Copán II: On Location at the Site

Simply put, the art of Copan represents the wildest extremes of the Maya imagination. Look at the detail of Stele N and the glyphs in the Staircase on this page for further proof. The Rosalila temple is the most brilliantly preserved early Classic temples among the Maya, and its remains reveal an exorbitant amount of painted stucco designs. Dedicated under the rule of the king Moon Jaguar in 571, it would eventually become built over with Temple 16 of the Copan acropolis. Several parts of the original temple, entirely intact beneath Temple 16, are visible through the excavation tunnels running through the acropolis. This colossal face stands over one of the temple entrances.

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The macaw is one of the most prevalent artistic motifs in Copan, and it is apparently also one of the oldest. The scarlet macaw is especially prominent among these birds. Several "macaw" masks have been excavated within the acropolis tunnels, and they are reminiscent of the colossal stucco faces at Formative sites such as Uaxactun. Significantly, the macaw masks are at the west side of the temple, which reifies the macaw's symbolic connection with the west and the setting sun. Despite the robust preservation of the stucco mask plastered over the stone wall, the beak is broken off.

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Serpent heads mark the corners of the Rosalila temple's lowest tier, and they resemble the stucco serpent mask featured here, from another section of the acropolis tunnels. Notice the intensity of the remaining paint within the mask's ridges. They must have commanded attention when they were fully painted in such brilliant color.

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Out in the stele courtyard of Copan, Altar G1 is one of a triad of small stone altars shaped from two-headed creatures. This one is especially interesting because the two serpent heads are opposite: the head pointing north is living, but the south-facing head is skeletal, as if to embody the duality of life and death. The two ends also sport hooved legs, most likely of a deer or peccary. It was erected in the half-katun period 9.18.10.0.0, in the year 780. Although it is dedicated in the "land of Yax Pasah," the "Rising Sun" king, it mentions his half-brother Yahau-Chan-Ah-Bac, who ruled on behalf of his half-brother king and under his authority.

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The standing sculpture of Copan is meant to blow your mind. Stele N dates to the late 8th century, and it was dedicated by the king Smoke Squirrel, who ascended to the throne in 749. Many of the standing stelae are accompanied by a small stone altar, shaped like a squat reptile or a frog. This is the "reverse" side of Stele N, facing a tall wall of the acropolis. A headdress resembling a bat's face adorns the figure's head, and a column of glyphs runs down the side.

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I credit the work of Nikolai Grube and Simon Martin for much of the information on Copan's history. Stele D stands toward the northern end of the plaza at the north side of the city core. It records the year 736, two years before the end of the reign of king 18 Rabbit. This stele is a good example of the larger-than-life effect of these monuments, whose intricacy is unparalleled in the Maya world. 18 Rabbit dedicated many of the stelae in the north plaza, including Stele D, after his accession in 695.

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While not the largest ballcourt of the Maya world (whose honor goes to Chich'en Itza), this ballcourt at Copan is monumental in its own right. It is in fact catalogued as Ballcourt A-III, and it was constructed after 18 Rabbit ordered the destruction of the previous Ballcourt A-IIb. This court was dedicated on January 6, 738, only three months before 18 Rabbit was seized by the rival Quirigua king K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yoaat and beheaded. Details of the ballcourt architecture in fact depict the king 18 Rabbit confronting one of the lords of the Underworld, whose arena the ballcourt represented. At least 16 birds appear in the court, including this exquisite stone macaw from the east wall, pictured in the right detail. The macaw's tail feathers bear the glyph for the day-sign akbal, "night."

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The replication of the cosmos in ceremonial architecture was one of the hallmarks of Mesoamerican architecture. This picture of the facade of Temple 22, toward the highest point of the Copan acropolis, faces north. The upper frieze of the temple reconstruction is carved into swirling volutes of celestial clouds, whose sky band is supported at both ends by the Pawahtun titans, as highlighted in the detail image at right. At the floor level several stone skulls appear, as if in the underworld. The temple entrance is therefore, at the level of the earth, between the underworld and the sky.

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In a whole city of grandiose art and architecture, the glyph stairway reigns supreme. This stairway climbs for 69 feet up the west side of Temple 26. Its construction was commissioned in two phases, the first by 18 Rabbit. Smoke Squirrel, one of 18 Rabbit's successors, ordered the construction of the complete staircase in 755. It is his portrait that appears in Stele M, standing at the bottom of the stairs. As visible in the larger image, portraits of originally six previous kings adorned the center of the stairway. The close-up shows the current condition of the glyphs that once lined the whole stairway. Remnants of red paint suggest that the stairs were also wholly painted.

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This is a good piece to end the page with because it culminates the Copan dynasty that was founded by Yax K'uk' Mo' and "knocked down" with the death of the sixteenth ruler of the dynastic line, Yax Pasah. The sixteen dynastic rulers are featured along the four sides of this replica of the stone altar, its original at the site museum. The dynastic founder, Yax K'uk' Mo' or "First Quetzal Macaw," is second from the left on this face, the west side. He sits facing the sixteenth and final king of the dynasty, Yax Pasah, as if to demonstrate the legitimacy of Yax Pasah's rule by direct descent from the founder. The date between the first and last dynastic figures is that of Yax Pasah's accession in 763. The altar was dedicated in 776.

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