Touring Ancient Copán (1948)

An early tour of the ancient Mayan city of Copán soon after being restored by the Honduran government, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and local Copanecos. The restoration work included the redirecting the Copán River and began just as the area was recovering from a severe earthquake in December 1934.

Most interesting is a brief glimpse into the nearby town of Copán - a grass-covered central park, the church, and an ornate fountain built by the Carnegie staff. While the church and fountain remain much as they were, the grass has disappeared under stone and pavement. Many Copanecos recall that in the past, or "antes" as they would say, the parque central was once dominated by the shade of a tall Ceiba tree under which the town market operated until it was moved indoors in the 1950s. Evidently, the fountain/pila stands where the tree once did, or rather, the tree may have been cut down to make room for the fountain Carnegie built. Opinions differ.

From the film collections of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (http://www.penn.museum/) via the Internet Archive:

http://www.archive.org/details/upenn-f16-0471_1948_Copan_Hondurus

Uploaded here with the kind permission from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.

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