The Mayan civilisation dominated a stretch of land called Mesoamerica which today consists of parts of Central and Northern America.
Their presence in the region goes back millennia, with scientists having found evidence for settlements in Belize around 1800 BC.
While little is known about their society’s collapse, much in the way of relics and artefacts were left behind, each helping archaeologists to better understand who these people were.
Of all the finds that have been made, one piqued the interest of researchers more than most, when a team working in Palenque, Mexico, stumbled upon an ancient death mask.
The find came during excavations on the Temple of Inscriptions, the most important architectural work of King Pacal the Great.
One of the greatest rulers the Maya had ever seen, Pacal’s reign was the longest ever seen by the civilisation, lasting some 70 years.
During that time, Pacal made many reforms and built Palenque from the ground up, transforming it into a hub of trade and commerce, much of which was explored during the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary, ‘Sacred Sites: Maya’.
In the mid-20th century, archaeologists working on the temple floor found a secret passage to a chamber deep inside the Temple of Inscriptions’ pyramid and soon came across a sarcophagus covered by a stone lid.
The workers immediately knew they had found the remains of someone great after they removed the sarcophagus’ lid and found a “death mask” made completely of jade. On further inspection, they revealed a number of hieroglyphs that gave away the identity of the person inside: a certain King Pacal.
His surrounding tomb was covered in hundreds of drawings depicting his journey into the afterlife, or “resurrection”, much like that found in the tombs of Ancient Egypt’s great pharaohs.
The drawings show Pacal leaving Earth and emerging from the Underworld, eventually being reborn in the Heavens. The documentary’s narrator described it all as displaying the very “essence of Mayan religion”.
Fast forward decades later and archaeologists working in the region found another relic linked to Pacal, a second mask this time showing the king in later life.
Discovered by a team from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), everything associated with old age accompanied this mask, including wrinkles and smile lines.
Diego Prieto, director of the institute, said: “Palenque continues to astonish us with everything it has to offer archaeological, anthropological, and historical research.”
Though Pacal built Palenque up to be a great seat of power, in the 8th century, it was completely abandoned and reclaimed by the surrounding jungle.
