- Palenque
-
/pah leng"ke/, n.a village in SE Mexico, in Chiapas state: ruins of an ancient Mayan city.
* * *
Ruined ancient Mayan city of the Late Classic period (с AD 600–900) in what is now Chiapas state, Mexico.It is considered the most beautiful of Mayan sites. The Palenque builders designed temple pyramids and palaces with mansard-style roofs and walls embellished with delicate stucco reliefs of rulers, gods, and ceremonies. The principal structure is the palace, a labyrinth of galleries with interior courts and a four-story square tower. The great Temple of the Inscriptions is noted for its hieroglyphics and a vast funerary crypt, filled with jade, that was discovered in 1952.* * *
▪ ancient city, Mexicoruined ancient Mayan (Maya) city of the Late Classic Period (c. AD 600–900) in what is now Chiapas state, Mexico, about 80 miles (130 km) south of Ciudad del Carmen. Its original name is speculative; the site now shares the name the Spanish gave to a neighbouring village. The city's ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.The Palenque builders used plaster to obtain a smooth finish, unlike the usual Mayan tooled-limestone construction. However, they used carving on the interior walls; the best examples are on tablets affixed to the walls with plaster. Stucco and terra-cotta images have been found. The elaborate palace complex includes three parallel walls housing two corridors covered with pointed vaults of the Palenque style.One of the largest and best-preserved structures, the Temple of the Inscriptions, is noted for its hieroglyphic inscriptions. In 1952 a crypt was discovered under the temple, in which were found the jade-ornamented remains of what may have been a ruler-priest of the 7th century AD. The Temple of the Sun is noted for a large stucco bas-relief of a beautifully modeled throne and figures.▪ peoplealso called Guarine,Indian tribe of northern Venezuela at the time of the Spanish conquest (16th century). The Palenque were closely related to the neighbouring Cumanagoto (q.v.); their language probably belonged to the Arawakan family. They were a tropical-forest people known to eat human flesh, to be warlike, and to live in settlements surrounded by palisades (palenques). The Patángoro (q.v.) of Colombia were also sometimes called Palenque because of their fortified settlements.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
