Copan, Honduras
Learning about Yax K’uk Mo’ (Green or First Quetzal Macaw) founder of Copan, all the way to Yax Pasah –the sixteenth king- discovering the Maya world and its fascinating history, has been one of the richest experiences so far in our trip. The history recorded in stone altars and stelae, as well as the many different events written on the pyramids and on the famous Hieroglyphic Stairway, has forever awakened our curiosity to one of the most important and influential cultures of Mesoamerica.
The sixteen rulers that controlled Copan over almost four hundred years, built a very complex and amazingly well-planned city. Also called “the stranger from the west” -because archaeologist think he might have come from Teotihucan- Yax K’uk Mo’s cinnabar-covered bones were discovered less than a decade ago, underneath a mighty pyramid, known as Temple 16. The cult to the founder of Copan is believed to have lasted for centuries, during Copan’s splendor.
Moon Jaguar, the tenth ruler from 553 to 578 A.D. probably built the Rosalila temple (on the picture above), buried almost intact by later building. Discovered in 1991 by Honduran archaeologist Ricardo Agurcia, it is said that it gives the Mayanists a good idea of what the splendid exterior of an intact stuccoed and polychromed temple looked like.
Just a couple of kilometers away from the main archaeological site, the colonial town of Copan, with its warm air and the bright colors of its markets, the tile roof houses and the narrow cobble stone roads, generated a cozy friendly atmosphere we all welcomed.
Learning about Yax K’uk Mo’ (Green or First Quetzal Macaw) founder of Copan, all the way to Yax Pasah –the sixteenth king- discovering the Maya world and its fascinating history, has been one of the richest experiences so far in our trip. The history recorded in stone altars and stelae, as well as the many different events written on the pyramids and on the famous Hieroglyphic Stairway, has forever awakened our curiosity to one of the most important and influential cultures of Mesoamerica.
The sixteen rulers that controlled Copan over almost four hundred years, built a very complex and amazingly well-planned city. Also called “the stranger from the west” -because archaeologist think he might have come from Teotihucan- Yax K’uk Mo’s cinnabar-covered bones were discovered less than a decade ago, underneath a mighty pyramid, known as Temple 16. The cult to the founder of Copan is believed to have lasted for centuries, during Copan’s splendor.
Moon Jaguar, the tenth ruler from 553 to 578 A.D. probably built the Rosalila temple (on the picture above), buried almost intact by later building. Discovered in 1991 by Honduran archaeologist Ricardo Agurcia, it is said that it gives the Mayanists a good idea of what the splendid exterior of an intact stuccoed and polychromed temple looked like.
Just a couple of kilometers away from the main archaeological site, the colonial town of Copan, with its warm air and the bright colors of its markets, the tile roof houses and the narrow cobble stone roads, generated a cozy friendly atmosphere we all welcomed.
