Classic Maya
Mexico, 250 CE–900 CE.
In the rainforests of the south, Maya city-states built stone pyramids, kept precise calendars and wrote in the only fully developed script of the ancient Americas.
Seat of power: Palenque
Rulers
K'inich Janaab' Pakal
King of Palenque, 615 CE–683 CE
Took the throne at 12 and ruled for 68 years as a divine king. He rebuilt Palenque after defeats by its rival Calakmul and was buried with a jade mask in the Temple of the Inscriptions.
Portrait of K'inich Janaab' Pakal: PacalII.jpg: Sergio derivative work: TastyCakes (talk), Public domain, file
Culture
- Maya astronomers track Venus and the Sun with a calendar of interlocking cycles.
- Hieroglyphic inscriptions record kings, wars and dynasties.
- Palenque's Temple of the Inscriptions holds the tomb of its greatest king.
Picture
The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, the tomb of King Pakal.
Image: Lousanroj, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
