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Archaeological site at Copan, Honduras
Watercolour and crayon
©2011 Charlene Brown
The setting of Copan reminded me a little of Tehuacalco, a place I wrote about in A surprise near Acapulco last year. Copan is far more extensive, with way more structures and stelae and huge, epiphyte-laden trees, whereas Tehuacalco was more spread out and less jungle-like. And it seemed easier to climb… Of course, that may have been because at Tehuacalco we weren’t all trying to keep up with our grandkids!
Construction at Copan began in the 3rd century C.E. (page 5 in Timeline - History of Design) and the corbelled arch, temple, hieroglyphic stairway, and ball court shown here were built in the 7th and 8th centuries. BTW, the hieroglyphic stairway is currently under a protective tarpaulin, making it tricky, but not impossible, to paint – it is pretty much impossible to photograph!
