Introduction and Purpose

The purpose of this site is to provide basic information on a series of monuments and structures throughout Copan under Yax K’uk’ Mo’s lineage, to identify connections in time and among Copan and its neighbors, and to explore the narrative implications behind these creations intended or otherwise. True, this intended narrative and the history recorded upon these structures is biased by the creator. In certain circumstances we cannot corroborate their stories, which may only be an effort of royal rhetoric rather than objective fact. Yet, the ideas that the kings attempt to invoke and how they compound upon previous monuments weaves a unique story about the city. It reveals through time and space what relationships are particularly important to them or the people at this time. And we do have evidence for when the message and the public sentiment align or fail to align - a monument kept for generations reveals its importance to its audience while a monument constructed haphazardly reveals a potential lack of investment in the project.

Please also remember when reading this site that new discoveries and interpretations are made frequently, that there is still plenty to learn. Also, due to the time and scope of the Senior Thesis, only a fraction of the monuments at Copan were able to be given their own pages here. It is my hope that, given the nature of this site, it may be handed down and updated by future members of the University to keep up with the field.

Authorship and Acknowledgements

This website was originally created by Anastasia Hutnick for completion of her Honors Thesis in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania. She would like to thank the following people for their guidance in its construction:

  • Dr. Simon Martin, Thesis Advisor
  • Dr. Katherine Moore, Undergraduate Chair and Major Advisor
  • Dr. Clark Erickson, photographs
  • Dr. Scott Enderle, Website Consultation
  • Dr. Barbara Fash, Harvard University
  • Katherine Meyers Satriano, Associate Archivist, Peabody Museum
  • Mark Ottaviani, Website Consultation