The buildings and monuments in Copán are identified with numbers and letters.
The Maya (A7) The Maya are Native Americans who live on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. They share common linguistic heritage. The people were divided into at least 10 different language groups each as different to English, as Englishis to Dutch. They are part of the larger cultural area called Mesoamerica. The pre-contact Maya evolved and developed over a period of two thousand years. The Maya had many great city states. These cities rose to power had their day in the sun and then set. Before the arrival of Europeans cities such as Nakbe, El Mirador, Tikal, Copan, Uxmal, Chichen Itza, Mayapan and others had come and gone.When “The Conquest” began Tulum, Tayasal, Utatlan and Iximche were important centres of Mayan power. The cities were abandoned or converted to European use but the Maya people continue to the present as unique cultural groups. One great city of the Maya was Copan. Located in Honduras, Copan was a strong regional power. Importantly, it had a unique culture defined by extensive stone carved records ofits history. When the Spanish conquest swept across Central America, libraries of Mayan books were destroyed. When Copan was rediscovered these stones with carved records were uncovered. During the last decade many of these documents have been translated giving us a strong sense of the human condition in Mesoamerica. We now have a clearer picture of religion, war, trade and science. Copan wasabandoned due to war and famine. The Acropolis of the Copan Valley, shown here, clearly illustrates that the community that existed her had strong leaders; political, religious and scientific. Yet they failed to find solutions to depleted resources and war. The Maya left impressive artifacts but they highlight the failure of this culture. The Mesoamerican experience could foreshadow our story tellingus about the curse of over population–conflict, disease and famine.
TEGUCIGALPA AND COMAYAGÜELA
LEGEND Government Embassy Education Transportation Hotel Sites of Interest Park
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THE REGIONAL GUIDE AND MAP OF
Settlements, Indian villages, Military posts, Ranches, etc • Etablissements, villages indiens, postes militaires, ranches, etc
San Marco de Colón
Ansiedlungen, indianische Dörfer, militärische Standorte, Ranchen, usw •Poblados, aldeas indios, fortines, estancias, etc.
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State and provincial capitals are labelled in UPPER CASE type • Les capitales des états et des provinces sont marquées en LETTRES MAJUSCULES • Landes und provinzielle Hauptstäde sind in GROSSBUCHSTABEN angegeben • Capitales estatales y provincales están identificados en LETRAS MAYÚSCULAS International boundariesFrontieres internationales State and provincial boundaries Limites des états et des provinces TRANSPORT NETWORK RÉSEAU DE TRANSPORT Inter-American Highway system Réseau de Route Inter-Amérique Main highways (paved) Routes principales (pavées) Other roads Autres routes Railways Chemins-de-fer HYDROGRAPHIC HYDROGRAPHIE Non-perennial streams Cours d’eau saisonniers Swamps, seasonally inundated landMarécages, terre innondée selon saison SYMBOLS SYMBOLES International airports Aéroportes internationales Domestic aerodromes with scheduled services Aerodromes domestiques avec service a horaires Height in metres Côtes d’altitude en metres Active volcanoes Volcans actifs Reefs Récifs
Internationales Grenzen Fronteras internacionales Staats und Provinzgrenzen Limites...