Hieroglyphic Stairway, Copán, Honduras, Central America, North America
The Hieroglyphic Stairway climbs the west side of Structure 10L-26. It is 10 meters (33 ft) wide and has a total of 62 steps. Stela M and its associated altar are at its base and a large sculpted figure is located in the centre of every 12th step. These figures are believed to represent the most important rulers in the dynastic history of the site. The stairway takes its name from the 2200 glyphs that together form the longest known Maya hieroglyphic text. The text is still being reconstructed, having been scrambled by the collapse of the glyphic blocks when the façade of the temple collapsed. The staircase measures 21 meters (69 ft) long and was first built by Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil in AD 710, being reinstalled and expanded in the following phase of the temple by K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil in AD 755. The Ballcourt is immediately north of the Court of the Hieroglyphic Stairway and is to the south of the Monument Plaza. It was remodeled by Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, who then demolished it and built a third version, which was one of the largest from the Classic period. It was dedicated to the great macaw deity and the buildings flanking the playing area carried 16 mosaic sculptures of the birds. The completion date of the ballcourt is inscribed with a hieroglyphic text upon the sloping playing area and is given as 6 January 738. The Monument Plaza or Great Plaza is on the north side of the Main Group. The next ruler was K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil, a son of K'ak' Joplaj Chan K'awiil. The early period of his rulership fell within Copán's hiatus but later on he began a programme of renewal in an effort to recover from the city's earlier disaster. He built a new version of Temple 26, with the Hieroglyphic Stairway being reinstalled on the new stairway and doubled in length. Five life-size statues of seated rulers were installed seated upon the stairway. K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil died in the early 760s and is likely to have been interred in Temple 11, although the tomb has not yet been excavated. The first post-Spanish conquest mention of Copán was in an early colonial period letter dated 8 March 1576. The letter was written by Diego García de Palacio, a member of the Royal Audience of Guatemala, to king Philip II of Spain. French explorer Jean-Frédéric Waldeck visited the site in the early 19th century and spent a month there drawing the ruins. Colonel Juan Galindo lead an expedition to the ruins in 1834 on behalf of the government of Guatemala and wrote articles about the site for English, French and North American publications. John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood visited Copán and included a description, map and detailed drawings in Stephens' Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán, published in 1841. The site was later visited by British archaeologist Alfred Maudslay. Several expeditions sponsored by the Peabody Museum of Harvard University worked at Copán during the late 19th and early 20th century, including the 1892–1893 excavation of the Hieroglyphic Stairway by John G. Owens and George Byron Gordon. The Carnegie Institution also sponsored work at the site, in conjunction with the government of Honduras. Structure 10L-11 is on west side of the Acropolis. It encloses the south side of the Court of the Hieroglyphic Stairway and is accessed from it by a wide monumental stairway. This structure appears to have been the royal palace of Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, the 16th ruler in the dynastic succession and the last known king of Copán. Structure 10L-11 was built on top of several earlier structures, one of which probably contains the tomb of his predecessor K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil. A small tunnel descends into the interior of the structure, possibly to the tomb, but it has not yet been excavated by archaeologists. Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat built a new temple platform over his predecessor's tomb in AD 769. On top of this he placed a two-storey superstructure with a sculpted roof depicting the mythological cosmos. At each of its northern corners was a large sculpted Pawatun (a group of deities that supported the heavens). This superstructure had four doorways with panels of hieroglyphs sculpted directly onto the walls of the building. A bench inside the structure, removed by Maudslay in the nineteenth century and now in the British Museum's collection, once depicted the king's accession to the throne, overseen by deities and ancestors. Structure 10L-26 is a temple that projects northwards from the Acropolis and is immediately to the north of Structure 10L-22.
Hieroglyphic Staircase, Ruinas de Copan, Honduras
Hieroglyphic Staircase, Ruinas de Copan, Honduras
Copán Mayacomplex, Copán Ruinas, Honduras
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples.In this fertile valley now lies a city of about 3000, a small airport, and a winding road.
Copán was occupied for more than two thousand years, from the Early Preclassic period to the Postclassic. The city developed a distinctive sculptural style within the tradition of the lowland Maya, perhaps to emphasize the Maya ethnicity of the city's rulers.
The city has a historical record that spans the greater part of the Classic period and has been reconstructed in detail by archaeologists and epigraphers. Copán was a powerful city ruling a vast kingdom within the southern Maya area. The city suffered a major political disaster in AD 738 when Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, one of the greatest kings in Copán's dynastic history, was captured and executed by his former vassal, the king of Quiriguá. This unexpected defeat resulted in a 17-year hiatus at the city, during which time Copán may have been subject to Quiriguá in a reversal of fortunes.
A significant portion of the eastern side of the acropolis has been eroded away by the Copán River, although the river has since been diverted in order to protect the site from further damage.
The Copán site is known for a 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 site has a large court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame. In two parallel buildings framing a carefully dimensioned rectangle lies the court.
The site is divided into various groups, with the Main Group and the Cemetery Group in the site core linked by a sacbe to the Sepulturas Group to the northeast. Central Copán had a density of 1449 structures per square kilometer (3,750/sq mi), while in greater Copán as a whole this density fell to 143 per square kilometre (370/sq mi) over a surveyed area of 24.6 square kilometers (9.5 sq mi)
The Main Group represents the core of the ancient city and covers an area of 600 by 300 meters (1,970 ft × 980 ft). The main features are the Acropolis, which is a raised royal complex on the south side, and a group of smaller structures and linked plazas to the north, including the Hieroglyphic Stairway and the ballcourt. The Monument Plaza contains the greatest concentration of sculpted monuments at the site.
The Acropolis was the royal complex at the heart of Copán. It consists of two plazas that have been named the West Court and the East Court. They are both enclosed by elevated structures. Archaeologists have excavated extensive tunnels under the Acropolis, revealing how the royal complex at the heart of Copán developed over the centuries and uncovering several hieroglyphic texts that date back to the Early Classic and verify details of the early dynastic rulers of the city who were recorded on Altar Q hundreds of years later. The deepest of these tunnels have revealed that the first monumental structures underlying the Acropolis date archaeologically to the early 5th century AD, when K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' established the royal dynasty.
【K】Honduras Travel-Copan Ruinas[온두라스 여행-코판루이나스]마야역사 유적공원/Copan Archaeological Park/Maya/History
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[한국어 정보]
한결 가벼워진 몸을 이끌고 이제는 역사공부를 할 시간. 마야 유적지에서 가장 먼저 나를 반기는 건... 화려한 색깔과 자태를 뽐내는 새들이다. 제법 덩치가 있는 이 녀석들은 온두라스의 국조란다. 숲 속을 떼 지어 나는 금강앵무들이 무릉도원의 한 풍경인 듯한 착각을 불러일으킨다. 기원전부터 이미 태동한 마야문명이 이곳 코판에서 꽃을 피운 것은 본격적인 왕조가 탄생한 서기 5세기경이다. 아크로폴리스와 제단, 야외 경기장, 그리고 5개의 넓은 광장이 들어서며 코판은 마야문명이 가장 융성하게 발달한 도시로 성장하게 된다.천 오백년의 세월동안 그 수많은 비바람을 묵묵히 견뎌 왔을 지배자들의 석상에서 당시의 위용이 전해져 오는 듯하다. “당신은 누구십니까? 머리 위의 화려한 장식을 보니 당신은 분명 당시에 매우 중요한 인물이었을 것 같군요. 참으로 대단하고 아름답습니다. 이런 석상이 어떻게 오랜 세월을 버텨 왔는지 신기할 따름입니다. 답이 없는 질문이군요. 수수께끼 같은...“ 오랜 문명의 흔적은, 침묵하는 것 같지만 사실은 나에게 끊임없이 대화를 걸어온다.
[English: Google Translator]
Now leading a steady lighter body time to study history. The first thing to welcome me at the Mayan ruins ... the birds boasting a gorgeous color and appearance,. That the big guys are quite Miranda's national bird of Honduras. I built a herd of forest landscapes evoke the illusion of Jinjiang Parrots are mureungdo circle. It has already been born BC from the Mayan civilization, smoked flowers Authentic Copan dynasty was born here in the 5th century AD by gyeongyida. The Acropolis and the altar, an outdoor stadium, and five wide square deuleoseomyeo Copan is growing as developed city in the Mayan civilization flourished most. At the time of grandeur in a thousand stone statues of rulers came to withstand the wind and rain in silence for many years in the five hundred years This conveys seems to come. Who are you? Head above the ornate decoration of you seem to have been a very important figure clearly at the time. Truly awesome and beautiful. This is according to how strange stone statues come in there for a long time. That's unanswered questions. Enigmatic ... a long trail of civilization, but to silence the fact that constantly walks the talk to me.
[Spanish: Google Translator]
Ahora lleva un tiempo al cuerpo más ligero constante para estudiar historia. Lo primero que me dan la bienvenida en las ruinas mayas ... los pájaros que cuenta con un color precioso y apariencia ,. Que los chicos grandes son bastante ave nacional de Honduras de Miranda. Construí una manada de paisajes forestales evocan la ilusión de Jinjiang loros son círculo mureungdo. Ya se ha nacido antes de Cristo de la civilización maya, flores ahumados auténtica dinastía de Copán nació aquí en el siglo quinto dC por gyeongyida. La Acrópolis y el altar, un estadio al aire libre, y cinco de ancho cuadrado deuleoseomyeo Copán está creciendo como ciudad desarrollada en la civilización maya floreció más. En el momento de la grandeza de mil estatuas de piedra de los gobernantes llegó a soportar el viento y la lluvia en silencio durante muchos años en los quinientos años Esta transmite parece venir. ¿Quién es usted? Cabeza encima de la decoración adornada de usted parece haber sido una figura muy importante con claridad en el momento. Verdaderamente impresionante y hermoso. Esto es de acuerdo a la forma en extrañas estatuas de piedra vienen en allí por mucho tiempo. Es por preguntas sin respuesta. Enigmático ... un largo rastro de la civilización, pero para silenciar el hecho de que camina constantemente al hablar conmigo.
[Information]
■클립명: 중미135-온두라스01-06 마야 역사 유적 공원/Copan Archaeological Park/Maya/History/Ruins/Park/Remains
■여행, 촬영, 편집, 원고: 이영준 PD (travel, filming, editing, writing: KBS TV Producer)
■촬영일자: 2011년 9월 September
[Keywords]
,중미,America,아메리카,온두라스,Honduras,Honduras,,이영준,2011,9월 September,코판,Copan,Copan,
Copan Ruins in Copan of Honduras
The Copan Ruins are located in the western part of Honduras, about 60 kilometers from the border with Guatemala. Copan - known as Xukpi to the Maya - was the dominant Mayan city in the south of their territory. Its rich stone sculptures and intricate hieroglyphs make Copan a feature attraction along 'La Ruta Maya'.
The Principal Group of attractions in Copan consists of five basic areas of interest:
The Acropolis - Divided in two big plazas: the west court and east court. The west court houses temple 11 and temple 16 with altar Q set at its base. Temple 11 was built as a portal to the other world. Temple 16 sits in between the east and west court; it was built on top of a previous temple without damaging it. Altar Q depicts the 16 members of the Copan Dynasty.
The Tunnels - Archeologists have dug 4km of tunnels under the acropolis to view earlier stages of Copan civilization. Two of the tunnels are open to the public for an additional fee.
The Ball Court - The ball court is the second largest to be found in Central America.
The Hieroglyphic Stairway - The most famous of Copan's monuments, 63 steps and several thousand glyphs tell the history of the royal house of Copan and is the longest known text of ancient mayan civilization. Unfortunately, the steps have fallen out of place leaving the exact meaning undeciferable.
The Great Plaza - The immense plaza is famous for its stelae and altars that are found scattered around a well groomed lawn. In addition to the park, two museums contain more artifacts and information about the mayan civilization. One museum is housed at the archaeological site, the other in the town of Copan.
Hieroglyphic Stairway - Drew Dellinger
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This video is part of a series called Seeding the Field: 30 Years of Transformative Solutions, which celebrates some of the best moments of the Bioneers conference through the last 30 years.
Founders Kenny Ausubel and Nina Simons, who organized these brilliant lectures, were gracious enough to assist in the curation of the keynotes selected for the production of these videos.
Many thanks go to the Bioneers organization, its staff and partners, and all those who proudly call themselves Bioneers.
Video Credits:
Directed by: Theo Badashi and Maximilian DeArmon
Edited by: Brandon Pinard and Theo Badashi
Sound Mix: Stephanie Welch
Produced by: Maximilian DeArmon and Theo Badashi for Cosmogenesis Media Group
Creative Commons Attributions:
Video Footage: ESO, Steve Eason, NASA
Copán, Copán Department, Honduras, Central America, North America
Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. In this fertile valley now lies a city of about 3000, a small airport, and a winding road. Copán was occupied for more than two thousand years, from the Early Preclassic period right through to the Postclassic. The city developed a distinctive sculptural style within the tradition of the lowland Maya, perhaps to emphasize the Maya ethnicity of the city's rulers. The city has a historical record that spans the greater part of the Classic period and has been reconstructed in detail by archaeologists and epigraphers. Copán was a powerful city ruling a vast kingdom within the southern Maya area. The city suffered a major political disaster in AD 738 when Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, one of the greatest kings in Copán's dynastic history, was captured and executed by his former vassal, the king of Quiriguá. This unexpected defeat resulted in a 17-year hiatus at the city, during which time Copán may have been subject to Quiriguá in a reversal of fortunes. A significant portion of the eastern side of the acropolis has been eroded away by the Copán River, although the river has since been diverted in order to protect the site from further damage. Copán is located in western Honduras close to the border with Guatemala. Copán lies within the municipality of Copán Ruinas in the department of Copán. It is situated in a fertile valley among foothills at 700 meters (2,300 ft) above mean sea level. The ruins of the site core of the city are located 1.6 kilometers (1 mi) from the modern village of Copán Ruinas, which is built on the site of a major complex dating to the Classic period. In the Preclassic period the floor of the Copán Valley was undulating, swampy and prone to seasonal flooding. In the Early Classic, the inhabitants flattened the valley floor and undertook construction projects to protect the architecture of the city from the effects of flooding. Copán had a major influence on regional centres across western and central Honduras, stimulating the introduction of Mesoamerican characteristics to local elites. Little is known of the rulers of Copán before the founding of a new dynasty with its origins at Tikal in the early 5th century AD, although the city's origins can be traced back to the Preclassic period. After this, Copán became one of the more powerful Maya city states and was a regional power in the southern Maya region, although it suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of its former vassal state Quirigua in 738, when the long-ruling king Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil was captured and beheaded by Quirigua's ruler K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat (Cauac Sky). Although this was a major setback, Copán's rulers began to build monumental structures again within a few decades. The area of Copán continued to be occupied after the last major ceremonial structures and royal monuments were erected, but the population declined in the 8th and 9th centuries from perhaps over 20,000 in the city to less than 5,000. This decrease in population took over four centuries to actually show signs of collapse showing the stability of this site even after the fall of the ruling dynasties and royal families. 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. The first post-Spanish conquest mention of Copán was in an early colonial period letter dated 8 March 1576. The letter was written by Diego García de Palacio, a member of the Royal Audience of Guatemala, to king Philip II of Spain. French explorer Jean-Frédéric Waldeck visited the site in the early 19th century and spent a month there drawing the ruins. Colonel Juan Galindo lead an expedition to the ruins in 1834 on behalf of the government of Guatemala and wrote articles about the site for English, French and North American publications. John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood visited Copán and included a description, map and detailed drawings in Stephens' Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán, published in 1841. The site was later visited by British archaeologist Alfred Maudslay. Several expeditions sponsored by the Peabody Museum of Harvard University worked at Copán during the late 19th and early 20th century, including the 1892--1893 excavation of the Hieroglyphic Stairway by John G. Owens and Gordon. The Carnegie Institution also sponsored work at the site, in conjunction with the government of Honduras.
Copan, Honduras - cást za Akropolis - Pohrebiste
#51 Tikal 10-30-11
While visiting friends in Guatemala, I got a chance to see the ruins of the city of Tikal, the Maya ceremonial center. Its pretty amazing to walk among the huge limestone structures built by Native Americans from 200 B. C. to 800 A. D. and think about what my ancestors were doing around that time. Probably digging sods and gathering nuts somewhere in the European Dark Ages. Anyway, its an amazing place and a good reminder that all great civilizations have their day then fade away. The lesson the Maya teach us is that if you build with limestone, it's gonna last a long time!
Archaeological Site of Copan
Archaeological Site of Copan
Leon viejo's Ruins Tour.
English Students of second Year from the UNAN león University had a travel for León viejo's ruins. They have to report how was the travel and other interesting Information.
Honduras Copan Archeology Trip - Jim Rogers Around the World
Jim Rogers is the author of best sellers, Investment Biker, Hot Commodities, Adventure Capitalist and A Bull In China. Jim Rogers was named by John Train as one of the most successful money managers of all time. In 1999 and 2000 Jim and his wife Paige traveled around the world. Their adventure is documented here in The Millennium Adventure.
The Pre-Columbian city today known as Copán is a locale in western Honduras, in the Copán Department, near to the Guatemalan border. It is the site of a major Maya kingdom of the Classic era (5th through 9th Centuries).
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 nearby modern village of Copán Ruinas itself may have anciently been known as Oxwitik.
The site in Copan is 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.
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. 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 -- none of the roofs of the stone buildings were intact when the site was rediscovered, and the hieroglyphic stairway had collapsed. The Copán river changed course and meandered, destroying part of the acropolis (revealing in the process its archaeological stratigraphy in a large vertical cut) and apparently wiping out various subsidiary architectural groups in the region. In the long period when the site was overgrown the buildings and sculptures suffered from the invasive thick jungle vegetation and periodic forest fires.
Archeologists have consolidated and restored many structures at the site.
Copyright Jim Rogers - provided as a special contribution to The Fenton Report
Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua (UNESCO/NHK)
Inhabited since the 2nd century A.D., Quirigua had become during the reign of Cauac Sky (723--84) the capital of an autonomous and prosperous state. The ruins of Quirigua contain some outstanding 8th-century monuments and an impressive series of carved stelae and sculpted calendars that constitute an essential source for the study of Mayan civilization.
Source: UNESCO TV / © NHK Nippon Hoso Kyokai
URL:
Copán - a 3D Reconstruction
3D reconstruction of the ceremonial center in the Maya city of Copán, Honduras, early IX century.
NOTE: The 3D model that ThisIsHonduras presents here is a first trial version - not all structures, monuments, and statues known to have existed in Copán's Main Group are shown in the model, and those that are, have basic representative geometrical features only. None of the residential structures that a surrounded the ceremonial centre are shown and the topography of the mountains around the valley is only roughly representative. A more complete 3D model with higher level of detail, accurate valley topography, and showing more structures in the valley is being created as you read this.
Done in Blender 2.65
September 2014.
Ancient Mayan Ruins of Copan, Honduras -- delightful guided tours by U.S. Dive Travel.
For more info or to book a refreshing eco-tour of the Copan Ruins, call our expert vacation planners at U.S. Dive Travel: 952-953-4124. Our web page: usdivetravel.com.
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In professional alliance with tour operator Gilberto Arita, our ground partner in San Pedro Sula since 1992, U.S. Dive Travel offers 2-day or 3-day guided tours of Las Ruinas de Copan, the most magnificent complex of Mayan ruins in Central America.
First discovered by Spanish explorers in 1570, the ancient city of Copan sustained a bustling culture in the lush jungles of highland Honduras -- powerful in both economy & architecture -- from about 2000 BC until about 900 AD. More than 25,000 people flourished in the city center & surrounding jungles during the Golden Age of Copan's dynasties -- from about 300 to 900 AD.
Scores of archeologists have worked these Copan digs for decades, restoring many buildings, temples, homes, arenas, sculptures & towering statues called stellae. The Copan Ruins are truly among the most visually compelling ancient sites in the Americas, & a must-see for any history buff visiting Honduras. Over the last 20 years, hundreds of our U.S. Dive Travel clients have enjoyed rounding off their Guanaja dive vacations with a relaxing-yet-fascinating 2- or 3-day guided tour of the Copan Ruins.
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All video clips & slides were shot by John Hessburg, founder & general manager of U.S. Dive Travel. Video edits & soundtrack synchs were refined by L.J. Hessburg (Jack), USDT's computer services coordinator.
Soundtrack music (Oscar) was written by Pavel Svejentsev & copyright access provided by his song-sharing agency per international code -- Creative Commons License cc BY-ND 3.0. Thank you for the cool tune, Pavel!
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This overall video of the Copan Ruins + Hotel Marina Copan is © Copyright 2013 - 2014, U.S. Dive Travel Network. All rights reserved.
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For more information, or to book reservations for a guided tour of the Copan Ruins, please call our vacation planning team at U.S. Dive Travel: 952-953-4124.
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Hieroglyphic Stairway
Spoken by the poet Drew Dellinger
Honduras: The Ruins of Copan
Nestled in western Honduras are the Maya ruins of Copan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this video, you'll learn about this incredible site and how its artistic details differentiate it from other Maya cities. This video was filmed at the Copan ruins in July 2009, in conjunction with the Honduras Institute of Tourism.
To see the stairway of the glyphs at Copan
Hieroglyphic Stairway in Congress
Copán, an ancient Mayan city in western Honduras near the Guatemalan frontier
A treat for all my archaeology friends out there.
Copán is translated to Wooden Bridge, however, the Mayan name is pronounced [something like] chu pee, for, City of the Bat or City of the Bird. Located in Honduras, near the frontier of Guatemala, Copán is renowned for it's courts, altars, and stele, laden with hieroglyphs explaining the details of the ethnosphere in the Mayan city.
In its' small size, Copán, was a great experience with an extremely well done museum preserving the finds. Our guide said that If Tikal is New York, then Copán is Paris. - he is brilliant! The following is a compilation of videos from the courts, pavilions, and tunnels of the original Bat City - Copán!
Enjoy, Jonathan Ferrier