Temple of the Inscriptions

The Temple of the Inscriptions (Classic Maya: Bʼolon Yej Teʼ Naah (Mayan pronunciation: [ɓolon jex teʔ naːh]) "House of the Nine Sharpened Spears"[1]) is the largest Mesoamerican stepped pyramid structure at the pre-Columbian Maya civilization site of Palenque, located in the modern-day state of Chiapas, Mexico.

The structure was specifically built as the funerary monument for Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal,[2] ajaw or ruler of Palenque in the 7th century, whose reign over the polity lasted almost 70 years.

Construction of this monument commenced in the last decade of his life, and was completed by his son and successor Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II.

The five entrances in the front of the building are surrounded by piers bearing both carved images and the hieroglyphic texts in Maya script for which the temple was named.

The construction was initiated by Pakal himself, although his son, Kʼinich Kan Bahlam II completed the structure and its final decoration.

[7] Despite the fact that Palenque, and the Temple of Inscriptions itself, had been visited and studied for more than two hundred years, the tomb of Pakal was not discovered until 1952.

Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, a Mexican archaeologist, removed a stone slab from the floor of the temple, revealing a stairway filled with rubble.

Pier B depicts a scene in which a human figure holds the “child” God K, one of whose legs is a serpent, in his hand.

It is likely, especially considering the emphasis placed on the polydactyly, that this feature is a reference to Pakal’s son, Kan B'alam II, who is portrayed in portraits with six fingers on one hand and six toes on one foot.

The appearance of the psychoduct (a hollow duct that goes from the outer temple into the tomb of Pakal) and the stone band that connects to it have led many to compare the structure to an umbilical cord.

These tablets emphasize the idea that events that happened in the past will be repeated on the same calendar date, a theme also found in the Books of Chilam Balam, and constitute one of the longest known Maya inscriptions (617 glyphs).

[10] To prevent the collapse of the tomb due to the immense weight of the pyramid, the architects designed the hut-shaped chamber using cross vaulting and recessed buttresses.

Above him is the Celestial Bird, perched atop the Cosmic Tree (represented by a cross) which, in turn, holds a Serpent in its branches.