Copan Copan, an ancient Mayan city in Honduras, was known to western civilization as early as 1576, discovered by Spaniard Garcia de Palacio. Bordered on the north by the Copan River, it is one of the oldest Mayan cities. According to archaeologists, only Uaxactun and Tikal are older. The river has played a key role in the understanding of the city, for as it changed course over time, it revealed that the city was built upon an older city, and that the main structure was not predesigned, but instead gradually developed. Citation Portion of a painting by Carlos Vierra from the San Diego Museum. The actual dimensions of this pyramid are about 800 feet on either side, facing the four cardinal directions. The most striking feature of this pyramid is on the western side of the pyramid (extreme left of picture), the Hieroglyphic Staircase. Overview of the Copan complex. This site is maintained by Ryan Cohagan at Creighton University. Please feel free to visit our course syllabus. My e-mail address is cohagan@creighton.edu I would appreciate some feedback. Created: November 10, 2001 Updated: December 12, 2001