The Temple 22 Façade Reconstruction Project, Copán, Honduras
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Research Year:  2001
Culture:  Maya
Chronology:  Classic
Location:  Copán, Honduras
Site:  Copán

Table of Contents

Abstract
Introduction
Project Origins and Past Reconstructions
The 2001 Field Season
Objectives and Results
Sculpture Database
Sculpture Conservation
Motif Analysis and Drawings
Sculpture Restoration
Preliminary Façade Reconstruction
Preliminary 3D Digital Reconstruction of Structure 10L-22
Introduction
Construction Methods
Exterior views
Interior views
Advantages and Possibilities of a 3D Virtual Model
Facilities Improvements
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Sources Cited

Abstract

In 2001, the Temple 22 Reconstruction Project completed its third field season of analysis and reconstruction of the collapsed stone façade sculpture of an 8^th century Maya temple at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Copán, in Western Honduras. Temple 22 (or Structure 10L-22) was commissioned by the 13^th ruler of Copán–and famous patron of the arts–Waxaklajuun Ub’aah K’awiil, in A.D. 715. An elegant and complex work of stone carving and architectural composition, this building marks the beginning of a flourishing period of artistic creativity at Copán and its façades influenced the forms of Maya architecture for centuries to come. Since the late 19^th century, archaeologists have excavated over 4,000 pieces of sculpture from around this building; the Temple 22 Reconstruction Project is the first to identify, catalogue, conserve, analyze, and restore the full sample of this sculpture. This project is conducted under the aegis of the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History (IHAH) and the Copán Mosaics Project (CMP), co-directed by Barbara and William Fash of Harvard University.

In 2001, a grant from the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI) funded four months of sculpture analysis at the Regional Center for Archaeological Investigations at Copán (CRIA). This has resulted in an ongoing digital database of Structure 10L-22 sculpture, drawings of sculpture motifs, restoration and conservation of individual sculptures, and a preliminary three-dimensionally rendered, CAD reconstruction of the structure. Results this year confirmed the existence of a now-ruined second story, evidence for a sculpture workshop, and intriguing connections between the iconographic programs of Structure 10L-22 and Waxaklajuun Ub’aah K’awiil’s stelae program in Copán’s Great Plaza. Preliminary research identifies Structure 10L-22 as a distinct class of architecture, erected by contemporaneous Maya polities as they asserted their legitimacy in response to the volatile political landscape of the 8^th century. Structure 10L-22 was a framework for the 13^th ruler’s display of legitimacy, and a locus for the construction of polity identity on historical, mythical, and cosmic levels. Additional funding from FAMSI and Columbia University allows this project research to continue in 2002.

Submitted 03/12/2003 by:
Dr. Jennifer F. Ahlfeldt
Assistant Professor of Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture
Department of Art and Art History
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
ahlfeldt@unm.edu

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