- The Adventure Begins
- Getting There is Half the Fun
- Triunfo de la Cruz
- Triunfo de la Cruz II
- Lancetilla Botanical Gardens
- Christmas in Triunfo de la Cruz
- Fishing
- Copan Ruinas
- The Mayan Ruins at Copan
- Final Thoughts
- Wenyao's Photos
(Winter 2003 Albums » Honduras)
The Mayan Ruins at Copan
Sun, Dec 28
Copan is supposed to be the most elaborate Mayan city discovered to date, the cultural and religious nerve center of the ancient Mayan world. That's pretty amazing given the competition - the ruins of Mayan cities have been found in much of Central America.
To be honest, it was far less impressive than I hoped. Perhaps it had something to do with the overcast sky, I feel like the sunshine and blue skies would have contributed to the grandeur of the place. Ah well.
We visited 3 sites of interest: the main park, the Las Sepulturas residential area, and the Museum of Mayan Sculpture within the visitor's center.
The Main Park
The main park is depicted in the the model below. The numerous altars and stelae (stone or wooden slabs with inscriptions) scattered around the Great Plaza are thought to have been erected between the years 711 and 736, during the rule of "18 Rabbit".
Now is it just me, or is that not quite the best name for an awe-inspiring warrior king? Hmn? Yeah, I thought so.
Observe how the parrots move down the fence video: AVI (910kB)
The ball court took on the role of the city's social center, with matches between opposing teams being played here pretty regularly. The reward for the winners? Their lives! The losing team probably got to appease the Mayan gods the next day.
"What's happening downtown: Semifinal game at the ball court at noon, ritual sacrifice of yesterday's losing teams at 3pm at Altar H. Next on Radio Copan..."
The giant hieroglyphic stairway running up the side of a temple contains the longest known Mayan text. Unfortunately, at the time of its discovery the steps had fallen out of place. Archaeologists managed to rebuild the temple but they had no way of knowing where each piece belonged. To protect the stairs from further erosion damage a giant tarp was erected over the whole thing, but it still looks pretty impressive when you're standing at the base.
People living in the city would have gathered at the East Court for rituals and performances. The front of Temple 22 opens onto the East Court.
The Musuem of Mayan Sculpture
The museum, located within the visitor's center, contains some of the original sculpture recovered from the Copan ruins. The centerpiece of the museum is undoubtedly the life-sized replica of the Temple Rosalila. The 2.5-storey structure was discovered intact under Temple 16.
The original Altar Q is here too, the relief around its sides showing the first 16 kings.
Inside the museum, and an unexpected visitor video: AVI (950kB)
Las Sepulturas
Archaeologists tell us this is where the Mayan elite in Copan would have resided. This zone, located just 1km from the principal zone, contains about 40 residential clusters and some tombs. Back in the day, even the Copan aristocracy slept on hard stone beds; any cheap mattress today would be infinitely more comfortable. That's progress for you.
And yes, we did try to find that special stone which would reveal a secret passage leading to the hidden gold which would make us all incredibly rich and famous, but with no success.
Next: Final Thoughts »