The Skyband Group, Copán Honduras

Penn State Excavations 1990, 1997

By (author) David Webster

Book cover: The Skyband Group, Copán Honduras

Extent: 360 pages

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing

Subjects: Archaeology of the Americas, Architecture

Series: Paris Monographs in American Archaeology

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(September 2023)

ISBN: 9781803274294

7.99 x 10.87 inches

Price: $77.00

In stock

The Skyband Group is an impressive elite site in the urban core of Copan, 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


The Skyband Group is an impressive elite site in the urban core of Copan, 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 Copan’s royal dynasty and efforts by the last ruler to shore up his faltering kingdom. Activity at the Skyband Group and other sites in the Copan valley continued after the abrupt political debacle, an example of the ‘slow collapse’ process that is increasingly evident among the great Maya centers in the southern lowlands of Mesoamerica.

Preface

Chapter One: Maya Places and Elites

Chapter Two: Group 8N-11

Chapter Three: Operations in the Plaza and the Str. 66 Complex

Chapter Four: The Skyband Bench and its Neighbors

Chapter Five: The Façade Sculpture

Chapter Six: Operation 50: The Ancillary Buildings

Chapter Seven: Operation 63: The 1997 Field Season

Chapter Eight: Features and Burials

Chapter Nine: Artifacts  

Chapter Ten: Group 8N-11: The Short Chronology

Chapter Eleven: The Long Chronology

Chapter Twelve: Final Thoughts

Appendix A: Radiocarbon Dates from Burials and Archaeomagnetic Dates

Appendix B: Illustrations of Selected Artifacts

Bibliography

  • By (author) David Webster