Mythological Markers, Shifting Boundaries and Exchange in the Late Classic Copan Kingdom

Summary

Delimiting the “core” area of the Late Classic Copan kingdom may be enhanced through analysis of its shared mythology, associated with the ballgame. Placed at the geographic and social center of the royal compound, the main ballcourt of Copan established a narrative of mythological macaws, and a Macaw Mountain, that spanned the entire dynasty from the 5th-9th century CE. The geographic distribution of archaeological sites with stone macaw head ballcourt markers, all of which had Copador pottery in association, allow us to refine the consensus model of Copan’s Late Classic domain. The very large initial territory at the onset of the kingdom’s history included Quiriguá and other areas north and west of Copan, much reduced by the late 8th century as various former vassal communities declared their independence in public inscriptions. A southerly distribution of the other sites with macaw head bench markers supports ceramic evidence adduced by ceramicists that the Copan dynasty favored trading partners (and allies) to the south and east at the end of the Late Classic period. What became the final 'core' area may have been involved in procuring and trading macaw feathers, ideologically centered on a mythological--or actual--Macaw Mountain in this region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• The Copan Kingdom and its Political Interactions along the Southeastern Maya Frontier

Keywords

Spatial Coverage