Copán — Temple 16 Pyramid and Hieroglyphic Stairway (Copán Department, Honduras)
Copán · Structure 16 · Hieroglyphic Stairway pyramid · Oxwitik
Classic Maya (250–900 CE)·Maya (Copán dynasty, Yax Kuk Mo lineage)·🇭🇳 Copán Department, Copán River, Honduras
About
About Copán — Temple 16 Pyramid and Hieroglyphic Stairway (Copán Department, Honduras)
Defining Classic Maya southeastern capital (250–900 CE) 12 km from Guatemala border, population 27,000. Temple 16 (Altar Q pyramid, 30 m high, 60x40 m) crowns Acropolis west court, enclosing Rosalila temple preserved intact underneath (6th century) — UNESCO flagship. Hieroglyphic Stairway (Structure 26) is 10 m-wide 21-m-high pyramid-stair with 2,500 glyphs (longest Maya text) recording dynastic history, topped by ancestor shrine. Great Plaza stelae A–H celebrate 13th ruler Waxaklajuun Ub’ah K’ak’ (18 Rabbit). Harvard-COPAN since 1975 (Stromsvik, Fash).
Why it mattersSoutheastern Maya frontier type-site; longest hieroglyphic text; UNESCO 1980; Rosalila is only intact Classic temple interior.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Copán dynamic collapse — population crash by 822 last stela
- 02Founder Yax Kuk Mo origin Teotihuacan vs Petén
Theories
- 01Stair text as propaganda after 738 Quiriguá defeat of 18 Rabbit; Temple 16 encasing 7 layers mirrors dynastic layering
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.427–820 CE, Temple 16 seventh phase 738 CE (Smoke Shell), Hieroglyphic Stairway 753 CE
- Period
- Classic Maya (250–900 CE)
- Culture
- Maya (Copán dynasty, Yax Kuk Mo lineage)
- Builders
- Maya (Yax Kuk Mo dynasts, 16 rulers)
- Purpose
- Dynastic pyramid archive mountain recording founder cult and cosmic stair to heavens
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.427–820 CE, Temple 16 seventh phase 738 CE (Smoke Shell), Hieroglyphic Stairway 753 CE
Initial construction
c. 1696 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
14.8390° N · 89.1420° W · 600 m · 2 mapped features
Temple 16 — Altar Q pyramid
pyramid30 m acropolis pyramid encasing Rosalila temple, west court
14.8390° N · 89.1420° WHieroglyphic Stairway (Structure 26)
stair pyramid21 m glyph stair-pyramid with 2,500 blocks, east acropolis face
14.8395° N · 89.1415° W
Gallery