Landmark North America
Copán
Copán is an old Maya city in Honduras. Its people carved tall stones with faces and patterns, and wrote with picture signs called glyphs!
Copán is the ruins of a Maya city in the Copan Valley of Honduras. It grew into one of the great Maya cities between about AD 300 and 900, and it is known for its carved stone monuments called stelae and a giant stairway covered in writing.
The Maya Site of Copan in western Honduras was the political and cultural center of the Copan Valley and of a wider region in the south-east of the Maya area. A dynasty of 16 rulers founded in AD 427 made it one of the greatest Maya cities of the Classic period (AD 300–900), and its Hieroglyphic Stairway carries what UNESCO calls the longest known Maya inscription. It became a World Heritage Site in 1980.
Photo: Nosferattus, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Copán
Copán is in Honduras, a country in Central America. Long ago, it was a great Maya city.
Today you can visit its old stone plazas, stairways and carvings.
Copán lies in the Copan Valley in Honduras. Long ago it was the center of the valley and of a larger area in the south-east of the Maya lands.
Today the ruins are a main group of buildings with smaller groups around it. The main group has a raised area called the Acropolis and several large plazas, with temples, stairways and ball courts.
UNESCO describes Copán as the political, civil and cultural center of the Copan Valley and the cultural focus of a larger territory in the south-east of the Maya area. The ruins form a main complex, the Acropolis and important plazas, with secondary complexes around it.
UNESCO counts the site among the most spectacular achievements of the Classic Maya because of the number, elaboration and size of its buildings and sculptures. The key monuments lie within the Copan Archaeological Park, about 84.7 ha.
- Where
- Copan Valley, Honduras
- Great period
- Classic period, AD 300–900
- Archaeological park
- about 84.7 ha
- World Heritage
- inscribed 1980
A city of sixteen rulers
People lived in this valley a very long time ago.
Later, a line of 16 rulers made Copán a great city.
The first signs of people in the Copan Valley go back to about 1500 BC. Maya-Cholan people from the highlands of Guatemala arrived around AD 100.
In AD 427 a leader named Yax Kuk Mo arrived and began a line of 16 rulers. Under them, Copán became one of the greatest Maya cities. The city was left empty in the early 900s.
UNESCO dates the first evidence of people in the valley to 1500 BC and the first Maya-Cholan arrivals from the Guatemalan Highlands to around AD 100. The leader Yax Kuk Mo, coming from the area of Tikal, reached the valley in AD 427 and founded a dynasty of 16 rulers.
The city's great period came in the Classic period, AD 300–900, with achievements in mathematics, astronomy and hieroglyphic writing. The ruins show three main stages of building, and the city was abandoned in the early 10th century. UNESCO says the site was discovered in 1570 by Diego García de Palacio.
Plazas, stairways and ball courts
Copán has big open squares called plazas.
One stairway is covered with carved writing, and another has carved jaguars!
Copán's builders made temples, plazas, altars and ball courts. The Ceremonial Plaza has many richly carved stone monuments and altars.
The Hieroglyphic Stairway is covered with more than 1,800 carved signs called glyphs. UNESCO calls it the longest known Maya inscription. Another stairway is carved with figures of jaguars.
UNESCO names five plazas in the main complex. The Ceremonial Plaza has what UNESCO calls an impressive stadium, opening onto a mound with many richly sculptured monoliths and altars; the Hieroglyphic Stairway Plaza ends in a monumental stairway whose risers carry more than 1,800 individual glyphs, the longest known Maya inscription.
The Eastern Plaza rises well above the valley floor; on its western side is a stairway sculptured with jaguars that were once inlaid with black obsidian.
Stelae: carved stone giants
A stela is a tall stone with carvings all over it.
Copán has many stelae, carved with figures, patterns and writing.
A stela is a tall stone slab carved with pictures and writing. UNESCO says Copán's stelae and altars make up one of the most beautiful groups of sculptures in the region.
To protect them, a few of the original monuments have been moved into the Sculpture Museum since 1997, and copies now stand in their places.
UNESCO says the stelae and altars of the plaza form one of the most beautiful sculpture ensembles in the region. Since 1980, restoration has followed international standards, and since 1997 a few original monuments have been moved to the Sculpture Museum for their preservation and replaced on site by replicas.
The lengthy inscription of the Hieroglyphic Stairway, UNESCO adds, is of considerable historic significance for the site and for a wider cultural area.
- Hieroglyphic Stairway
- more than 1,800 glyphs
- Rulers
- a dynasty of 16, from AD 427
- Replicas
- some originals moved to the Sculpture Museum since 1997
Stela B
In this photo, a tall carved stone stands under a little roof. Can you find the carved face?
This photo, taken on 4 February 2023, shows Stela B, a tall stone covered from top to bottom with carvings. Near the middle is a carved face under a large headdress, and the arms are bent across the chest.
A small roof on metal posts shelters the stela, and a letter B is cut into its stone base.
The photograph (4 February 2023, by Nosferattus, released into the public domain) shows Stela B on its stone platform beneath a metal shelter: a carved figure with a tall, elaborate headdress and arms folded across the chest, framed by dense relief carving, with the letter B on the base and a low stone ruin and forest behind.
Amazing facts
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One stairway at Copán is covered with more than 1,800 picture signs!
The Hieroglyphic Stairway carries more than 1,800 glyphs, which UNESCO calls the longest known Maya inscription.
More than 1,800 individual glyphs on the risers of the Hieroglyphic Stairway form the longest known Mayan inscription, according to UNESCO.
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Carved jaguars once had shiny black stone set into them!
A stairway on the Eastern Plaza is carved with jaguars that were once inlaid with black obsidian, a glassy volcanic stone.
On the western side of the Eastern Plaza, a stairway is sculptured with jaguar figures originally inlaid with black obsidian.
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Some of the carved stones you see are careful copies!
Since 1997, a few original monuments have been moved into the Sculpture Museum to protect them, and copies stand in their places.
Since 1997, a few original monuments have been transferred to the Sculpture Museum for conservation and replaced on site by replicas.
Words to know
- Maya
- a people of Central America and southern Mexico whose ancient cities had stone temples and writing
- stela
- a tall stone slab carved with pictures or writing (more than one are stelae)
- glyph
- a carved or drawn sign used in writing
- plaza
- a large open square in a town or city
- obsidian
- a dark, glassy rock made when lava cools quickly
- replica
- a careful copy of an object
Discovery challenge
-
Which people built Copán?
Which ancient people built the city of Copán?
Copán is one of the great cities of which Classic-period civilization?
- The Maya
- The Vikings
- The Romans
Show the answer
The Maya
The Maya!
The Maya.
The Classic Maya.
-
What is a tall carved stone at Copán called?
What do we call a tall stone slab carved with pictures and writing?
What kind of monument, grouped with altars in the plaza, forms one of the region's most beautiful sculpture ensembles?
- A stela
- A pyramid
- A totem
Show the answer
A stela
A stela!
A stela (more than one are stelae).
Stelae.
-
Which country is Copán in?
In which country is the Copan Valley?
In which Central American country is the Maya Site of Copan?
- Honduras
- Chile
- Spain
Show the answer
Honduras
Honduras!
Honduras.
Honduras.
-
How many rulers were in Copán's royal line?
How many rulers were in the line that began in AD 427?
How many rulers made up the dynasty founded by Yax Kuk Mo?
- 16
- 3
- 100
Show the answer
16
Sixteen rulers!
Sixteen.
Sixteen.
-
What covers the Hieroglyphic Stairway?
What covers the steps of the Hieroglyphic Stairway?
What do the risers of the Hieroglyphic Stairway carry?
- Carved writing
- Gold paint
- Moss only
Show the answer
Carved writing
Carved picture writing!
More than 1,800 carved glyphs.
More than 1,800 individual glyphs.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain what a stela is and how the Maya used carving and glyphs to record information.
- Describe the parts of a Maya city: plazas, temples, altars, stairways and ball courts.
- Talk about why museums sometimes protect originals and put replicas outside.
Recommended ages: 4 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- The Maya wrote with glyphs. How is picture writing different from the letters we use?
- Why might people carve important records into stone instead of writing them on paper?
- Some stelae at Copán are copies. Is it still worth seeing a copy? Why?
Try at home or in class
- Invent your own glyphs for five words and write a short message with them.
- Carve a mini stela from a bar of soap or a block of clay with a face and patterns.
Key vocabulary: Maya, stela, glyph, plaza, obsidian, replica
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Maya Site of Copan (World Heritage List) , UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- File:Copán Stela B.jpg , Wikimedia Commons
- UNESCO World Heritage List , UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Linked as a reference; site facts come from Wikidata)
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.