Copán

Copán

Copán is a Mayan archaeological site in the western Honduras, near the Guatemalan border. This ancient Mayan city reflects the beauty of the landscape in which it thrived, a rich, well-irrigated mountain valley in western Honduras, 600 meters above sea level. First discovered by Diego García de Palacio in 1570, the ruins of Copán, one of the most important sites of Mayan civilization, were not excavated until the 19th century. The ruins of the citadel and the imposing public squares show the three main stages of development before the abandonment of the city at the beginning of the 10th century. It was the political, civil and religious center of the Copan Valley. It also served as the political center and cultural center of a larger area, which included the southeastern part of the Maya territory and its periphery. The earliest records of the Copan Valley population date back to 1500 BC, but the first Mayan-Cholan immigration from the Guatemalan Highlands dates back to around 100 AD. A Mayan leader from the Tikal area, Yax Kuk Mo, came to the Copan valley in 427 AD and launched a dynasty of 16 rulers that made Copan one of the greatest Mayan cities of the classical Maya period. Copan's great era, parallel to that of other great Maya cities, was in the Classical period, between 300 and 900 AD. Significant cultural progress was made, with major achievements in mathematics, astronomy and hieroglyphic writing.