Chiapas - 2005
Tonina
The Temple Complex
The 3rd Level
The left side of the 3rd Level of the Temple Complex at Tonina

The 3rd Level or Platform contains the Palace of the Frets, also called the Palace of the Grecas and War.  I do not recall much more about this level.  The symbol on the Palace of the Frets reminded me of the Mayan Tzolkin symbol.


According to the LONELY PLANET: Guide to Mexico, 9th Edition,  (2004), ISBN 1-74059-686-2, page 811, the Palace of the Grecas and War contains zigzag “X” shapes (Grecas), possibly representing Quetzalcoatl.  To the right of this Palace is a rambling series of chambers, passages, and stairways that archaeologists believe was Tonina’s administrative headquarters.  Near the middle of this level is a tomb with a stone sarcophagus.


According to MAYAS and ZOCQUES Southeastern Mexico: Chiapas, ISBN 798-970-678-031-7, Page 44, (Laura Pescador Canton author), stepped frets became a predominant decorative feature in much of Mesoamerican architecture at the end of the Classic Period.  The fretwork on this palace is the largest arrayed on the face of a wall, measuring 7 meters (23 feet) high by 21 meters (69 feet) wide.  Archaeologists believe that this “X” symbol represents the Sacred Mountain, the 3 cosmic levels in Mayan Spiritual thought (I know, does not agree with LONELY PLANET).  The Palace has 2 levels, with a central staircase connecting them that starts at the 3rd platform and ends at a throne made of stone and covered with stucco.  The Mayans decorated the throne with the symbol for Venus and bordered it with simulations of precious stones.  The throne is a tripod, with an Ahau glyph decorating each leg.  Along the lower part, a motif of bundles of arrows and shields resting on a jaguar skin adorns a fillet.

The Palace of the Frets
The Throne on the right side of the Palace of the Frets