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Hieroglyphs and Archaeology at Copan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2010

David Stuart
David Stuart
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Box 6050-B, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
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Abstract

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The study of Copan's extensive hieroglyphic texts has grown hand in hand with long-term architectural excavations. Recent progress in Maya decipherment, much of it derived from work at Copan, now allows for new and potentially rewarding opportunities to integrate epigraphy and “dirt” archaeology. Toward this end, this paper provides an overview of the current knowledge of Copan's elite history, summarizing current knowledge of the ruler sequence and attributions of monuments and architecture to individual reigns. Thematic and stylistic changes are evident in the inscriptions between the Early and Late Classic periods, including a proliferation of subordinate elite texts in the decades leading up to political collapse. Also, new information is provided on the changing relations between Copan and Quirigua throughout the Classic period.

Resumen

Este ensayo sirve como resumen del trabajo reciente sobre los textos jeroglíficos de Copan, incluyendo ue tratamiento detallado de la secuencia dinástica de este sitio durante la época clásico. La discusión se enfoca sobre varios cambios temáticos eetre las inscripciones del clásico temprano y del clásico tardío.

La mayoría de los textos del clásico temprano son fragmentários y muy difíciles à leer; por eso, la historia de este época se queda largamente obscura. Sin embargo, hay mucha información esenciál sobre el clásico temprano eh los monumetos de subsiguientes épocas, como Altar Q y la escalinata jeroglífica de la Estructura 10L-26. Los datos que tenemos, aunque scan escasos, afirman que estas fuentes tardías no son exageradas en sus recuentos de la historia más antiguo.

Al contrario a los otros sitios mayas, a los textos de Copan, es-pecialmente los más tempranos, les faltan la calidad narrative de la historia. Cerca del fin del clásico tardio, después de la muerte del Gobernante 13, ó Waxaklahun Ubah K'awil, los textos acercan más la forma narrativa. Los temas de esos textos se tratan de figuras como Gobernante 16 y otras personas de la nobleza. Esos cambios de tema pueden ser productos de influencias exteriores o cambios politicos poco antes del colapso ca. 850 d.C.

Tratando los hechos sobre estos temas, este ensayo intenta integrar los datos arqueológicos y epigráficos para que otros puedan hacerlo mismo.

Type
Special Section: The Archaeology of Ancient Copan
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , Spring 1992 , pp. 169 - 184
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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