CopÁn was once one of the greatest cities in the Americas, home to the fascinating Mayan people and their mysterious culture. The Mayan empire collapsed hundreds of years ago and today CopÁn's ruins are a rich site for archaeologists to explore and tourists to visit. CopÁn is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
One of the highlights of a visit to CopÁn is it's many magnificent stellas (also known as stela), elaborate and detailed three dimensional carved pillars. Each stella tells the story of a ruler, like how they attained power or what they accomplished during their rule. All of the stella are thought to have been altars of a type and associated with blood letting ceremonies.
Today's photo highlights Stella B, an elaborate carving of CopÁn's ruler, Waxaklajuun Ub'aah K'awiil (aka 18 rabbit) and his ascension to power. This particular stella was commissioned on August 22, 731 A.D. It makes one appreciate that even in the America's there were amazingly complex and advanced civilizations around over a thousand years ago.
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