Science in Ancient Artwork
PAKAL, THE MAYA ASTRONAUT:
A STUDY OF ANCIENT SPACE TRAVEL
by Charles William Johnson
"Pakal,
The Ancient Astronaut:
Paleoanimation of the Sculpture of the Maya at Palenque"
Introduction
In the Earth/matriX Series of essays, we have
been attempting to discern the manner in which the ancient astronomers/priests
seem to have translate astronomical data into mathematical models for
the reckoning of time. These mathematical models and the numerical data
related therein, then seem to have been interpreted into geometrical patterns
and designs. Finally, all of that appears to have found an expression
in the creative artwork of ancient cultures.
The mathematical models and the geometrical designs seem to allow
for distinct interpretations and manipulations of the
artistically expressed sculptures. By identifying the linear
coordinates and the spatial logic of some of the ancient
sculptures, it would appear that a wealth of ideas has been
encoded into artwork. The possibility may exist, in fact, of
decoding those mathematical models and geometrical designs in
order to observe exactly what the artist (or astronomer/priest)
was attempting to communicate. In a certain sense, we have
already seen some examples of this in some of the previous essays
of the Earth/matriX Series. Numbers are rendered into specific
geometrical coordinates and spatial designs of the artwork. The
Aztec Calendar has been a case in point.
Throughout the Earth/matriX Series, we shall attempt to identify distinct sculptures
and forms of artwork from ancient cultures that appear the enclose a specific
guide for manipulating the information encode in them. The descipherment of
the ancient artwork has been carried out through attempts to read the glyphs
that are generally found on the relief sculptures of the ancient maya culture,
for example. Yet, the fact that these sculptures reflect a wealth of visual
elements might also suggest that we should be looking at those visual images
as well; their compositional make-up, for example. In our studies we attempt
to related what is known about the ancient reckoning systems and the numbers
related to those systems, with respect to the visual images portrayed in the
sculptures and artwork. We are not simply attempting to discern whether the
accompanying glyphs tell us who or what the sculpture is about, but rather what
might the images itself be suggesting in the way of original communication of
ideas.
One particular sculpture that has captured the imagination of so many of us
been that of Pakal, the image of a maya ruler sculpted on the
lid of a stone sarcophagus deep within the Temple of Inscriptions pyramid situated
at the site of Palenque, Mexico.
In 1949, the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz
discovered a vaulted room beneath the floor of the Temple of Inscriptions,
in which he also discovered this large sarcophagus. The most incredible
reproduction of the images on this particular sarcophagus have been made
by professor Marle Greene Roberston, through rubbings on rice paper.
The human figure portrayed in relief on that stone slab has
become known as "the astronaut" to some; as "Pakal", a maya
ruler, to others. From the glyphs one may view the subject as
Pakal; from the visual theme one may see something that looks
like a spacecraft within which he is seated. Pakal appears to be
seated at a control panel within a housing device, very similar
to today's space capsules. This relief sculpture has been dated
at around 690 our era, when there were apparently no space
vehicles in existence; that we know of anyway. Pakal's posture
and positioning appear to reflect the concept of movement, with
his body leaning slightly forward, as though he were travelling
towards a specific point, in a particular direction. Hugh
Harleston, Jr., in 1974, produced a very vivid image and detailed
analysis of the possibility for interpreting Pakal's housing
device to represent a spacecraft. We should like to further that
analysis by adding the concept of movement to the interpretation.
Classical maya studies reveal an interpretation of this sculpture that
identifies its elements to represent the world-directional tree symbolized by
the cross, while the housing portrays the idea of the fleshless jaws of an earth-serpent
If we visualize the concept of movement suggested
in the sculpture, a very distinct possibility of interpretation appears.
Pakal's forward leaning position would seem to suggest that of someone
travelling at a fast speed, as we know it today. From the perspective
of the possibility of movement, we shall analyze the image from the viewpoint
of mechanics and engineering. In order to achieve this, we must break
down the parts of the image and consider the possible movement of each
particular section. By doing this, we shall observe how this stone slab
of possibility more than 1300 years old, may actually be registering an
event of space travel, long before we ever thought it to be possible on
Earth; or even in the Universe.
Today, we feverishly search the sky for some sign or trace of
visitors from outer space; we fervently analyze the crop circles
in the wheat fields of England for possible evidence of their
visiting us now. We might have to examine the historical record
with a little more persistence in order to see that the ancestors
of the Earth, those who have gone before us, may possibly have
documented just such an experience already. The maya artwork of
the Temple of Inscriptions may just be that example of historical
documentation.
Pakal: The Maya Astronaut
| Introduction | Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII |
"Pakal, The Ancient Astronaut:
Paleoanimation of the Sculpture of the Maya at Palenque"
