Copán - English spelling Copán

Japanese: コパン - こぱん（英語表記）Copán

A large archaeological site of classical Maya culture located about 225 km northwest of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. It is the most southeastern Maya major ceremonial center, and together with Quirigua in Guatemala, it represented Maya power in the Motagua River basin. The ruins are centered around five plazas, including a large plaza with many stone tablets and altars, a large pyramid-shaped temple surrounding them, and the remains of the priest's residence, with several satellite towns spread over a wide area around it. Among the buildings in the center, the pyramid with its steps engraved with more than 1,000 hieroglyphics and the ball court with a parrot-headed marker are famous, and the figures on the stone tablets in the large plaza are expressed with soft lines not seen in Maya sculptures at other ruins. Copan reached its peak after the 6th century AD, but rapidly declined in the early 9th century. Since Harvard University first began research at Copán in 1891, excavations have been conducted by research teams from various countries, and recent research has focused on elucidating the social organization that made up Copán.

[Yoshiro Masuda]

World Heritage Registration

In 1980, the Maya Ruins of Copán was registered as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) (World Cultural Heritage).

[Editorial Department]

[References] | Maya Culture

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ホンジュラスの首都テグシガルパから北西に約225キロメートルの地点にあるマヤ古典文化の大遺跡。マヤの大祭祀(さいし)センターとしてはもっとも南東に位置し、グアテマラのキリグアとともに、モタグア川流域のマヤ勢力を代表していた。遺跡は、多くの碑石、祭壇の置かれた大広場をはじめとする五つの広場と、それらを囲むピラミッド状の大神殿、神官の住居址(し)などを中心とし、周囲の広い地域にわたって、衛星都市をいくつももっている。中心部の建物のなかでは、1000以上の象形文字を刻んだ階段をもつピラミッドや、オウムの頭の標石をもつ球戯場などが有名であり、大広場に立つ碑石の人物像は、他の遺跡のマヤ彫刻にはみられない柔和な線によって表現されている。コパンは紀元6世紀以後最盛期に入ったが、9世紀初め急速に衰微した。1891年にハーバード大学が初めて調査を開始して以来、各国の調査団による発掘が行われ、最近の調査ではコパンを構成した社会組織の解明に力が注がれている。

［増田義郎］