obsidian, a pyrite polished mirror, carved bones and flints, and skeletons of turtles, lizards, small birds, and snails. Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico from 226 BC to AD 800 located near the Usumacinta River, archaeologists believe ancient residents had developed a special relationship with the river and offered objects to encourage its ecological sustainability.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/rare-mask-of-ancient-ruler-king-pakal-the-great-discovered-in-7thcentury-mayan-city/