Altar Q and Copán

The decipherment of Maya hieroglyphs is still advancing rapidly, although much remains to be done at Copán and other sites. At present some 60 to 70 percent of the Maya inscriptions can be read with a reasonable degree of accuracy, this principally being the result of an ever-increasing refinement in our understanding of the workings of the ornate Maya script, as well as a better accuracy in reconstructing the Mayan language of the inscriptions from its modern descendants. Some texts are perfectly legible and can be read aloud in Mayan more or less as they were written centuries ago; others may be completely opaque to us, and may never be read in their entirety. Between these extremes lies the majority of inscriptions at Copán and elsewhere, which are generally understood with regard to content, even if a number of words or names are unreadable. Certainly enough is known to allow us to step back from the details of deciphering to consider what the Maya had to say about their own society and history. What we must not fail to remember is that the results of these investigations has pushed back the historical record of the New World some fifteen hundred years.

A few words on the nature of Maya writing are appropriate as background for understanding the literate culture of Copán in ancient times. Anyone glancing at a Maya inscriptions would be immediately struck by the sheer complexity of the visual forms of the script itself—the "look" of the Maya script is in fact difficult to compare with any other. A text is typically arranged in a grid-like fashion, or by a linear arrangement of the same square blocks that are a basic formal unit of the system. Each block is composed of one or more signs, most of which possessed a strong pictorial quality throughout their history. Heads, body parts, objects of everyday life—all these things can be recognized in most inscriptions. However, it is a mistake to consider Maya writing as simple "picture writing," for nothing could be farther from the truth. Maya hieroglyphs were a full writing system, meaning that it was above all phonetic. Every Maya sign corresponds to a word or a phonetic syllable, and thus was capable of accurately representing any spoken utterance. Word signs are the simplest type, where a character might represent a macaw head and be read Mo', "macaw." Hundreds of such signs are known. More complicated are the syllabic elements, which were combined in various ways to spell words. Syllabic signs may well be pictorial as well (bird heads, hands, etc.) but the image is not necessarily an indicator of meaning in such cases. Thus, the syllables k'u-k'u spell k'uk', "quetzal," and the sequence la-ka-ma spells lakam, "flag, banner." Words such as these were commonly spelled with word signs as well, showing that there existed an inherent optionality to the script. Scribes constantly had to choose among the large repertoire of signs (some 800 in all) when composing their texts. To make matters even more complicated, a single syllable or word sign could have several substitutes or "allographs"—signs that graphically very different but functionally equivalent. For example, the syllable na could be rendered by five distinct signs. One can see why the decipherment has been a long and arduous process over the years.
 

Work over the past ten years has resulted in the decipherment of many inscriptions at Copán, although it must be said that several texts still elude even a cursory understanding. The recent epigraphic work has refined the ruler sequence and its chronology, nearly a quarter of a century after Heinrich Berlin's and Tatiana Proskouriakoff's celebrated breakthroughs in the historical interpretations of Maya texts in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A few rulers' names from the Late Classic period were fairly clear in the years subsequent to those initial findings ("18 Jog," "New-Sky-at-Horizon," etc.), yet the overall progress in identifying all the rulers was gradual, aided greatly by Berthold Reise's reading of the name glyphs on Altar Q, an important stone monument to be discussed momentarily. Why did clarifying the historical content of Copán's inscriptions require so much time? There are several reasons, perhaps the most important being Copán's local scribal genre, where names and other glyphs are seldom presented the same way twice. Not only did writing styles vary over time, they also differed among contemporaneous monuments. This required epigraphers not only to understand specific substitution patterns, but also to painstakingly refine their models of the way Maya writing in general worked as a graphical system. In essence, epigraphers had to solve many of the fundamental problems of Maya decipherment before addressing the specific readings in many Copán texts. Consequently, the progress in decipherment at Copán has developed hand-in-hand with, and in some ways as a result of, methodological advances on a much broader front.

Copán's inscriptions are idiosyncratic in some ways, reflecting the unique features of the local literary culture in ancient times. We might even say that Copán's inscriptions help to define a certain "genre" of Maya textual practice. In studying the temporal and geographical diversity of Classic period inscriptions, it is perhaps useful to consider two fundamental types of text or genres. This may be best illustrated by comparing Copán to another site with a strong literary tradition, Yaxchilan. Both sites witnessed great political growth during the early years of the Late Classic period under the reigns of long-lived rulers. Both sites, moreover, display their texts in somewhat similar settings. Stelae are frequent at both centers, as are architectural inscriptions. However, the content of the inscriptions at Yaxchilan often differs drastically from those at Copán. The major themes of the known Yaxchilan monuments are war, dance, and bloodletting rituals, with several records of architectural dedicatory rites. Most of the records of wars and dances accompany scenes of the rulers, who are featured prominently in all of the texts. Copán's texts have a far lesser emphasis on historical narrative. The stelae of the great plaza, for example, are inscribed with dedicatory formulae that name the ruler as "owner" of the monument, but they seldom if ever record any ritual or historical activity. Birth dates at Copán are virtually nonexistent, as also are records of war and capture. The Copán rulers therefore lack some of the personalized history we read in the texts of newer centers in the western lowlands, such as Palenque, Yaxchilan, and Piedras Negras. It would seem that the great exception to this general pattern is Copán's Hieroglyphic Stairway, which provides what might be called the official history of the Copán polity. As will be seen, however, even here history takes on a special Copán flavor, providing background to what are essentially dedicatory statements.

The west side of the altar is the most interesting of all, as it seems to be the focal point of the stone. The last king of the sequence, named Yax Pasah (whom we will discuss momentarily), faces another figure who wears "goggles" on his eyes, carries a square shield, and has a large quetzal bird perched atop his headdress. The goggles and the square shield are clear characteristics associated with Central Mexican culture during the Early Classic period, especially with the immense urban area of Teotihuacan. His is the first in the sequence of portraits on the altar, and represents the so-called founder of the dynasty, K'inich Yax K'uk'Mo'. Between the two figures are two glyphs providing a date in the Maya calendar: 6 Kaban 10 Mol. This, we know from other inscriptions, corresponds to July 2, 763 A.D, and was recognized first by Tatiana Proskouriakoff as the inauguration date of Yax Pasah. On Altar Q the inauguration is portrayed as an encounter between Yax Pasah, the contemporary ruler, and his distant predecessor, who seems to hand him the staff of office. This is a strong statement of political succession.

Atop the altar is a rather lengthy inscription that provides us with some details about the earliest events in the reign of the first king, and goes on to link those events with the contemporary history. First we are told of K'inich Yax K'uk'Mo's participation in an accession ritual called cha'm k'awil, or "taking the k'awil" (referring to an important supernatural who was an emblem of rule). Three days later the founder "arrives" at a place called Oxwitik, probably the ancient name of Copán itself. This would suggest, first of all, that K'inich Yax K'uk'Mo'assumed office somewhere else, and not at the acropolis of Copán proper. It is possible that he took part in the ch'am k'awil rite at the site we now call Quirigua, some two or three days walk away, as this same event is recorded in the inscriptions of that site. The sites, as we have seen, were indeed closely related throughout their histories, and K'inich Yax K'uk'Mo'may have been an instrumental figure in Quirigua's early days as well. Be that as it may, it seems very likely that this early ruler was not a Copán native, but any further conclusions would be very speculative. Altar Q continues its account with a dedication reference of the altar itself during the reign of Yax Pasah. The monument, however, is said to be "owned" by Yax K'uk'Mo', suggesting perhaps that he is the principal commemorative focus. Such an interpretation would make sense, given that the temple immediately behind Altar Q, Structure 16, was originally graced with Mexican symbolism like that connected with his portrait on the altar. The strong Mexican connection to the dynastic founder has long been a source of debate, but, as we shall see in time, there may now finally be an answer to this mystery. We will return to this in due time.

From this tantalizing glimpse of Copán's earliest days as a kingdom, we move on to an extremely cloudy period in the site's written history. In the late fifth and early sixth century, several inscriptions seem to have been carved and dedicated, but these were nearly always destroyed in later periods and used as building stones; only by chance do we find them, and they are invariably badly fragmented. Despite such meager records, however, Altar Q is of course essential for providing the names of the obscure kings of this period, including Yax K'uk'Mo's son. It is not until after many years that we can securely connect a ruler's name with a specific date. It seems that many of the rulers who came to power after Yax K'uk' Mo' occuped the throne for only very short periods of time, and several may have therefore had little opportunity to consolodate much political power. It is not until the reign of Ruler 10, perhaps named "Moon Jaguar," that we begin to emerge from the gap in the historical record. This king has a few stela fragments to his credit, and may have been responsible for the building of the imposing "Rosalila" structure in the main acropolis.

Copán's historical record begins to clarify even further with the accession of a long-lived and important king who was eleventh in the sequence, on November 19, 578 A.D. His name is sometimes presented by scholars as Buts'Chan "Smoke Serpent," but its original meaning was probably more like "Fire-Eating Serpent." Two prominent stelae of the acropolis and village site bear his name—Stelae 7 and P—and these were erected in 613 and 623, respectively. It seems likely that Ruler 11 was responsible for the construction of several important buildings in the acropolis during his extended reign, although no architectural inscriptions made by him have been excavated.

Smoke Imix died and was buried shortly thereafter on July 2, 695 after nearly seventy years on the throne. His burial is recorded on the Hieroglyphic Stairway built in part by the man who succeeded him as king, Ruler 13. This king is more widely known by his nickname "18 Rabbit," but we know his actual name to have been Waxaklahun Ubah K'awil, an enigmatic phrase meaning "Eighteen are the Bodies (?) of K'awil" (K'awil being one of the chief Maya gods associated with divine rulership). Ruler 13—a more convenient label for our purposes—followed very much in the line of his two immediate predecessors in having a relatively long and productive reign. It might justifiably be said, in fact, that these three lords, Ruler 11, 12, and 13—were responsible for the apogee of Copán's political influence and cultural life. Ruler's 13's own contribution to this may have been more in the latter area, for we have little indication that he waslike his father in being concerned with the domination of other sites. Instead, Ruler 13's inscriptions take on a rather introverted character, for they are generally simple and terse statements about ritual dedications of stones and buildings. Indeed, we know precious little of this important king simply because his texts say so little of historical value.

The major architectural accomplishment of Ruler 13 was perhaps Temple 22, which now rests atop a large platform to the north of the East Court. This temple was conceived as the model of the primordial maize-sprouting mountain (wits) of Maya cosmology. Today most of its decorative sculpture lies in jumbled piles, but enough remains on the structure to make the identification secure. Large masks of the animated mountain spirit adorned each corner, and several large figures of the Maya maize were excavated from the ruins here before the turn of the century. Within the mountain-temple was an inner chamber, the door to which was itself sculptued with an image of the Maya night sky, with the Milky Way shown as an arching "cloud serpent." The step to this doorway bore a hieroglyphic text—now lost—that is one of the most extraordinary to have come down to us from all Maya sites. It's special qualities come not from what it says, but how it states its subject. It begins with the sentence: "On the day 5 Lamat is the completion of my k'atun (in office)." A k'atun is a period of roughly twenty years in the Maya calendar, and the day five Lamat tells us that this is the twentieth year anniversary of Ruler 13's accession to the throne. The date of the building is thus clearly established to have been constructed at or around March 27, 715 A.D. But notice here the use of the first person voice, "my first k'atun." These are the spoken words of Ruler 13 himself, and constitute the only known example of a quotation of an ancient Maya king.

Despite the extraordinary accomplishments of Ruler 13, he is perhaps most famous for his unfortunate demise at the hands of the contemporary ruler of Quirigua "Cauac Sky" on May 3, 738. We know very little of this great historical episode, except that it is recorded prominently in the Quirigua texts as the "axeing" of Ruler 13. Was he captured in battle? Abducted while visiting his vassal site? Sacrificed, even, in some voluntary ritual that we do not understand? These questions will probably never be answered with much satisfaction. We do know, however, that before this time Quirigua was hardly a very significant site. The ruler Cauac Sky had acceded to the throne of his small kingdom many years before this date, on January 2, 725, but had erected no monuments until after the defeat of his Copán rival. At this point, Quirigua seems to grow in political and ritual significance at an incredibly rapid pace, as Copán, immediately following the defeat, displays no inscribed monuments for close to twenty years.  One Copán ruler, Ruler 14 or "Smoke Monkey," reigned for a short nine years at this time, but nothing is known of him; all references to him are by later kings. Evidently, there occurred a major shift in the balance of power in the southeastern Maya region, with one site assuming much of the power of the other. We only wish that more inscriptions at Quirigua explained the situation in some detail. The only glimpse we have comes from Copán's scribes many years later, when they note, apparently with some remorse, that during these days after Ruler 13's demise there were "no altars, no pyramids, no places," an apparent reference to Copán's inability to continue in its monumental tradition.

Copán's fortunes seem to turn around with the accession of the fifteeenth ruler mentioned in the texts, who is sometimes called "Smoke Shell." He assumed the throne on February 18, 749, but did not erect any monuments until some eight years later, perhaps once he had managed some independence from Quirigua's control. From this point on, Copán reverts to being on its own, it would seem, with large-scale construction activities and monument building. A case in point is Smoke Shell's amplification of the Hieroglyphic Stairway on Temple 26, begun by his unfortunate predecessor. Ruler 15 added a number of inscribed steps and constructed the temple on top, replete with Mexican religious and militaristic symbolism. When viewed as a whole, Temple 26 seems to be evoking Mexico as something decidedly "foreign" or "other," for there seems to be a conscious feeling on the part of the Maya that these icons and gods such as Tlaloc were "not Maya." We see this most clearly in another inscription from this temple, that once graced the interior of the superstructure. Now reconstructed by Barbara Fash and myself, we find that this inscription was actually composed of two concurrent and parallel texts, one composed in standard Maya form, the other in a "Mexican" or Teotihuacan style. The other text is still very much in Maya writing, but with what might be called a different "font" that evokes another culture, and perhaps even another time. At this point in Mesoamerican history, Teotihuacan had collapsed yet was apparently remembered and celebrated for year afterward. The text in the Copán temple may even be somehow evoking the "old country" by lending the structure with an old and sophisticated feel. When we understand that the Hieroglyphic Stairway on this temple was principally a dynastic record of the kings of Copán—a sort of text version of what we see on Altar Q—this may come as little surprise. Recall that the dynastic founder, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', may have been a foreigner with Mexican connections. Temple 26, like Temple 16 as well (the structure behind Altar Q), was consciously recalling this historical origin of the Copán dynastic line as being Mexican. Whether this reflected historical reality or not is, again, impossible to verify, but it is true that cultural contect between Copán and Teotihuacan was much stronger before 600 that it was in later years, when these temples were built. Interestingly, many political instituions throughout Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish Conquest traced their semi-mythical origins back to Tollan, the place "Beisde the Reeds." This may well have been Teotihuacan itself, since a "reed place" is sometimes mentioned in the Maya sources in direct connection to Teotihuacan iconography. It would seem that Ruler 15's focus on Temple 26 and its evocation of a political origin rooted in Mexico, was attempting to reassert Copán's political role following difficult times. At least the iconography of these temples should be considered in this historical context. Ruler 15, sometimes known as "Smoke Shell," rejuvinated the fortunes of Copán.

 

Ruler 15 was very active during his reign, but this lasted only until 763, when the next king Yax Pasah, the sixteenth ruler, assumes power. At this point we have come full circle around Altar Q, to the point where the new king takes the staff of office from his "Mexican" ancestor. Yax Pasah, as the most recent known king, left innumerable monuments and inscriptions in the acropolis, ranging from large alters to architectural inscriptions to smaller texts on stone censers. Even with this large group of texts at our disposal, Yax Pasah remains a surprisingly enigamtic figure. In many respects he diverges from the Copán tradition of erecting stelae, and there are some indications from his name glyph and parentage that he was of foreign origin. He was responsible for the construction of Temple 16, celebrating his political predecessor Yax K'uk'Mo', and Temple 11, a massive structure that may have been a stone model of the Maya universe. He also comissioned several other small temples in the acropolis. The last date at Copán associated with Yax Pasah is July 24th, 805 A.D., after which the record is silent.

Yax Pasah's reign, and Copán's written history, ends with no explicit records of what may have led to the collapse (who would read them, afterall?). But we do see one interesting pattern in the years leading up to the kingdom's demise. During the reigns of Ruler 15 and 16, especially, there is an increased prominence in so-called "secondary" figures in Copán's political scene—subsidiary governers, officers of the royal court. Many of these non-royal elites appear in inscriptions that were placed in or near buildings away from the main acropolis, in "suburban" locations. Many of these smaller architectural groups, such as that at Las Sepulaturas, were clearly occupied by important people with close ties to the royal family. Several of these people are named as being the subsidiaries of specific kings, such as Yax Pasah. What is interesting, however, is the fact that these subsidiary nobles are never mentioned in the Early Classic reocords of Copán. It would seem that there emergence as powerful lords in their own right may have been a symptom of some large, more systemic problems in Copán society at this time, as centralized power of the king waned. We will have to test this idea against further epigraphic and excavation data.