Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Quiriguá's history largely mirrors that of Copán, of which it was a vassal state for much of
itshistory.InA.D.653,forexample,Copán'sveryownkingSmokeJaguarerectedAltarL
in Quiriguá's Great Plaza in his own honor after installing the city's new ruler. Quiriguá's
stelae were carved with help from Copán's artisans using beds of brown sandstone brought
from the nearby Río Motagua. The sandstone was soft when first cut, allowing the artisans
to create the excellent-quality carvings, which hardened through time and can still be seen
today.
Quiriguá's subservient status changed dramatically under the leadership of its king
Cauac Sky with the capture and subsequent beheading of Copán's ruler 18 Rabbit in A.D.
737, an event which would mark the beginning of Copán's gradual downward slide. Cauac
Sky quickly embarked on his own plan to expand the greatness of Quiriguá, carving most
of the stelae in evidence there today. He can be seen on Stelae A, C, D, E, F, H, and J.
Cauac Sky was succeeded by his son, Sky Xul (784-800), who lost his throne to Jade Sky,
Quiriguá's last great king, who embarked on his own grand-scale reconstruction of the
city's Acropolis. Quiriguá managed to remain independent of Copán for the remainder of
its history until its own silent and mysterious demise in the middle of the 9th century.
Like Copán, Quiriguá captured the attention and fascination of John L. Stephens, who
compared it to “the rock-built city of Edom, unvisited, unsought and utterly unknown.”
Stephensevenattemptedtobuythesitein1840andcartitofftoNewYorkCityviatheRío
Motaguaandouttosea.AssumingthatStephenswasnegotiatingonbehalfoftheU.S.gov-
ernment,thelandownerquotedanexorbitantpriceandthedealwasnevermade.Thenoted
archaeologist Alfred Maudsley followed up with his own visit and excavations between
1881and1894,making some fineillustrations ofthesite'sstelae andzoomorphic rockfig-
ures. In the early 1900s, the site and surrounding lands became the property of the United
Fruit Company, which preserved the ruins and the area in its vicinity. The rest of the land
was converted to banana plantations, miles and miles of them.
The Ruins of Quiriguá
What is left of Quiriguá is limited to its ceremonial center. As you enter the park from
the main entrance, you'll see the
Acropolis
straight ahead and the various stelae and
zoomorphs (stone sculptures depicting animals and hybrid human-animal forms) in the
Great Plaza
to your left. The stelae are housed under thatched-roof structures to protect
them from further deterioration from the elements. It can be somewhat difficult to view the
carvingsandevenmoredifficulttogetagoodphotograph.Themostimpressiveis
Stela E,
standing almost 11 meters high, making it the tallest known Mayan stela. Noteworthy fea-
turesinthecarvingsinclude theirbeardedsubjects withelaborate headdresses, thestaffsof
authority clutched in their hands, and glyphs running up and down the monuments' sides.
The various zoomorphs can also be seen here, depicting turtles, jaguars, frogs, and ser-
pents. Near the Acropolis,
Altar P
depicts a figure seated in a strange, Buddhalike pose.
