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MAYA COMMUNITY BUILDINGS: Two Late Classic popal nahs at Copan, Honduras

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2003

Charles D. Cheek
Charles D. Cheek
Affiliation:
John Milner Associates, Inc., 5250 Cherokee Ave, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22312, USA
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Abstract

The Spaniards described a particular type of Maya building found in the center of Maya cities that served multiple functions, from temporary homes for men and boys to council houses. This type of building, labeled a popol nah at Copan, was noted in Yucatan and the highlands of Guatemala. Two probable popol nahs, Structures 10L-223 and 10L-22A, have been identified at Copan, Honduras, suggesting continuity in this building type into at least the Maya Late Classic period. The differences between the two structures in both location and form support the idea of competing lineages in the Late Classic. These differences also suggest that the later rulers may have transformed earlier multifunction buildings into more specific functions that served their political needs.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , January 2003 , pp. 131 - 138
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

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