This is the cover, or lid, of the large sarcophagus of Pakal (also Pacal the Great) that lies in his tomb in the Temple of the Inscriptions in the ancient city of Palenque, state of Chiapas in southernmost nowadays Mexico.

Pacal (Kʼinich Janaab Pakal in Mayan) was a great Mayan ruler (‘Ajaw’ or ‘Ahau’ in Mayan, meaning ‘Lord’) of the city-state that reigned for a long 68 years (615-683 AD) having ascended the throne at the mere age of 12.

As regards the Temple of Inscriptions, or Bʼolon Yej Teʼ Naah in Mayan that spells ‘House of the Nine Sharpened Spears,’ it shapes the largest Mesoamerican (eight-)stepped pyramid in Palenque and is situated at the namesake Court and at a right angle southwest to the Palace.

Some interpret Pacal’s lying stance on the cover of the sarcophagus, which measures about 3.6x2m (12x7ft), as a sign of rebirth into a deity according to the Mayan tradition underneath what is the Ceiba (or ya’axché), the tree of life as an axis mundi that connects the different planes of the world (universe).

Intriguing is also that the tree appears to have two sort of ‘niches’ in the middle occupied by what look like crystals. In various studies around, Ceiba is called a ‘shiny jewel tree’ but have got a sneaky feeling that the proper rendering could be ‘shiny crystal tree’ instead.

Incidentally, at the top of Ceiba appears Itzam-Yeh, the Serpent Bird of Heaven, that is associated with the four corners of the world as well as the Big Dipper asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major (Great Bear).