Copan: Day 5

Hey folks! Today we visited CRIA, the laboratory where archaeologists in Copan do their thing (when finished in the field, of course). This is where they catalog, analyze, and store the materials they find on site. And no, I have no idea what CRIA stands for.

In the center of the building is a giant sandbox where discombobulated sculptures can be reassembled.

Today, the sandbox held a replica of one of the Ballcourt Macaws. I believe they just put it out there so we would have something to look at when they got there. What you probably can't see from this picture is that the sand is permeated with huge wasps who have made their home there. The life of an archaeologist: constantly in danger, even when working in the lab. I kid, Mommy, I kid.

The storage facilities there were really extensive, and had an amazing amount of carved stone. Really incredible stuff there. So much of it, that I couldn't devote as much time to looking at all of it as I would have liked. One of my favorite pieces:

A really great sculpture of the maize god (also the logo of the Peabody Museum). Hopefully in the coming weeks I'll be able to post a little bit more of what I saw there.

But in the mean time, more of the Principal Group! We went back to Copan's center for some lessons in epigraphy, and ended up learning a bit about Maya mythology.

This monument rests in front of the Hieroglyphic Stairway and represents a piece of the Maya creation story. According to the Maya, we live on the back of a giant, terrestrial crocodilian beast and under the belly of a giant, celestial crocodilian beast whose starry eyes dot the night sky. Some say that this celestial beast is what we call the Milky Way. When the universe was young, these two beasts were combined into one. It wasn't until one of the cultural heroes, or gods, G1 (lovely name, huh?) came along and split the bundle into two that the beasts separated and the world splayed out into the form we know today. This monument represents these two crocodiles combined into one and retells this legend. It was a neat tale--if only I were a better storyteller.

And finally, some proof that I did see an agouti:

It's small, but it's there!

Hope you are all doing well. Love you, and miss you!