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Photo: Jan Harenburg · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Mesoamerican stepped pyramid structure at the pre-Columbian Maya civilization site of Palenque
The Temple of the Inscriptions 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, 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. Within Palenque, the Temple of the Inscriptions is located in an area known as the Temple of the Inscriptions’ Court and stands at a right angle to the southeast of the palace. The Temple of the Inscriptions has been significant in the study of the ancient Maya, owing to the extraordinary sample of hieroglyphic text found on the Inscription Tablets, the impressive sculptural panels on the piers of the building, and the finds inside the tomb of Pakal.
