Editing Copán (section)

==History==
Little is known of the rulers of Copán before the founding of a new dynasty with its origins at [[Tikal]] in the early 5th&nbsp;century AD, although the city's origins can be traced back to the Preclassic period.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 333; Martin & Grube 2000, p. 193">{{harvnb|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=333}}; {{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=193}}.</ref> After this, Copán became one of the more powerful Maya city states and was a regional power in the southern Maya region.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 339"/>  However, it suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of its former vassal state [[Quirigua]] in 738, when the long-ruling king [[Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil]] was captured and beheaded by Quirigua's ruler [[K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat]] (Cauac Sky).{{sfn|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=482}} Although this was a major setback, Copán's rulers began to build monumental structures again within a few decades.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, pp. 206–207"/>

The area of Copán continued to be occupied after the last major ceremonial structures and royal monuments were erected, but the population declined in the 8th and 9th&nbsp;centuries from perhaps over 20,000 in the city to less than 5,000.  This decrease in population took over four centuries to actually show signs of collapse, showing the stability of this site even after the fall of the ruling dynasties and royal families.{{sfn|Snow|2010|p=267}} The ceremonial center was long abandoned and the surrounding valley home to only a few farming hamlets at the time of the arrival of the [[Spain|Spanish]] in the 16th&nbsp;century.

===Rulers===
{{Main|List of rulers of Copán}}
References to the predynastic rulers of Copán are found in later texts, but none of these texts predate the refounding of Copán in AD&nbsp;426.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 333">{{harvnb|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=333}}.</ref>
[[File:Copan St H.jpg|thumb|right|Stela H at Copán, commissioned by Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 203">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=203}}.</ref>]]
{|class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
!Name (or nickname) !!Ruled !!Dynastic<br />succession no. !!Alternative names
|-
|[[K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo']]
|426 – {{Circa|437}}
|1
|Great-Sun First Quetzal Macaw
|-
|[[K'inich Popol Hol]]
|{{Circa|437}}
|2
|Great-Sun
|-
|name unknown
|{{Circa|455}}
|3
|[[Ruler 3 (Copán)|Ruler 3]]
|-
|[[Ku Ix]]
|{{Circa|465}}
|4
|K'altuun Hix, Tuun K'ab' Hix
|-
|name unknown
|{{Circa|476}}
|5
|[[Ruler 5 (Copán)|Ruler 5]]
|-
|[[Muyal Jol]]
|{{Circa|485}}
|6
|Ruler 6
|-
|[[B'alam Nehn]]
|504–544
|7
|Jaguar Mirror; Waterlily-Jaguar
|-
|[[Wil Ohl K'inich]]{{sfn|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=336}}
|532–551
|8
|Ruler 8; Head on Earth
|-
|[[Sak-Lu]]
|551–553
|9
|Ruler 9
|-
|[[Tzi-B'alam]]
|553–578
|10
|Moon Jaguar
|-
|[[K'ak' Chan Yopaat]]{{sfn|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=337}}
|578–628
|11
|B'utz' Chan; Smoke Serpent
|-
|[[Chan Imix K'awiil]]
|628–695
|12
|Smoke Jaguar; Smoke Imix
|-
|[[Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil]]
|695–738
|13
|18 Rabbit
|-
|[[Ajaw K'ak' Joplaj Chan K'awiil]]
|738–749
|14
|Smoke Monkey
|-
|[[Ajaw K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil]]
|749–763
|15
|Smoke Shell; Smoke Squirrel
|-
|[[Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat]]
|763 – after 810
|16
|Yax Pac
|-
|[[Ukit Took]]
|822
|17?
|–
|}

===Predynastic history===
The fertile Copán River valley was long a site of agriculture before the first known stone architecture was built in the region about the 9th&nbsp;century BC. The city was important before its refounding by a foreign elite; mentions of the predynastic history of Copán are found in later texts, but none of these predates the refounding of the city in AD&nbsp;426.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 333; Martin & Grube 2000, p. 193"/> There is an inscription that refers to the year 321&nbsp;BC, but no text explains the significance of this date.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 193">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=193}}.</ref> An event at Copán is linked to another event that happened 208&nbsp;days before in AD&nbsp;159 at an unknown location that is also mentioned on a stela from Tikal, suggesting that it is a location somewhere in the Petén Basin, possibly the great Preclassic Maya city of [[El Mirador]].<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 333"/> This AD&nbsp;159 date is mentioned in several texts and is linked to a figure known as "Foliated [[Ajaw]]". This same person is mentioned on the carved skull of a [[peccary]] recovered from Tomb&nbsp;1, where he is said to perform an action with a stela in AD&nbsp;376.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 193"/>

===K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' and K'inich Popol Hol===
[[File:Yax Kuk Mo.jpg|thumb|left|Ceramic lid shaped to represent K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', recovered from the tomb of the 7th-century king Smoke Imix, under Temple&nbsp;26<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 202">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=202}}.</ref>]]
The city was refounded by [[K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo']], establishing it as the capital of a new Maya kingdom.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 339"/> This coup was apparently organized and launched from Tikal. Texts record the arrival of a warrior named K'uk' Mo' Ajaw who was installed upon the throne of the city in AD&nbsp;426 and given a new royal name, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' and the ''ochk'in kaloomte'' "Lord of the West" title used a generation earlier by [[Siyaj K'ak']], a general from the great metropolis of [[Teotihuacan]] who had decisively intervened in the politics of the central Petén.{{sfn|Sharer|Traxler|2006|pp=322, 333–338}} K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' was probably from Tikal and was likely to have been sponsored by Siyaj Chan K'awill&nbsp;II, the 16th&nbsp;ruler in the dynastic succession of Tikal. K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' may have legitimized his claim to rulership by marrying into the old Copán royal family, evidenced from the remains of his presumed widow. Bone analysis of her remains indicates that she was local to Copán.<ref>{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=196}}; {{harvnb|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=338}}.</ref> After the establishment of the new kingdom of Copán, the city remained closely allied with Tikal.{{sfn|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=338}} The hieroglyphic text on [[Copán Altar Q]] describes the lord being elevated to kingship with the receipt of his royal scepter. The ceremonies involved in the founding of the Copán dynasty also included the installation of a subordinate king at [[Quiriguá]].{{sfn|Martin|Grube|2000|p=192}}

A text from Tikal mentions K'uk' Mo' and has been dated to AD&nbsp;406, 20 years before K'uk' Mo' Ajaw founded the new dynasty at Copán. Both names are likely to refer to the same individual originally from Tikal. Although none of the hieroglyphic texts that mention the founding of the new Copán dynasty describe how K'uk' Mo' arrived at the city, indirect evidence suggests that he conquered the city by military means. On Altar&nbsp;Q he is depicted as a Teotihuacano warrior with goggle eyes and a war serpent shield.{{sfn|Sharer|Traxler|2006|pp=338, 341–342}} When he arrived at Copán he initiated the construction of various structures, including one temple in the [[talud-tablero]] style typical of Teotihuacan and another with inset corners and apron moldings that are characteristic of Tikal. These strong links with both the Maya and Central Mexican cultures suggest that he was at least a Mexicanized Maya or possibly even from Teotihuacan.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 193"/> The dynasty founded by king K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' ruled the city for four centuries and included sixteen kings plus a probable pretender who would have been seventeenth in line. Several monuments have survived that were dedicated by K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' and by his heir.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 342">{{harvnb|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=342}}.</ref>

K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' died between AD&nbsp;435 and AD&nbsp;437. In 1995 a tomb underneath the talud-tablero Hunal temple was discovered by a team of archaeologists led by [[Robert Sharer]] and David Sedat. The tomb contained the skeleton of an elderly man with rich offerings and evidence of battle wounds. The remains have been identified as those of K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' due to their location underneath a sequence of seven buildings erected in his honor. Bone analysis has identified the remains as being those of someone foreign to Copán.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 193"/>

[[File:Copán Stela 63.jpg|thumb|right|Stela 63, probably dating to the reign of K'inich Popol Hol{{sfn|Sharer|Sedat|2005|pp=174–175}}]]
K'inich Popol Hol inherited the throne of Copán from K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', who was his father. He undertook major construction projects with the redesign of the core of Copán. Popol Hol is not the original name of this king but rather a nickname based on the appearance of his Teotihuacan-linked name glyph.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 194">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=194}}.</ref> K'inich Popol Hol oversaw the construction of the first version of the [[Mesoamerican ballcourt]] at the city, which was decorated with images of the [[scarlet macaw]], a bird that features prominently in [[Maya mythology]]. His greatest construction activity was in the area of his father's palace, now underlying Structure 10L-16, which he demolished after entombing his father there. He then built three successive buildings on top of the tomb in rapid succession.{{sfn|Martin|Grube|2000|p=195}}

===Other early dynastic rulers===
Very little is known about Rulers 3 to 6 in the dynastic succession, although it is known from a fragment of a broken monument reused as construction fill in a later building that one of them was a son of Popol Hol. Ruler&nbsp;3 is depicted on the 8th-century Altar&nbsp;Q, but his name glyph has broken away. Ku&nbsp;Ix was the 4th&nbsp;ruler in the succession. He rebuilt temple 10L-26 in the Acropolis, erecting a stela there and a hieroglyphic step at its base. Although this king is also mentioned on a few other fragments of sculpture, no dates accompany his name. The next two kings in the dynastic sequence are only known from their sculptures on Altar&nbsp;Q.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 196">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=196}}.</ref>

B'alam Nehn (often referred to as Waterlily Jaguar) was the first king to actually record his position in the dynastic succession, declaring that he was seventh in line from K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo'. Stela&nbsp;15 records that he was already ruling Copán by AD&nbsp;504. B'alam Nehn is the only king of Copán to be mentioned in a hieroglyphic text from outside of the southeastern Maya region. His name appears in a text on Stela&nbsp;16 from [[Caracol]], a site in [[Belize]]. The stela dates to AD&nbsp;534, but the text is not well understood. B'alam Nehn undertook major construction projects in the Acropolis, building over an early palace with a number of important structures.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 197">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000| p=197}}.</ref>

Wil Ohl K'inich, the eighth ruler, is another king known only by his appearance on Altar&nbsp;Q.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 197"/> He was succeeded by Ruler&nbsp;9 in AD&nbsp;551, his accession being described on the Hieroglyphic Stairway. He is also depicted on Altar&nbsp;Q even though he ruled for less than two years.<ref>{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=197–198}}; {{harvnb|Sharer|Traxler|2006|p=336}}.</ref>

{{Maya civilization}}
The 10th ruler is nicknamed Moon Jaguar by Mayanists. He was a son of B'alam Nehn, the 7th&nbsp;ruler. He was enthroned in May&nbsp;553. His surviving monuments were found in the modern village of Copán Ruinas, which was a major complex during the Classic period. The most famous construction dating to his reign is the elaborate Rosalila phase of Temple&nbsp;16, discovered entombed intact under later phases of the temple during archaeological tunneling work.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, pp. 198–199">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=198–199}}</ref>

===K'ak' Chan Yopaat and Smoke Imix===
K'ak' Chan Yopaat was the eleventh dynastic ruler at Copán. He was crowned as king in AD&nbsp;578, 24&nbsp;days after the death of Moon Jaguar. At the time of his rule, Copán was undergoing an unprecedented rise in population, with residential land use spreading to all available land in the entire Copán Valley. The two surviving stelae of K'ak' Chan Yopaat contain long, hard-to-decipher hieroglyphic texts and are the oldest monuments at the site to survive without being either broken or buried. He reigned for 49&nbsp;years until his death on 5&nbsp;February 628. His name is recorded on four stelae erected by his successors, one of which describes a rite performed with relics from his tomb in AD&nbsp;730, almost a hundred years after his death.{{sfn|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=200–201}}

Smoke Imix was crowned 16 days after the death of K'ak' Chan Yopaat. He is thought to have been the longest reigning king of Copán, ruling from 628 to 695. He is believed to have been born in AD&nbsp;612 and to have become king at the age of 15. Archaeologists have recovered little evidence of activity for the first 26&nbsp;years of his reign, but in AD&nbsp;652 there was a sudden explosion of monument production, with two stelae being erected in the Great Plaza and a further four in important locations across the Copán Valley. These monuments all celebrated a [[k'atun]]-ending. He also erected a stela at the [[Santa Rita, Copán|Santa Rita]] site {{convert|12|km|mi|sp=us}} away and is mentioned on Altar&nbsp;L at Quiriguá in relation to the same event in 652. It is thought that he was trying to stamp his authority throughout the whole valley after the end of some earlier restriction to his freedom to rule as he wished.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 201">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=201}}.</ref>

After this sudden spate of activity, Smoke Imix continued to rule until almost the end of the 7th&nbsp;century; he dedicated another nine known monuments and made important changes to the architecture of Copán, including the construction of Structure&nbsp;2, which closes the northern side of the Great Plaza, and a new version of Temple&nbsp;26, nicknamed Chorcha. Smoke Imix ruled Copán for 67&nbsp;years and died on 15&nbsp;June 695 at the age of 79, an age that was so distinguished that it is used to identify him in place of his name on Altar&nbsp;Q. His tomb had already been prepared in the Chorcha phase of Temple&nbsp;26 and he was buried just two days after his death.{{sfn|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=202–203}}

===Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil===
[[File:Copan (3831024263).jpg|thumb|left|Stela H, depicting king Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil]]
[[Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil]] was crowned as the 13th&nbsp;king in the Copán dynasty in July&nbsp;695. He oversaw both the apogee of Copán's achievements and also one of the city's most catastrophic political disasters. During his reign, the sculptural style of the city evolved into the full in-the-round sculpture characteristic of Copán. In AD&nbsp;718, Copán attacked and defeated the unidentified site of Xkuy, recording its burning on an unusual stone cylinder. In AD&nbsp;724 Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil installed [[K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat]] as a [[vassal]] on the throne of [[Quiriguá]]. Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil was confident enough in his power to rank his city among the four most powerful states in the Maya region, together with Tikal, [[Calakmul]] and [[Palenque]], as recorded on Stela&nbsp;A. In contrast to his predecessor, Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil concentrated his monuments in the site core of the Copán; his first was Stela&nbsp;J, dated to AD&nbsp;702 and erected at the eastern entrance to the city.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 203"/>

He continued to erect a further seven high-quality stelae until AD&nbsp;736, monuments that are considered masterpieces of Classic Maya sculpture with such mastery of detail that they represent the highest pinnacle of Maya artistic achievement.{{sfn|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=203–204}} The stelae depict king Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil ritually posed and bearing the attributes of a variety of deities, including B'olon K'awiil, K'uy Nik Ajaw and Mo' Witz Ajaw.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 203"/> The king also carried out major construction works, including a new version of Temple&nbsp;26 that now bore the first version of the Hieroglyphic Stairway, plus two temples that have now been lost to the erosion of the Copán River. He also encased the Rosalila phase of Temple&nbsp;16 within a new phase of construction. He remodelled the ballcourt, then demolished it and built a new one in its place.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, pp. 204–205">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=204–205}}.</ref>

Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil had only recently dedicated the new ballcourt in AD&nbsp;738 when a completely unexpected disaster befell the city. Twelve years earlier he had installed K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat on the throne of Quiriguá as his vassal.{{sfn|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=203, 205}} By 734 the king of Quiriguá had shown he was no longer an obedient subordinate when he began to refer to himself as ''k'ul [[ajaw]]'', "holy lord", rather than simply as a subordinate lord ''ajaw''.{{sfn|Drew|1999| p=241}} K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat appears to have taken advantage of wider political rivalries and allied himself with [[Calakmul]], the sworn enemy of Tikal. Copán was firmly allied with Tikal and Calakmul used its alliance with Quiriguá to undermine Tikal's key ally in the south.{{sfn|Looper|2003|p=79}}

Although the exact details are unknown, in April&nbsp;738 K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat captured Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil and burned two of Copán's patron deities. Six days later Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil was decapitated in Quiriguá.<ref>{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=204}}; {{harvnb|Looper|2003|p=76}}; {{harvnb|Miller|1999|pp=134–135}}.</ref> This coup does not seem to have physically affected either Copán or Quiriguá; there is no evidence that either city was attacked at this time and the victor seems not to have received any detectable tribute.<ref>{{harvnb|Drew|1999|p=286}}; {{harvnb|Looper|2003|p=78}}.</ref> All of this seems to imply that K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat managed to somehow ambush Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil, rather than to have defeated him in outright battle. It has been suggested that Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil was attempting to attack another site to secure captives for [[Sacrifice in Maya culture|sacrifice]] in order to dedicate the new ballcourt when he was ambushed by K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat and his Quiriguá warriors.{{sfn|Looper|2003|p=78}}

In the Late Classic, alliance with Calakmul was frequently associated with the promise of military support. The fact that Copán, a much more powerful city than Quiriguá, failed to retaliate against its former vassal implies that it feared the military intervention of Calakmul. Calakmul was far enough away from Quiriguá that K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat was not afraid of falling directly under its power as a full vassal state, even though it is likely that Calakmul sent warriors to help in the defeat of Copán. The alliance instead seems to have been one of mutual advantage: Calakmul managed to weaken a powerful ally of Tikal while Quiriguá gained its independence.<ref>{{harvnb|Looper|1999|p=271}}; {{harvnb|Looper|2003|p=81}}.</ref> The disaster for Copán had long-lasting consequences; major construction ceased and no new monuments were raised for the next 17&nbsp;years.{{sfn|Martin|Grube|2000|p=206}}

===Later rulers===
K'ak' Joplaj Chan K'awiil was installed as the 14th dynastic ruler of Copán on 7&nbsp;June 738, 39&nbsp;days after the execution of Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil. Little is known of his reign due to the lack of monuments raised after Quiriguá's surprise victory. Copán's defeat had wider implications due to the fracturing of the city's domain and the loss of the key [[Motagua River]] [[Trade in Maya civilization|trade route]] to Quiriguá. The fall in Copán's income and corresponding increase at Quiriguá is evident from the massive commissioning of new monuments and architecture at the latter city, and Copán may even have been subject to its former vassal. K'ak' Joplaj Chan K'awiil died in January&nbsp;749.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, pp. 206–207"/>

[[File:Copán Stela N.jpg|thumb|left|Stela N, depicting K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 208">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=208}}.</ref>]]
The next ruler was K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil, a son of K'ak' Joplaj Chan K'awiil. The early period of his rulership fell within Copán's hiatus, but later on he began a programme of renewal in an effort to recover from the city's earlier disaster. He built a new version of Temple&nbsp;26, with the Hieroglyphic Stairway being reinstalled on the new stairway and doubled in length. Five life-size statues of seated rulers were installed seated upon the stairway. K'ak' Yipyaj Chan K'awiil died in the early 760s and is likely to have been interred in Temple&nbsp;11, although the tomb has not yet been excavated.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, pp. 207–208">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|pp=207–208}}.</ref>

Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat was the next ruler, 16th in the dynasty founded by K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', although he appears not to have been a direct descendant of his predecessor. He took the throne in June&nbsp;763 and may have been only 9&nbsp;years old.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 209"/> He produced no monumental stelae and instead dedicated hieroglyphic texts incorporated into the city's architecture and smaller altars. Texts make an obscure reference to his father but his mother was a noblewoman from distant [[Palenque]] in Mexico. He built the platform of Temple&nbsp;11 over the tomb of the previous king in AD&nbsp;769 and added a two-storey superstructure that was finished in AD&nbsp;773.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 209"/> Around AD&nbsp;776, he completed the final version of Temple&nbsp;16 over the tomb of the founder. At the base of the temple, he placed the famous Altar&nbsp;Q, which shows each of the 16&nbsp;rulers of the city from K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' through to Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, with a hieroglyphic text on top describing the founding of the dynasty.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 210">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=210}}.</ref> By the latter 8th&nbsp;century, the nobility had become more powerful, raising palaces with hieroglyphic benches that were as richly constructed as those of the king. At the same time, local satellites were displaying their own local power, as demonstrated by the ruler of Los Higos erecting his own stela in AD&nbsp;781.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 210"/> Towards the end of Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat's reign, the city of Copán was struggling with overpopulation and a lack of local resources, with a distinct fall in living standards among the populace.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 210"/> Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat was able to celebrate his second K'atun in AD&nbsp;802 with his own monument, but the king's participation in the K'atun ending ceremony of AD&nbsp;810 was marked at Quiriguá, not at Copán.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 210"/> By this time the city's population was over 20,000 and it had long needed to import basic necessities from outside.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 211">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=211}}.</ref>

The troubled times enveloping Copán at this time are evident from the funerary tomb of Yax Pasaj Chan Yopaat, which bears sculptures of the king performing war dances with spear and shield in hand. The sculpted column from the temple shrine has a hieroglyphic text reading "toppling of the Foundation House" that may refer to the fall of the Copán dynasty.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 212">{{harvnb|Martin|Grube|2000|p=212}}.</ref> Shortage and disease afflicted the massively overpopulated valley of Copán when its last known king, Ukit&nbsp;Took', came to the throne on 6&nbsp;February 822. He commissioned Altar&nbsp;L in the style of Altar&nbsp;Q but the monument was never finished—one face shows the enthronement of the king and a second face was started but two others were completely blank. The long line of kings at the once great city had come to an end. Before the end, even the nobility had been struck by disease, perhaps because epidemics among the malnourished masses spread to the elite. With the end of political authority at the city the population collapsed to a fraction of what it had been at its height.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 212"/> This collapse of the city-state, which people believe occurred sometime between 800 and 830 AD, was sudden. However, the population continued to persist and even flourish between the years 750 and 900 AD, and then gradually declined soon thereafter.{{sfn|Snow|2010|p=168}}  In the Postclassic period the valley was occupied by villagers who stole the stone from the monumental architecture of the city in order to build their simple house platforms.<ref name="Martin & Grube 2000, p. 212"/>

===Modern history===
[[File:Head, Structure 20, Copan, Honduras - Meso-American collection - Peabody Museum, Harvard University - DSC05659.JPG|thumb|upright|A head from the Structure 10L-20 that currently is at the Peabody Museum of Harvard University]]
The first post-Spanish conquest mention of Copán was in an early colonial period letter dated 8 March 1576. The letter was written by Diego García de Palacio, a member of the [[Royal Audiencia of Guatemala|Royal Audience of Guatemala]], to king [[Philip II of Spain]].{{sfn|Kelly|1996|p=277}} French explorer [[Jean-Frédéric Waldeck]] visited the site in the early 19th century and spent a month there drawing the ruins.{{sfn|Kelly|1996|p=278}} Colonel [[Juan Galindo]] led an expedition to the ruins in 1834 on behalf of the government of Guatemala and wrote articles about the site for English, French and North American publications.{{sfn|Kelly|1996|p=278}} [[John Lloyd Stephens]] and [[Frederick Catherwood]] visited Copán and included a description, map and detailed drawings in Stephens' ''Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán'', published in 1841.{{sfn|Kelly|1996|p=278}} The site was later visited by British archaeologist [[Alfred Maudslay]].{{sfn|Kelly|1996|p=278}} Several expeditions sponsored by the [[Peabody Museum of Harvard University]] worked at Copán during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,{{sfn|Kelly|1996|pp=278–279}} including the 1892–1893 excavation of the Hieroglyphic Stairway by [[John G. Owens]] and [[George Byron Gordon (archaeologist)|George Byron Gordon]].{{sfn|Pezzati|2012|p=5}} The Carnegie Institution also sponsored work at the site in conjunction with the government of Honduras.{{sfn|Kelly|1996|p=279}}

The Copán buildings suffered significantly from forces of nature in the centuries between the site's abandonment and the rediscovery of the ruins. After the abandonment of the city the [[Copán River]] gradually changed course, with a [[meander]] destroying the eastern portion of the acropolis (revealing in the process its [[stratification (archaeology)|archaeological stratigraphy]] in a large vertical [[cut (archaeology)|cut]]) and apparently washing away various subsidiary architectural groups, including at least one courtyard and 10 buildings from Group 10L–2.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharer|Traxler|2006|pp=335, 339}}; Fash et al 2005, p.268.</ref> The cut is an important archaeological feature at the site, with the natural erosion having created an enormous cross-section of the acropolis. This erosion cut away a large portion of the eastern part of the acropolis and revealed a vertical cross-section that measures {{convert|37|m|ft|sp=us}} high at its tallest point and {{convert|300|m|ft|sp=us}} long.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 339"/> Several buildings recorded in the 19th&nbsp;century were destroyed, plus an unknown amount of the acropolis that was eroded before it could be recorded.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 339"/> In order to avoid further destruction of the acropolis, the [[Carnegie Institution for Science|Carnegie Institution]] redirected the river to save the archaeological site, diverting it southwards in the 1930s; the dry former riverbed was finally filled in at the same time as consolidation of the cut in 1990s.{{sfn|Sharer|Traxler|2006|pp=68, 335, 339}} '''Structures 10L–19, 20, 20A''' and '''21''' were all destroyed by the Copán River as it eroded the site away, but had been recorded by investigators in the 19th&nbsp;century.<ref name="Sharer & Traxler 2006, p. 339"/>

{{Infobox protected area
| name = Copán Ruins Cultural Monument
| alt_name = Ruinas de Copán
| iucn_category = III
| iucn_ref = <ref name = unep>UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Ruinas de Copán from the World Database of Protected Areas, March 2022. [https://www.protectedplanet.net/3358]</ref>
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| area_km2 = .66
| designation = [[Cultural monument]]
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| designated = 1982
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| administrator = Instituto de Conservación Forestal and [[Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia]]
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| world_heritage_site = Maya Site of Copan (1980)
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UNESCO approved funding of US$95,825 between 1982 and 1999 for various works at the site.{{sfn|UNESCO World Heritage Centre}} The cultural monument covers 66 hectares. Looting remains a serious threat to Copán. A tomb was looted in 1998 as it was being excavated by archaeologists.{{sfn|Schuster|1998}}