Structure 26

This Temple is one of the three structures, along with Structure 16 and Structure 11, known to have existed since the beginning of the Yax K’uk’ Mo lineage if not beforehand (Fash 2011, 36).

Yax

Dates: Before 435 CE

Rulers: 1

Yax is Structure 26’s earliest iteration. A small terrace, it differentiates itself from the rest of Pre-Classic architecture by being built of stone rather than earth (Traxler 2004, 59). Only a U-shaped stucco panel remains (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 68).

Though little more can be said about its architectural style, its location is perhaps more telling. The structure sits on top of a fill containing pottery and Pachua or green obsidian, which would have been imported from Teotihuacan (Fash, Fash and Davis-Salazar 2004, 74, 67). As this structure was assumedly built by Yax K’uk’ Mo’, the fill reflects his political origins and connections to the city (Price et al. 2010).

Also of note is the cylindrical chamber on the central axis containing the remains of a woman. The chamber is sealed with the floor marker in the structure succeeding Yax (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 68).

Motmot

Dates: 435 CE

Rulers: 2, 1

Constructed by second king Popol Hol, the Motmot structure covered the preceding Yax structure, destroying its upper section in the process (Fash, Fash, and Salazar 2004, 67). The structure also was built on the same plane as the contemporary first Ballcourt, Structure 10L-7, and Structure 10L-11 (Traxler 2004, 59). These four structures would be consecrated by the burial and offerings found in the funerary cist in Yax which were sealed off by the Motmot Marker (Fash, Fash, and Salazar 68-69). According to this marker, Motmot is believed to have been called the “four sky place” due to sky bands on its east and west walls (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 74).

The Marker in addition to detailing the consecration also celebrates the 9.0.0.0.0 bak’tun ending on 8 Ajaw 14 Kej, or December 9, 435 (Fash 2011, 105; Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar, 76). This auspicious event would continue to be represented in Copan monuments through the end of the dynasty.

Popol Hol built Motmot with a rather Maya Lowland style. The stonework incorporated apron moulding, and the building faced west in accordance with the style in the Peten region. This style over the clay and stone method found in the Highlands suggests Copan had closer ties with this region, which aligns with Yax K’uk’ Mo’s assumed origins (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 74). Of note, the cylindrical cist burial hailed from Teotihuacan (Fash 2011, 81).

Of particular interest is the G1 mask on a central panel at the back of Motmot. Facing the rising sun, the mask was topped with a bird emerging from a Yax sign and surrounded by sky bands (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 74-75). The god G1 became an ajaw or king under the patronage of another god Yax Naah Itzamnaaj, setting a precedent for the accession of mortal kings and strengthening their spiritual association. The bird emerging from the Yax head is believed to represent Yax K’uk’ Mo’, as this motif appears in the Margarita Structure for the same purpose (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 75).

The G1 mask succinctly summarizes the goal of the Structure. Like the deity depicted, Copan’s first king acceded the throne under the patronage of another ruler. While a theory claiming that the Founder had achieved his position through political connections at Tikal is uncertain, his political alliance with Teotihuacan is much clearer (Price et al. 2010). His accession first occurred at the “Origin House”, believed to have been in Teotihuacan (Stuart 2004, 237). In this sense, the Founder would have been in the place of G1, assuming the throne under the patronage of another king. Likewise, the Structure combines architectural elements from both Teotihuacan and the Maya Lowland region. Also of note, the Founder himself would later oversee the accession of Quirigua’s king, putting him in the role of both G1 and his patron (Martin and Grube 2008, 216).

This representation of his father speaks to Popol Hol’s efforts to solidify his father’s legacy and begin his cult. Given that his father started a new dynasty at Copan, Popol Hol’s promotion of his father would have justified the continuation of the lineage.

Papagayo

Dates: circa 435

Rulers: 2, 4, 1

Popol Hol built the Papagayo Structure over his previous Motmot Structure. Before destroying Motmot, he provided a burial offering consisting of jade earflares positioned at the cardinal directions, pigments, and spondylus shell, jade, and feathers burnt on a three stone hearth. Two men had also been buried in stone cists, one by the G1 mask, and another with a jade vulture bead in his mouth. After the offerings, the Structure had been filled and destroyed (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 76).

Along the back of the Structure, a stucco crocodile was fashioned, symbolizing either the world axis or the surface of the earth (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 76; Stone and Zender 2011, 163). Also against the wall stood Stela 63, a monument that both celebrated the bak’tun ending - replacing the buried Motmot Marker - and identifying Popol Hol as Yax K’uk’ Mo’s son (Fash 2011, 105). Some years later, fourth ruler K’altuun Hix would renovate Papagayo, adding in a step in front of Stela 63, a bench, and a new stucco floor (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 76-77). This building would serve as a temple, with the later Mascarones pyramid behind it serving as a space for open gatherings (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 80). The Papagayo Structure and Stela 63 would be accessible until the construction of Chorcha in 695 (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 81).

Chorcha

Dates: 695

Ruler: 13, 12, 1 - 11

Left - Yax K’uk’ Mo’ Effigy Censer, Right - Copan King Effigy Cnesers
Left - Laura B., 2012-10-03_06univ_mus, 2012, photograph, Flickr. Middle - Laura B., 2012-08-16_022univ_mus, 2012, photograph, Flickr. Right - Laura B., 2012-08-16_021univ_mus, 2012, photograph, Flickr.

Both Mascarones and Papagayo were later destroyed to form Chorcha, the site of K’ahk’ Uti’ Witz’ K’awiil’s burial (Martin and Grube 2008, 202). An offering of jades processed in varying degrees, cinnabar, and a spondylus shell was placed between Mascarones and Papagayo before the construction (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 80). Stela 63 was also ritually broken and burned, and macaw heads from the Ballcourt were also buried here. Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil would soon replace Stela 63 by commissioning his own monument commemorating the bak’tun ending, Stela J (Fash, Fash, and Davis-Salazar 2004, 81).

Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil buried his predecessor with forty-four pottery vessels, jades, spondylus shells, spiny oyster shells, jaguar pelts, painted wood, and gourds (Martin and Grube 2008, 202; Fash 2002, 12). The bodies of a man and child were found in the tomb along with the king’s body (Martin and Grube 2008, 202). K’ahk’ Uti’ Witz’ K’awiil’s body was ceremoniously wrapped in matting and jades as well as unfired clay, which resulted in the body’s quick degradation (Martin and Grube 2008, 202; Fash 2002, 12). Though the available evidence is scant, the bones do belong to a man over fifty-five years of age, corresponding with the twelfth ruler who was eighty-two at death. The tomb was covered with eleven stone slabs (Martin and Grube 2008, 202). The fifth stair on the Hieroglyphic Stairway discusses these burial practices (Fash 2002, 12).

Most intriguing are the twelve censers buried in Chorcha, each with a top shaped like a human head. These censers are considered to be the king list predecessor to Altar Q (Fash 2004, 268). One of these censers has the same Tlaloc goggles over the eyes as Yax K’uk’ Mo’ wears on the altar, identifying one of the censers as the Founder (Martin and Grube 2008, 202). The censer associated with K’ahk’ Uti’ Witz’ K’awiil was only fired just before completion of the tomb in order to unite the twelfth ruler with his ancestors (Fash 2002, 13).

The nature of the censers comments on the relation of fire to the royal line in two ways. Succession could be visualized as passing down k’awiil, or the torch in the god K’awiil’s head, from king to king. Altar Q not only depicts this handing off of the scepter, but also explains how Yax K’uk’ Mo’ first received the scepter. The censers as receptacles of fire reflects this passing of k’awiil. These censers would have also served the purpose of providing breath to the ancestors, calling them back (Taube 2004, 268).

In building the Chorcha tomb over the Papagayo Structure, Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil not only built a new temple for ancestor worship, but also shifted the narrative of the structure, asserting K’ahk’ Uti’ Witz’ K’awiil’s influence in the city’s history.

Esmeralda

Dates: 710

Ruler: 13

Thirteenth Ruler Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil built this structure to seal off Chorcha, his predecessor’s tomb. He fitted the temple with the first phase of the Hieroglyphic Stairway, further commemorating the previous king (Martin and Grube 2008, 204).

10L-26

Dates: 755

Ruler: 15

Stela M and Hieroglyphic Stairway outside 10L-26
Photograph Courtesy of Dr. Clark Erickson

Only one column of the structure succeeding Esmeralda survived, dubbed 10L-26 2nd (Fash 2002, 13). Its successor, 10L-26-1 was constructed by fifteenth K’ahk’ Yipyaj Chan K’awiil along with his extension of the Hieroglyphic Stairway. The upper sanctuary contains detailed full figured glyphs side by side with translations into a pseudoscript designed to appear from Teotihuacan (Martin and Grube 2008, 208). Depictions of Teotihuacan flourished in the Late Classic period in order to emphasize Copan’s connections to the previously powerful city after the fall of Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil. Tikal had employed the same strategy in 682 to rally their people to revitalize after a devastating defeat from Calakmul (Martin and Grube 2008, 44-45).

Example of Skull and Bones
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Clark Erickson

To continue this theme, six Jaguar Tlaloc masks are positioned across the four corners and doorways of the temple. Jaguar Tlaloc, originally hailing from Central Mexico, was associated with warfare and sacrifice, which also relates to Late Classic imagery at Copan. The rectangular feathered shields and shells reminiscent of the Underworld echo the effect (Fash 1991, 146). The theme continues in the Annex (10L-230) on the south side. The “house of bones and skulls”, the interior is decorated with stone skulls and over 100 long bones, emphasizing sacrifice (Fash 1991, 149).

Temple 26 began with the solidification of Yax K’uk’ Mo’s status and his lineage. It became the embodiment of the city’s bright days before Waxaklajuun Ubaah K’awiil’s defeat and the revitalization effort.


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