Copán is an archaeological site of the Maya
civilization located in the Copán Department of western Honduras, not far from
the border with Guatemala. It was the capital city of a major Classic period
kingdom from the 5th to 9th centuries AD. The city was located in the extreme
southeast of the Mesoamerican cultural region, on the frontier with the Isthmo-Colombian
cultural region, and was almost surrounded by non-Maya peoples. In this fertile
valley now lies a city of about 3000, a small airport, and a winding
