’Pakal Votan’ tomb lid: Von Däniken's Mayan rocket man

Leading from 

Erich von Daniken

and 

'Pakal Votan' Tomb Lid 

a) Looking at Von Däniken‘s ideas

Von Däniken since the 1960s has presented multitudes of ancient reliefs, drawings and sculptures and painting in broad strokes the idea that these are depictions of extra terrestrials and space ships. 

In a way it has been an interesting concept until you look closer and closer at the details and find that quite often what is shown can be proven to be the opposite, however despite the proof offered against much of what he has said, some of his ideas put forth remain very enigmatic such as the tomb lid of Pakal the great. 

One can read Von Däniken's books and soon develop the method of thinking that he has provided us with, looking at all these ancient objects and designs from a from a twentieth to twenty first century point of view.

Erich Von Däniken

b) Entering into the Alien mythos

Although over the years comparison between the space jockey sculpture and the design on the tomb of Pakal the Great could been made.

It appeared to have made a curious journey through modern creativity since its discovery in 1952, but it would be Von Dániken who would make him a superstar.

Since the film Prometheus presentation of the Ancient Mayan Space Jockey 'Star Map' Tablet takes inspiration from Von Daniken, we can talk directly about the image in Chariots of the Gods regarding the sarcophagus lid in relation to what we might refer to as the Alien mythos.

c) The Question

Erich Von Däniken asked the question whether primitive imagination could have produced something that seemed so similar to the modern astronaut in his rocket.

d) The Pilot 

For Von Däniken, there sat a human being, with his upper part of his body bent forward like a racing a motorcyclist today any child would identify his vehicle as a rocket. 

Palenque tomb lid from Chariots of the Gods

e) Space ship exterior 

This framework around him is pointed at the front, then changes changes to strangely grooved indentations like inlet ports, widens out and the strange markings at the foot of the drawing would be where itterminates at the tail in a darting flame with gases comung from the propulsion unit. 

The astronaut’s front seat is separated by struts from the rear portion of the vehicle,  in which symmetrically arranged boxes. circles, points . spirals can be seen and all kinds of mysterious things

f) Control room

Our space traveler - he is clearly depicted as one - is not only bent forwards tensely; he is also looking intently at an apparatus hanging in front of his face.  

The crouching being himself is manipulating a number of undefinable controls with his hands, turning something on. Von Däniken felt that he could recognise every detail. 

The man has the heel of his left foot on a kind of a pedal, which has different adjustments.

g) The outfit

His clothing is appropriate: short trousers with a broad belt,  a jacket with the modern Japanese opening at the neck and closely fitting bands at arms and legs. 

h) Complicated space helmet

With our knowledge of similar pictures we should be surprised if the complicated headgear were missing. And there it is with the usual indentation and tubes and something like antennae on top.  

i) The cosmic bird

At a guess, Von Däniken wondered if the cosmic bird perched on top represented flight

j) Rocketeer flying on motorcycle-like vehicles

By 2011, going by Indian texts, he assumed that a mothership orbited the Earth.From the mothership came numerous small space shuttles, and from these, even smaller vehicles emerged. 

So he imagined that the Mayans saw that the extraterrestrials were driving around on Earth in "motorcycle-like vehicles, and that they thought these were gods and carved them in stone. 

As he read in ancient Hindu literature, around 6,000 years ago although they don't give a date - gigantic cities surrounded around the Earth.

From these cities, smaller vehicles came down, which the ancient Indians named these smaller vehicles vemanas. 

Some of them had the shape of an egg, others had the shape of Ezekial's spaceship, and so forth. 

In modern terms, it would be translated into a mother ship off the Earth with different types of shuttles coming from space stations, snd since these motherships were all around fhe Earth, this would have extended to aboverhe skies of the Americas.

k) The fate of Pacal?

He understood that around the stone with writing saying that the relief showed the main priest who died because of the hot wind archaeologist say they showed the poor guy was sick and died in a hot summer season.

But Von Däniken saw a completely different point that the hot wind was perhaps the blast on the spaceship and this was based upon his understanding of many other old texts where similar things happen such as someone was killed by the hot winds of the Gods .

He could find such mentionss of the “hot winds of the gods” occurring in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata and the Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh where Enkidu dies because he has been in contact with the gods and their hot wind

l) The Mayan deity named Kukulkan

As far as Von Däniken understood, the Maya said that the stone deity represented Kukulkan, who came from the stars and returned there.

Von Daniken’s understanding was that The Maya explained that Kukulkan gave them astronomical knowledge and mathematics.

m) The dating of the Pacals

So in the 1990s, Von Daniken was able to point out that there , there were nine different explanations for this Palenque figure in the books. 

That they  told us it is the tomb of Pakal, the dynasty that ruled Palenque, and according to the inscription, this ruler should be the second to last Pacal. 

On the other side of the temple, there were the datings of Pacal, but the oldest date does so far as he could see, did not correspond to what was known about the Maya. 

He was aware that it translated to 3114 BC, the very beginning of the Mayan calendar, but long before the Maya appeared. 

So Von Däniken suggested people to look at it in terms of misunderstanding technology, which is what would be seen in what he termed as cargo cults.

n) What else might the relief say?

What does this relief have to tell us? 

Nothing? 

Is everything anyone links up with space travel a stupid figment of the imagination? 

the Sarcophagus Lid of Pakal Votan

Source quotes

1. Der Bund: What do you see in the Mayan glyphs? I see misunderstood technology. The sandals aren't actually sandals, but boots; the spinal cord isn't a spinal cord, but a tube, for example, for oxygen supply; the bracelets are actually part of protective gloves.

   
   

   Erich Von Daniken: So, extraterrestrial technology? There's, for example, the tombstone of King Pakal in Palenque, Mexico. At some point, a mothership orbited the Earth. I know this from ancient Indian literature. From the mothership came numerous small space shuttles, and from these, even smaller vehicles emerged. So, the Mayans saw that the extraterrestrials were driving around on Earth in "motorcycle-like vehicles." They thought these were gods and carved them in stone. (

   https://www.derbund.ch/ich-bin-immer-noch-einer-der-taeglich-betet-546783019674, 2011)

2. Erich von Däniken: I believe, thousands of years ago, ETs were here. Maybe only a small group of people saw them. But then it went into interpretations of gods, powerful, descended from heaven. The next generation never saw them, never understood what they were. The Maya, for instance, created incredible pyramids in Central America. You have to ask the Maya, "Why have you done these pyramids?" For the gods? What gods? Scientists say, the god of nature, the thundering, the lightning, the strong forces they admired but could not understand. But that's again rubbish. The natural does not speak.

   The Maya, for example, explain that Kukulkan gave them astronomical knowledge and mathematics. I'm sorry, the lightning does not speak, "Divide this by this to get that," and so forth.

   FT:OK, let's talk about the sarcophagus lid of King Pacal in Palenque, the idea of him being at the control panel of a spaceship. Isn't there enough ambiguity in this baroque avalanche of hieroglyphics to say that what has been described as flames and rocket exhaust could also be flowers, as the traditional mayanists contend? 

   EVD:In our century, we have learned a new cult appeared. It's called the cargo cult. Whenever a high-technological society comes into contact with a primitive society, the primitives believe that some of the technology of the higher society is magic. If they can't understand it, it must have something to do with gods. When Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World, the natives believed he was a god - in the beginning. When Francisco Pizarro showed himself to the Inca, with his chains glittering in the sun, the priests all fell on the ground, believing him to be the son of the sun.

   In the Second World War, in the Pacific, on the island of Bebak, there were still Stone Age people who had never seen an aircraft. Then they saw these things landing on the coast. They went back to the mountain and began creating aircraft made of wood and straw. And they adored these models they made. It was magic. This is what we call the cargo cult, misunderstanding technology. saw.

   In ancient Hindu literature, 6,000 years ago - they don't give a date - gigantic cities surrounded around the Earth, and from these cities, smaller vehicles came down. The ancient Indians named these smaller vehicles vemanas. some had the shape of an egg, some had the shape of Ezekial's spaceship, and so forth. In modern terms, it would be translated into a mother ship off the Earth with different types of shuttles coming from space stations.

   The extraterrestrials, they study the people, and maybe they give some of the people information. And one of the priests tries to chisel this ET and his vehicle, in stone. The man understands nothing of the technology, like the people on the island of Bebak who don't know what an aircraft was. He chiseled what he saw. 

   Today, there are nine different explanations for this Palenque figure in the books. They tell us it is the tomb of Pacal, the dynasty that ruled Palenque, and according to the inscription, this ruler should be the second to last Pacal. On the other side of the temple, we have datings of Pacal. 

   But the oldest date does not correspond to what we know about the Maya. It's translated to 3114 BC, the very beginning of the Maya calendar, but long before the Maya appeared. So let's look at it in terms of misunderstanding technology, which is what we see today in our cargo cults. It's just a suggestion.

   (source; https://www.reddit.com/r/abovethenormnews/comments/1ae2mzi/interview_with_erich_von_daniken_1996/)

3. Erich von Däniken:"There sits a human being, with his upper part of his body bent forward like a racing a motorcyclist today any child would identify his vehicle as a rocket.  It is pointed at the front, then changes changes to strangely grooved indentations like inlet ports, widens out and terminates at the tail in a darting flame. The crouching being himself is manipulating a number of undefinable controls controls and has the heel of his left foot on a kind of a pedal. His clothing is appropriate: short trousers with a broad belt,  a jacket with the modern Japanese opening at the neck and closely fitting bands at arms and legs. With our knowledge of similar pictures we should be surprised if the complicated headgear were missing.And there it is with the usual indentation and tubes and something like antennae on top.  Our space traveler - he is clearly depicted as one - is not only bent forwards tensely; he is also looking intently at an apparatus hanging in front of his face. Is the astronauts front seat is separated by struts from the rear portion of the vehicle,  in which symmetrically arranged boxes circles, points and spirals can be seen. What does this relief have to tell us? Nothing? Is everything anyone links up with space travel a stupid figment of the imagination? (Chariots of the Gods (1968), p123-124)
4. Erich Von Daniken:" Could primitive imagination have produced anything so remarkably similar to a modern astronaut in his rocket? The strange markings at the foot of the drawing can only be an indication of the flames and gases coming from the propulsion unit." (Chariot of the Gods by Erich Von Danikens p112)
5. Playboy: What is the most convincing evidence you have that Earth has been visited from outer space?  
   Von Daniken: Two kinds of proof : proof by hard facts and proof in mythologies, holy books, legends and so forth. We have very good proof in hard facts. In Palenque, a little place in Yucatán, there is a tomb covered by a large stone. On this stone is a wonderful relief. It shows a man sitting in a kind of frame. He is bending forward almost like a motorcyclist, and at his nose he has what I would call an oxygen mask. He is operating some controls with his hands, turning something on - you can recognise every detail - and the heel of his left foot seems to be on a pedal which has different adjustments. Behind him you see some circles, some boxes, all kinds of mysterious things. And outside is a flame like an exhaust.
   
   Playboy: We're familiar with the stone which also depicts a bird in front of him. What's it doing there?
   
   Von Daniken: Oh, I don't know. Perhaps it represents flight, you know? Anyway, around the stone is a writing saying the relief shows a Mayan priest who died because of "the hot wind." Archeologists say this shows the poor guy was sick and died in a hot summer season. I see it completely differently, that the hot wind was maybe the blast from a spaceship. I would not say this if we did not have, in many other old texts, similar things where someone is killed by the "hot wind of the gods." You find these hot winds in the Mahabharata, the hindu epic, and in the Sumerian epic of Gilgamech, where Enkidu dies because he has been in contact with the gods and their hot wind. (Playboy 1974)