The Skyband Group, Copán, Honduras : Penn State excavations 1990, 1997 / David Webster ; with contributions by Barbara Fash, David Reed, Rebecca Storey, Randolph Widmer, William Scott Zeleznik.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Webster, David L., 1943- author.

Series:

BAR international series. Paris monographs in American archaeology

Paris monographs in American archaeology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Copán Site (Honduras)--Antiquities.

Copán Site (Honduras).

Excavations (Archaeology)--Honduras--Copán Site.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Mayas--Honduras--Copán Site--Antiquities.

Mayas.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xx, 336 pages) : illustrations (black and white, and colour), maps (black and white).

Place of Publication:

Summertown, Oxford : Archaeopress Publishing Ltd, 2023.

Summary:

The Skyband Group is an impressive elite site in the urban core of Copán, Honduras, which is dominated by the palatial compounds of Maya sub-royal nobles. Such grandees often bore court titles showing that they were clients and officials of kings, but also competitors for political power, especially just before the dynastic collapse around AD 800. Penn State University excavations in 1990 and 1997 revealed large vaulted buildings, richly embellished with facade sculpture, and an elaborate carved throne in the form of a sky band, replete with celestial images of the sun, moon, and Venus. Artifacts and burials retrieved from these buildings and smaller ancillary structures are characteristic of elite residences, but the iconography of the facades and the throne also reveals connections with Copán's royal dynasty and efforts by the last ruler to shore up his faltering kingdom.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2023.

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (viewed on September 21, 2023).

Other Format:

Print version :

ISBN:

9781803274300 (PDF ebook) :

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.