Palenque

Palenque
/pah leng"ke/, n.
a village in SE Mexico, in Chiapas state: ruins of an ancient Mayan city.

* * *

Ruined ancient Mayan city of the Late Classic period (с AD 600–900) in what is now Chiapas state, Mexico.

It is considered the most beautiful of Mayan sites. The Palenque builders designed temple pyramids and palaces with mansard-style roofs and walls embellished with delicate stucco reliefs of rulers, gods, and ceremonies. The principal structure is the palace, a labyrinth of galleries with interior courts and a four-story square tower. The great Temple of the Inscriptions is noted for its hieroglyphics and a vast funerary crypt, filled with jade, that was discovered in 1952.

* * *

▪ ancient city, Mexico
 ruined ancient Mayan (Maya) city of the Late Classic Period (c. AD 600–900) in what is now Chiapas state, Mexico, about 80 miles (130 km) south of Ciudad del Carmen. Its original name is speculative; the site now shares the name the Spanish gave to a neighbouring village. The city's ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.

      The Palenque builders used plaster to obtain a smooth finish, unlike the usual Mayan tooled-limestone construction. However, they used carving on the interior walls; the best examples are on tablets affixed to the walls with plaster. Stucco and terra-cotta images have been found. The elaborate palace complex includes three parallel walls housing two corridors covered with pointed vaults of the Palenque style.

 One of the largest and best-preserved structures, the Temple of the Inscriptions, is noted for its hieroglyphic inscriptions. In 1952 a crypt was discovered under the temple, in which were found the jade-ornamented remains of what may have been a ruler-priest of the 7th century AD. The Temple of the Sun is noted for a large stucco bas-relief of a beautifully modeled throne and figures.
 

people
also called  Guarine,  

      Indian tribe of northern Venezuela at the time of the Spanish conquest (16th century). The Palenque were closely related to the neighbouring Cumanagoto (q.v.); their language probably belonged to the Arawakan family. They were a tropical-forest people known to eat human flesh, to be warlike, and to live in settlements surrounded by palisades (palenques). The Patángoro (q.v.) of Colombia were also sometimes called Palenque because of their fortified settlements.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Palenque — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Palenque (del catalán palenc, empalizada ) puede designar: al Señor de Palenque, a la zona arqueológica mexicana de Palenque, vestigios de una antigua ciudad precolombina maya; a la ciudad de Palenque, en el… …   Wikipedia Español

  • PALENQUE — Bâtie sur les contreforts des collines du Chiapas, au milieu des forêts tropicales, Palenque a été l’une des cités mayas les plus importantes de l’époque classique (IVe IXe s.). La pureté du style architectural, l’élégante perfection des bas… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Palenque —   [pa leȖke], präkolumbische Stadt der klassischen Mayakultur, heute Ruinenstätte (UNESCO Weltkulturerbe), 50 km südlich des Usumacinta am Fuß des Hochlandes von Chiapas, Mexiko; besiedelt seit etwa 100 v. Chr., Blütezeit von 600 bis 750 n. Chr.… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • palenque — sustantivo masculino 1. Valla de madera que delimita o cerca un terreno. 2. Terreno vallado de esta manera. 3. Uso/registro: restringido en Argentina. Origen: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay. Poste clavado en la tierra al que se atan los animales …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • Palenque — Pa*len que, n. pl. (Ethnol.) A collective name for the Indians of Nicaragua and Honduras. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Palenque — (S. Domingo de P.), Stadt im mexicanischen Staate Chiapa, an der Grenze von Yucatan; dabei merkwürdige Ruinen der alten Indianerstadt P. (od. Culiacan), welche durch vulkanische Eruption untergegangen ist, u. einer unterirdischen Stadt von sehr… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Palenque — (spr. lénke, Nachan), Departementshauptort im N. des mexikan. Staates Chiapas, nicht weit vom Chacamas, der in den Usumacinta mündet, mit 9870 Einw. Etwa 11 km davon liegen die Ruinen des alten Huehuetlapallan (vielleicht das mythische Xibalba,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Palenque — (spr. ke), Ort im mexik. Staate Chiapas, merkwürdige indian. Ruinen …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Palenque — Palenque, Ortschaft im mexikanischen Staate Chiapa am Flusse Micol, mit merkwürdigen Ruinen (beschrieben von Waldeck und Stephens) …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • palenque — (Del cat. palenc, empalizada). 1. m. Valla de madera o estacada que se hace para la defensa de un puesto, para cerrar el terreno en que se ha de hacer una fiesta pública o para otros fines. 2. Terreno cercado por una estacada para celebrar algún… …   Diccionario de la lengua española

  • Palenque — [pä leŋ′kā] village in N Chiapas state, Mexico: site of ancient Mayan ruins …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”