More Adventures In Ancient Mexico February 2023

Okay, we're entering Palenque, a huge complex in Chiapas in Mexico. Only about 10% has been uncovered. The other 90% remains in the surrounding jungle. With our Mayan guide Ricardo. Okay amigos, come over here. I want you to get closer to this structure to see the skull. On the second column, on the second square column at the bottom, there is a skull. You notice that? Do you see it? Oh yes. There is a skull, but the skull is not the skull of a human being. It is the skull of a rabbit. The skull of a rabbit. Okay, entering the tomb of the Red Queen, who supposedly was the wife of the famous Pacal. So the Red Queen lived about 600 AD. She's called Red Queen because she was found covered in cinnabar, which is a precursor material for mercury. Lots of people. A little recess area for a tomb maybe. So here's the tomb of the Red Queen. Again, like what Ricardo said, she was covered in cinnabar, which is the precursor material for mercury. You heat up cinnabar and it turns into liquid mercury. So now we want to find out where her body is because it's not here. Is it in Mexico City or in the museum here? Another recess niche here. One more important thing. There is a window on the wall on the right of the Temple on Top and there is another window on the left. Those windows let the light of the sun go in to the Temple on Top to mark the solstices of the 21st of June when the corn has already started to grow, you know, because I'm ready in the beginning of June and the solstice of winter. Up and into the jungle. And then into one of the upper plazas. So this is the back side of the front first complex we went through. Heavy duty reconstruction. So we're starting to see some very big slabs. So it looks to me like older, superior construction below, inferior construction above. So again, we have smaller stones with lots of mortar and then massive. And on the way out of the complex. Replica of the Red Queen of Palenque, the wife of Lord Pakal. This is a replica of her mummy. There's evidence that she had cranial deformation or a bound head.