The 'Astronaut' of Palenque
A carved stone lid in a Maya temple shows a king that some have claimed is an astronaut at the controls of a spaceship.
What was reported
In 1952, the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier found a hidden tomb deep inside the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque. It held the carved stone lid of the sarcophagus of K'inich Janaab' Pakal, a great Maya king who died in 683 CE.
In 1968, the writer Erich von Däniken claimed the carving showed a man inside a rocket, operating controls, with flames coming out of the back. The 'Palenque astronaut' became famous.
Explanations offered
Maya scholars read the carving as Pakal falling into, or rising from, the underworld at the moment of death, at the base of a sacred world tree. Its symbols, including the 'controls' and 'flames', all appear in other Maya art. Reading the writing around it confirms the scene.
- When
- Carved in 683 CE; claims since 1968
- Where
- Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico
- Witnesses
- Archaeologists and visitors
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.