while I was digging up old photos from Maya sites,and remembering some of the things I learnt about Mayan culturemany years ago (was always a bit of a fan!) ...I remembered THIS one as well: Erich von Däniken and his theories.Ever heard of him before?Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (b. Zofingen, Aargau, Switzerland, April 14, 1935) is a controversial Swiss author best known for his books which examine possible evidence for extraterrestrial influences on early human culture. Von Däniken is one of the key figures responsible for popularizing the paleocontact and ancient astronaut hypotheses.
Von Däniken is a co-founder of the Archaeology, Astronautics and SETI Research Association (AAS RA). He developed a theme park called Mystery Park in Interlaken, Switzerland, which opened on May 23, 2003 and closed on November 19, 2006.
His 26 books have been translated into more than 20 languages, selling more than 60 million copies worldwide, and his documentary TV shows have been viewed in Germany and the United States. His influence can also be seen in science fiction, the New Age culture and some modern religions.In a nutshell: von Däniken theorises that earth has been visited over the millenia by alien astronauts, which us humans turned into gods ... "Evidence" of such visitations can be found in many cultures - or so he says. And on von Däniken goes in identify alien aircraft landing strips in the Andes, astronauts´ helmets among Egyptian gods (I daresay von Däniken inspired the STARGATE film and series) and, most famously, an astronaut on the sarcophagos of a Mayan tomb.Meet Pakal, powerful Mayan lord of Palenque,on of the big, prosperous city states in the classical Maya period:
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PACAL [also known as Pakal, Hanab-Pakal, Pacal the Great, Lord Shield Pacal, Lord Shield-Pacal, Subject A, Sunshield, Sun-Shield, Lady 8 Flower]. Probably the greatest ruler of Palenque. He ruled from 9.9.2.4.8 (A.D. 615) to 9.12.11.5.18. (A.D. 683). He ascended the throne at age 12 years 125 days, and died at age 80 years 158 days. He is entombed in the sarcophagus of the Temple of the Inscriptions. (see below):
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This is the relief on the lid of Pacal´s stone sarcophagos in more detail ...Is this an ancient astronaut? Cited by Erich Von Daniken in his book, Chariots of the Gods, the sarcophagus of Pacal, Lord of Palenque, was discovered in a tomb deep within the pyramid called the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque. Although some believe the image on the lid, as shown above, depicts an early astronaut at the controls of his spaceship, archaeologists propose that it shows Lord Pacal at the moment of his death (683 AD). He is falling into the jaws of the great underworld Monster, while the Vision Serpent writhes below the Celestial Bird, who sits atop the World Tree. These symbols demonstrate the Maya belief that the spirit of the king would eventually return from his underworld journey to assist his successor in ceremonial visions.Here´s the von Däniken view of Pacal´s tomb:
So? Stargate or not? ... What do you make of this Mayan astronaut?I must admit, I DID find von Däniken´s books fascinating at the time ...And he did ask some interesting questions.In the end, however, I found he had too many answers ...I mean, he tended to fit every artifact he foundto that theory of his about alien cultural injections on our planet ...THAT I found a bit tooooo much.But, give it the once over ... Certainly enjoyable!
And if you get the chance to travel the Mayan sites,
DO put Palenque in Chiapas on you To-Visit list;
it´s absolutely stunning!
