MAYA COMMUNITY BUILDINGS: Two Late Classicpopal nahsat Copan, Honduras

The Spaniards described a particular type of Maya building found in the center of Maya cities that served multiple functions, from temporary homes for men and boys to council houses. This type of building, labeled apopol nahat Copan, was noted in Yucatan and the highlands of Guatemala. Two probablepopol nahs, Structures 10L-223 and 10L-22A, have been identified at Copan, Honduras, suggesting continuity in this building type into at least the Maya Late Classic period. The differences between the two structures in both location and form support the idea of competing lineages in the Late Classic. These differences also suggest that the later rulers may have transformed earlier multifunction buildings into more specific functions that served their political needs.