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PALENQUE

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Originally appearing in Volume V20, Page 598 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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PALENQUE , the See also:

modern name of a deserted See also:city in See also:Mexico, in the narrow valley of the Otolum, in the See also:north See also:part of the See also:state of See also:Chiapas, 8o m. S. of the Gulf See also:port of Carmen. About 30 M. away, on the See also:left See also:bank of the Usumacinta See also:river, stand the ruins of Men-che or Lorillard city. The See also:original name of Palenque has been lost, and its See also:present name is taken from the neighbouring See also:village, Santo Domingo del Palenque. Unlike the dead cities of the See also:Yucatan plains, Palenque is surrounded by wooded hills and overgrown by tropical vegetation. There is less See also:stone See also:carving on the exterior walls, See also:door jambs and pillars of the buildings than on those of the Yucatan See also:Peninsula; this is due to the harder and more uneven See also:character of the See also:limestone. Probably owing to the same cause, there is less cut stone in the walls, the Palenque builders using See also:plaster to obtain smooth surfaces. There is, however, considerable carving on the interior walls, the best specimens being on the tablets, affixed to the walls with plaster. Modelling in See also:stucco was extensively used. A few terra-See also:cotta images have been found. Paint and coloured washes were liberally used to See also:cover plastered surfaces and for ornamentation, and paints seem to have been used to bind plastered surfaces. The Palenque builders apparently used nothing but stone tools in their See also:work.

The so-called See also:

Great See also:Palace consists of a See also:group of detached buildings, apparently ten in number, See also:standing on two platforms of different elevations. Some of the interior structures and the detached one on the See also:lower See also:southern See also:terrace are in a See also:fair state of preservation. The See also:plan of construction shows three parallel walls enclosing two corridors covered with the See also:peculiar pointed See also:arches or vaults characteristic of Palenque. The buildings appear to have been erected at different periods. A square See also:tower rises from a central part of the See also:platform to a height of about 40 ft., divided into a solid See also:masonry See also:base and three storeys connected by interior stairways. The See also:Temple of See also:Inscriptions, one of the largest and best preserved, is distinguished chiefly for its tablets, which contain only See also:hieroglyphics. Sculptured slabs See also:form balustrades to the steps leading up to the temple, and its exterior is ornamented with figures in stucco, the See also:outer faces of the four pillars in front having See also:life-See also:size figures of See also:women with See also:children in their arms. The small Temple of Beau See also:Relief stands on a narrow ledge of See also:rock against the steep slope of the See also:mountain. Its most important feature is a large stucco bas-relief, occupying a central position on the back See also:wall of the See also:sanctuary. It consists of a single figure, seated on a See also:throne, beautifully modelled both in form, drapery and ornaments, with the See also:face turned to one See also:side and the arms out-stretched, and is reproduced by H. H. See also:Bancroft.

The temples on the See also:

east side of the Otolum are distinguished by tall narrow vaults, perforated by numerous square openings giving the See also:appearance of coarse lattice work. The Temple of the See also:Sun stands upon a comparatively See also:low pyramidal See also:foundation. The interior consists of the usual pair of vaulted corridors. The sacred tablet on the back wall of the sanctuary is carved in low relief in limestone, and consists of two figures, apparently a See also:priest and his assistant making offerings. There are rows of hieroglyphics on the sides and over the central See also:design. The Temple of the See also:Cross is a larger structure of similar design and construction. The tablet belonging to this temple has excited controversy, because the design contains a See also:representation of a Latin cross. The Temple of the Cerro, called that of the Cross No. 2, because its tablet is very similar to that just mentioned, See also:PALERMO stands back against the slope of the mountain, and is in great part a ruin.

End of Article: PALENQUE

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