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Copan 1989- 2000
Archaeology at Copan, Honduras Twelve Seasons of Excavations Completed Research and Conservation Continue
by Robert J. Sharer
Director, Early Copan Archaeological Program
University of Pennsylvania Museum 

The Early Copan Acropolis Program (ECAP) has completed its excavations beneath the Copan Acropolis. This work, conducted over twelve field seasons (1989-2000) under the auspices of the Instituto de Hondureño de Antropologia e Historia (IHAH) has documented the development of Copan's Classic period royal center, finding the buildings and courts associated with Yax K'uk' Mo' the dynastic founder (ca. AD 426-437) and his immediate successors. The research combines archaeological evidence and historical information gained from tunneling deep into the heart of a Maya royal Acropolis. The findings from this research have important implications for understanding the history of Copan's dynastic origins and the origin and development of Classic Maya polities, as well as preindustrial state systems in general.

During the final seasons of excavation, our research efforts were concentrated on completing the recording, conservation, and removal of materials from two Early Classic royal burials, known by their field nick-names as the Hunal and Margarita tombs.

The Hunal Tomb

This vaulted tomb chamber contains the bones of a single individual placed on a stone bier, head to the south, adorned by several large and spectacular jade objects. The bones are of a robust male, a little over 5'6" tall, who was probably 55 or older when he died. Several lines of evidence indicate that these are the remains of the historically-identified dynastic founder of the Classic period Copan polity, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'. The research in the Hunal Tomb spanned four field seasons (1996-1999); each stage of this process was planned by Robert Sharer and David Sedat and carried out by a team of excavators, conservators, and other specialists.

The Hunal Tomb was first opened in 1996 and its condition and contents were fully assessed during that season thanks to a remote-controlled video survey conducted by Pete Petrone of the National Geographic Society. Excavation inside the tomb began in 1997 by clearing the fallen debris on the burial slab and floor areas around the perimeter of the slab, conducted by Christopher Powell and Robert Sharer. In 1998 the remains on the burial slab were thoroughly recorded, conserved (as necessary) and removed to the field laboratory located adjacent to the site. The systematic recording and removal of the materials on the burial slab was conducted by Loa Traxler and Robert Sharer. Loa's earlier experience and recording methods perfected during her excavation of the SubJaguar Tomb were instrumental in this effort. But a new technique, the recording of each area of the burial slab by a digital camera, proved to make the entire process more efficient. In addition, complete documentation was done by conventional photography, much of this was accomplished by David Sedat. Remains needing conservation were under the expert care of two professionals, Lynn Grant and Harriet Beaubien. The transport of artifacts to the field laboratory was conducted by IHAH personnel according to established procedures. All human bone material was secured in an adjacent tunnel storage area to prevent damage caused by changes in temperature and humidity. During both 1998 and 2000 the Hunal bones received detailed bioanthropological study by Dr. Jane Buikstra as part of her investigation of human skeletal remains at Copan.

With work on the burial slab completed in 1998, at the beginning of the 1999 season this huge single piece of cut stone (estimated weight, 2000 pounds) was lifted using block and tackle under the expert guidance of our ECAP volunteer engineer, Bill Casselman. Once safely supported in its lifted position, the excavation of the remains on the tomb floor beneath the burial slab could proceed. These remains were recorded, conserved, and removed to the field laboratory during the remainder of the 1999 season by Ellen Bell and Lynn Grant, with periodic assistance of both Robert Sharer and David Sedat. In 2000, the floor of the Hunal Tomb was sectioned to reveal its composition. With the completion of this and related structural work, the burial slab was then gently lowered to its original position.

The investigation of the Hunal Tomb revealed that some bones on the slab had been displaced varying distances from their original positions. The left tibia, both femurs, and the cranium were slightly displaced. The right half of the pelvis, several segments of vertebrae, and all the arm bones were displaced greater distances from their anatomical positions. Several arm bones were displaced to the floor along the east wall of the tomb, and the right humerus was eventually located beneath the south end of the burial slab. Most of the smaller bones from the hands and feet were also found on the tomb floor. This displacement, along with other evidence (deposition of red pigment on many of the bones) indicates that the tomb was re-entered some time after the body was interred, during which some of the bones were apparently moved.

At the base of the deposit on the burial slab was the residue from a textile or finely woven mat. The body and its adornments had been placed on this covering. The surviving adornments recovered from the burial slab were composed of shell, bone, and jade. Some of these, including several poorly preserved shells, a cluster of sting ray spines and cut bone awls (adjacent to the left leg), and a cluster of jaguar canines and small jade disks (associated with the right leg) all appear to have remained relatively undisturbed. Other artifacts were apparently slightly displaced, including an uncarved jade bar pectoral, one jade ear flare and perforated disc, and one jade bead with a carved mat motif, (all from the upper body area). An elaborate headdress composed of a series of cut shell "spangles" was displaced to the west of the cranium, probably when the cranium had been moved during tomb re-entry. The final action from this re-entry appears to have been the deposition of red pigment on many of the bones.

On the tomb floor were a number of pottery vessels and vessel lids located directly beneath the burial slab. In addition there were small displaced objects such as beads, bird bones, mosaic fragments, and the scattered remains of several painted organic objects. Several offerings documented and removed during the 1999 season are worthy of special note. These include an extraordinary deer effigy vessel located in the southeast corner of the tomb. There was also a concentration of mosaic earflares and shell beads just to the north of this vessel, along the east wall of the tomb. Just north of these objects was a vessel placed over a collar-shaped shell pendant decorated with a jade mosaic. Inside the shell pendant were found three cut shell animal figures. The find of greatest potential significance is a short hieroglyphic text incised on the shell mosaic, the first inscribed object found in a Copan tomb. The text is a "name tag" that identifies the "owner" of the object. According to a preliminary study by David Stuart, this text reads yu-uh wi-TE ("his pendant/collar, wi-te"). Stuart points out that wi-te is part of a title used exclusively to refer to Yax K'uk' Mo' in Late Classic texts.

Many of the objects found on the tomb floor appear to have been intentionally placed there as offerings, while other objects, including both artifacts and bones, had been displaced from their original positions on the burial slab above. All of the pottery vessels had been originally placed on the floor, but many, including all of the vessels in the central floor area beneath the burial slab, had been displaced to some degree, apparently by natural forces. It remains possible that some of the displacement was also caused by human activity that took place during one or more re-entries into the tomb.

The Margarita Tomb

This elaborate tomb contains the remains of an important royal woman, adorned with a rich array of offerings. Although this woman is unidentified by any known text reference, indirect evidence favors the idea that she was the wife of Yax K'uk' Mo' and mother of Ruler 2. Her remains were found on a broken burial slab, head to the south, in a step-vaulted burial chamber reached by a flight of steps from an entrance passage that led into the tomb from the north. A vaulted offering chamber was reached from the top of the stairs, directly above the burial chamber below. Discovered in 1993, the complex process of research in both chambers of the Margarita Tomb has spanned a total of seven field seasons (1994-2000). The upper offering chamber was recorded and excavated first beginning in 1994. This work drew to a close in 1997 when conservators Lynn Grant and Harriet Beaubien removed the final perishable items, including well preserved basketry. By this time much of the effort had shifted to the burial chamber. As in the case of the Hunal Tomb, each stage of this process was planned by Robert Sharer and David Sedat and carried out by a team of excavators, conservators, and other specialists.

The broken burial slab in the Margarita Tomb was cleared of the fallen debris by Christopher Powell during the 1996 season. The burial slab apparently had been broken by an earthquake into two major and several smaller fragments. In 1997 the offerings and bones on the northern slab fragment, representing the lower portion of the buried woman, were recorded, conserved, and removed to the field laboratory. The procedures were much the same as used in the Hunal Tomb, including the use of digital photography. The careful recording and removal of the materials on the burial slab was conducted by Ellen Bell and David Sedat, the latter also recording the process by conventional photography. Conservation consultants were Lynn Grant and Harriet Beaubien. The transport of artifacts to the field laboratory was conducted by staff of IHAH according to established procedures. All human bone material was secured in containers in an adjacent tunnel storage area to prevent damage caused by changes in temperature and humidity. In both 1998 and 2000 Dr. Jane Buikstra studied the Margarita bones as part of her bioanthropological investigation of human skeletal remains at Copan.

During the 1998 field season the remains on the southern slab fragment, corresponding to the upper portion of the buried woman, were likewise recorded, conserved, and removed. In this effort, Ellen Bell and David Sedat were assisted by Christian Wells. Lynn Grant continued in her role as professional conservator for this investigation. Unfortunately, however, the research process was interrupted by the tragic robbery of the final portion of the southern slab deposit by thieves who broke into the tomb during the night of February 27, 1998. The looting in the Margarita Tomb not only resulted in the loss of a variety of offerings from the upper body area, it destroyed the vital contextual record of these materials. Work in the burial chamber had to be suspended for the remainder of the 1998 field season because of the criminal investigation and security concerns created by this robbery.

Early in the 1999 season Bill Casselman engineering skills again were put to good use as he was able to remove several of the large broken fragments of the burial slab to provide access to the tomb floor. This allowed the floor area to be cleared of superficial debris and the first recording and removal of pottery vessels. This process revealed many small displaced objects such as bits of jade beads, mosaic fragments, and the scattered remains of several painted organic objects. The complexity of the task meant that the process had to be continued into the 2000 field season. The completion of the recording and removal of the floor offerings was accomplished during this final season by a team composed of Ellen Bell, Marcello Canuto, Lynn Grant, and David Sedat..

The Margarita Tomb investigation revealed that most of the bones composing the upper portion of the body remained intact and articulated, despite the severe disturbances that had caused the breakage of the burial slab. The bones on both the northern and southern slab fragments rested on a layer of red pigment composed mostly of cinnabar, beneath which were the remains of a mat or textile that covered the stone slab itself. Most of the artifacts on the southern slab fragment were part of four composite objects, a decorated burial garment, two jade necklaces, and an elaborate collar of jade and shell. The remains of the burial garment were adorned with 28 jade beads, two jade earflares, two bird beaks (also probably bird feathers), and a pyrite object (probably a mirror). These remains were found beneath and around the pelvic bones, associated with two marine shells found on the upper surface of the pelvis. One of the jade necklaces contained 20 large irregular jade beads in three strands. The other was composed of some 30 jade plates in three layers. The collar was composed of a complex array of jade and shell beads and some 10 large carved jade figures. All of these artifacts were recorded except for the majority of the items in the jade and shell collar, which were stolen during the tomb robbery.

The clearing of materials on the tomb floor revealed some critical evidence bearing on the sequence of events in the tomb after the burial of the royal lady. The careful recording of fallen fragments of the burial slab shows that its breakage occurred before the tomb was entered for the deposition of cinnabar pigment that was placed and painted on the bones. The tomb floor also yielded the remains of several extraordinary objects. A stack of two badly disintegrated painted pyrite mirrors required the conservation skills of Lynn Grant, but her efforts succeeded in the recovery of significant portions of the delicate painted decorations on these objects. In the latter portion of the 2000 season the final investigations were probes beneath the tomb floor that revealed the remains of an earlier chamber that was demolished and incorporated into the construction of the Margarita burial chamber.

Although the excavations have been completed, ECAP's research continues. Over the past few field seasons, even as excavations were ending, work increased to document, conserve, and analyze all recovered archaeological materials. These activities are planned to continue over the remainder of ECAP's current five-year convenio with the IHAH (until 2003).  

Documentation

All the evidence recovered from the ECAP tunnels has been recorded on a computerized data base which guides the processing, analysis, and interpretation of data already well underway. This work is supervised by Ellen Bell and carried out in the ECAP field laboratory. Ellen tracks each artifact, ecofact, and architectural sample on a computerized data base (Filemaker Pro), and catalogues all artifacts from primary contexts using a detailed record that is integrated into the computerized data base. She is also supervising the preparation of scaled drawings of each artifact, rendered in both pencil and ink). Ellen also works with ECAP's volunteer photographer, Eleanor Coates, to complete the recording of each artifact by conventional photography using both color and black and white film, and digital imagery. This documentation process began in 1997 and has continued through the 2000 season.  

Architectural Conservation

The vital work of conserving the architecture of Early Classic Copan uncovered by ECAP's excavations will also continue over the next few years. This preservation effort, involves both the consolidation of major ECAP tunnels and the conservation of the architecture exposed by these excavations. This work is coordinated with IHAH to comply with long term site preservation policies. The tunnel consolidation effort follows a master plan adopted in 1996. In addition, exposed Early Classic buildings require monitoring and periodic conservation of their plaster facades. The disastrous rains from Hurricane Mitch in 1998 also required an unanticipated response from ECAP. An estimated four feet of rain fell on Copan during this storm, causing water infiltration and collapse in one of ECAP's main tunnels immediate east of Margarita structure. Extra labor crews were hired in 1999 to repair this damage and to seal the source of this water infiltration. It is expected that both the monitoring and consolidation effort will continue over the remainder of the term of ECAP's convenio.  

Artifact Conservation

Over the past five seasons ECAP has benefited from the work of two professional conservators, Lynn Grant (University of Pennsylvania Museum) and Harriet Beaubien (Smithsonian Institution). Most of this concerted conservation effort has been devoted to the exposing and treating of delicate excavated objects in the two early royal tombs (Hunal and Margarita), both to prepare for their removal and their transport to the ECAP field lab. Just as vital is the other aspect of conservation work involving the cleaning and conservation of recovered objects in the field laboratory. With the completion of the excavations the field phase of the conservation effort has ended. But the laboratory needs remain, and fortunately Lynn Grant's participation will continue for at least one more season (2001) funded by the University of Pennsylvania Museum.  

Analyses

Since 1998 ECAP has sponsored a series of technical analyses for all categories of archaeological materials. This work includes the identification and sources of construction materials and architecture, bioanthropological studies, the analyses of pottery, obsidian, and other artifacts, the identification of plant and animal remains. These analyses are being carried out by a variety of different specialists and US-based laboratory facilities. , Although most of these studies are ongoing, initial results from some analyses are beginning to appear. We expect to prepare a summary report describing some of the most important of these results and make this available on this web page in the near future.  

ECAP's research is made possible by the Instituto de Hondureño de Antropologia e Historia, Dra. Olga Joya S., Gerente, Licda. Carmen Julia Fajardo (Jefe, Depto. de Investigación Arqueológica), and Prof. Oscar Cruz M. (Jefe, Región Nor-Occidental del IHAH). Research funds have been provided by the University of Pennsylvania Museum (Boyer and Shoemaker Chair Research Funds), The National Science Foundation, the Selz Foundation, the Kislak Foundation, the Maya Workshop Foundation, and several private donors. Research grants from the National Geographic Society have been especially vital in supporting the investigation of both the Hunal and Margarita tombs. And research grants from the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. have been instrumental in supporting the conservation, documentation, and analysis phase of ECAP research.