Copan, Honduras, Tour
Pictures And Photos

George And Audrey DeLange

THE COPAN RUINS Beginnings: Known in ancient tims as "Xukpi." Copan was the special place of the Mayan world where art and astronomy flourished. There were larger Mayan cities to the north, in present-day Mexico and Guatemala, and the structures at Copan are relatively modest compared to those at Tikal and Palenque and Chichen-Itza. But there are more carved monuments at Copan then elsewhere, and the intricate, swirling, decorative art surpasses not only that of other Mayan cities, but of any other civilization in the Western Hemisphere before the arrival of Europeans. Copan might have been settled as early as 2000 B.C. The valley was fertile and well watered. Over time, harvests became more and more abundant, with the perfection of corn agriculture and of a calendar to guide planting. More organized societies developed in Copan and the neighboring areas among the people that are today called the Maya. Copan developed in much the same way as other Mayan cities. Simple thatched houses on foundations evolved into temples on substantial masonry platforms. Ironwood, or chicozapote, substituted for less sturdy materials in lintels. Relatively soft volcanic rock was dressed using harder rock, and later incised with obsidian tools. Household implements were made of wood and clay; as techniques improved, pottery became more complex, and beautiful, and was used for ceremonial purposes. Newer, more complicated, more beautiful buildings were erected right on top of older ones. The custom developed of memorializing rulers and royal families and recording history on buildings and monuments and in tombs. Great stones were rolled down from nearby mountains, carved with glyph figures representing names and numbers and events, and erected in the plazas as stelae. The Rise None of this happened in isolation. The Copan River, which flows into the Motagua, in present-day Guatemala, probably served as a link to other Mayan centers, and as a route for trade in cacao and obsidian, and there were probably roads as well. There are some artistic similarities between Copan and Quiriguri in Guatemala, which could have been reached by water, and the same language was used for writing throughout the Mayan area. The Classic Era at Copan spanned just a few hundred years, from 465 A.D., the first date inscribed on a monument, to 800 A.D. During this period of recorded history, construction and reconstruction and astronomical discoveries and artistic expression were most intense. Despite the general air of mystery that surrounds Copan, the names of some of its rulers are known, and some of its cultural history has even been uncovered: Smoke Jaguar lived to the ripe age of 82, and was succeeded by 18 Rabbit, who broke the tradition of destroying monuments with each change in rulers and using the rubble as fill in new structures? 18 Rabbit's successor, Squirrel, commemorated rulers of old whose monuments had been destroyed, and rebuilt the ball court. Other rulers have been identified as Leaf Jaguar, Smoke Monkey, and Dawn. After our guide from Clark Tours performs the appropriate border crossing proceedures, we cross the border from Guatemals into Honduras and are soon on our way to Copan. Take a good look at Stela B. This stela has a certain amount of controversy over what is on the stela. Look for the elephants. Could these people have known of elephants?