Palenque

: This article is about the ancient Maya site; for other meanings of "Palenque", see Palenque (disambiguation).

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Palenque is a Maya archeological site near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen. It is a medium sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal or Cop?n, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, and stucco reliefs the Maya produced.

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The site was already long abandoned when the Spanish arrived in Chiapas. The first European to visit the ruins and publish an account was Father Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada in 1567; at the time the local Chol Maya called it Otolum meaning "Land with strong houses", de la Nada roughly translated this into Spanish to give the site the name "Palenque", meaning "fortification". Palenque also became the name for the town (Santo Domingo del Palenque) which was built over some peripheral ruins down in the valley from the main ceremonial center of the ancient city.

Maya: Maya may refer to:...

Usumacinta River: The Usumacinta River in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala, formed by the junction of the Pasi?n River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz (in Guatemala) and the Salinas River, also known as the Chixoy, or the Negro, which descends from the Sierra Madre de Guatemala, is the border...

Mexican state: redirect Political divisions of Mexico...

Palenque related Images and Photos (experimental)

Picturesque View at the Temple of the Cross Palenque Plate 20 from "Ancient Monuments of Mexico"

Plaque of Ideographic Writing from the Temple of Inscriptions Palenque circa 692