Hunal

Hunal is a monument within a monument within a monument.  This burial dates to the early Classic Period of the Maya (AD 250-600). Copán is found along the Copán River in modern day Honduras in southeastern Mesoamerica, a region known to have severe earthquakes, active volcanoes, hurricanes, and electrical storms.  The terrain is mountainous with some river valleys.  It contains tropical forests as well as swamplands and some dry areas (Evans 2008:570). A stela, an upright standing monument, found in Copán indicates that it was one of the four capitals of the Maya world during the Late Classic Maya Period (AD 600-900) (Sharer and Traxler 2006:480). The tomb was found in 1996 and excavated from 1997-1999 by the Early Copán Acropolis Program.  The burial was found through the excavation of one of the structures near Hunal, the Margarita Tomb (Bell et al. 1999:32).  The tomb itself is believed to belong to Yax K’uk Mo’, the founder of the ruling dynasty at Copán.  He may have actually been from the nearby region of Tikal (Evans 2008:306).  It is not known for sure if the remains found in the tomb are actually Yax K’uk Mo’. If so, this would be the founder of the capital of Copán.  This is important because Copán played a key role in the Maya world.  During the Late Classic Period, the Copán dynasty controlled much of the surrounding regions and controlled many key resources such as jade and obsidian (Sharer and Traxler 2006:476).  The burial itself is also very important because many material goods were preserved.  These goods provide information about the social structure as well as economy at the time of the burial.  Both skeletal remains and burial goods create an image of the lifestyle of the individual. It is a testament to the importance of this individual that the final monument for the Hunal burial was built almost 200 years later (Sharer and Traxler 2006:477).