Palenque Mapping Project (PMP)
Completed in August of 2000, the Palenque Mapping Project was a three year program of survey and exploration at the ruins
of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. The data gathered during the project has to date resulted in the creation of what has been
described as the most accurate and detailed map of maya ruins yet made. Additionally, Dr. Ed Barnhart's dissertation
The Palenque Mapping Project: Settlement and Urbanism at an Ancient Maya City (PDF) and Kirk French's master's
thesis The Waters of Lakam Ha: A Survey of Palenque's Water Management (PDF) serve as two superior examples
of scholarly work produced as a direct result of the project. However, there still remains much work to be done.
During the course of the project a detailed photographic record of a large number of structures and standing walls was
compiled, many reconstruction drawings were produced, architectural and environmental information was gathered, and of course,
a vast amount of geographic data was collected. While the PMP itself has concluded, the MEC staff continues to mine the rich
depths of the data yet to be analyzed.
In order to assist the scholarly community MEC will not only post the results of our work within the pages of this website,
but we will also endeavor to make as much "raw" data available as possible.