The Pre-Columbian city of Copán is a locale in extreme western Honduras, in the Copán Department, near to the Guatemalan border. It is the site of a major Maya kingdom of the Classic era. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The term Pre-Columbian is used to refer to the cultures of the New World in the era before significant European influence. ... Copán is a department in the west of the nation of Honduras. ... The Maya are people of southern Mexico and northern Central America (Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and El Salvador) with some 3,000 years of history. ...

The kingdom, anciently named Xukpi (Corner-Bundle), flourished from the 5th century AD to the early 9th century, with antecedents going back to at least the 2nd century AD. Its name is an apparent reference to the fact that it was situated at the far southern and eastern end of Maya territory. The city of Copán itself may have anciently been known as Oxwitik. ( 4th century - 5th century - 6th century - other centuries) Events Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ... ( 8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Reign of Charlemagne, and concurrent (and controversially labeled) Carolingian Renaissance in western Europe Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The... (1st century - 2nd century - 3rd century - other centuries) Events Roman Empire governed by the Five Good Emperors (96–180) – Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius. ...

Description of the ruins

The city of Copán is perhaps best known for producing a remarkable series of portrait stelae, most of which were placed along processional ways in the central plaza of the city and the adjoining "acropolis" (a large complex of overlapping step-pyramids, plazas, and palaces). The stelae and sculptured decorations of the buildings of Copán are some of the very finest surviving art of ancient Mesoamerica. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ...

Many structures are elaborately decorated with stone sculptures, usually constructed from a mosaic of carved stones of a size that one person could carry.

The site also has a large court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Great Ball Court at Chichén Itzá A Ball Court Goal, Chichén Itzá Ball court marker, from the Maya site of Chinkultic. ...

At its height in the late classic period Copán seems to have had an unusually prosperous class of minor nobility, scribes, and artisans, some of whom had homes of cut stone built for themselves (in most sites a privilege reserved for the rulers and high priests), some of which have carved hieroglyphic texts.

The buildings suffered significantly from forces of nature in the centuries between the site's abandonment and the rediscovery of the ruins. There have been numerous earthquakes -- no roofs of the stone buildings intact when the site was rediscovered, and the hieroglyphic stairway was collapsed. The Copán river changed course and meandered, destroying part of the acropolis and apparently wiping out various subsidiary architectural groups in the region. In the long period when the site was overgrown the buildings and scuptures suffered from the invasive thick jungle vegetation and periodic forest fires. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Global earthquake epicenters, 1963–1998 An earthquake is a trembling or a shaking movement of the Earths surface. ...

Archeologists have consolidated and restored many structures at the site.

Pre-Columbian history

Stela H detail, depicting King "18 Rabbit"

The fertile Copán River valley was long a site of agriculture before the first known stone architecture was built in the region about the 9th century BC. Copan, Stela H, Detail, photo by Infrogmation; one of my mid or late 1970s visits to the site File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Copan, Stela H, Detail, photo by Infrogmation; one of my mid or late 1970s visits to the site File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... (10th century BC - 9th century BC - 8th century BC - other centuries) (900s BC - 890s BC - 880s BC - 870s BC - 860s BC - 850s BC - 840s BC - 830s BC - 820s BC - 810s BC - 800s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Kingdom of Kush (900 BC...

A kingdom seems to have been established in Copán in 159. It grew into one of the most important Maya sites by the 5th century. Large monuments dated with hieroglyhic texts were erected in the city from 435 through 822. For related meanings see also Monarch (disambiguation) A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ... Events Births Gordian I, Roman emperor Deaths Categories: 159 ... ( 4th century - 5th century - 6th century - other centuries) Events Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ... Events August 3 - Nestorius is exiled by Imperial edict to a monastery in a Sahara oasis. ... Events Abd-ar-rahman II becomes ruler of Umayyad Spain. ...

Xukpi was one of the more powerful Maya city states, a regional power, although it suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the kingdom located at Quirigua in 738. It eventually withered in the face of the depletion of natural resources which was a factor in bringing most of the Classic-Age Maya city-states to their end. Quiriguá is an ancient Maya site in the Izabal department of Guatemala. ... Events Xukpi suffers a major defeat against Quirigua Saint Boniface visits Rome, and goes on to establish bishopries in Bavaria Births Deaths Categories: 738 ...

The area continued to be occupied after the last major ceremonial structures and royal monuments were erected, but the population declined in the 8th century - 9th century from perhaps over 20,000 in the city to less than 5,000. (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... ( 8th century - 9th century - 10th century - other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Reign of Charlemagne, and concurrent (and controversially labeled) Carolingian Renaissance in western Europe Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial The...

The ceremonial center was long abandoned and the surrounding valley home to only a few farming hamlets at the time of the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century.
(15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ...

List of known Xukpi rulers

• K' inich Yax K'uk' Mo' before 426-437
• K'inich Popol Hol c. 437
• 1 King, name unknown c. 455
• Cu Ix c. 465
• 2 Kings, names unknown, 476, 485
• Waterlily-Jaguar after 504-544
• 2 Kings, names unknown; last one died 553
• "Moon Jaguar" 553-578
• Butz' Chan 578-628
• Smoke Imix K'awiil 628-695
• Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil ("18 Rabbit") 695-738
• K'ac Joplaj Chan K'awiil ("Smoke Monkey") 738-749
• K'ac Yipyaj Chan K'awiil ("Smoke Shell"; "Smoke Squirrel") 749-763
• Yax-Pasaj Chan Yoaat ("Yax Pac") 763-after 810
• (probably period where throne was vacant)
• U-Cit-Tok 822
• Royal ceremonial center of city abandoned by 827

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Copán in modern times

Stela N, depicting King K'ac Yipyaj Chan K'awiil ("Smoke Shell"), as drawn by Frederick Catherwood in 1839

By the time of the Spanish conquest of Honduras, the site had long been overgrown by rainforest. Although this large ruined city was known locally since early colonial times, it remained largely unknown by the outside world until a series of explorers visited it in the early 19th century. Juan Galindo wrote a description of the ruins in 1834, which was published the following year. This sparked the interest of North American explorer and travel writer John Lloyd Stephens and English architect and draftsman Frederick Catherwood whose illustrated books describing Copán and other sites excited a great deal of interest in Mesoamerican antiquities among American and European scholars, and its publication is regarded as the commencement of modern Mayan studies which continue to this day. Download high resolution version (365x630, 68 KB)Copan Stela N, South Face, engraving, as drawn by Frederick Catherwood, 1839 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Download high resolution version (365x630, 68 KB)Copan Stela N, South Face, engraving, as drawn by Frederick Catherwood, 1839 This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired in the United States and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Frederick Catherwood (February 27, 1799 - September 20, 1854) was an English artist and architect, best remembered for his explorations of ruins of the Maya civilization. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Juan Galindo (1802-1839) was a Central American explorer and army officer. ... 1834 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The United States of America — also referred to as the United States, the U.S.A., the U.S., America, the States, or (archaically) Columbia—is a federal republic of 50 states located primarily in central North America (with the exception of two states: Alaska and Hawaii). ... John Lloyd Stephens (November 28, 1805–October 13, 1852) was a American explorer, writer, and diplomat. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Frederick Catherwood (February 27, 1799 - September 20, 1854) was an English artist and architect, best remembered for his explorations of ruins of the Maya civilization. ... Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Columbus. ...

The site was the subject of one of the first modern archeological surveys and excavations in the Maya area, conducted by the Peabody Museum and Harvard University from 1891 to 1894. Further excavations and restorations were begun by the Carnegie Institution in the 1930s, the Peabody Museum again in the 1970s, followed by the Government of Honduras's Proyecto Copán beginning in the late 1970s and continuing to this day. The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Othniel Charles Marsh, the early paleontologist. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Carnegie Institution of Washington (CIW) is a foundation established by Andrew Carnegie in 1902 to support scientific research. ... Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented First atom was split with a particle accelerator Golden Age of radio begins in U.S. Science Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is discovered by Clyde Tombaugh British biologist Arthur... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution... Events and trends Although in the United States and in many other Western societies the 1970s are often seen as a period of transition between the turbulent 1960s and the more conservative 1980s and 1990s, many of the trends that are associated widely with the Sixties, from the Sexual Revolution...

See also:

• Maya civilization

The Maya are people of southern Mexico and northern Central America (Guatemala, Belize, western Honduras, and El Salvador) with some 3,000 years of history. ...

Books for further reading

• Copán by Francis Robicsek, Museum of the American Indian, 1972
• Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copán and the Ancient Maya by William L. Fash, Thames and Hudson, 1991

External links

• "Lost King of the Maya" site on pbs.org (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/maya/) companion site to "Nova" television documentary on Copán
• Hieroglyphs and History at Copán (http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/Copan/text.html) by David Stuart on peabody.harvard.edu