Copán: Its Amazing Monuments Offer A Glimpse Into Ancient Maya History – Wanderer Writes

The most obvious signs of the rise and fall of great civilizations are the monuments they leave behind. As seen centuries later, from the distance of time.

However, if we would be there during the fall of these civilizations, we would witness the destruction of the environment, and a heightened use of propaganda to keep the rulers in power. It happens over and over again. Can we ever learn from it?

This is what happened in Copán, too, according to Linda Schele, David Friedel, and Joy Parker, as they described it in A Forest of Kings.

A group of ancient Maya established a kingdom in a gorgeous, fertile valley in Central America, the Copán Valley. The kingdom grew for close to 400 years, leaving behind some of the most elaborate and beautiful structures and monuments. However, while building all this beauty, they destroyed the surrounding environment that sustained them until they had no way to feed the people, who eventually walked away from their kings.

Centuries later, archaeologists, epigraphers, and historians reconstructed their stories from the writing on stelae, on the hieroglyphic stairway, and on other monuments they left behind.

Reading about the Ancient Maya Inspired A Trip to Copán

These monuments were the catalysts for my latest trip with my husband to Copán Ruins in Honduras.

A Forest of Kings was one of the first full-length books I read in English, the book that got me interested in the ancient Maya history (besides Michael D. Coe’s Breaking the Maya Code – intriguing for a linguist). From all the photos and videos I’ve seen over the span of thirty years, I felt the elaborate stelae of Copán were some of the most artistic and interesting monuments of the ancient world.

Finally, I saw them – and they did not disappoint. I couldn’t write about the trip, the experience in one post, so last week I started with an overview, and now I’ll talk about the edifices I saw that tell the story of the rise and fall of an ancient Maya kingdom.

In Copán, unlike in the ancient Maya cities in Yucatan where stelae are too eroded to clearly show the images, the stelae are well-preserved, their glyphs so clear that deciphering them was the only remaining task. Although even that was a long process, we now know most of the history of the kingdom.

Copán might not be as large as Tikal, its temple-pyramids not as high, but it is home to the longest known (so far) hieroglyphic stairway and some of the best-preserved and most spectacular stelae in the ancient Maya world.

The Amazing Monuments of Copán

Being surrounded by these monuments was unforgettable. It was one thing to see them in photos or on screen in documentaries, but standing in front of them in real life was another experience altogether.

Stelae of Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil (aka 18-Rabbit)

Surrounded by stelae depicting Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil (also known as 18-Rabbit) in the Great Plaza, I was awed by the artistry that went into creating them. As I noticed two different styles, I understood why Linda Schele and Peter Mathews wrote they were the work of “two master artists or two workshops – one conservative (A,B,H, and C), and the other innovative (F,4, and D)” (Schele, L., Mathews, P., 1998, The Code of Kings, p. 139). I read other theories, but to me, this makes the most sense. But since artists didn’t sign their work, we can’t be sure.

When you realize that all six stelae in the center of the Great Plaza represent the same king, you might think he was the first king of Copán. Or the most important.

He was neither. He was the 13th in a dynasty that lasted 384 years through 16 kings. However, he is one of the best-known – thanks to all the stelae depicting him. Either he was the most self-absorbed, or the one who appreciated exquisite art the most (and followed the custom of commissioning stelae depicting the ruler at different ceremonies).

Altar Q and the Kings of Copán

To learn about the other kings of the dynasty, we looked for Altar Q. We found it farther into the ancient city, in the West Court of the Acropolis. Where the altar originally stood, we found a replica (we later saw the original, protected in the museum on the premises). I appreciate this, since the original is protected in the museum, but the replica offers an extra understanding of it in perspective to other structures.

The altar showcases the 16 rulers of the dynasty, their emblem glyphs (names), and their dates of birth and succession. They weren’t the first kings of Copán, but we have no solid records of any before the founder of this dynasty, K’inich Yax K’uk’Mo.

The monument, commissioned by Yax Pahsaj Chan-Yopaat, the 16th ruler, was an attempt to keep together a falling kingdom by emphasizing the long lineage, building upon the idea that the ancestor kings guide and protect their descendants and the kingdom itself.

It was a little too late though. The surrounding forest was gone, the fertile farm land lay under elaborate edifices, and people started to doubt the power of the kings.

For future generations though, Altar Q stands as an important piece of historical evidence of the lineage of the most prominent Copán kings.

A Bit of History… Featuring the 16 Known Rulers of Copán

Though people lived in the Copán Valley since 900 BC, it wasn’t until the fifth century AD when it became a kingdom.

K’inich Yax K’uk’Mo, the Founder

The first known king of Copán, celebrated as the founder of a dynasty that lasted close to 400 years, K’inich Yax K’uk’Mo, ruled between 426-435 AD.

Besides Altar Q, he appears in many of the monuments, erected both during his reign and long after his death, emphasizing his importance. According to his story epigraphers deciphered, he might have been originally from Caracol, but came to Copán from Teotihuacan, where, according to the text on top of Altar Q, he had the accession rite performed. (Stuart, David, Finding the Founder: Old Notes on the Identification of K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ of Copan,

Rulers of Lesser Historical Importance

Several obscure rulers followed him, depicted on the north side of the altar. The only one we know anything about (besides a name, birth date and date of accession) is the 4th, K’al Tun Hix, who built the Early Classic structure under Temple 26, nicknamed “Papagayo”.

The east side of the altar depicts the next four rulers. The 7th, known as Jaguar Mirror or Waterlily Jaguar, ruled between 524 – 532 AD, was responsible for the expansion and development of the Acropolis. The 8th, Wi’ Ohi K’inich, ruled for nearly twenty years, and is mentioned on the Hieroglyphic Stairway. The 9th is obscure, but the 10th, Moon Jaguar, ruled 25 years, also appears on the Hieroglyphic Stairway, with clear dates of his accession to power and death.

The Most Powerful Rulers of Copán

The south side of the altar includes two of the most powerful rulers of Copán, the 12th, K’ahk’Uti’ Witz’Ka’awiil, also known as Smoke Jaguar, and 13th, Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil, known as 18-Rabbit, along with the 11th and the 14th rulers.

Next in line, the 11th ruler, K’ahk’Uti’ Chan (Smoke Serpent) was in power for nearly fifty years, through a quiet time in the life of the kingdom.

K’ahk’Uti’ Witz’Ka’awiil aka Smoke Jaguar

Following him, the 12th ruler of Copán, K’ahk’Uti’ Witz’Ka’awiil, also known as Smoke Jaguar, was one of the most important figure in the ancient city’s history. He was the first great king of the Late Classic period in Copán, with the longest reign of 67 years. Copán reached its height during his reign, expanding its boundaries and reach.

For future generations, he seemed to have been as important as the founder, K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo.

His son, however, became even better known, though for different reasons.

Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil, aka 18-Rabbit

The 13th ruler of Copan, Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil, also known as 18-Rabbit, inherited a powerful kingdom. Perhaps striving to showcase and consolidate this power (or just being fond of art), he commissioned more monuments and stelae than any ruler before him. In fact, we owe him most of the monuments we see today.

Ruling between 695 – 738 AD, he was responsible for more artistic innovations of the city than any other king of the dynasty. The first thing we notice when visiting the site, is the exquisite artistry of the carvings on the stelae he commissioned, much more elaborate than any before his time.

He was also the first who concentrated them in one plaza, making the showcase even more significant. The first stela he commissioned was not of himself though.

Stela J, inscribed with glyphs on both sides, sits at the entrance to the Great Plaza, separating the sacred center from residential areas. The inscription, according to the sign near it, clearly designated the difference between the two areas, emphasizing the importance of the center where the king was holding rituals to assure the well-being of the people in the residential area.

After this clear designation, he commissioned six stelae in the sacred plaza, representing himself in several different stages, during important dates in the life of the kingdom.

The artistry on these stelae is exquisite. They – along with other monuments commissioned during his reign – highlight Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil as the ruler who cared most about the artistic expression in the city. His reign was the time when the art of Copán reached its height, both in aesthetics and in technical sophistication.

Still, I couldn’t help but think he was a bit self-absorbed. I suppose, as most kings, he needed to showcase his power and worth during his reign. And he employed some of the best artists from the ancient Maya world to do it.

However, as good as he was when it came to employing great artists, he wasn’t much of a war strategist.

During his father’s reign, Copán extended the kingdom as far as Quirigua. Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil appointed a vassal-ruler to the smaller site, who eventually turned against him.

The vassal ruler of Quirigua defeated the mighty Copán king and sacrificed him.

The kingdom had a hard time recovering from this defeat. In fact, 18-Rabbit was the last great king of Copán, the generations after him struggled to keep the kingdom afloat.

Later Rulers

The next ruler held power for 11 years, but we only know about him from Altar Q.

By the time the next, 15th ruler, K’ahk’ Yipyaj Chan K’awiil (Smoke Shell) came to power, the kingdom somewhat recovered, and during the 15 years of his reign it was once again a major political and religious power, and new structures were erected.

This relative success was short-lived though. And it wasn’t only because the kings lost their power.

By this time most of the surrounding resources were depleted, and by the time Copán’s 16th ruler, the last one depicted on Altar Q, Yax Pahsaj Chan-Yopaat came to power, he inherited a struggling empire. The last great king of Copán, ruling between 763 and 810 AD, tried to keep it afloat. He commissioned Altar Q to prove the kingdom’s strength through its long line of rulers.

However, by then it was too late. The kingdom was too large, overpopulated, its resources too few, so its collapse was inevitable.

People simply walked away from it.

After the Collapse: Discovering Copán Ruins

It took a long time, but the forest eventually returned and enveloped the abandoned structures.

Centuries later, in 1839, explorers John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood set off on a trip through thick jungle and pristine rivers in search of “carved stones” and “structures of uncertain age” they heard about. What they found in Copán far exceeded their expectations.

Since then, archaeologists, epigraphers, historians, artists, have worked at the site and studied it. While doing so, they uncovered more structures, and eventually, (in 1989) they even found an intact pyramid-temple they called Rosalila buried under one of them.

Reflections Upon My Visit

And, finally, I also stood in the center of this ancient kingdom. The structures and stelae are cleared from vegetation. However, the forest surrounds them on all sides, some trees even growing in the middle of plazas or on top of pyramids.

Though in ruins now, when standing in the center of the plazas, I imagine them in their ancient glory. The images are indeed beautiful.

Colorful pyramid-temples surround bare squares, elaborately carved stelae and altars commemorating history stand in clear-cut plazas, with white stone bottom.

But the fresh green of trees is missing from these colors. The shapes in the plazas don’t include trees surrounding the imposing structures and elaborate stelae.

I’m not sure I like this image, as beautiful and colorful as it seems. Without the forest, without the fertile farm land (buried under the elaborate buildings), the people of the kingdom would’ve had a hard time feeding their families. I feel it was inevitable that the ancient Maya lost faith in their kings.

As much as I enjoyed the monuments – especially the stelae – I enjoyed the surrounding forest and the gorgeous birds and wildlife even more. With the return of the forest, and due to conservation efforts, the scarlet macaws came back to the Copán Valley, greeting us when we entered, and flying around us while walking through the site.

Maya people, the descendants of those who walked away from Copán, still live in the surrounding area, most of them across the mountains, on the Guatemala side. They are the Chorti Maya, who still speak the language of the inscriptions of Copán and still farm their fields. However, they never again created kingdoms or venerated kings and queens.

When we allow a small group of people to control a larger population, or an area, to make decisions with disregard of consequences, we find ourselves in the same situation over and over again.

The ego and greed of the ruling class, along with a burgeoning population, and disregard for the environment, destroyed the fertile Copán Valley for generations. Even a small valley took centuries to recover.

How long will it take for our environment to recover if we keep making the same mistakes?

Bibliography:

• Schele, L., Freidel, D., and Parker, Joy, 1990, A Forest of Kings, Morrow
• Schele, L., Mathews, P., 1998, The Code of Kings, Scribner
• Fash, B., 2011, The Copán Sculpture Museum: Ancient Maya Artistry in Stucco and Stone, Peabody Museum Press
• Fash, W., 1991, Scribes, Warriors, and Kings. The City of Copán and the Ancient Maya, Thames and Hudson
• Stephens, J.L., and Catherwood, S., 1969, Incident of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, Dover Publications
• Carlsen, V., 2016, Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilization of the Maya, HarperCollins Publishers
• Stuart, David, Finding the Founder: Old Notes on the Identification of K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ of Copan, 

Note:

The original version of this post was first published on my Substack newsletter, Letters from a Wanderer, under the title Wandering through History in Copán

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