Classic Maya Nights at Copan, Honduras and El Cerén, El Salvador

Curating Large Skeletal Collections: An Example from the Ancient Maya Site of Copán, Honduras

“…Copán is well known because of its sculptural program, including the hieroglyphic stairway, and its role as a complex city-state that controlled a rich source of jade and an expansive territory. The residential groups surrounding the regal ritual center have been the focus of long-term archaeological investigation since 1890 (Andrews and Fash 2005; Fash 1983; Fash and Agurcia Fasquelle 2005; Freter 2004; Gonlin 1993; Hendon 1988; Longyear 1952; Morley 1920; Sanders 1989, 1990; Webster 1989; Webster et al 2000). Within the patios and structures of each architectural group, the Maya interred their dead beneath house floors, plazas, and construction fill; in domestic middens; as offerings; and for a select few, in large tombs.…”